Pop-up bars have become popular in recent years, and this is especially true around the holidays. Pop-up concepts like Miracle and Sippin’ Santa are well known by consumers in the industry, but there are many other bar and restaurant concepts getting into the holiday spirit!
We’ve rounded up a few examples of holiday cheer in the on-premise.
Third Coast Hospitality Group
Third Coast Hospitality Group is decking the halls of Moe’s Cantina Wrigleyville and Old Crow Smokehouse with two unique experiences: Santa’s Workshop and Grinch Stole Christmas. Running through the New Year into January, each experience will feature festive specialty cocktails, seasonal food items, jolly décor, and special appearances from holiday icons.
Moe’s Cantina Wrigleyville: The venue gets a dose of Whoville with a Grinch Stole Christmas theme. The Grinch welcomes guests into the venue decked out in bright Christmas balls, bold holiday patterns, Christmas trees, and colorful lights. A specialty menu features items like birria tacos as well as buñelos—a crispy fried dessert coated with cinnamon sugar. The pop-up also features fun, festive specialty drinks, including Christmas Tree Patron Towers, spiked Mexican hot chocolate, and Jack Frost, with Patron Blanco, Blue Curacao, lime, and agave.
Old Crow Smokehouse: The Wrigleyville barbecue spot morphs into Santa’s Workshop for the season. Giant Christmas balls, white lights, and Christmas trees set the holiday scene, while the holiday menu features comfort food favorites like French Onion Soup, Old Crow Pot Pie, and Hot Honey Chicken Biscuit Sliders. Specialty cocktail options include Jack Frost; the nostalgic Dirty Chocolate Milk, with eggnog, Amaretto, and Crème de Cacao in a Mason jar; the Old Crow version of Harry Potter’s Butterbeer, with vanilla vodka, caramel syrup, and cream soda; and the Polar Espresso, with whiskey and cold brew coffee in a martini glass. There are plenty of Instagram-worthy photo ops with Santa Claus and his sleigh and reindeer, Ralphie from A Christmas Story, Buddy the Elf, and the Old Crow giant Christmas horse.
Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge
Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge, NYC’s largest all-season indoor and outdoor rooftop bar with a retractable roof, is featuring its new winter pop-up, The Pink Winter Lodge: Neon Frost Edition. The venue will feature accents of metallic and neon pink, including metallic fringe, neon walls, and pink trees. The iconic carousel will also be decked out in metallic pink, offering a unique dining experience. On the East Terrace, an interactive custom snow globe will be set with the backdrop of the Empire State Building. The creative vision for this pop-up was conceptualized by Yvonne Najor, Vice President for Tao Group Hospitality, in collaboration with Design House Décor.
Festive sips and shareable desserts curated by Pastry Chef Erin Cayaban and Senior Beverage Director Nikki McCutcheon include:
- Après Ski: pink boozy hot chocolate made with Absolut Vanilla, oat milk, white chocolate, and mini marshmallows.
- All That Glitters: cocktail infused with New Amsterdam Vodka, allspice, cranberry ginger beer, and rosemary
- Sweetest Surprise Cake: edible pink box with a silver box featuring a flourless chocolate cake, chocolate filling, peppermint chocolate chips, crispy pears, and sprinkles
- S’mores Stack: chocolate-covered graham crackers dipped in gold and filled with marshmallows, topped with pink cotton candy
- Stay Cozy Cupcake: pink velvet cupcake
Great Jones Distilling Co.
The distillery’s winter-themed subterranean speakeasy, 'Great Jones Whiskey Wonderland,' is a festive popup that will transport New Yorkers directly to the North Pole. The speakeasy is transformed into a holiday-themed winter chalet serving theatrical seasonal cocktails made with Great Jones' whiskey, alongside wintery bites like Chocolate Fondue, Winter Truffle Flatbread, and Duo Holiday Sliders. The Chalet will run through the holiday season into January 2024.
Rreal Tacos
This holiday season the team from Rreal Tacos will debut Feliz Navidad, a Christmas-themed bar blending Hispanic and American holiday traditions. During December, the bars at each of Rreal Tacos' five locations—Midtown, West Midtown, Chamblee, Sandy Springs and Cumming—will be transformed with over-the-top decorations, holiday-themed cocktails, and a Christmas playlist that includes both Spanish and American classics.
The holiday cocktail menu brings together the flavors of Latin America with a fun, holiday twist. Cocktails include:
- Baby Jesus: Liquor 43, Borghetti Coffee liqueur and cinnamon simple syrup
- Dear Santa: Spiced rum, Chinola, lime, pineapple juice, agave and vegan foamer
- El Rudolph: 1800 Coconut tequila, evaporated milk, condensed milk, Coco Lopez, vanilla extract and nutmeg
- La Posada: Coconut rum, coconut milk, agave, lime and mint leaves
Bohemien Bar
Bohemien Bar’s interior is outfitted with standout festive holiday décor and the bar is serving specialty holiday cocktails in winter-themed ceramic mugs and glassware. The diverse array of mugs and cocktails, including a smiling Santa, a cheerful snowman, and a jolly gingerbread man, are designed to add that extra flare to an already impressive display of cocktail artistry.
The cocktail menu, designed by owner Tarek Debira, is a very festive lineup of cocktails for the holidays, including The Dulce Besos, a hot chocolate-based cocktail with Mezcal, Madeira, cayenne powder, and toasted marshmallow in a gingerbread man mug; O Sanctissima, made with tequila, spiced cider, vanilla, lemon juice, and dehydrated carrots served in a snowman-shaped mug; the New Order, mixing gin, apple brandy, quince, ginger, lime and juniper smoke in a festive Christmas tree mug.
Enjoy the cocktails with perfectly paired small bites and shareable plates by Chef Steven Barrantes, including Duck Flatbread with leeks and smoked gouda; Tuna on a Crisp with yellowfin tuna and truffle aioli; and Baked Brie with herbs du Provence.
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