Daniel B.
Yelp
My wife chose Drawbar for after-dinner drinks. She found this place on Yelp. I'd also seen this place on Yelp, but I wasn't particularly drawn to it because I'm more of a food guy, not drinks. However, we ended up getting food here and it was pretty good, as were the drinks. This is more than just a pretty bar and lounge. The kitchen and bar back it up with solid food and beverage. And service, particularly from our server Leyshla, was terrific. I recommend this place.
Drawbar opened in May 2021 inside the Bellyard Hotel at The Interlock in Westside (West Midtown) Atlanta. The Interlock is a new "work, play, stay" development located across from Westside Provisions District. This has made the immediate area, around the intersection of 14th and Howell Mill, an even more happening place. The Interlock and all the businesses within (e.g. Holiday Bar, Puttshack, Velvet Taco) look sleek and cool. In general, this is a neat and fun hangout spot.
Park in The Interlock's deck, accessible via both (1) Interlock Ave if coming from 14th St and (2) Beeline Blvd if coming from Howell Mill Rd. Drawbar doesn't validate parking, unfortunately. Use the ParkMobile app to pay for and monitor your parking meter. Zone number is 3232. During our visit, the minimum parking time was 2 hours at $7.35 ($7.00 parking fee + $0.35 transaction fee). We followed the signs at the elevators to get to Bellyard and Drawbar.
Drawbar is the Bellyard Hotel's lobby bar, restaurant, and lounge. We arrived around 8:30pm on a Saturday night. The weather was nice and the third-floor outdoor patio was completely packed. Inside, the bar, dining room, and lounge space was mostly empty. According to What Now Atlanta, the patio can seat 62 and the interior can seat 98 (https://bit.ly/3I1Zefe).
When we arrived, a Bellyard employee told us that seating at Drawbar was first come, first served. Drawbar doesn't take reservations. By the time we left, close to 11:00pm, both the inside bar and lounge and the outside terrace were full. Towards the end of our stay, I saw multiple groups come and go, looking for open tables. Some of the larger seating areas are more communal in nature, so keep that in mind.
I don't consider Drawbar a full-fledged restaurant because it actually isn't set up like one with a "proper" dining room and tables. Instead, this is a bar and lounge that serves really good food. You could treat it as a restaurant experience, though. They do serve breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. Brunch is currently served Saturday and Sunday, 7am-2pm.
Like the Bellyard Hotel and The Interlock development itself, Drawbar is beautiful. Its design is aesthetically-pleasing. The interior is clean, modern, and stylish with a cozy and warm atmosphere. It kind of feels like a luxurious, contemporary living room. The outdoor terrace is stunning as well, with a good third-floor, eastward view of the Midtown skyline (and the Life Storage building two doors down, heh). There are big TVs, inside and out, so you can watch live sports and other programming. I like that.
When we visited for dinner, Drawbar's menu featured 12 cocktails ($14-18 each), a variety of beer and wine (a good selection, but not too extensive), and food that mostly consisted of small plates and sides (11 small plates at $7-20 each). Mains included dishes like Jerk Grilled Mahi ($27) and a Chimichurri Ribeye ($32). We'd just come from dinner, so we ordered a couple small plates. Also, I couldn't resist ordering one of the three desserts they had on the menu. Here's what we got:
Dinner Small Plates
* Garlic Truffle Parmesan Frites ($7) - black garlic aioli, "fat kid sauce"
* Peach Cider Pulled Pork Sliders ($13) - peach chow chow
Dessert
* High Road Ice Cream Sundae ($8) - vanilla sea salt ice cream, banana, candied pecans, chocolate truffle sauce
Cocktails
* Aquemini ($15) - Banhez, chipotle agave, peach syrup, aperol, lemon
* Black Betti (Virtual Reality) ($17) - New Amsterdam, Kahlua, Baileys
Everything was delicious. Not all Garlic Truffle Parmesan Frites (Fries) are created equal. Drawbar's version was some of the best I've had. They were packed with flavor and came out hot and crispy. Ideal consistency. The Peach Cider Pulled Pork Sliders were sneaky good. Honestly, I was surprised how scrumptious they were. Every ingredient made an impression including the fresh, thick, crisp pickles. Like the fries, these sliders were probably some of the best I've had. Just really good. From the way the food tasted (high quality) to our interaction with the manager, I could tell these guys take their food seriously. And how could I not order a local High Road Craft brand ice cream sundae? Not sure I've seen that on an Atlanta menu before. Great idea and it really hit the spot.
As for the drinks, they were good -- par for the course for a nice Atlanta bar. The Black Betti was a little gimmicky as the Baileys was served separately in a shot glass for show/presentation. It did look cool, though.