travel guide : favorite cocktail bars in palm springs
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Palm Springs - the land of old Hollywood, mid-century modern architecture, and delicious delicious cocktails. Here are a few of my favorites!
favorite cocktail bars in palm springs
Photo by Cesar Cid on Unsplash
In early December last year my parents escaped the cold of upstate New York to visit Palm Springs, and we were lucky to stay with them for a few days. It was the second year not seeing them for Christmas, so we were glad to spend some time with them. Plus, my parents are always down to check out a cocktail bar, so we got to relax, explore, and enjoy some cocktails for a few days.
Boozehounds
Boozehounds in front of the San Jacinto Mountain Range
Our first stop was Boozehounds, and it did not disappoint! This was just the coolest and most beautiful space with possibly my favorite cocktail of the whole trip, the aunt donna’s dirty poodle. Surrounded by limber leaning palm trees and drenched in sunlight with the San Jacinto Mountain Range as a backdrop- this is exactly the perfect vibe for day drinking on a Sunday in Palm Springs.
It was extra special because our friends came down from LA to join us for lunch! I know not everyone loves it, but I am a sucker for combining groups of people in my life. Whenever I love people I want them to know all the other people I love! Our friends brought their dog Laszlo which made the Boozehounds atrium the perfect spot for us spend an hour or two, because it is super dog friendly!
The cocktail I got here was absurdly delicious with the best name - aunt donna’s dirty poodle! It has akashi ‘white oak’ whisky, yuzu-meyer lemon shrub, miso-mirin, nigori sake, and chocolate bitters. It is just unreal how good this was!
I also loved this message Boozehounds has on their website lol about choosing kindness when dining out - definitely something we’ve been keeping in mind when we have gone out to eat during the pandemic. If you’re going to do it - recognize everyone is dealing with a lot supply chain issues and entitled customers while understaffed, and it’s best to choose kindness.
the Boozehounds atrium
aunt donna’s dirty poodle cocktail
The outdoor patio, the bright atrium, and the indoor dining room were all open, colorful spaces, the cocktails were delicious, unique, and modern, and the wallpaper in the bathroom was … also a lot of fun!! Definitely wold head back here anytime!
Bootlegger Tiki
Our next stop was Bootlegger Tiki - a spot we absolutely had to make it to for its history. Ernst Gantt, a bootlegger during the prohibition, opened the first tiki bar in the country named Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood…then he and his wife opened a few more! Don the Beachcomber Palm Springs opened in 1953 and filled the cup of Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and many other famous faces.
A small but vibrant space, Bootlegger Tiki keeps the spirit of the 50’s Hollywood boozers escape alive with yummy cocktails, velvet art, and fish shaped lamps. I went with the Gilligan at the Skipper cocktail which in classic tiki form has 13 (THIRTEEN!) ingredients - Cynar, Montenegro, Paranubes Rum, Plantation Pineapple Rum, Pineapple, Grapefruit, Lemon Juice, Lime Juice, Tiki Bitters, Peychaud’s Bitters, Grenadine, Falernum, and Passionfruit.
We also had an amazing dinner at Bar Cecil, a modern french café overflowing with art!
Bar Cecil
Full of alllll of the modern boho french bistro vibes and chock full of amazing art on every surface, this spot was gorgeous and cozy. It is the kind of place you want to hang out all night. I mean, even the bathroom had amazing art!
The vibe made me crave a Vesper martini, a cocktail originally created in a James Bond novel with gin, vodka, dry vermouth, and lillet that I had a lot of fun creating with a few friends last year.
This spot also had UNBELIEVABLE sage butter dinner rolls - we put in an extra order after the first round because they were just so good. We also had great service here!
Del Rey at the Villa Royale Hotel
Del Rey cocktail bar entrance
Probably my most highly anticipated cocktail bar of the trip, Del Rey is inside actually inside the Villa Royale Hotel. It reminded me a bit of La Reina, a boutique hotel bar we went to in Santa Fe last fall. It was super cute with a cozy fireplace in the entryway, a few small tables out front, and patio seating out back.
We sat inside in a dark corner….like…very dark. Del Rey is an intimate space that would be very romantic for a date night! In fact, a couple sitting near us was feeling QUITE AMOROUS🤪. Honestly, at the risk of sounding ancient, it really was too dark for us. We were there for the cocktails sure, but we also ordered a bunch of tapas plates for dinner, and we had a hard time determining what the heck was even coming to our table. It was delicious and fun though and the cocktails were excellent! Favorites included the Murciélago, which contained a Laphroaig & Monkey Shoulder scotch blend, Amaro Montenegro, date syrup, barrel aged bitters, and a black tea ice cube as well as the Baby Sledge with Vida mezcal, aperol, strega, and lime.
The Murciélago Cocktail at Del Rey
It is no surprise that this was such a great spot - Palm Springs is known for its unique boutique hotels. We haven’t checked them out yet, but hope to check out these in the future!
Fleure Noir Hotel - I mean….jeez this place just so gorgeous and fun! And that cute little bar!
Ace Hotel & Swim Club - what can I say it’s cool for a reason and our friend Holly over at Battle Born Pins loves it!
There were definitely also a few cocktail bars we didn’t make it to that seem worth another trip!
I mean pretty much all of these places at The Parker
Truss and Twine - I’m convinced to go just by that funky little interactive cocktail timeline on their website!
We also want to make it to Modernism Week one year! For now though, we settled for the venerable Palm Springs Vintage Market! It was truly a dreamland. I can’t wait to go back!
Palm Springs Vintage Market
Other places we loved in Palm Springs
The High Bar rooftop pool bar at the Kimpton Rowan hotel downtown
Have you been to Palm Springs? What were some of your favorite places? Let me know in the comments below!
