{"id":477415,"date":"2026-09-27T13:46:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T13:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/477415\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T13:46:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T13:46:28","slug":"etra-is-l-a-s-newest-cocktail-destination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/477415\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00c8tra Is L.A.\u2018s Newest Cocktail Destination"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the \u00c8tra<\/a> team introduces new cocktails at their Melrose Hill restaurant next week, owners Andrew Lawson and chef Evan Algorri will breathe a sigh of relief. It\u2019s been a long road since the pair applied for California\u2019s highly competitive Alcoholic Beverage Control Priority Registration Drawing. The state\u2019s annual lottery drawing for a new liquor license allows Los Angeles restaurants to catapult from wine and beer into the realm of serving gin, rum, vodka, and other spirits. A license like this can be meaningful for a restaurant such as \u00c8tra, which has introduced its inaugural drinks menu to pair with the Cal-Italian fare that has made it so popular.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took a long time, but we got it,\u201d says Lawson. \u201cWe\u2019re excited. The story behind these drinks feels like a family affair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawson and Algorri tapped Republique\u2019s Thomas Eslinger (who is married to one of \u00c8tra\u2019s team members) to develop the drinks. The restaurant now has five cocktails for diners to try, with more to follow in the coming months. I recently got to try the elderflower spritz, which arrived light, herbaceous, and bubbly. The gin negroni paired shockingly well with a bluefin tuna crudo bathed in salsa macha Calabrese. As an alcohol lightweight, I typically avoid martinis<\/a>, but \u00c8tra\u2019s comes in a mini cicchetti size, both standard and dirty. After three sips, my martini prepared with vermouth, Meyer lemon, and green olive oil disappeared, and it felt splendidly refreshing.<\/p>\n

Diners can already sip \u00c8tra\u2019s new cocktails, but the official drinks menu launches the week of September 28 while the bartenders and staff get their bearings. If you\u2019re lucky enough to find Lawson behind the bar, ask him questions about the spirits and process. His longtime knowledge of wine and alcohol pairings, partnered with decades of hospitality service, shines through. As do Algorri\u2019s dishes (especially the spicy campanelle alla vodka with tiger prawns) on any given night.<\/p>\n

Lielle\u2019s is ready for its LA Times close-up<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Times<\/a> reviewer Bill Addison has strong praise for chef Marcus Jernmark\u2019s Lielle<\/a>, calling the Pico-Robertson restaurant the \u201cnew crown jewel of L.A. dining.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawry\u2019s new burger, fries, and milkshake, oh my!<\/p>\n

Lawry\u2019s the Prime Rib<\/a> will serve a collaborative meal with artist Gary Baseman and one of the region\u2019s most beloved brands, See\u2019s Candies. The Baseman Meal is a Prime Rib Burger ground on site, plus a hot fudge\u2013topped vanilla shake with sprinkles of See\u2019s Candies. After feasting on the burger and dipping fries into that shake, diners will leave with a print by Baseman. This special menu runs from September 30 until November 6 for $79. Make a reservation on Lawry\u2019s site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Support Los Angeles queer nightlife<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Times<\/a> published a piece asking a pointed question: why are queer L.A. nightclubs disappearing from Facebook and Instagram? Multiple Southern California clubs and event groups, including Downtown\u2019s Precinct<\/a> and Club Cobra<\/a>, rely on social media to promote their communities, and reported that their profiles were taken down. The accounts were later restored after the Times\u2019 story went live on September 22. If there\u2019s any takeaway, it\u2019s that now be the time for a return visit to these essential spaces<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the \u00c8tra team introduces new cocktails at their Melrose Hill restaurant next week, owners Andrew Lawson and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[5894,48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-477415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-intel","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/477416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}