Adult Beverages: Inventive cocktails at Irvine's Little Onion and Newport Beach's Gracias Madre

Dec. 16, 2019 7:56 AM PT

It’s been an eventful autumn for restaurant openings in Orange County. These days, you can’t expect to draw crowds in and keep them without a decent cocktail menu. Here are two new places that offer intelligent and inventive cocktails.

Little Onion Mexican Restaurant

Little Onion has been around for a couple of generations. In 1963, Lorin Reich bought a Red Onion in Hawthorne, transforming it into something unique and changing its name to the Little Onion.

It thrived. In 1972, he opened another Little Onion in Santa Ana, passing it on to his daughter, Lori.

She recently expanded to a second storefront in Irvine.

The 4,240-square-foot dining room, a renovated bank branch, can seat 150. It’s an impressive space with wrought-iron chandeliers, a bar made of black granite, and a portrait of Emiliano Zapata on the wall.

Little Onion has built a well-stocked bar, and its strength lies in a multitude of tequila and mescal drinks priced at $12 and under.

Favorites include the Champagne Margarita with tequila ($8), which is made with an in-house margarita mix and just a touch of champagne.

You’ll also find a wide selection of wine, Mexican beers and select craft beers. Fresh juice is used in all cocktails, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

IF YOU GO:

What: Little Onion Mexican Restaurant

Where: 14429 Culver Drive, Irvine (with a second location in Santa Ana at 110 West MacArthur Blvd.)

When: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays to Wednesdays; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Daily happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. with appetizer specials, $7 margaritas, $6 wines and $4 to $6 beers.

Information: (949) 316-4600; littleonion.com

Gracias Madre

In September, Gratitude Kitchen in Newport Beach closed for a major renovation. It reopened on Nov. 15 as Gracias Madre, and it’s much like its L.A. cousin: well-priced healthy Mexican food with a bar that goes to town with agave-based spirits of all kinds.

After its fourth anniversary, Gratitude’s owners decided to give locals more of what they wanted. The result: traditional food was emphasized, and margaritas and nachos climbed to the top of the list.

The boutique chain of restaurants that got its start in the Bay Area has three incarnations (Café Gratitude, Gratitude Kitchen and Bar and Gracias Madre) specializing in plant-based and organic foods.

The 4,300-square-foot Newport location has an intimacy that belies its size, with a private dining area that seats 20 and a patio that artfully hides the adjacent parking lot.

For cocktail lovers, this place is special. Craft cocktails are entirely based on tequila and mezcal.

How serious is this cocktail menu? They’ve created a detailed booklet that introduces you to their bar manager, Luis Del Pozo (also known as Bowtie Luis because of his haberdashery choices), a thoroughly professional and cheerful mixologist.

The handsome book includes en explanation of tequila vs. mezcal, lists flights of spirits and has an exhaustive menu of 67 tequilas and 65 mezcals.

It even touches on the politics of the spirits industry: the restaurant refuses to serve spirits made with the diffuser technology because of environmental concerns that are explained at length in the book.

It’s a fascinating read if you’ve got the time.

Luis’ current cocktail recommendations:

Fresa So Clean ($15): strawberry, rose, lemon aquafaba and blanco tequila

Quinceañera ($15): passion fruit, ancho chili, lime, orange, blanco tequila, chipotle, lemon and Peychaud’s Bitters

Going Primal ($16): barrel-aged tequila, banana syrup, Aztec Chocolate Bitters, Angostura Bitters and “fostered” bananas

IF YOU GO

What: Gracias Madre

Where: 1617 Westcliff Drive, #112, Newport Beach

When: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays to Sundays. Brunch: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Happy Hour: 3 to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays

Information: 949-386-8100, graciasmadre.co

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