ETA Brings Craft Cocktails To Highland Park's Growing Bar Scene

Since Highland Park can't go more than two days without a new restaurant or bar opening, the guys behind The Greyhound have opened a new craft cocktail joint called ETA.

Located just down the street from their other bar, ETA is nestled on a hot stretch of Figueroa within spitting distance of Civil Coffee and the Highland Park Bowl, the latter of which, like ETA, is scheduled to open Friday.

"We opened ETA so close to The Greyhound for the same reason we opened The Greyhound here—we really love this community," co-owner Mateo Glassman—who started the place with James Bygrave (previously of Father's Office and Lukshon) and Ryan Julio—told LAist. "This isn't a boiler-plate answer either, it's just sincerity. We love the people, we love the sense of family in Highland Park, we love the energy we feel walking down Figueroa, and we love all the businesses around here."

Mauricio Canales, who also designed the cocktails of Santa Monica's Mercado and has worked with the Ace Hotel and Bar Ama, put together the deliciously lethal concoctions at ETA. Try the spritzy Over/Under, which is enlivened by a bit of sparkling wine. Or get shit faced from the Prettiest Girl of All Time, a deceptively lovely tequila concoction with leaves of purple perilla and lemon balm. We loved the Penultimate Word, a tangy, refreshing blend of gin, mezacal cucumber puree, green chartreuse, lime, a sprig of dill and a sal de gusano rim. Also great was Canales' favorite, the G&T Fizz, which includes gin, egg white and an aperitif called Byrrh Grand Quin Quina (look it up). If the way we feel this morning is any indication, all of them also are a lot stronger than they seem.

There's also a beer and wine list, as well as an "Adult Lunchable" if you're feeling peckish, with cheese, charcuterie and crackers.

The dark lighting and intimate size gives the place a vibe of a place you'd go to catch up with an old friend or for an end-of-the-night rendezvous. Sayre Ziskin of SVZ Design, who also did Now Boarding in West Hollywood, laid out the place, which includes murals, brick walls, and eclectic mid-century lighting and furniture arranged in small sitting areas. But Glassman and company also are trying to keep it real.

"When we opened The Greyhound, we never planned on it becoming a Dodger bar or this family restaurant," Glassman told LAist. "We just listened to the community and let them take us to where we are today... At the end of the day, we're going to listen and grow and try to remain as organic and true to this particular stretch of this particular community as we can."

ETA's not the first mixology place in the hood—La Cuevita, from Highland Park Bowl's 1933 Group, has been slinging mescal delights for a few years. As the team told Eater, the idea was to link the places together in a pub crawl, conveniently located steps away from the Gold Line (and amazing late night tacos from La Estrella). But beware of those cocktails—don't say we didn't warn you.

ETA is located at 5630 N. Figueroa St. in Highland Park, (323) 274-4755.