The First Distillery to Open in Long Beach Arrives This Week

Long Beach’s brand new distillery, Portuguese Bend, opens on June 18. The nearly 4,000 square foot space is quite a presence on the corner of The Promenade North and Third Street in Downtown Long Beach, which takes inspiration from the Portuguese Bend section of Palos Verdes, a historic place for booze smuggling during the Prohibition Era.

With a double batch, 600-gallon system, Portuguese Bend distills its own gin and vodka, and plans to introduce rums and other spirits in the coming months. In addition to a full bar and restaurant, Portuguese Bend offers tastings, educational classes, bottles for sale, as well as beer and wine. There’s even a classic cocktails menu dating from 1916 to 1941 with classics like Satan’s Whiskers, Millionaire, Vieux Carre, Sidecar, and Aviation with gin, maraschino liqueur, crème de violette, and lemon juice.

Portuguese Bend jumps right out of the gates with lunch, dinner, and brunch today. The menu is filled with West Coast and Southern food specialties like burgers, fried chicken, and a recurring prime rib dinner every Tuesday. There’s a rotating dessert menu with seasonal pies, cakes, milkshakes, and sundaes.

Portuguese Bend’s owners have a long history within Long Beach. Lola’s Mexican Cuisine and Social List proprietors Luis and Brenda Navarro, as well as Jim Leatherman and Josh Johnson of Long Beach menswear brand, Port LBC, are partners in the project. Simon Haxton is the distiller, as well as an engineer at Boeing. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Portuguese Bend. 300 The Promenade North, Long Beach, CA

• A Distillery and Prohibition-Era Restaurant Dock at Downtown Long Beach in 2018 [ELA]
• The 17 Essential Long Beach Restaurants, 2018 Edition [ELA}