Pardini’s has opened a new cocktail bar in Fresno. It has a Jurassic Park-themed drink

Fresno’s newest cocktail bar, The Red Room, is a classy place. It’s got a fireplace, red curtained walls and subtle lighting.

But it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Want proof? There are drinks inspired by the films “Smokey and the Bandit” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” They come adorned with a tiny cowboy hat and a checkered racing flag.

The Red Room is the latest creation from the Pardini family of restaurateurs.

It’s inside the Pardini’s catering venue at West Shaw Avenue and Van Ness Boulevard, next door to The Annex Kitchen restaurant.

“We felt this side of town could use a nice cocktail bar,” said co-owner Jeff Pardini. “We want it to be different than what you see around Fresno.”

There’s no sign yet, so walk into the main Pardini’s event space. The bar is inside the doors on your right.

It officially opens to the public at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20. It will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays, when it’s not being reserved for private events.

The same spot was previously rented out as part of the catering business. It opened briefly as Al’s Bar during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some may remember it as Knock Three Times, a nightclub that operated there after the Pardini family sold the building in the 1980s (before later repurchasing it).

The entire banquet hall has been remodeled, including the bar.

“We wanted this room to have a bold atmosphere, a little bit more fun,” Pardini said.

The drink menu

Bar director Ryan Metcalf apparently heard the word “fun” and ran with it.

The movie-themed drinks in the seasonal “at the drive in” part of the menu are an experience.

The Life Finds a Way cocktail — inspired by “Jurassic Park” — comes with a tiny plastic dinosaur encased in an ice cube.

And then there’s the Ricky Bobby cocktail, inspired by the Will Ferrell character in the racing film “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” The drink is garnished with a Fig Newton and a tiny checkered flag.

The Fig Newton is a reference to the character selling space on his race car’s windshield to a sponsor, with a giant Fig Newton sticker obscuring his view.

But the creativity doesn’t end there.

Ricky mentions mystic mountain blueberry Powerade while saying grace, so the cocktail has a blueberry syrup in it.

Also in the film, the character’s dad teaches him to drive fast by telling him there’s a kilo of cocaine taped under his car and calling the cops. It turns out to be Lucky Charms cereal.

So the drink has cereal-infused bourbon in it. (They tried Lucky Charms in the bourbon, but it didn’t taste good, so they used corn flakes instead, Metcalf said.)

Metcalf, a founding partner in downtown craft cocktail bar Modernist, is no stranger to Pardini’s. He got his first bartending job at The Annex Kitchen, the restaurant run by another Pardini son, chef Jimmy Pardini.

“It all serendipitously fell into place,” Metcalf said. “It’s been really great to be back.”

The Red Room and Annex Kitchen

Annex has a small bar that fills up quickly, so The Red Room put a few of its top cocktails on its menu — with a twist.

You’ll find The Red Room’s take on the blood orange cosmo, and a negroni made with Jamaican rum. A green apple fizz is “like you’re biting into a fresh green apple.”

Classic cocktails, wine and local beer are available too. Most cocktails cost $13 to $16.

Food is available too, including a charcuterie board.

Details: The Red Room is inside Pardini’s at 2257 W. Shaw Ave. Check www.theredroomfresno.com to ensure the bar isn’t closed for a private event. Hours: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 5 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.