Portuguese Bend is Long Beach’s very first “grain to glass” distillery. They will be making select spirits in-house and offering tastings, education, selling bottles and mixing up cocktails at the restaurant.
They are open in the popular Downtown District of Long Beach and include a full bar serving their house-made spirits (as well as beer + wine, and other popular craft liquor brands), a restaurant serving lunch and dinner daily and weekend brunch, as well as a tasting room where guests can witness the distilling process and enjoy tastings (and fun interactive events). Upon opening PB will be making and serving gin and vodka, then a few months down the line they’ll be introducing rums and other spirit offerings.
The menu evokes a “new American diner” ranging from Southern dishes and West Coast classics. They’ll have some mega burgers, fried chicken, and an epic Prime Rib Dinner every Tuesday, and a rotating dessert card with seasonal pies, cakes, milkshakes and sundaes.
The classic cocktail program dates back to the 1930s and focuses on drinks that have long been forgotten. Erik Wentsky and Brenda Rivera created the coastal California inspired cocktails like the “Yass, Please” featuring Dona Rosa gin, Campari, giffard orgeat, pineapple gum syrup, grapefruit and lemon juice. Topped with local IPA + more.
The concept is headed up by some pretty popular names in the Long Beach community, including Luis and Brenda Navarro (who are well known Long Beach natives and restaurateurs with their popular concepts Lola’s Mexican Cuisine and The Social List), as well as Jim Leatherman and Josh Johnson of Long Beach menswear brand, Port LBC, and Simon Haxton who is the distiller and is a rocket scientist by trade. Distiller Simon Haxton says, ” Long Beach is where we all live, so it is a point of pride we bring the first distillery here. It’s also a thirsty town with a long track record of supporting local businesses. The craft beer community has been flourishing here and we know it will be the same for craft spirits.”
The Long Beach Portuguese Bend Distillery is now open to the public!
