A NICE POUR

Pour Destino, a cozy speakeasy in Hinsdale, channels the enduring allure of the global cocktails and the glories of the Spanish table.

Who would’ve expected one of the more enchanting Spanish menus of recent vintage to be hiding in an eight-table speakeasy located in the back of an Italian hoagie shop in Hinsdale?

Finding Pour Destino isn’t as difficult as tracking down Brigadoon in the foggy Scottish Highlands, but having your Google Maps whisper directions to you on the walk there is advisable. A rough overview: You’re going to head down Second Street, cut through the parking lot bordering Rea Skin Spa, then slip into the narrow alley behind Pronto Sandwiches. Look for a green sign with giant looping letters that reads P&D. That’s the door you’re looking for.

Though owners Collin Ringelstetter and Joseph Guerino have marketed Pour Destino as a chic Chicago cocktail bar that happens to have a suburban address, the spirit of the place strikes me as far more Iberian in nature. It gives off the same easy-going vibes as a family-run tapas bar in Barcelona or a classy pintxo counter in San Sebastián. Here’s the playbook that Pour Destino is advancing: You’re going to sip some cocktails, snack on spiced nuts, and then spend the rest of the evening trying to talk yourself—unsuccessfully in our case—out of ordering every single item on the menu.

You’ve, no doubt, enjoyed a small-plate experience like this before. You assume you’ll dabble but wind up gorging. Order the tuna tartare (lacquered with chili oil) and you’ll be tempted to sample what the house’s spicy tuna tastes like when topped by roe and served on air-fried crispy rice cakes. There are oysters aplenty and a Spanish charcuterie board, but who can resist pan con tomate—Spain’s answer to bruschetta, which grinds garlic onto toasted bread and then piles on juicy tomatoes, olive oil and, in this case, tiny rolled slices of jamón.

Thankfully, Pour Destino avoids all the regrettable cosplay theatrics that doom so many other speakeasies. That’s no giant Prohibition-era door with a sliding peephole. No secret passwords for entry. No bouncers built like Marvel villains for dramatic effect. Once you actually find Pour Destino, you’ll follow faux candlelight down a hallway until you hit a large blackout curtain. Throw that aside and you’re in a room awash in shadows and crimson red hues.

Call me old-fashioned, but I appreciate a cocktail lounge that still prints menus on physical paper. Pour Destino goes one step further by illustrating each of its drinks with playful sketches. It’s a sharp list. In his youth, when Ringelstetter was building his Pour Decisions wine business, he traveled the world, hopscotching from one culinary mecca to another, taking notes along the way. Thus, the cocktails draw inspiration from everywhere. There are American offerings (old fashioneds and whiskey sours) and spicy tipples (jalapeño-infused tequila with a splash of lime) that feel more inspired by Mexico. But the most intriguing part of Pour Destino’s cocktail list pays tribute to Spain. Think vermouth splashed with Topo Chico and orange peel. A double-berry sangria spritz. And Spanish tempranillo served with juneberries, a tip of the hat to a summertime tinto de verano.

The skillfully curated food menu fits neatly on a single double-sided sheet of paper. These are all culinary Spanish all-stars: roughly 20 different nibbles, skewers and platos. Some preparations change with the seasons, while others rotate daily. Nothing feels forced or overwrought. Mostly the kitchen lets the ingredients do the talking—including olives, tuna and jamón imported from Spain—as all the best tapas bars do.

There isn’t a single dish on the “el plato” section of the menu that’s a miss. Silver-dollar-sized slices of wagyu beef tataki arrive glistening in their own juices and dressed with a bright herbaceous chimichurri. Giant Spanish gambas crown a pile of twice-cooked fries slicked with lemon and garlic. (Who needs poutine when you can have Spanish fries?) And the mini lamb lollipops, a personal favorite, are charred and then drizzled with a pomegranate jus and set atop a creamy parsnip and potato-skin hash.

Normally, a youthful staff—the average age here is just 25—can be a liability. At Pour Destino, it’s an asset. The kitchen hums with energy. The waitstaff is engaged and unpretentious. And ownership has clearly built a concept with legs, as there is already a second Pour Destino open in Elmhurst and another offshoot, tentatively called Obsidian, that’s planned for Chicago.

The décor scheme won’t lead to a massive spread in the next issue of Architectural Digest, but the room is cozy and intimate, complete with work from local artists. There’s a touch of playful tableside theatrics as well. Early in our meal, a server set down a small black bowl containing what looked like an oversized antacid tablet. When hot water was poured over the disk, it expanded into a warm hand towel. It’s the restaurant equivalent of those spongy dinosaur bath toys all kids love so much: a cute, inviting mood-setter.

You can sense, across the entire staff, a palpable pride in being part of a growing concept. Perhaps Ringelstetter summed it up best, when he mentioned that Spain and the Midwest have more in common than most people realize: straightforward food, generous pours and meals that unspool slowly over the course of an evening.

At Pour Destino, time loosens its grip on your evening. Plates disappear and reappear. One coupe of glowing liquor replaces another. And when you finally step back out into the alley, given all the warmth you’ve experienced inside, it doesn’t feel quite as cold and dark. As it turns out, Hinsdale feels a little closer to Spain than any map or atlas might suggest.

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COCKTAILS

HINSDALEAN:
A grand whiskey sour—rye, Grand Marnier, egg whites—is a little sweeter and more citrusy than your typical sour. Now, consider the benefits of adding watermelon-flavored tea, which invokes summer and makes this an effective pairing with smoked meats, jamón or the house chorizo.

CONNIPTION FIT:
This Spanish riff on a French 75 combines Conniption Gin, lemon and Spain’s favorite sparkling wine, cava, into a drink that quite literally glows in the dark. Visually, this is a head-turner and the perfect complement to oysters and charcuterie boards.

Pour Destino is located at 114 S Washington Street in Hinsdale. Call 630.454.1723. An additional location is located at 545 Spring Road in Elmhurst. Visit pourdestino.com.