Gin Smash, Fountain Spritz and Gin & Tonic

I was lured over to the Fountain Bar at The Grove with the promise of a custom gin and tonic bar. Named after the giant fountain in the center of the Grove, it seems like the bar just suddenly sprang up out of nowhere. It just opened a few months ago.

I was a teeny bit disappointed to find I can’t make the gin and tonics myself. However, you do get to choose what gin, tonic and toppings you want for that customized gin and tonic.

I went with Monkey 47 gin which is one of my favorite gins and the Fever-Tree Mediterranean tonic which is considered a classic tonic flavor. They also have Beefeater, Hayman’s, Plymouth, St. George terroir, Mahon and Hendrick’s gins. Fever-Tree also has Indian, Elderflower and a naturally light flavored tonics. Then you get to play with two garnishes. I went for a classic lemon twist and berries. Luckily they also garnished mine with an orchid.

Friends had the gin smash and Fountain Spritz which was essentially an Aperol Spritz with vodka and St. Germain. I didn’t taste the almond in the gin smash so I’ll have to ask what that is next time.

Gin Smash – gin, cucumber, mint, lime, almond

Fountain Spritz – Aperol, vodka, St. Germain, lemon, cava

truffle parmasean chips

The Fountain Bar also has food being run out of their sister restaurant, Blue Ribbon Sushi. This menu features very American things like chips and lobster rolls.

We had the truffle parmasean chips which friends found addicting.

hummus and farmers market crudite

I was really into the crudite though. Gotta eat your veggies.

egg shooters (deviled eggs)

The Fountain Bar has a cute egg shooters section featuring various topped deviled eggs. We tried both the spicy crab and bacon cheddar. I really enjoyed both and would love to see a sample plate featuring the three shooters including the pickled peppers one.

meatballs

I’d stop in for snacks at the Fountain Bar. While the meatballs are under the plates section, I viewed these as snacks. So let’s call them snacks.

Second to the Last Word

The Second to the Last Word is a Last Word variation with mezcal instead of gin. It also has falernum making it velvety.

Second to the Last Word – mezcal, Velvet Falernum, maraschino, lime

oxtail cheese sliders

I loved the oxtail cheese sliders. They’re perfect little bites of cheesesteak.

fried chicken sliders

The fried chicken were also good. I liked the addition of avocado puree. It gave the fried chicken sandwich a nice twist.

Big Daddy Cane

My favorite drink on the menu is the Big Daddy Cane featuring rum. I suspect the apricot in this is actually an apricot liqueur. It’s essentially a rum Manhattan on the rocks.

Big Daddy Cane – rum, apricot, sweet vermouth

Maine lobster sliders

We had all the sliders including the Maine lobster ones. These were good though I liked the oxtail cheese sliders the best of the three we tried. There’s something about warm gooey sliders was appealing in an outdoor setting.

Fountain Bar

This is a great spot for people watching. Although it’s right in the middle of the Grove, it felt like you were in an oasis and away from all the busy shoppers.

The Fountain Bar at The Grove