Blending local flavors with international techniques, lala offers a menu that turns every drink into an act of cultural celebration.
With a concept centered on shared moments and authentic Puerto Rican flavors, the restaurant lala, whose partners are urban artist Bad Bunny and his manager Noah Assad, has debuted its new cocktail menu, "El Brindis".
This collection of twelve drinks draws on the celebratory moments that honor Puerto Ricans who elevate the culture in the diaspora or achieve milestones beyond the Island.
José "Chuck" Rivera, the establishment's creative director, noted that "every Puerto Rican, when they leave Puerto Rico, makes themselves felt in different ways" in their professional field, their social environment, or by putting the country on the international stage.
"El brindis also opens you up to what a gastronomic experience is… A lot of people include drinks to mark something worth celebrating. Since lala is a restaurant for celebrating, why not add a toast?," said the project's lead, which is made up of 10 cocktail professionals.
Emphasis was also placed on highlighting local products, in collaboration with local farmers, in cocktails featuring mamey, pineapple, flowers that garnish the drinks, and plantain skin, a detail used to bring out the flavor of the cocktail "Mancha e plátano."
Puerto Rican flavor profiles
The twelve-drink menu, designed as a book, highlights its names with direct references to Puerto Rican slang, with titles such as "Bembé", "Tenki", "Piquete" and "Pichaera".
Menu highlights
Un Beso: It reflects the sunset with its vivid purples and oranges. It is an aperitif that opens the palate with refreshing flavors, inspired by the Aperol spritz. As a garnish, it comes with a gelification, or gelatin, based on the garibaldi cocktail. It pairs well with beet nigiri and is ideal for starting a dining experience.
Mancha e' plátano: It is a variation on an Old Fashioned, with a base of rum infused with banana and plantain, seasoned with coffee, cinnamon and allspice. It also includes aromatic and chocolate bitters. It is served in a plantain leaf folded in the shape of a pastel. It pairs with mofongo balls and beef jus. It is ideal for a dinner with a partner or a gathering with coworkers.
Piquete: For lovers of high-acid drinks, like a Bloody Mary, this cocktail is built on a green juice with tomatillo, green apple, cilantro and two tequilas: one reposado and one ghost pepper. It pairs with hamachi nigiri with salsa verde.
María: It is a pineapple and guava agua fresca with decaffeinated Ceylon tea. It contains no alcohol and is refreshing, especially paired with a house pineapple sorbet. It is recommended for a relaxed afternoon.
Gastronomy and art in every sip
In the El Brindis menu, each page dedicated to the cocktails is accompanied by a toast or short poem by poet Kidanny Acevedo and an artwork by various muralists, including David Zayas,Vero Rivera, Deider Díaz, Bik Ismo,Alexis Díaz, Bernardo “BeMe” Medina, and Rafique Vega.
The collaboration came about organically. According to Rivera, Acevedo was originally asked to write a poem incorporating the name and flavors of each drink, but the writer himself proposed the idea of writing a toast for each cocktail, inspired by the project's theme.
Those texts then served as inspiration for the artists to create a design connected to each cocktail.
"The cool thing about this is that it's a synergy that formed… Because we gave each artist the inspiration, but each one, every time they worked on their project, it went hand in hand," the experienced mixologist explained.
On Bad Bunny's residency
For Rivera, who is part of the bar team at lala, Bad Bunny's album "Debí Tirar Más Fotos" and "El Brindis" share a synergy across the arts, from music to gastronomy and from design to poetry, keeping the celebration of Puerto Rican roots as the main focus.
Next Friday, July 11, the historic residency of the singer from Vega Baja kicks off, and it is expected to generate an estimated economic impact of between $115 million and $200 million for the country.
The creative director also noted that, with more tourists and members of the diaspora community arriving on the Island, "no matter what industry you're in, we have to prepare ourselves to be ambassadors of our hospitality."
And for Rivera, part of that welcome comes from the joy of sharing a product that is synonymous with enjoyment and celebration.
"If people enjoy it, we enjoy it, and if we all enjoy it, let's raise a toast," he reflected.
To learn more about "El Brindis" or make a reservation, visit lalapr.com or call 787-598-9000.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
