{"id":640389,"date":"2026-05-13T10:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/640389\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T10:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:25:08","slug":"6-asian-owned-bars-in-the-united-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/640389\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Asian-Owned Bars in the United States"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scotch and chrysanthemum tea may seem like an unlikely pairing, but at San Antonio bar Jue Let<\/a>, these ingredients come together in a signature cocktail called The Taipei Personality. For owner Jennifer Dobbertin, who was raised by a Chinese mother from Taiwan, the combination makes perfect sense: \u201cIt represents two things many of us grew up with: Scotch and tea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chefs in the United States have spent years reclaiming the nostalgic flavors of their childhood on the plate, and that same sensibility is now shaping drinks at Asian American\u2013owned bars across the country.<\/p>\n

Drawing on the flavors and traditions of their family histories, bartenders are putting their heritage front and center in both the drinks and design of their establishments. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s less about \u2018adding an Asian twist,\u2019 and more about pulling from real memories and taste experiences,\u201d says Derrick Li, owner of San Francisco\u2019s BlingPig Speakeasy<\/a>. Katrina Sobredilla, co-owner of New York City\u2019s Filipino-inspired bar Ligaw<\/a>, agrees: \u201cWe\u2019re no longer translating our culture to fit the room\u2014we\u2019re inviting people into it as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jue Let<\/p>\n

\"Tall<\/p>\n

Jue Let\u2019s Conventionally Attractive cocktail combines French aperitif Dolin Chamberyzette with lychee liqueur, strawberry syrup, lemon, and sparkling yuzu mineral water.<\/p>\n

Photo by John Paul Garrigues <\/p>\n

312 Pearl Pkwy, Bldg 2, Ste 2107, San Antonio, TX 78215 | View on Google Maps<\/a><\/p>\n

Chef Jennifer Dobbertin, a three-time James Beard Award semifinalist, had long planned to open a cocktail bar following the success of her restaurant, Best Quality Daughter<\/a>, in San Antonio<\/a>. The name came later, inspired by a little-known Cantonese private chef who once cooked for James Beard\u2019s family. In late 2025, Dobbertin opened Jue Let<\/a> in the city\u2019s Historic Pearl neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Every detail reflects Dobbertin\u2019s Chinese American upbringing\u2014from the bar\u2019s two private karaoke rooms to quirky touches in the maximalist design, such as the glittering, manicured chicken foot suspended from the ceiling. <\/p>\n

On the menu, Dobbertin favors the Divine Intervention: your spirit of choice, fresh lemon juice, sparkling water, and a cordial made from Osmanthus, a fragrant ingredient used in Cantonese dim sum. Each order arrives with a coin that unlocks a complimentary I Ching reading from the bar\u2019s fortune-telling machine.<\/p>\n

Ligaw<\/p>\n

\"Bartender<\/p>\n

Katrina Sobredilla opened the queer- and women-owned speakeasy Ligaw in August 2025.<\/p>\n

87 Ludlow St, New York, NY 10002 | View on Google Maps<\/a><\/p>\n

The recently opened Ligaw<\/a> on the Lower East Side of New York City is a lively subterranean lounge accessed by a pink stairwell, run by partners in love and life, Katrina and Leighann Sobredilla.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted it to feel like stepping into a home\u2014a safe, familiar place where you can exhale,\u201d says Katrina, a first-generation Filipino. The cocktails trace different stages of courtship and love. <\/p>\n

The subtly sweet First Kiss is named for the feeling Katrina had, after kissing Leighann, that she would always be part of her life. She also wished her grandparents, who were farmers in the Philippines, could have met her partner. \u201cEvery element in the drink comes from the land they worked and the life I grew up around\u2014ube, rice, sugarcane, and corn tea,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

After Ours<\/p>\n

2226 NE Broadway, Portland, OR 97232 | View on Google Maps<\/a><\/p>\n

More than a bar, After Ours<\/a> in Portland<\/a>, Oregon, considers itself a community hub. \u201cIt\u2019s for our people who\u2019ve been rocking with us over the years,\u201d says co-owner Richard V\u0103n L\u00ea, who runs the morning-to-night, vinyl-heavy space with fellow Vietnamese American hospitality veterans Kim Dam and Mikey Nguyen.<\/p>\n

The cocktails draw from their shared backgrounds, with nods to staple ingredients in many Vietnamese households. The house margarita is shaken with a tamarind\u2013fish sauce shrub, while the Saigon Old Fashioned is mixed with Hennessy, a spirit Nguyen loves so much he has it tattooed on his body. <\/p>\n

The food menu is inspired by nh\u1eadu, the Vietnamese tradition of bonding over shared plates and drinks, and includes a beef tartare finished with salted egg yolk, fish sauce, pickled shallots, and a rice cracker.<\/p>\n

Merai<\/p>\n

14 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02445 | View on Google Maps<\/a><\/p>\n

Opened in 2024, Merai<\/a> (\u201calcohol\u201d in Thai) is a sibling to the award-winning restaurant Mahaniyom<\/a> in Brookline Village. <\/p>\n

Though billed as a \u201cdive bar,\u201d Merai swaps the category\u2019s usual grubbiness for warm lighting, wood tables, and a wall-spanning mural by local artist Ponnapa \u201cGift\u201d Prakkamakul. The artwork depicts the Merai\u2019s five partners: Chompon Boonnak, Smuch Saikamthorn, Tanapon Authaiphan, Thanarat Kasikitthamrong, and Chayada Kornchuarat.<\/p>\n

The drinks draw on their Thai roots. The popular Wonka\u2019s Ticket riffs on an old-fashioned, blending coconut, Thai coffee, and pandan with Western notes of butter and cacao\u2014a concoction that, surprisingly, drinks like a liquid chocolate bar. The tequila-based Melon incorporates makrut lime leaves and cantaloupe syrup for a tropical, creamy profile.<\/p>\n

Indn<\/p>\n

\"Indn<\/p>\n

The menu at Indn revolves around chakhna\u2014Indian snacks designed to be eaten with a drink in hand.<\/p>\n

30 W 30th St, New York, NY 10001 | View on Google Maps<\/a><\/p>\n

At Indn<\/a> in New York City\u2019s NoMad neighborhood, co-owner Kanika Vij Bakshi\u2014who runs the concept with her husband, Simran Bakshi, and her father, Vicky Vij\u2014says the Indian cocktail and small-plates bar was founded to push past the \u201ccurry house\u201d stereotype. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to water down the flavors for a general audience,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s about taking ownership of our heritage and presenting it with the same level of craft as a high-end Japanese or European bar.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cheekily named Butterface is an homage to butter chicken. Made with ghee-washed mezcal and garam masala\u2013spiced tomato cream, the drink is crystal clear but unexpectedly rich. It pairs beautifully with savory small plates like the Lamb Keema Pao: sloppy joe\u2013style sandwiches filled with heavily spiced minced lamb.<\/p>\n

BlindPig Speakeasy<\/p>\n

\"Smiling<\/p>\n

Derrick Li\u2019s Blindpig operates a walk-ins-only policy, with patrons ringing a doorbell to await entry.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Blindpig Speakeasy<\/p>\n

1113 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109 | View on Google Maps<\/a><\/p>\n

BlindPig Speakeasy<\/a> in San Francisco\u2019s Lower Nob Hill neighborhood has all the classic speakeasy cues\u2014no signage, an unassuming facade, and password-only entry. Inside, however, are touches of owner Derrick Li\u2019s childhood in Guangzhou, China, including paper-fan menus with handwritten drink descriptions.<\/p>\n

Li cites Journey to the West, the seminal 16th-century Chinese novel, as a key inspiration for the beverage program: \u201cEach drink feels like a character or a moment from its world.\u201d Among his favorites is the signature Blind Pig, an ode to Zhu Bajie, one of the book\u2019s major characters, that taps into the flavors of pork-flecked mapo tofu. <\/p>\n

\u201cOn the nose, it\u2019s really soft\u2014like walking past a Chinese restaurant and catching that familiar aroma drifting out of the kitchen,\u201d Li says. Made with baijiu (a clear Chinese distilled spirit), mustard cream, and a house-made mapo tofu cordial, the cocktail \u201cstarts light and clean, then opens up into something more earthy, in a really nostalgic way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scotch and chrysanthemum tea may seem like an unlikely pairing, but at San Antonio bar Jue Let, these…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":640390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,176106,276483,2005,3,18223,38570,6999,5284,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-640389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-brookline","tag-multiple-destinations-exclude-from-guides","tag-new-york","tag-news","tag-portland","tag-round-up","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-francisco","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=640389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/640390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=640389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=640389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=640389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}