Port City Tavern—the Every Man’s Bar of Long Beach’s Zaferia district—has once again surrendered itself to pirates. Dead Man’s Cove has returned, bringing nautical horror, themed cocktails, and a happily excessive devotion to Halloween to the neighborhood watering hole. This year’s takeover runs through Nov. 1, with a pirate party on Oct. 24 and a silent disco on Oct. 30 adding to the festivities.
And there is something particularly fitting about Port City embracing the undead-at-sea aesthetic. A bar with nautical roots hardly needs to stretch its imagination to find the spooky: Haunted ships. Cursed treasure. Sailors who probably should have stayed ashore.
For a port city that proudly claims the Queen Mary, pirate horror feels comfortably close to home.
Dead Man’s Cove builds on Port City Tavern’s own personality.
When I first covered Dead Man’s Cove last year, owner Dylan Davis explained that its inspiration came from the success of the bar’s Christmas takeover, Nauti or Nice. The team wanted to bring that same commitment to Halloween while creating something that belonged specifically to Port City.
“Much of our decor is handmade in-house,” Dylan said. That personal investment extended to the drinks, with Kody Hill leading a team to develop cocktails around the pirate concept. That matters for a neighborhood bar. People who spend time there get to see the crew’s imagination take over a familiar room. A seasonal visit becomes another way of getting to know the place.
Port City had already been finding that balance before Dead Man’s Cove arrived: Someone wanting a beer and a shot could comfortably share space with someone exploring a more ambitious cocktail. Halloween simply gave that hospitality a skull mug and a little extra theatricality.
Last year, bar manager Kody Hill’s eight-drink Dead Man’s Cove menu carried the idea forward, from the bourbon, pear, and maple combination of Jolly Roger to Bloody Pirate’s beet-infused mezcal and tequila. Those earlier offerings helped establish a takeover where the drinks participated in the storytelling.
Exploring the drinks of Dead Man’s Cove at Port City Tavern…
From porch pounders to the well-balanced-but-booze-forward concoctions, Kody and the team have all your pirates’ booty dreams available for consumption.
Siren’s Seduction ($15): Vodka | passionfruit | Sarti Rosa | hibiscus ginger beer | lime
Jolly Roger ($16): Old Forester bourbon | Bartlett pear | Chinese five spice | honey | lemon
Bloody Pirate ($20 with souvenir glass): Gin | mezcal | raspberry | beet | cardamom | lemon
Drunken Parrot ($15): Tequila | blood orange | pineapple | burnt cinnamon | Campari | lime
Photos by Brian Addison.
Don’t Wake the Kraken ($17 single / $34 shareable): Kraken rum | overproof rum | guava | pineapple shrub | habanero | lime
Specialty glassware; ID held until returned.
Liar’s Dice ($16): Rye whiskey | Jamaican rum | banana | cacao | tiki bitters
Pick Your Poison ($12 with souvenir shot glass):
- Pirate’s Booty: Vodka & Peach
- Green Grog [pictured]: Tequila & Cucumber
- Mermaid’s Tail: Mezcal & Melon
Long Beach is building a case as the region’s holiday takeover epicenter.
I’ve been making this argument across several holiday seasons: Long Beach should embrace the fact that its bars are becoming holiday destinations. The growing collection of takeovers gives people a reason to explore another neighborhood, revisit a favorite bartender, and turn an ordinary evening into an occasion.
The Ordinarie helped establish the ambition. Its annual Miracle transformation made Christmas excess a Downtown tradition. This year, its inaugural Haunting takeover brings that commitment into Halloween through a partnership with the creators of Miracle. The Haunting runs through Nov. 1; come Nov. 6, it reopens as Miracle. That is a substantial stretch of the calendar devoted to gathering people around a holiday.
At Bamboo Club, The Tremble Club and The Tinsel Club give the city’s tiki institution two seasonal identities. As owner Kevin Larsen told me in my recent coverage, the work has involved the entire team—and the crowds have followed.
The appeal extends across different kinds of spaces: Dolores dedicates itself to the world of horror movies annually.The Wicked Wolf brings its woodland atmosphere to holiday drinking. Stache Bar has explored Halloween and Krampus while continuing to develop its cocktail program. Baby Gee has paired its seasonal drinks with vintage decorations and falling snow…
Together, these places give Long Beach something worth traveling for: enough variety to build an evening around, with each stop offering its own interpretation of the season.
The strongest takeovers feel like the bars creating them.
When I wrote about Port City’s Nauti or Nice transformation last December, its greatest strength was how comfortably it fit the space. The nautical theme continued through Christmas, while the patio, main bar, and side room offered different ways to settle into the festivities.
That is the opportunity for Long Beach as this tradition grows. Let bartenders put their ideas into a seasonal menu. Let the staff help build the room. Give regulars something to anticipate and newcomers a reason to walk through the door.
At Port City, that means another October aboard Dead Man’s Cove, where the neighborhood bar gets to indulge its pirate fantasies—and invite the rest of us along.
Port City Tavern is located at 4306 E. Anaheim St. Dead Man’s Cove runs through Nov. 1, 2026.
