My wife and I were recently wandering around the eclectic Little Five Points area in Atlanta late on a hot and steamy Thursday afternoon. We were on vacation here for a few days visiting from California and staying in a rented condo in downtown Atlanta. After walking out of the excellent Criminal Records store and feeling the 85F heat I said to my wife that I could really do with a nice cold beer right now. I looked up Google Maps on my iPhone and next thing I see this place called the Wrecking Bar Brewpub.
Gee the classy decor and cold beer photos sure looked inviting. We used the GPS on my iPhone to find the place eventually after walking along Moreland Ave for ages. We gasped when the huge white stately Victorian mansion on Moreland Ave appeared before us. After walking closer to the huge house we realized that the Wrecking Bar Brewpub was in the basement. How cool ! It was about 5pm . . not too early for a good cold beer so we ventured inside for a look. The interior was beyond beautiful with timber and brick accents plus it was so naturally cool. I fronted up at the huge ornate bar and asked Kelsea behind the counter about fruity hazy IPA’s…my current favorite type of beer.
Kelsea suggested 2 of their very own house brewed hazy IPA’s on their beer menu and gave me a sample of both. One was called Horology Hazy IPA and the other one was named Galaxial Temples Hazy IPA. They both tasted really good ! In the meantime my wife was checking their dinner menu and suggested we should eat here right now. We were shown to a table near a window overlooking the front patio and I ordered an Horology Hazy IPA immediately. As we sat there and looked around at the enchanting interior we both agreed this could be really good. A lovely man named Tim took our dinner order after we had taken a few minutes to digest their wonderful and diverse dinner menu.
For starters we ordered Okra, Corn, Whipped Cotija and for entrees my wife chose the Scallops while I picked the Gnocchi. My amazing ice cold Horology IPA was disappearing quickly. Pretty soon I asked our charming server Tim to grab me a Galaxial Temples Hazy IPA. Both of these incredibly juicy hazy IPA’s would win awards anywhere on the planet. Very soon all of our dinner order arrived and looked simply magnificent. Of course we shared a taste with each other !
Everything tasted way better than our wildest expectations. After all we thought this place was just a good brewpub not a Manhattan fine eatery. We devoured everything in front of us and we wanted more . . yep we wanted dessert ! If their beers and meals were this good then their desserts could be totally decadent. My wife ordered The Wrecking Bar and I chose the Apple Galette. Before long our wonderful server Tim delivered my wife’s dessert to our table.
When I inquired as to the whereabouts of my dessert Tim said it was coming soon. WOW my freshly baked while I wait steaming Apple Galette & huge scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream appeared in front of me. My wife was going crazy about her delicious Wrecking Bar dessert and gave me a small taste. Mmmm Dark Chocolate and Nutella . . what a devastating combo ! Not to be outdone my fresh baked Apple Galette & Vanilla Ice Cream tasted sensational. We were utterly and completely satisfied ! My wife and I thought that our dining experience here was simply the best . . the beers, our amazing dinner, the service from all the staff and the chill laid back basement vibe.
A couple of days earlier we had enjoyed a truly fabulous dinner at the famous Highlands Bar & Grill in Birmingham, AL. It had just won the James Beard Award for ” Most Outstanding Restaurant in the USA ” on it’s 10th visit to the finals. What an incredible achievement ! We told the staff here that we thought our dinner experience at the Wrecking Bar Brewpub was even better ! And we came back here for another fabulous dinner 2 days later before we flew home to California !
