If you’ve ever wanted to escape Phoenix’s dry desert landscape for the tropical vibrance of a place like Miami’s Little Havana, you’ll soon be able to do just that without ever leaving the Valley. Introducing Coabana, a new Cuban-inspired cocktails and tapas lounge from Whining Pig Enterprises, Phoenix New Times reports.
Coabana will be neighbors with Pigtails, another Whining Pig Enterprises concept located on Washington Street at CityScape in downtown Phoenix. Pigtails also has a location at Desert Ridge Marketplace, where Kyla Hein has been at the helm of the speakeasy’s cocktail program for several years.
Hein has been tapped as the operating owner and beverage director for Coabana, which is scheduled to open in October. Whereas Pigtails’s speakeasy vibe offers a dark, moody interior, Coabana will be a bright, tropical space with pink and yellow tiling, plus a walk-up service window.
Big enough to accommodate 50 guests, Coabana will have a cocktail menu that includes a build-your-own mojito section. The tapas selection includes shareable plates such as croquettes, plantains, and Cubanos.
Hein tells Phoenix New Times that she was inspired by a recent trip to the Little Havana neighborhood in Miami, Florida. “We wanted to do something that was very traditional and almost kitschy… We had such a cool experience (in Miami) and came back with so many recipes,” she says.
For updates, follow @coabanaphx on Instagram.
