Cowboys & Poodles — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

Speakeasy in Costa Mesa! It’s located in the Camp, on the backside near Salty Bear. There’s a parking lot right there in the back. You can walk through the front door if it’s early. If the door is locked, you will knock and someone will open the door window to check your ID. Once you walk through the first door, you will enter through a second door to your right. The bar is an eclectic western theme and very dark inside. It’s a friendly place with great drinks, knowledgeable bar staff. Small place though with limited seating, so not recommended for large parties. If you go late it can get crowded. There may be a wait. They always have live DJs with good mixed sets. Drinks are average $20+ (but worth it).

When we first went to this bar, we met a bartender named August. He was very charming and friendly. But what really made him stand out was that he was extremely knowledgeable as a mixologist. We’ve had many disappointing experiences with other cocktail bar bartenders/mixologists. They were either hesitant to go off menu, have poor assessment of your taste, or didn’t understand the concepts of curating a balanced cocktail (without just following a recipe). August always hit the mark and would ask for feedback. Every time we told him what we wanted and asked him to make bartenders choice, he’d get creative we’d appreciate. My bf is getting into mixology and loves making conversations with bartenders to learn more. August also remembers clients by name! So every time we’ve been back, we’d try to go early enough to chat with August. We recommend stopping by and checking...

If you're ever in the area of The Camp in Costa Mesa, make sure you check this spot out. Enter through the front door. If the door is locked, knock and have your identification ready. Once verified, you walk through the main entrance and pass through a secondary door. The bar is western themed, with a flavor of poodles, hence the name. This is a craft cocktail spot, and fresh ingredients is prepared in-house. The bartenders here are steps above your average bartender, as drinks are well balanced. The bartenders do work off menu, but please refrain from a Captain and Coke or vodka cranberry, and of course, that dreaded Fireball. Step out of your comfort zone and taste the flavors! The staff is very personable and more than accommodating. The ambiance is very cool! Kick back and enjoy the moment! Cocktails only, so plan solid sustenance...

Was stoked to try CM’s newest “speakeasy,” but was overall just a Meh experience. The decor is fun and the western vibe is refreshingly unique, but the place is VERY small. They tried to force the hidden “speakeasy” feel by putting a hallway and second door behind the exterior entrance. There’s windows, a sign, and a decorated door that are all visible from the outside. Maybe I’m being a speakeasy purist here, but I’m not sure this really qualifies IMO. Plus the space in that hallway could have been very useful to increase the size of the actual bar. DJ’s set selections were on point, but the music was WAY WAY too loud for such a small place. Cocktails were above average, but way overpriced and while there were 4 people working, only 1 bartender so the wait was very long even though we were...