Port City Tavern, Recreation Park’s kinda-divey-but-you-can-find-Tequila-Ocho space, has prided itself on its creative cocktail menus. Owner Dylan Davis and bar manager Bradley Eston have long held the idea that those who just want a boilermaker can co-mingle with those who also want a solid cocktail that goes beyond the well.
And that is expressed spookily in their whimsical Halloween cocktail offerings and skull-tacular decorations.
Port City Tavern joins the growing list of Halloween watering hole staples.
Much to the pleasure of Halloween lovers, Long Beach is seeing a crazy growth in Halloween cocktail and food menus. There’s The Bamboo Club. The Social List’s 10-spread Halloween drink menu. Stache Bar doing their first proper cocktail menu in years. Even SnoCorner is churning out insandely adorable Halloween beignets.
And now, Port City Tavern, the highbrow-meets-lowbrow bar that was once Iguana Kelly’s, joins in as it grows as one of Long Beach’s most creative cocktail spaces. And that is because it allows its array of bartenders to explore their creativity in ways that few, if any, bars are doing. Dylan and Bradley exemplifies that with all his creations, which he also happily shares with his bartenders should they create something special.
For Eston, his staff is what is clutch: Having worked under some of the best mixologists in the city, from working as a barback under Long Beach’s original craft cocktail master Daniel Flores to the likes of Nathan McCullough, now at rightfully acclaimed Wolves in DTLA, who headed Padre’s bar in its prime and led Mezcalero to its success. These experiences have allowed Eston to learned to take what he enveloped as a once-upon-a-time apprentice and then focus it on leadership. And this has resulted in him creating his a team that he can both hone in terms of skill and trust in terms of creativity.
The result is a bar that steers clear of the L.A. and New York vibe but eschews being entirely Long Beach dive. It’s Long Beach as it should be: A little bit of nice, a little bit cheap, a lotta love.
So… What about those Halloween cocktails?
My personal favorites? The “Pump up the Yams” served in a you-get-to-keep-it skull mug for $20. (Or $14 if you don’t want the badass mug.) Earthy, rum-centric, with hints of five-spice and marshmallow. Or the Stay Salty, an umami-meets-tart concoction with plenty of earthy pepita and kale notes. They’re awesome—but they’re not the only offerings.
Pump Up the Yams: Dark rum | White rum | Coconut | Yam syrup | Chinese five-spice | Toasted marshmallow
Stay Salty: Lemongrass-infused gin | Mezcal | Pepita orgeat | Hoja santa | Lime | Black sea salt
Skull Crusher: Tequila | Mezcal | Pineapple | Lime | Tea-infused nitro red wine float
Wicked Wake-Up Shot: Espresso martini shot | Whipped cream | Sprinkles
Port City Tavern is located at 4306 E. Anaheim St.
