Do the bustling streets of the Downtown LA concrete jungle leave you looking for a little tranquility? A visit to a craft cocktail bar within a barn from 1914 might just do the trick. Within the hip Downtown Arts District neighborhood is Bar Mateo by Proprietors LLC.
Bar Mateo is located at Zinc Cafe & Market. Since May 2014, Zinc Cafe & Market has been serving guests breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner from their open kitchen to their olive-tree-lined courtyard. In addition, prepared foods at the marketplace such as salads, entrees, appetizers and desserts ensure that the Zinc experience can be continued from the comforts of home.
Bar Mateo brings craft cocktails to the location. Featuring an endearing atmosphere with a zinc-topped bar and an open-air patio, this mixology lounge will help you find a little peace in the city.
The menu at Bar Mateo features a diverse selection of beer, wine, cocktails, and bar bites, as well as delicious desserts. On the draught side of things, the menu features everything from tangy Tin City Polly Dolly rose cider to the rich Port Mongo American IPA. Wines include sparkling, red, white, and rosé from a wide breadth of locales such as Italy, France, Napa Valley, and Santa Barbara.
The stars of the show, however, are Bar Mateo’s craft cocktails. With spirits such as vodka, gin, rum, tequila, mezcal, brandy, bourbon, rye, Scotch and Amaro, you can imagine the diversity of tastes and flavors that are on offer. House cocktails include “Salty,” featuring loft & bear vodka, scotch, lemon, kimino yuzu, cholula, and salted foam, “Sweet,” a combination of Wyoming Outryder, Alessio Chinato, fig jam, lemon, and chocolate fig, and “The Local,” a mix of Ventura Opuntia, Amaro Angeleno, pineapple shrub, Mixwell ginger ale, and lemon. Classic cocktails such as martinis, old-fashioneds, and margaritas are also on offer. Featured libations include “Don’t Call Me Honey” a mix of wilder gin, opuntia, aloe water, cucumber juice, and honeydew juice.
All of these beverages pair well with Bar Mateo’s Bar Bites which include Zinc French Fries, double fried fries tossed with thyme. Desserts such as Affogato, Tiramisu, Panna Cotta, and Italian Almond Tea Cake are sure to end the night on a high note. Additionally, Mateo hosts happy hours Monday through Friday from 4 pm to 7 pm with $9 cocktails, $5 beer, $7 wine, and a discounted bar menu.
Perhaps what makes Bar Mateo so unique is its collegial atmosphere. Not too big, not too small: this olive grove hideaway is perfect for late afternoon meetups with friends and good vibes. Hidden away in the Arts District, every trip to Bar Mateo is a little escape. Sitting amongst the vintage barn, string lights, and patio chairs it would be easy to forget you are in the middle of downtown. The combination of upbeat atmosphere, craft beverages, and fresh foods make certain that every little trip to Bar Mateo is an immensely enjoyable one.
Bar Mateo is located at Zinc Cafe & Market, 580 Mateo St., Los Angeles. www.zinccafe.com
