Daniel L.
Yelp
They certainly don't call it Spitter's Nest so you know their drinks are well up to snuff before you even come round. This is such a "H tine hold it dine" kind of #SLGT local place that celebrates Houston culture and history, all in a gorgeous art deco space but with one minor heck up, so keep reading to find out what the one thing is.
I am not a fangirl about G&Ts outside of Mongoose and Cobra's with that housemade stunningly pearlescent tonic, but this is now the second one in my life I am going to rave about because this G&T adds chartreuse, which elevates the art form like one of my most favourite (and dandiest) mixed drink choices possible, the last word.
I worked in this building (the tower part, not the bar part in Finn Hall) off and on for ten years. Of course it would be after I moved on permanently for heckin' ever that this is when Finn Hall opens down on street level on the Rusk side and brings us Swallow's Nest in the adjoining upstairs space you boldly sashay towards up the staircase at the back of Finn Hall. Meanwhile in the old iteration of the building to get a decent drink mama had to bring a bottle of vodka in her purse and enjoy covertly on the rickety ass old elevators creaking their way up 20+ stories, when the old ass building itself wasn't actually on fire occasionally.
Cocktails are regularly $12. There is an unprinted "take their word for it" happy hour at times which knocks a dollar off occasionally if you show enough skin, but it is not in writing anywhere so your guess is as good as mine while I rebutton my puffy shirt and zip up my pantaloons, worth it for the story.
It is a bar and a grille (like both kinds of music, country and western) so the shiny blue menu has the drinks, and the monster black binder is the one with the food in it. Most people are there to drink, given the food court back down the staircase in Finn Hall proper, so there are a large number of servers/waitstaff ambling about aimlessly but only two overworked bartenders. So if it is busy drinkin' time when it is 5 o'clock somewhere (or 2pm when you are perpetually on island time like yours truly) then you may have a bit of wait to get some service and to get your drink freshened and then to get the check.
There is a tv set to the sportsball behind the bar (totally obnoxious, for an art deco space, surrrrrrriously) so if you want to crush American lite beers you can probs do that too and still fit in here with the foppish dandy gents mirin the art deco. I guess this bar is kind of like grindr when the annual OTC happens in Houston.
The 713 G&T comes with Hendricks gin, chartreuse, green tea simple syrup, fresh lime juice, and tonic water. The Hendricks is a must at all times. The chartreuse is just proper fancyboy. What, we couldn't call this the 281-330-8004 G&T or is that too many digits? Or are you all too young to know about my boy Mike Jones up on the low?
Get rid of the tv set to the sportsball (put it in the rubbish bins on the Rusk side with some 10mm rounds in it under zombie apocalypse rules and send pics for proof) and you will get five starros from me.
Otherwise, wear your green hat when you come out drinking because this G&T juice box is off the chain and ready to make you have nice time only vibes when the drink is in your hands or later on when you are thinking about the drink being in your hands once again.