The Los Feliz neighborhood on LA’s east side is known for its hip shops, cafes and hole-in-the-wall watering holes, now including Nossa Caipirinha Bar. With its minimalistic wooden bistro tables and colorful South American artwork, this unassuming neighborhood spot feels like you’ve stumbled into Old Havana or Miami in the ’50s. You could easily spend a lazy afternoon lounging here, or an evening out making a new friend at the bar, and you might just become a regular for the drinks on offer.
Opened in July 2022 by Last Word Hospitality—creators of Barra Santos and Found Oyster—the restaurant and bar is managed by partners Shannon Inouye and Steven Zakarian. Their cocktail list revolves around five signature caipirinhas—a cocktail made with a light Brazilian rum called cachaça—from the refreshing lime-forward original to a twist on the Mai Tai, here called the Mai Cai; the addition of cachaça to the dark Jamaican rum and orgeat brings lift and brightness to a sweet, sometimes heavy classic Tiki cocktail. If you prefer bitter to sweet, try bartender Graham Drake-Maurer’s Galo Rosa, a take on a negroni using cachaça and Cocchi Rosa—a fortified wine from brachetto d’Acqui. It’s a savory drink that can act as a digestif, a welcome ending after a plate of chicken thigh skewers, or coconut rice and chimichurri-topped steak frites. Executive Chef and partner Rory Cameron serve up South American comfort food, rich and tasty without any pretention. On Wednesdays, the bar offers a vinyl night from 7 to 11 pm, featuring Brazilian funk, tropicalia, jazz and disco.
Based in Los Angeles, California, Alissa Bica is the Associate Editor and Spirits Critic at Wine & Spirits. She is also a sommelier at 71 Above and co-runs the home wine tasting company, Côte Brune and Blonde. In any rare moments of free time, she writes about obscure grape varieties in the blog Off the Beaten Wine Path.
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