Go Behind the Curtain of This Haven for HiFi and Cocktails on Convoy

A sleek speakeasy opens Friday, May 13 in one of Kearny Mesa’s busiest dining complexes. Hidden away next to the latest Taco Stand location on Convoy Street — its entrance is accessed from the alley behind the strip mall — Convoy Music Bar is an intimate and elegant 40-seat space modeled after a Tokyo-style listening bar.

It’s the creation of Showa Hospitality, the local hospitality group behind Himitsu, Showa Ramen, and the booming Taco Stand chain as well as upscale Japanese restaurants in Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City.

Co-founder Julian Hakim says the bar was built to offer a high-quality sound paired with a high-end but relaxed cocktail experience. A set of Kenrick custom speakers from Japan will transmit the evening’s soundtracks from a vinyl collection curated by Showa’s Yuichiro Edamatsu and selected by different nightly DJs.

Convoy Music Bar’s refreshing and spirit-forward cocktails, made by a bartender team led by Michael Rougas (Sycamore Den), will be served in delicate glassware sourced from Japan. Employing Asian ingredients in its drink components, like hojicha-infused scotch, matcha-pistachio orgeat, and passionfruit-Szechuan peppercorn syrup, the list includes Red Bottom Sky, a negroni variation that features gin, rum, cacao-infused Campari, Barolo Chinato, black currant, and raspberry vinegar and the tiki-ish Double Bird, made with mezcal, sherry, dark chocolate balsamic, grilled pineapple juice, and lime.

The bar is currently walk-in only. Though no food is served for now, Hakim tells Eater that they plan to offer Japanese-influenced bar snacks in the future.

Convoy Music Bar, Wednesday to Monday 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., 4646 Convoy St #112, Kearny Mesa.