The Walker Inn first made its way onto L.A.'s cocktail scene in May 2015, offering adventurous imbibers an omakase drinking experience that included three cocktails curated to each guest's tastes. The crowd went wild—the Koreatown bar won multiple awards last year, even landing at #37 on the World's 50 Best Bars list.
Since then, the omakase menu has evolved, switching up themes every eight weeks and expanding to include five to seven drinks (the experience now costs $65). Last week, a brand new menu was revealed, and it's all about California's favorite fruit group: citrus.
If at first an entire menu based on citrus sounds a little dull to you, hear us out: it's pretty damn incredible. The menu starts with a Cara Cara "orange" wine, then moves onto libations like the Kumquat, a hot cocktail with a brown butter wash accompanied by three different tinctures that you can play with: cardamom, anise and cinnamon. There's also the Lee Tangerine & Sour Orange, a variation on a white negroni with Ford's gin, vermouth, seville oranges and an ice cube made from Lee tangerines.
The Ruby Red Grapefruit is a thing of beauty—essentially, a hollowed out half grapefruit, filled with aquavit, lemon and blended grapefruit, with a caramelized sugar and fennel grapefruit slice served on the rim. And the Mandarin? It just might be the menu's crowning glory, an orange julius-style drink based on the Fluffy Mandarin by Naren Young at NYC's Dante. It's creamy and smooth, accented by Fino sherry, and uses entire juiced mandarins.
"With this menu, we're making every single effort to use every part of the fruit," explains Devon Tarby, bartender and co-owner of the Walker Inn. In fact, the wine uses both the zest and the juice, marmalade is made from leftover citrus, and whole kumquats are being used (skin and all) when applicable.
If you're interested in experiencing the new citrus menu, make a reservation for 6, 8 or 10pm here. Not sure if you want to commit to the evening? Some of these drinks (the Cara Cara, the Lee Tangerine & Sour Orange) are also served in the lounge—where you will also, most likely, be able to get the occasional whiff of lemon or lime.
Take a look at the new menu (all photos by Katie Hoss):
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