Better Know A Bartender: Amanda Arebalo of Messhall Kitchen

"I like boozy, I like sweet."

Located in a historic building that was once a Brown Derby restaurant and the 1990s swing dancing nightclub The Derby, Messhall has become an important part of Los Feliz’ dining and drinking scene. To mark its tenth birthday, this Sunday Messhall will hold a block party in its parking lot. We sat down with Amanda Arebalo, Bar Director at Messhall Kitchen, to discuss party plans, Ted Danson, and of course her favorite cocktail.

Where are you from originally?

I’m originally from Wellington, Kansas. It’s a small farmtown. 

What brought you out here?

Dance. I grew up dancing and moved to L.A. to pursue dance. I started working in the restaurant industry as a side hustle and then it became my plan.

How long have you been bartending?

Fifteen years now.

You said you got into it as a side hustle, how did you fall into bartending within the service industry?

I worked at boutique hotels in L.A. I worked for Viceroy Hotel Group and at Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant inside the London in Hollywood. When I was working in the first boutique hotel, I learned bartending on the job from some senior bartenders. I was working the day shift at the time, and I was really interested in cocktails. It was kind of the beginning of the craft cocktail resurgence in L.A. and I was really into those frequenting bars like the Varnish and the Roger Room, so I was a fan more than anything. I learned on the job and was sort of self taught when it came to classics and crafts, as it wasn’t really widespread at that point. As it progressed, I started making menus for bars where I worked, but I never had a proper manager/director title until I worked for Messhall.

What did you do during the lockdown?

For the first couple weeks when everything was seriously shut down, I did what everybody else did: I did a lot of cooking, learned some TikTok Dances, watched a lot of TV. Once our take out really took off at Messhall, we were open for take out as soon as we could be and being able to sell cocktails to go was a big deal for us. I was back as soon as we were able to do that, batching up to go cocktails and also running our social media. I started running our social media at the beginning of 2020, right before lockdown. So I kept busy running the social media and cocktail programs.

Those are two very different sides of a coin.

It is, but it’s also very easy as I’ve been at Messhall for nine years now. Running our socials felt very organic for me, as I know our voice quite well. It’s not super difficult, it’s not like I’m doing it from the outside.

You’ve been at Messhall for nine years; what do you think makes it special?

I would say it’s very familial when it comes to staff and our regulars. We’re built into a very residential neighborhood, so there’s not a lot of foot traffic or outsiders coming in with the exception of when there’s shows at the Greek Theater. A lot of our regulars have become like family and our staff, many people have been there since the beginning, which is pretty rare in L.A. One time we did a cocktail menu that was based on our regulars. Secondly, we take our craft cocktail menu so seriously. Consistency is so important to us, and has been from day one to now. We want everything to remain consistent as far as quality; we make all our own juices and syrups.

You do a lot of themed cocktail menus, including a Harry Potter inspired menu and currently a travel based menu featuring drinks inspired by ports of call around the world, what have been some of your favorite themed menus?

The travel one is my baby, so that’s my favorite. When we first reopened we just did Messhall classics because we wanted the familiarity of people coming back in and having those classics they missed having during the pandemic. Then I rolled out this travel menu a little over a year ago now, so that’s close to my heart. It came about because obviously we all missed traveling and some of the cocktails are based on our hometowns as well because we missed our families and being able to go home. 

Messhall is in the last standing Brown Derby restaurant space. You have a Brown Derby cocktail on the menu, are there any other ways Messhall honors the building’s history?

Inside the restaurant we have a section we call the “car cafe” because cars used to drive up to the window there like it was a carhop. That brick wall has framed photos of the Brown Derby through history. The Cobb Salad, which we have on the menu, as well was created at the Brown Derby. 

So, Messhall turns ten this year and you’re having a block party this weekend (September 18th, 2022) to celebrate. What’s that going to look like?

We’re going to have the whole parking lot blocked off and we’ll have carnival games, a dunk tank, cornhole, and an inflatable slide for kids. We’ll have ten year anniversary shirts for sale and a raffle. We’ll have tables for food, free barbecue plates, and a bar garden area. 

Any special cocktails for the menu?

We’re going to pay tribute to the cocktails that have defined Messhall. The Amanda cocktail is one of them. I get asked all the time, is this your drink? It’s not, it’s a happy coincidence. It was on our very first menu when we opened, and I started a year in. Anyway, there will probably be four to five cocktail selections.

What’s one of the weirdest, funniest, or most interesting things you’ve seen on the job?

One of my pride and joy moments was when we hosted a private event, it was a Netflix premiere or something, and I served a drink to Ted Danson. That surrealness of serving the bartender from Cheers. It was very quintessentially L.A. Oddly, we have a framed photo of the Cheers bar because one of our regulars requested it. 

Finally, what is one of your favorite drinks, what do you like about it, and how do we make it?

Would you like it to be something from the menu?

Up to you, it can be something from the menu or just something you like to make offshift. 

I always say this to everyone, when I don’t know what I want to drink, but I know I want a cocktail, the Red Hook is my favorite old time drink. It’s very simple, just a Manhattan variation. I like boozy, I like sweet. We use Rittenhouse 100 Proof Rye, and I think there is no better rye to mix a cocktail with because it has legs and gusto to hold up to other ingredients. 

Do you know where the name comes from? I know Red Hook is a neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Yeah, there are a lot of Manhattan variants named after other boroughs and neighborhoods. There’s a Brooklyn and a Greenpoint that’s very good.

Red Hook

2 oz. Rittenhouse 100 Proof Rye

½ oz. Maraschino Liqueur

½ oz. Punt y Mes Sweet Vermouth

Stir with ice in a mixing glass, strain into a cocktail glass; serve without garnish.

Messhall4500 Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles. messhallkitchen.com