Breaking Bad is one of those television shows that has a lasting impact on audiences. It’s been dissected by magazines and TV enthusiasts, and almost everyone you know has it on their “must-see” list. The fandom for this slow-burn drama is so strong that Netflix created a one-off movie, El Camino, five years after the show’s conclusion to wrap things up further. Walter White and Jesse Pinkman have become anti-hero icons, and Gus Fring a villain for the ages. Now, fans of Walter and Jesse can dine surrounded by iconic moments from the show at the Breaking Bad Experience in Los Angeles.

Photo: Eric Boguslavsky

After closing the doors on Bayside, the team behind Saved by the Max returns with their new Breaking Bad Experience, running now through the end of the year. This dining pop-up event celebrates and pays homage to the television hit with its themed menu, photo ops, and even music. Each 30-dollar reservation includes one entrée and one cocktail, mocktail or soda (additional items available for purchase), along with ample opportunities to relive Walter White’s days as a chemistry teacher-turned-meth cook.

Photo: Eric Boguslavsky

Stepping off Santa Monica Blvd. and into the Breaking Bad Experience, guests are transported to New Mexico, where they can relive several stand-out moments from Breaking Bad’s five-year run. Visitors can don yellow gloves and goggles while grinding up some “blue meth” candy in a make-shift lab, grab a lawn chair and relax outside Walt’s RV, visit Saul in his Constitution-wallpapered office, gloat over their stacks of cash, or become a temporary employee of Los Pollos Hermanos. Keen-eyed guests will notice an infamous pizza as well as a floating pink bear that stir up other notable memories from the series.

Photo: Eric Boguslavsky

When they’re not posing for various photo ops, guests can order themed cocktails and meals from the Breaking Bad Experience’s tongue-in-cheek menu. While the entrees – including Heisenburger Sliders, Loaded Saul-sa Nachos, and Fring Chili Cheese Fries – are appropriately named, I would have liked to have seen a chicken option as a nod to Los Pollos Hermanos, or perhaps a pizza choice, sure to be better than the one fated to live on Walt’s roof. Where the Breaking Bad Experience excels, however, is in its themed cocktails which are served in various lab beakers and measurement apparatus. Some of the novel cocktails include a tequila-based The One Who Knocks (which uses Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul’s Dos Hombres, a Mezcal Artesanal); a gin-based Blue Sky, which is served in three different beakers to mix yourself that creates the color of an Albuquerque sunrise; Felina, which combines several acids, rum, Gatorade, and a single eyeball; and more. Their El Camino punch comes in a giant beaker and is meant to serve four guests.

Photo: Eric Boguslavsky

The Breaking Bad Experience further explores the theme with its attention to detail. A “MISSING” poster of Walter White looks on as the bartenders and wait staff, decked out in hazmat suits, serve guests. Guests sit at tables with blue IV drips, and can order Hank’s Schraderbrau Draft – on tap or in a bottle. The soundtrack playing over the experience seems to be lifted straight from the show, or what one employee calls “basically [show] creator Vince Gilligan’s Spotify playlist,” which appropriately sets the mood along with the mostly beige and wood-paneled aesthetic, and the nearby lab equipment.

Photo: Eric Boguslavsky

The Breaking Bad Experience is a wonderful tribute and homage to a brilliant show that affected so many people. With the combination of thematic dining and immersive photo-ops, this is more than an Instagram palace. Dine in Walter White’s world while revisiting memorable moments that have been lovingly recreated in this pop-up dining experience – an experience that Heisenberg himself would be approve of.

Photo: Eric Boguslavsky

Find out more about the Breaking Bad Experience – open now through the end of the year – and make dinner reservations on their website, Instagram, or Twitter. Make sure to subscribe to our Event Calendar for more pop-ups and immersive entertainment throughout the year.

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