Amazonia

Had a chance to visit Amazonia recently, which is a terrific addition to the "small bites" dining / cocktail scene on the Cleveland West Side. The place comes across as a speakeasy / cocktail bar and does it in spades with its food and drinks menu and even the venue itself. Don't know who put this business together, but they did a Helluva job as an intimate cocktail bar with a unique S. American influence. The secretive speakeasy aspect comes across as it is tucked away in a house just northwest of the intersection of Madison and Hopkins Ave.'s in Lakewood's east side (aka "Birdtown" neighborhood). The place does not have bright signage noting its location, but one needs to walk north past Hola Tacos small parking area on Hopkins Ave, follow the dark painted fencing, and duck through the opening in the fencing to the courtyard. Still not there yet... Walk through the small courtyard to the back of the house Amazonia is in and you'll see the steps to enter through the back door. Cool. Hidden. Just like one would expect of a speakeasy. Once in, the decor continues the speakeasy / cocktail theme: soft lighting, comfortable seating (some soft seating), small-ish 2-top and 4-top tables, Latin-themed music, and approx. 12 seats at the bar. Guessing there's a total of 25 seats on the on the lower floor; there's additional seating on the second floor, but since I didn't go there, don't know how many additional seats are there. The drinks and food menu is a very professionally done booklet, with descriptions of the more exotic specialty house cocktails made with spirits such as rum, rye, bourbon, gin, but with the addition of unique ingredients I learned that were found in S. America. Also offer traditional cocktails (e.g., martini's, Manhattan's, Old Fashions), beer, wines, along with their small item / shareable item menu of food. The specialty cocktails are worth a try just for the experience of trying something new, but if not interested, one can get a well-done traditional cocktail, or a glass of wine or beer. Tried the mushroom soup, guacamole dip, and ciabatta. All of them were excellent. While not a shareable item per se, the soup is terrific; a creamy base with flavorful mushrooms like they were sauteed in butter. The excellent dip and ciabatta were sizeable enough to pass as shareable items with your group as well as other items on the menu such as the tacos. They also have a traditional wood or gas pizza oven they offer shareable sized pizzas for 2-4 people to enjoy (next visit...). The attractive young ladies taking care of the guests came across as helpful but not intrusive; the young lady that took care of me at the bar was patient with all my questions about the two specialty cocktails I tried given their unique ingredients one would not see elsewhere. This is a great place to enjoy if you're enjoying date night or prefer a low-key evening with friends and want a break from the full-dinner restaurant experience.