Here are four fantastic after-dark destinations you’ve likely never heard of.
YNK
18000 Von Karman Ave, Irvine, CA 92612
YNK, tucked behind Floe Lounge at the Irvine Marriott Airport, offers cocktails for cocktail connoisseurs in a super-cool setting mixing screens and eclectic artifacts—it’s like a cocktail journey through time. My favorites? The Miso Honey Butter Corn with bourbon and the elegant rum riff Guava Chiffon Pancake—both have to be tasted to be believed. What’s YNK stand for? You Never Know!
Hijinx Hotel
517 Spectrum Center Dr, Irvine, CA 92618
Hijinx Hotel, where you play, not stay, and adjoining Holey Moley mini-golf, both new at Irvine Spectrum Center, are unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. Let’s just call them … unusual. Suite 404 is the hotel’s speakeasy. It’s on the 8th floor—only there is no 8th floor. How do you get in? Maybe take a photo in the photo booth and see what happens. Don’t tell anyone! Top-selling cocktail? The Watermelon Fling.
The Bow Room
860 Spectrum Center Dr, Irvine, CA 92618
Hidden behind the center’s Hello Kitty Café is the Bow Room. Everything is pink, everything is cute, and everything is Hello Kitty-themed, even the cocktails. Let’s Taco ’Bout Hello Kitty, a tequila-mezcal tiki drink, arrives in a ceramic Hello Kitty cup. Picture Perfect brings vodka, strawberry popping boba—and a Polaroid of you! The food offerings are dessert only, making it the ideal finish to an evening out.
Cozy Pine
6735 Quail Hill Pkwy, Irvine, CA 92603
Cozy Pine, a campground-themed nook hidden inside Bacchus Bar & Bistro, is transitioning to a Dia de Los Muertos theme. Skulls, and maybe a sombrero’d coyote, will enhance an already highly unusual décor including a singing fish on the wall. The creative bar fare won’t change—hanger steak tacos and churro affogato already star—but the margarita offerings will expand considerably.
