Bar Avize, a companion to popular Alpine restaurant Avize, opens March 21 with a playful menu, cocktails and an outdoor patio.
The bar is located in Atlanta’s Westside neighborhood at 956 Brady Avenue NW, adjacent to Avize with a separate entrance. It took over the former Spring Bar space that chef Nick Leahy opened next to the now-shuttered Nick’s Westside.
Chef Karl Gorline’s first venture as a restaurant operator met with aplomb when it debuted last fall with Alpine-inspired cuisine and a moody interior. Bar Avize will playfully reimagine classic Alpine dishes as bar bites with items like a broccoli Ceasar salad; Taleggio cheese-wiz truffle fries; “bougie” chicken nuggets with hot honey, creme fraiche, smoked trout roe and chives; dry aged Wagyu beef tartare; smoked trout toast with sourdough and braised leeks; and a cheese plate. A limited number of burgers will also be available after 9 p.m.
Credit: Courtesy of Josh Swinney
Credit: Courtesy of Josh Swinney
Gorline hopes Bar Avize will serve as a “neighborhood hangout spot.”
“It’s kind of a breath of fresh air,” he said. “Bar Avize is a bit more refreshing. We just want to have an approachable, kind of fun, popular bar that you can go to regularly.”
The bar will feature high quality classic drinks, like a martini service, plus a selection of fun, tongue-in-cheek cocktails by bar manager Jason Swearingen, who also developed the cocktails for Avize.
Guests can expect offerings like the Quit Jerkin My Gherkin, similar to a dirty martini that combines gherkin pickle brine with coconut aquavit and caraway liqueur, and Get Down with the Swiss Miss, featuring chocolate, pecan milk, orgeat and overproof rum, kind of like “a reverse hot chocolate, Tiki-style drink,” Gorline said.
The wine list by Avize’s director of beverage and hospitality, Taurean Philpott, formerly of Bacchanalia, will include biodynamic and natural wines. There will be five wines by the glass and a list of 150-200 bottles.
Credit: Courtesy of Josh Swinney
Credit: Courtesy of Josh Swinney
Gorline hopes Bar Avize becomes a place where diners can pop in for a late-night drink or grab a seat to hang out for a while. He unified the 1,500-square-foot space into one large room and added two large banquettes and marble tables. The space is more casual and lighter than Avize with floor to ceiling windows, and a patio includes seating for about 36 people with an outdoor banquette and tables and bistro chairs.
Bar Avize gave Gorline and his team the chance to be “a bit more carefree, and not (take) ourselves so seriously,” he said. It also allows them to cross-utilize a lot of their products from Avize.
“Being a sustainable kitchen and restaurant is one of my core values, and this is an exciting opportunity to help us get closer,” he said.
Credit: Courtesy of Josh Swinney
Credit: Courtesy of Josh Swinney
Prices will start around $15 for cocktails and bites, and wines by the glass will start at $12.
Bar Avize’s hours will be 5-10 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and 5 p.m. - late Fridays and Saturdays.
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