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Best of Nashville 2019 Readers Choice

3rd Place • Best Cocktails

The South’s Best New Bars 2019 The Southern craft-cocktail renaissance is still doing boffo box office—the show’s run is now well into its second decade. But the stage direction for the current scene has seen a change in protagonist: “Exit: Mixologist. Enter: Bartender.” Or, more precisely, reenter bartender. The early acts of the revival emphasized the specialized handiwork of drink masters armed with eyedroppers and hand-carved muddlers and house-made this and that, served up in hushed temples devoted to the bibulous arts. These places offered a distinguished alternative in a milieu still hungover from a long dalliance with Long Island iced teas. But while the drinks were delicious, something had been lost among the mumbled incantations and muttonchops: that sense of feeling welcome, as if returning home, even if you’d never set foot there before.

The drinks magic remains (there’s no better time since the late 1800s to step out for a perfectly made Sazerac), but the new class of bar is bringing back the lost art of hospitality. Bartenders are acting like bartenders again, and new venues are taking some of the settings we’re familiar and comfortable with—the dive bar, the honky-tonk, the classic corner tavern—then adding to the mix outstanding cocktails, a wine library that runs quiet and deep, a mood that refuses to take itself too seriously, and bar food that doesn’t seem in the same genus as cheese fries. (Also, USB outlets.) By definition, new bars are, well…new. They lack the natural patina that comes with age. Yet many of these Southern bars, all opened within the past two years, will leave you feeling as if they’ve been around for a while. Put your feet up on the brass rail. Settle in for the next act….

The Best Speakeasy-Style Bars in Nashville The lush, art deco decor of Fox Bar and Cocktail Club makes you feel like you’re in Jay Gatsby’s house rather than in East Nashville. The low ceilings, private booths, and intimate seating arrangements also make it a prime location to hole up with your honey and sip cocktails made with seasonal ingredients from local farms. If you’d rather make conversation, park yourself at the marbleized bar to confer with a bartender about one of their many inventive cocktails. Try the Pumpkin Fizz (apple brandy, gin, roasted pumpkin, egg white, nutmeg, angostura bitters, sparkling wine, lemon stock) and if you’re feeling peckish, order Fox’s award-winning vegan charcuterie board…

Best of Nashville 2018

Readers Choice

3rd Place • Best New Bar

3rd Place • Best Cocktails

Writers Choice

1st Place • Best Vegan Charcuterie

Nashville Guru "The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club, a cozy cocktail concept from Bryan Rushton and Andrew Cook, officially opened in East Nashville on September 28, 2017. The Fox is located at 2905B Gallatin Pike behind Nicoletto’s Italian Kitchen. Nashville Guru stopped by to get a look at the Art Deco design and a taste of the carefully crafted cocktail menu created by Will Benedetto. The space features a main bar, three high-top tables, several booths, and a sitting area for two by the front door. The design and build were done by 1767 Designs, showcasing their use of reclaimed wood from Nashville-area houses and buildings. Drive down the alley beside Nicoletto’s Italian Kitchen — if you see the large fox mural created by Brian Wooden, you know you’re on the right path. The bar is located around back, below The Bowery Vault. Bartender Nick Dolan displays the highlights of the spirit-focused beverage program, including the Lemon Verbena Swizzle and the Pecan Pie-Tai. If liquor drinks aren’t your thing, The Fox also serves draft wines, beer, cider, and non-alcoholic beverages. The food menu features bites like summer squash tartine, roasted chickpeas, and charcuterie. Vegans will be happy to see plant-based meats and cheeses on the list, too."

Nashville's Best New Bars Fit for a fox, this intimate space on the ground level behind Nicoletto’s Italian Kitchen in East Nashville is elegant, yet homey. Seated at the bar or in booths with blue velvet seats, guests can order shareable plates, like lavender goat tartine and vegan pimento cheese, to pair with an extensive list of drinks. The beverage program, designed by Will Benedetto, formerly of William Collier’s, features wine, beer, cider, Tennessee whiskey drinks, and spirited selections, like the Lemon Verbena Swizzle, with Cosair gin, absinthe, and Peychaud’s bitters...

Surface Magazine "Destination: Nashville" “The day for me often starts at Dose Café & Dram Bar. It’s one of the best coffee spots in town—it has a clean, minimal interior design and is always full of locals. The art deco vibe at Thompson Hotel’s Marsh House restaurant is an absolute must (same with the food). Nashville’s bartenders are super creative, way beyond what most people would expect, which is why I’ve been spending a lot of evenings at Old Glory and The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club. These places are more than just trends, they are becoming mainstays.” - Patrick Hayes of 1767 Designs

Best New Bar Program of the Year 2017

Eater Awards 2017 "New Bar Program of the Year Readers’ Choice Winner"

After nearly a week of intensive reader voting, today we announce the winners of the eighth annual Eater Awards, celebrating the chefs and restaurants that made the largest impact on all 24 Eater cities over the past twelve months. Here now are the establishments — from raw bars and cocktail dens to live-fire neighborhood spots and out-of-town imports — that have taken the Nashville food world by storm. Thank you to everyone who voted last week, and congratulations to the winners of the readers’ choice and editors’ choice awards. Read on to learn more about this year’s best of the best. Editor’s Choice winners will receive an illustrious tomato can trophy via FedEx, along with a full feature on Eater in the coming year.

No Password Required "Consider yourself lucky that Andrew Cook and Bryan Rushton, life-long friends as Massachusetts natives, chose Nashville as the city for The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club. This east-side watering hole began serving drinks in late September, and the neighborhood has since embraced them. “We wanted to do cocktails on a higher level — on par with The Patterson House, the first bar to bring that cocktail world to Nashville — and shoot for a high level of craftsmanship while having an environment that is beautiful, comfortable and relaxed,” Andrew says of the concept. Together, the pair created a space that is reflective of their personalities. “We take the business seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” Andrew assures us.

The early-20th Century influence is immediately apparent, with intriguing interior design that creates a cozy atmosphere akin to that of a Prohibition Era speakeasy (or at least how we think of one today). The design team at 1767 Designs incorporated recycled wood (from Nashville homes and buildings), tables and tin tiles that come together to create an Art Deco-inspired space. Inside the dimly lit interior, nine bar stools, three high-tops, a small lounge area and plush velvet booths welcome drinkers to explore the craft cocktail menu developed by Will Benedetto, a seasoned Nashville bartender (and native) who is now mixing cocktails in New York City...."

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