Porzana & Flora Room.

THE SHORT VERSION

For cocktails, I’m sitting upstairs.

If I’m heading to this corner of the North Loop for cocktails, I’m skipping the Flora Room wait and grabbing a seat at the bar at Porzana. If you’re after a darker, clubbier night with drinks and a little theater, I can see the appeal downstairs. For the kind of cocktail experience I love, though, I’m sitting upstairs.

First, some love where it’s due: I’m a huge fan of Daniel del Prado’s restaurants. The ones I’ve visited have been fantastic, and Porzana might be my favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities. He’s helped make this a much more exciting place to eat and drink. That’s part of why my experiences in these two rooms felt so different.

And let’s get something straight: I love a batch cocktail. Most recipes here have a batching option for a reason. If I’m having more than a few people over or bringing drinks somewhere, I’m probably batching. It helps a busy restaurant get good drinks out quickly, and it can open up techniques that are harder to pull off one glass at a time. Batching absolutely has a place.

But when cocktails are the main event, I want some conversation with the person making mine. Tell me about the spirit. Help me find a variation. If a substitution won’t work, suggest something that will. That back-and-forth is a big part of what makes a great cocktail bar worth seeking out.

At Flora Room, the menu was beautiful and the drinks weren’t bad. But when I asked about a substitution, the answer was a flat no. There was no offer to check with the bartender or find another drink that got at what I wanted. With the pre-batched approach I encountered there, I missed that flexibility. At other del Prado restaurants, I’ve been offered alternatives: maybe they can’t change that particular drink, but they’ll help me find something I’ll love.

Upstairs at Porzana, that’s exactly the experience I’ve had. The bartenders have been knowledgeable, happy to work with substitutions, and fun to explore drinks with. Lately, that’s meant following my funky-daiquiri obsession through different rums and seeing where the conversation takes us. I’ve had some incredibly tasty cocktails along the way.

Add the incredible food, and Porzana is an easy recommendation from me. Flora Room has its own appeal for a night out. But if what you want is a seat at the bar, a good conversation about what’s in your glass, and a drink that feels made for you, you’ll find me upstairs.

My pick: a seat at Porzana’s bar. Go for the cocktails and the conversation; stay for the food.