Inside the Long Beach tiki bar Bamboo Club, a warm orange glow spills from string lights and flickering lamps, reflecting off wood walls and cobwebs stretched across the ceiling. Plastic skulls and masks peek out from behind bottles, while a faint fog drifts through the space as if the air itself has absorbed the spirit of October. Outside, the sun is still high, but within these walls, day feels like night. It’s easy to forget where you are once you step inside. That feeling is exactly what the bar leans into this season.
The mood calls to mind the myth of the Lotus-Eaters, travelers who tasted a fruit so intoxicating they lost all sense of time and place. “It’s very fun,” says beverage director Dustin Rodriguez, who’s been with the bar since it opened in 2019.“We like to get down with the tropical drinks and have a good time.”
This month, Rodriguez and his team have reimagined their menu around classic horror. The cocktails are “loosely inspired by the universal monsters: Dracula, Mummy, Werewolf, Frankenstein, the early years of horror on film,” he says. The Bamboo Club’s spooky cocktail menu has become a Halloween tradition. Rodriguez said the team has introduced a new-themed lineup each October for the past few years, keeping regulars excited about what’s next.
One of his favorites is the Ecto Cooler, a bright green “Slimer-influenced cocktail from Ghostbusters,” as he describes it, made with green apple, kiwi, coconut tequila, and Belizean rum. Another is the blood-red Batman Rising, a lychee daiquiri with hibiscus and cinnamon. And for those who prefer something moodier, there’s Spirits of Darkness, “our tribute to Ozzy Osborne, the Prince of Darkness,” Rodriguez says. “It’s champagne, navy-strength rum, peach liqueur, and cinnamon simple syrup. Really nice.”
Later, Rodriguez invited me behind the bar to try mixing one of the Halloween cocktails myself: Dead and Loving It, a chocolate-and-raspberry piña colada inspired by Dracula. He talked me through each step, laughing when I overfilled the jigger. “That’s solid,” he says as we added crushed ice and topped it with vampire teeth. The drink tasted like October should: sweet, strange, and a little over the top.
Even the crowd feels part of the spectacle. “I’ve been coming to Bamboo since they opened,” says Tara Deaton, a regular seated near the bar with a black drink in hand. “It’s like a dive bar, but with a good vibe. The crowd’s always great, you can make friends here every time.” Her favorite Halloween drink, Creature Feature, is “similar to their Painkiller,” she says. “It’s got a little activated charcoal, which is what gives it that black color. And I’m partial, because I’ve got my own little Creature from the Black Lagoon tattoo.”
On Saturday nights, the creatures come to life in the form of burlesque dancers. One of them, Luna Lovelee, has been performing burlesque since 2018. “I’ve always been interested in vintage glam showgirls,” she said. Lovelee started performing at the Bamboo Club when a friend invited her to join a Valentine’s Day show. “Now that we have our Halloween residency, Trick or Tease is here at the Bamboo Club,” she said. “We just have this awesome partnership: spooky drinks, girls dancing, and custom costumes.”
The burlesque show is a seasonal addition, created just for the Bamboo Club’s Halloween lineup. Each show brings a twist: new themes, music, and choreography so that no two nights feel the same. One weekend, dancers rotate through the bar and patio, dressed as classic Halloween icons, performing together to 80s hits. Next, they might switch things up entirely, blending new costumes, sets, and spooky energy that make each weekend feel new.
Their show isn’t the kind of performance that stays on stage. “It’s almost like strip go-go dancing where we have someone stationed in every area of the club,” Lovelee says. “At 10:00, the song comes on, and all of us just start dancing at the same time in our little areas. Then at 10:30, we do that again.”
She described the crowd as alive and responsive. “Sometimes you’re dancing and people just want to eat,” she laughs. “But here, it’s not like that. Everyone’s vibing. There was a birthday party last night, and I swear, that table had the best night they’ve ever had in their entire life.”
For her, the joy comes from connection. “Every time I come here, I leave with new best friends,” Lovelee adds. “The vibe here is just so awesome. The drinks are so big. The owners are incredible. They really work with other small businesses around the area. I love this place and I love seeing it thrive.”
Back at the bar, Rodriguez adjusts a garnish on a bright green drink topped with mint. He looks up and smiles. “Every time we launch a new menu, the people come out,” he says. “We’ve become pretty well known in the world of tiki and tropical cocktails. People are excited when new things happen here.”
The bar’s spooky cocktail menu and burlesque nights won’t last forever; they’re here only through November 2. So if you want to catch the glow, the fog, and the magic for yourself, this is your moment. Inside, between the flicker of the lamps and the laughter rising from the tables, the spirits feel both literal and figurative, proof that for a night, at least, everyone believes in a little bit of magic.