Culebra
Culebra sits at the bottom of this list only because it opened in April 2026 — the bones are strong enough that it will climb.
The bar drops into the basement of Lonesome Rose on Logan Square Boulevard and announces itself immediately: narrow, dark, loud with bomba music, and organized entirely around Caribbean and Latin American spirits with Puerto Rican flavors pushed deliberately to the front. Garcia-Gonzalez built the concept as both a drinks program and a statement about whose tastes get centered in a neighborhood that has gentrified considerably since anyone first put a bar there.
The cocktail list runs to rum swizzles with a spicy kick, a Malta beer highball, and a plantain shot that has no business being as good as it is. The kitchen sends small plates up from Lonesome Rose — a jibarito on fluffy French bread, a rice crab cake — calibrated for sharing at 1 a.m. Culebra stays open until 3 a.m. on Fridays. Come on a weekend, arrive after midnight, and let the room show you what it is.
- A rum swizzle with house spice
- The Malta beer highball
- A plantain shot
