Honeycomb Cocktail Lounge serves beautiful libations in a speakeasy atmosphere.
Walk down the alleyway off First Street between Locanda Wine Bar and the Holiday decor shop, find the hidden entrance, and whisper the “secret,” ever-changing password. Only then will you be transported to Honeycomb Cocktail Lounge, a new speakeasy-style bar from the owners of Sons of Liberty Alehouse, located next door.
With a vibe and look out of the American art-deco era and intricate libations made with top-shelf liquor, Honeycomb is a long way from Livermore’s beer-and-a-whiskey cowboy roots. “That Prohibition era was very glamorous,” says Tom Lawrie, who masterminded the establishment with his wife, Teresa. “I think a lot of people like dressing up and having themed parties and dinner nights, and this gives them the opportunity to do that.”
These days, the artful approach is far from the exception in a city whose cocktail scene continues to evolve in intriguing directions. Earlier this year, the Last Word morphed into the Syndicate, featuring a similar Prohibition-era motif. Beer Baron transformed into the Fat Pigeon, which rotates themes and drink menus every few months. The Black Cat lounge mixes inventive cocktails with such ingredients as bone marrow fat-washed bourbon, dill oil, aquafaba, and citrus marmalade, while Nightcaps by Rosetta hosts Flapper Fridays and Sinatra Saturdays among other weekly motifs at the café’s evening cocktail and dessert pop-ups. This isn’t to say the city has completely abandoned its heritage: Stampede, a country bar complete with line dancing, mechanical bull riding, and its own distillery, launched recently on First Street.
“One thing about Livermore,” says Lawrie. “It’s a great drinking town.” honeycomblounge.com.