Port City Tavern bar manager Kody Hill and his team have unveiled a wildly bright, giddily colorful spring cocktail menu that feels strangely appropriate for the somewhat gloomy times.
As it simultaneously rains (always needed in SoCal) while the rest of the world is on fire—the industry Port City reps is currently plagued with uphill battles nationwide: mass layoffs, distribution nightmares, grapes being left to rot across California…—Kody’s approach to this menu is, well, inspirational.
Taking encouragement from a post about how the new year should begin with spring from James Van Der Beek before his passing from cancer, Kody and the entire Port City team want Long Beach to drink up with their chin up.
“Lately, the world can feel heavy and uncertain,” Kody said. “And I wanted this spring menu to offer a sense of brightness and relief; a reminder of how powerful something as simple as color and flavor can be. My hope is that this menu gives people a chance to slow down, connect with friends, and find a little bit of light and color—even during darker times.”
Port City Tavern’s spring menu is color-centric, fresh-forward, but grounded in familiarity…
For Kody, freshness and color were the main goals; familiarity was the grounding. After all, you have multiple riffs on classics across the menu: “Red Hot Mama” reimagines a Paper Plane where tequila and spice overtake bourbon and Aperol. “Purple State of Mind” is his ube-centric play on a piña colada. And Mellow Yellow draws inspiration from the classic bourbon’n’honey Gold Rush, adding chamomile and yellow chartreuse for more complexity.
“I also have to shout out Stef [Davis, co-owner of Port City with husband Dylan Davis],” Kody said. “I’ve gotten a love related to the overall look of the menu since its drop—and she consistently helps bring all these ideas in my head to life. She has an incredible ability to take what I imagine and translate it into something even more beautiful in reality. The way she captures the essence of each cocktail—all the while making the colors, textures, and details truly shine.”
Port City Tavern’s evolution has been a dream to watch amid the creeping “faux low” aesthetic led by venture capitalists in other major cities…
The larger conversation surrounding dive bar culture in major cities is reaching its apex: As venture capitalists commodify nostalgia through “faux low” aesthetics—making spaces feel like they’ve long been dives in a neighborhood while gouging patrons on even the most basic of offerings—Long Beach’s current generation of bar owners are the opposite.
This is the opposite of what owners like David Copley, Eric Johnson, and Matt Peterson did with Crow’s in Naples and Poor Richard’s on the eastside. This is the opposite of what Gianna Johns and Daniel Flores did with Baby Gee, an entirely led-by-what-the-locals want after it took over the former Red Room space. (I did not choose that headline for the Eater LA article, by the way.)
And this is the opposite of what Dylan and Stefani Davis do—whether it is Port City Tavern, Baddeley’s, or Que Sera (which is now under full ownership with former Port City bar manager Bradley Eston as Dylan is no longer involved).
Port City Tavern has never felt more like a Long Beach bar. Leaning on Dylan’s nautical roots, the side room has become an outright gem of a lounge to hang out in, where an additional pool table, plenty of comfy seating, and genuinely decent decor make it feel more like an overall concept that is for the city it was birthed.
A look into the spring 2026 menu for Port City Tavern…
Saturated shades of pigmentation galore. Porch-pounders to sippers. Saccharine and spring-y in all the right ways.
RED HOT MAMA: Tequila | Strawberry-Red Pepper Cordial | Amaro Blend | Spicy Tincture | Lime
CORPSE REVIVER NO. BLUE: Mezcal | Blanc Vermouth | Blue Curaçao | Grapefruit | Absinthe Rinse
ORANGE YOU GLAD: Vodka | Passionfruit | Pineapple Shrub | Aperol | Lime
NEGREENI: London Dry Gin | Midori | Green Chartreuse | Bitter Bianco | Dry Vermouth
PURPLE STATE OF MIND: Jamaican Rum | White Rum | Ube Coconut Cream | Pineapple | Banana Liqueur | Lime
MELLOW YELLOW: Chamomile-Infused Bourbon | Lavender Honey | Yellow Chartreuse | Lemon
Port City Tavern is located at 4306 E. Anaheim St.
