Cocktail culture in Los Angeles has taken a sharp turn in the last year. More people are looking to relax and enjoy a well thought out cocktail than rush to the club and order a rum and soda. Also new to Los Angeles is the desire to get dressed up and enter an establishment that is sophisticated and sexy, and most definitely does not condone outright acts of celebrity or attention seeking. No, The Tar Pit values creative cocktails and ridiculously good food. Take a look inside.
The Tar Pit began as a collaboration between Audrey Saunders of New York’s Pegu Club and Campanile’s Mark Peel. If you know anything about New York cocktail culture you certainly know Pegu Club, the place to go to sip the very best cocktails in New York City. Soon, The Tar Pit will be the place to drink the very best cocktails in Los Angeles. Mark Peel and Audrey Saunders brought in a strong team of connoisseurs to help run things right with Taylor Parsons (Campanille) as the wine director and Jay Perrin as managing partner of The Tar Pit.
Walk through the double doors and enter a sleek and comforting space, formerly The Pearl, with hints of art deco in the glass banquettes dividers and white leather banquettes lining the walls. Chandeliers sparkle through dim lighting above waiters in sleek black clothing who glide around the room. Here you are better suited wearing a nice dress and sports coat than torn jeans and flip flops, but the sophisticated mood is inviting and adds to the feeling that you are participating in something special. The
Tar Pit’s real focus is on the cocktails and the food, both tipping their hat to classics while adding a modern twist.
The Tar Pit’s cocktail list is priced from $11 “Tributes” and “Neo-Classics” drinks to $16 champagne based cocktails (no Andre here). The fruit juice is fresh, the soda is carbonated in house, and the three types of ice you might find in your drink come from a Scotsman machine, a Kold-Draft double-stacked machine and traditional ice blocks (chipped to order). A good portion of the drink menu is rum based and among them a real standout is the Jamaican Firefly, a satisfying mix of dark rum, house made ginger beer, fresh lime juice and simple syrup with a delightful garnish of crystallized ginger. Tequila lovers will undoubtedly become addicted to the Lil Gig (Silver tequila, yellow chartreuse, Thai basil and simple syrup).
Even the glassware is eye-catching. From a tiki glass with a ball gag used to serve The Night Marcher to “"a frosted glass with a sexy, Barbara Eden-esque genie on one side and a keyhole design on the other that affords a view of the genie’s unclothed bottom”, every aspect of The Tar Pit seems to set itself apart from every other place in Los Angeles. If you are in the mood for a glass of wine, you will be well taken care of. The very tiny wine room is only large enough for one ladder and the menu itself serves just 27 wines. To prevent customers from choosing wine based on price rather than desire, all bottles cost $38, very reasonable for a list that includes wines from well-respected yet often neglected wineries from Hungary to the Vipava Valley.
The Tar Pit’s food menu is creative and delicious, and even well priced with nothing over $17. Classic hard-boiled eggs get a new twist at The Tar Pit, brined whites and a deviled yolk. Steak and kidney pie and saffron shrimp cocktail are fabulous ways to start your meal but the star of the small plates are the fried oysters, which are light and juicy. Standouts of the larger plates are delicate wild boar meatballs, gnocchi with escargot in a butter and olive oil sauce and a dish so good you will dream about it for days, braised pork cheeks and ears with orecchiette pasta, salsa verde, braised beet greens and dandelion greens.