Published Aug. 5, 2026at6:00am
Elmer Mejicanos has built beverage programs around low-alcohol cocktails, pizza pairings, and Girl Scout cookies. Now, one of the city’s most ambitious mixologists is taking on a classic: the martini.
The project allows Mejicanos and his business partner Adam Rosenblum a chance to pivot after an unexpected setback. Their boozy homage to Jewish delis, Super Mensch, closed in May, and the duo had to find another use for the postage-stamp-sized annex to their Marina restaurant Causwells. It was previously home to Lilah, another short-lived project that focused on low-proof drinks. Now, Fridays through Mondays, it functions as a full-service overflow area for the ever-busy Causwells. But on Tuesdays through Thursdays, it will be Causwells Martini Room (opens in new tab), a forum for Mejicanos to showcase the greatest hits from his ever-evolving cocktail lists.
The menu is simple. There are three categories of martini — dry, bright and juicy, and savory — with three options each, plus a single appetizer, entree, and dessert. It’s built for date nights and midweek catch-ups with friends, Mejicanos says. “If two people show up, you can build a full dinner: the full menu, plus two to three martinis. You’ll be so happy.”
He’s dusting off drinks his fans have been requesting for years. Under the “dry” column, the Causwells Martini features gin, eucalyptus bitters, and a white-peach balsamic vinegar, served in a mini bathtub as a play on Prohibition-era moonshine. In the “bright and juicy” category, the Clarified Cosmo combines orange-leaf-infused vodka, French orange liqueur, and organic white cranberry juice. As a garnish, the team dissolves a segment of mandarin orange in pectin to remove the pith, and the result is a clear, acidic cocktail with a burst of citrus at the end. “It tastes like a cosmo, but it looks like a Gibson,” Mejicanos says.