Hopping a last-minute flight to Marrakesh or Tokyo might be a little steep, and ditto a jaunt to Andalusia, but for those of us with international tastes and next to no drop-everything-and-go funds, there's Vacation Santa Ana, Orange Country's travel-inspired bar.
“We were walking the space and talking about the food and drinks and things that inspire us,” says co-owner Chris Parker. “We kept saying, ‘We want something that feels like we're going on vacation.’”
From the drinks to the palm trees to the prints on the furniture, the bar feels tropical and cheeky—see also: marijuana-leaf printed banquette seating—within its industrial space at 204 West 4th Street. Just don't call it a tiki bar. The beverage program, designed by Gaby Mlynarczyk of Accomplice Bar, brings global flavor to Santa Ana's historic downtown district, and each cocktail is made with a destination in mind. London's cocktail mixes blackberry with gin, sparkling rosé, lemon and vermouth, while Islay's features black salt, Islay whiskey, chocolate, sherry, spices and pineapple, and Tokyo's involves sake, green tea, aquafaba, pear eau de vie and peach Calpico. Even Santa Ana has its own cocktail, with aquavit, carrot, cardamom, Aperol, lemon and pineapple.
“We're trying to make it very approachable—we didn't want to make it feel pretentious or too nice,” says Parker. “Just approachable and fun. We're not taking ourselves too seriously. We don't want people who come in to take themselves too seriously, either.”
You won't find a lengthy food menu but Aron Habiger, former chef de cuisine of Petit Trois, has happily created a bar-snack menu that's just as internationally-tinged as the cocktails: find chicken chicharrón quesadillas; a Cubano sporting twice-cooked pork belly; Cusco ceviche with shrimp, sea bass and purple sweet potatoes, among other dishes.
“I tried to create a neighborhood hang,” says Parker, a resident of the area. “I just made a place that I would love to go back to more and more, and would love to attract people either already in the neighborhood, and maybe people who are on the fence about making the trip to Santa Ana and this will complete their experience.”
Photograph: Jakob Layman
Photograph: Jakob Layman
Vacation Santa Ana opened last month at 204 West 4th Street in downtown Santa Ana, and is now serving cocktails and bites from 5pm to midnight Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, and from 5pm to 2am Friday and Saturday.