The first time I visited Liquid Diet, I had to ring a friend to give me detailed directions. Admittedly, I was lost. This new Arts District gem is tucked in an alley between Main and Commerce where graffiti murals and dim lighting are the only hints that you’re nearing arrival. But two large rolling gates mark the spot, and the first sip of my mezcal apple cocktail made the journey worth it.
Liquid Diet didn’t mean to become a speakeasy. As a matter of fact, co-owners Bret Pfister and Patrick Mannion are not in favor of buttoned-up bars that require a special word for admittance. But the two are loving the voyage guests are having to take, and their witchy house party concept and shifting menu pack enough buzz to keep people coming back.
On this day, they’re closed to the public and running around preparing for a private party. Mannion’s every move around the large kitchen island is strategic and calculated. Pfister is chatting excitedly about the evening’s affairs. The space is utilitarian yet fanciful and leads the eyes to wander.
“Patrick and I both had pretty long, intense careers, which is exactly what gave us the tools to do this,” says Pfister. The two are New England natives who met in a youth circus group over 25 years ago, and although their careers took separate paths, their creative connection never died.
In 2017, Pfister moved to Vegas to perform in The Miss Behave Gameshow at what was then Bally’s, a show that closed after the pandemic, jumpstarting Pfister’s path into hospitality—first as a host at Discopussy and then as a bartender at Oddfellows.
Mannion is an industry veteran with a culinary career that spans years of practice and miles of global travel. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, lived in France for an internship, cooked in Michelin-star restaurants and worked as a private chef on yachts.
After planning, discussing, contemplating and eventually “just saying f**k it,” they set about opening their own bar. In 2021 they signed a lease on an old Downtown auto body shop, went through all the permits and permissions, broke ground and gutted the building. After months of work, we’re now met with an open cocktail kitchen, indoor lounge area and a sprawling patio.
“House party was too broad of a term to get the design aesthetic,” says Pfister. “So what it spiraled into was, what if you’re at a house party that was at a house owned by a group of fun witches?” He plays with the contrast of living and deceased elements. Sprawling tree branches hang above the sitting area while live edge tables, mismatched furniture and avant garde artwork give guests plenty to explore.
Mannion’s background shines through in the cocktail ingredients. Syrups, sodas and juices are all made fresh daily. He even opted for hand-cut ice over machine-made cubes.
“I’m a chef and I wanted to get rid of the back bar where bottles collect dust,” says Mannion. “It gives me space to fresh-press everything and gives a better visual into how the sausage is made, for lack of a better term.”
He recalls peeling bananas the night before, blending them with bourbon and balancing them in buckets before sending them into the centrifuge blender. Guests seated at the bar were able to witness bourbon and bananas become a clarified liquid.
This attention to detail is paramount and forces menu updates but also ties back into the house party idea. Pfister explains that options are limited at those kinds of gatherings and people must ask, “What do you have?” rather than requesting, “Make me this.” Using this method encourages guests to explore and trust their bartenders.
And it seems to be working. One of the more daring drinks, the horseradish shot, is quickly becoming a local favorite—and as memorable as discovering Liquid Diet in the first place.
LIQUID DIET 1415 S. Commerce St., instagram.com/liquid.diet.dtlv. Wednesday-Sunday, 5 p.m.-1 a.m.
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