A new destination for craft cocktails has emerged in Long Beach with Tokyo Noir, a speakeasy located down an alley behind El Barrio Cantina restaurant, with a glowing red lantern hung above its green door to help lead the way. Here, cocktails are created with the complexity and thoughtfulness of a multicourse tasting menu, including the umami-forward Dirty Soba that’s served in a soup bowl with a spoon, with bonito dashi, Iichiko shochu, buckwheat shochu, gin, sake vermouth and yuzu swirling inside and grated daikon as a garnish. Opened by co-owners Kevin Lee and Jesse Duron in late 2024, the bar pays homage to Japanese cocktail bars with whiskey, shochu, gin and umeshu all sourced from Japan. Even the crystal-clear blocks of ice bobbing in the cocktails are sourced from the Japanese city of Kanazawa.
