Small Bar wins big with extravagant Bloody Mary, charcuterie plate

Small Bar in University Heights is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, and brunch and dinner on Sundays. (Photo by Lauren Duffy)

When Scot Blair and Dennis Borlek opened the doors of Small Bar on Sept. 17, there was no fanfare, no official announcement. There was just a date posted on their Web site, www.smallbarsd.com, and a lot of word of mouth. Yet just days after the bar opened, it was flooded with patrons; within a week it seemed that the bar had been there for years.

Blair is the owner of Hamilton’s Tavern in South Park, one of the most well-loved craft beer bars in the city. Hamilton’s has made a name for itself serving a rotating array of local, American and Belgian beers, as well as simple pub food in a casual space that feels more like a friend’s house than a bar. The staff are friendly, the atmosphere laid back and the space nearly always packed. So when word got out that Blair was opening a second location, there was little doubt it would be done right.

You enter Small Bar from the rear, walking through a large wooden gate and a narrow outdoor “smoking patio” before you reach the entrance. Inside, the bar is dark and cozy, with black walls and red pendant lights that infuse the space with a warm glow. Red accents weave throughout the room, like the trio of arches that frame shelves of liquor behind the bar and the thick red border painted across the front wall, emblazoned with the words: “one small bar for man, one giant bar for mankind.”

The rest of the dimly lit decor pays homage to Small Bar’s priorities-beer, whiskey and music. An artistic collection of antique beer posters adorn the walls, along with framed descriptions of various Scotches and whiskeys and an eclectic selection of black-and-white music posters. Like Hamilton’s, it is an atmosphere that is comfortable and down-to-earth, but with a hip attitude that seems a bit more grown-up than its South Park counterpart.

(Photo by Lauren Duffy)

If there is one limitation to Small Bar, it is its size-it really is a small bar. The single room fills quickly and is not well-suited to groups of more than three or four. There is plenty of seating-dark wood tables line the outer wall and a row of black bourbon barrels serve as small tables in the center-but it is easy to see how the place will become packed on a weekend night.

Like Hamilton’s, Small Bar features a sprawling chalkboard on the wall behind the bar, which lists the current draught selections along with each beer’s style, price and alcohol percentage. The 40-tap selection is wonderfully diverse-premium Belgians like Rochefort lie among craft beer staples like Pliny the Elder and Alesmith XPA, peppered with unique seasonals like the Black Lie, a black IPA from Pizza Port Carlsbad and New Belgium’s Hoptoberfest. Several Anchor beers are included in the lineup, including Anchor Small Beer, a session beer that offers a playful nod to the bar’s name. At 3.3 percent, Small Beer is an excellent option for anyone wanting to go light on the alcohol while not missing out on flavor.

The tap selection alone is enough to draw a faithful crowd, but Small Bar also has a full liquor license-something the owners have taken advantage of with an enticing mix of specialty cocktails as well as more than 40 varieties of Scotch, bourbon, and whiskey. The cocktail list mostly features the classics, with a serious selection that includes such standbys as the Manhattan, the old fashioned and several variations of the mule.

Of the cocktail selections, the Bloody Mary is quickly becoming a favorite-just look around for the oversized skewers on a Sunday afternoon. Self-proclaimed as “your new favorite bloody in town,” the drink is served in a Guinness glass and features a well-balanced mix of vodka, tomato juice, Guinness and steak sauce, although it is less the liquor than the garnishes that make this drink. A strip of candied bacon dangles languidly over a salted rim, while a towering skewer holds every accoutrement known to a cocktail bar (and then some): cherry tomatoes, gherkins, pepperoncinis, pearl onions, blue-cheese-stuffed olives, and, for good measure, shrimp. Somehow there is room for a stick of celery, a pickled green bean, and a carrot stick. Inexplicably, it also comes with a bag of pork rinds on the side.

Self-proclaimed as “your new favorite bloody in town,” Small Bar's version of the drink is served in a Guinness glass and garnished with every accoutrement known to a cocktail bar. (Photo by Lauren Duffy)

Small Bar is open for lunch and dinner, as well as Sunday brunch. The menu features a flavorful selection of slightly (just slightly) upscale bar fare designed to be served quickly. The prices are all reasonable-nearly everything is less than $12-especially when you consider that the burgers are made with Tallgrass Beef and breads are sourced from Sadie Rose.

The Firecracker Steak Melt Sandwich is plump and juicy, with medium-rare skirt steak bursting from the soft Italian bun. The Beer Mac n’ Cheese is especially tasty-resonating with undertones of Guinness and generously spiked with pieces of candied bacon-as close to comfort as bar food gets. If the Blue Boy Burger is any indication, the burgers will be a menu staple.  This version features Maytag blue cheese and a soft rosemary bun. Sliders, although made with Wagyu beef, are less impressive than their full-sized counterparts, although their accompanying barbeque dipping sauce is outstanding. There are also lighter options including a Portobello sandwich, a wedge salad and a loaded baked potato for just $5.

The menu also includes a few options for noshing when you’re not sure if you’re staying for a meal, a thoughtful gesture that many bars overlook. We sampled the “poor man’s cheese plate,” although the charcuterie plate is perhaps the most impressive dish on the menu:  a platter-sized selection of cured meats, house-made pâté and cheeses that makes heads turn when it is carried out from the kitchen.

The juke box is an exact replica of Hamilton’s (for now), a hand-selected mix of blues and rock and roll standards. If the noise level inside is too loud (which it threatens to be when packed to capacity), Small Bar has soon-to-be-opened patio seating and plans for a backyard beer garden by late spring 2010.

Many times when a bar first opens, there are plenty of things that seem like they need to be worked out. Not so with Small Bar-there was not a moment over the course of three visits when I wished things were different. It will be interesting to see how the space will accommodate inevitably larger crowds and how long it takes for the outdoor tables to open, but so far, this bar has it down. Borlek and Blair know what they are doing, and they certainly know how to give San Diego another essential craft beer bar-one that we didn’t even know we were missing.

Small Bar is located at 4628 Park Boulevard in University Heights. They serve lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, and brunch and dinner on Sundays. They can be reached at (619)795-7998 and at www.smallbarsd.com.

Lauren Duffy is an SDNN contributing writer.

Tags: Dennis Borlek, Hamilton's Tavern, Scot Blair, SDNN, Small Bar

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 9:34 am and is filed under Food, Nightlife . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.