East Village Halloween bars: tiki horror at Paradise Lost, ghosts on East 9th Street

Two East Village bars are going all in on Halloween this October. Paradise Lost is a year-round tiki bar with a horror theme, and The Haunting is a monthlong takeover of The Cabinet Mezcal Bar on East 9th Street.

Paradise Lost: Halloween tiki cocktails in the East Village

Kavé Pourzanjani, who owns and manages Paradise Lost, opened it in 2023 as an upscale tropical cocktail spot. Its look draws on B horror movies, punk rock and EC Comics, the publisher of “Tales from the Crypt.” Pourzanjani said he wanted to skip the usual tiki trappings and explore the less familiar sides of the genre.

“October is easily our busiest time of year,” he said. He added that weekends usually come with a long wait list.

The menu lists 25 house cocktails, plus eight more served only in October and November. Pourzanjani said each drink uses fewer than 12 ingredients. One favorite, the Pumpkin Pie Tie, starts with Ron Del Barrilito 2 Star and rums from Jamaica, Venezuela and Martinique. Pumpkin spice and Sichuan peppercorn go in next, along with a gardenia mix made with maple and brown butter. He said he hopes to always keep Halloween open to the public with no cover charge or ticket fee.

The Haunting on East 9th Street

A short walk away, The Cabinet Mezcal Bar has traded its usual decor for ghosts and goblins, for this month only. The themed drinks include a mezcal “clown pear-anoia” and a whiskey “poison apple,” and some come in skull-shaped glasses.

Cocktail expert Mandy Naglich, author of “How to Taste: A Guide to Discovering Flavor and Savoring Life,” said part of the fun of Halloween bars is that they only last a limited time.