Spooky cocktails and atmosphere offered at Phoenix Halloween pop up bar

PHOENIX (AZ Family)—Get into the Halloween spirit at 36 Below. The spooky pop-up is below Sip Coffee and Beer near Indian School Road and 36th Street in the former UnderTow location.

There you will find everything that is scary, from the drinks, the decoration and the atmosphere.

Owner Josh Katz says the hidden bar started out as a greenhouse, which inspires many of the themes throughout the year.

“It is based on verse 36 of the book of Genesis, where it talks about the creation of man and how no tree or bush could grow because it was missing two key elements: water and someone to tend the garden. So as people walk down the lush staircase, they see our team working and tending to the garden,” Katz said.

Each theme lasts for about three months, but they are also redecorated for different holidays, including the entire month of October for Halloween.

In addition to new decorations, each new theme is also represented by new food, cocktails, lighting and graphics.

Katz emphasizes that this bar is completely different than it was before. After UnderTow moved locations in 2021, they redesigned the entire space, including adding commercial-grade virtual reality screens.

“We work with a creative technologist who custom builds what you see in the virtual windows using video game engine technology, so it’s pretty much the same technology and platforms that people play video games on, (like) Unity,” he said.

You can plan to see lots of zombies and other ghosts lurking around the bar during the Halloween theme.

36 Below is offering a cocktail collection, with three drinks exclusive to October.

“The most popular cocktail is the Wicked Watcher, which is our version of a gin and tonic with pomegranate and orgeat, which is almond syrup. It comes with the lychee and blueberry garnish inside, which gives it an eyeball appearance,” said Gevond Grigoryan, general manager at 36 Below.

The other spooky cocktails include The Wildfire, which is a smoked melon martini served in a round-bottomed flask. The Skull Crusher is a blood orange margarita served in a skull glass and garnished with fresh mint leaves.

The bar also offers several dishes that are encouraged to be shared. The homemade salmon sauce has an excellent balance of herbs and is served with pickled red onion and bagel chips.

Also consider the ham burrata dish that comes with smoked tomato-habanero jam and crackers.

For those who don’t drink, the bar offers mocktails and seasonal desserts. Now you can enjoy creamy coconut ice cream topped with chocolate shavings.

36 Below offers limited seating, but recommends making a reservation online. Thirty seats are available at the bar and a further 12 in the private room are available to rent.

Reservations can be made here.

36 Below

Location: 3620 E Indian School Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85018

Hours:

• Tuesday to Thursday: 5pm – 12pm
• Friday and Saturday: 4pm – 1am
• Sunday: 5pm – 12pm

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