Yael Vengroff
The Spare Room | Los Angeles
June 2017
Houston native Yael Vengroff got to where she is today by pushing the envelope—and herself. While attending New York University she landed a cocktail serving gig in the East Village and, almost by sheer will alone, got a barback position and began mixing drinks. Eager to refine her natural talents and learn the craft from the bottom up, Vengroff sunk her teeth into the New York cocktail scene, working with some of the industry’s most respected leaders, including Alex Day, Audrey Saunders, and Giuseppe Gonzalez.
Vengroff then headed to Los Angeles for her next set of challenges. She ran the bar program at Harvard & Stone and Proprietors LLC’s Honeycut and Chapter & Verse. Now, Vengroff oversees one of L.A.’s most prolifi c (and fun) cocktail programs at Th e Spare Room, as well as tiki-focused Genghis Cohen. Since Vengroff 's arrival, Th e Spare room has earned nods as Time Out Los Angeles’ 2016 “Bar of the Year” and a nomination for Tales of the Cocktail’s “Best American Hotel Bar.” Vengroff also won the 2012 national Speed Rack championship, was champion of Fastest Hands in the West in 2014, and landed on Zagat’s 2015 “30 Under 30” list.
