Meet Bar Avize, An Alpine-Inspired Bar in West Midtown

The room is equal parts Alpine aesthetic and night luxe.

The sunroom holds about 68 seats with floor-to-ceiling, oscillating windows which Gorline opens on particularly beautiful days. “I wanted to give it a true cocktail, wine bar kind of feel to it,” he says. “Not just a room with a bar that has seats around it and some high-top seating.” To that end, while there are some high-top tables, there are also deep, purple-tufted banquettes with round cocktail tables that are perfect for settling in for the evening. No barstools line the bar, keeping it open to guests who want to walk up and order. “I wanted something that had a fluidity to it from a service standpoint.”

Gorline considers Bar Avize’s overall aesthetic to be design-forward with Persian rugs and animal skins, marble tables, and an Alpine mountain forest wallpaper. “It’s airy and bright until the sun goes down, then it’s got a cool kind of vibey, dark intimacy to it,” he explains. He envisions the cocktail bar as a pre-dinner date night stop or a place to grab drinks after a meal — there is, after all, a roaring fire at one end of the room that adds much to the room’s cozy ambience. He also hopes to eventually host DJs in the evenings for late night gatherings.

Meanwhile, there’s a pretty patio where you’ll sit surrounded by draped lanterns and rows of vegetables and herbs to your left and right, arriving perfectly in time for the summer.

Come for the Happy Meal.

A couple of years ago, “girl dinner,” the idea of snack plates as a meal, took over the internet. The idea remains a popular one, however, and Bar Avize puts its own fun twist on the concept where a “Girl Dinner Happy Meal” (also referred to as the “NYC Happy Meal”) comprises a martini, truffle French fries, and a broccoli Caesar salad all for $20. “I’m genuinely trying to provide something that I think the area wants and trying to do it an elevated way and to deliver value,” says Gorline. “It’s something that’s easy, it’s craveable, it’s not overly expensive.”

It’s not your ordinary martini either: “It’s an olive oil fat washed gin martini,” says Gorline. The drink, which also incorporates a lemon-thyme tincture, is served on a silver platter.

Not into martinis? There are plenty of other tipples.

Heading into summer, the cocktail menu is loaded with “scorchers,” says Gorline. The “Touch Grass” is a margarita made with reposado tequila, génépy liqueur, and a lime leaf tincture. Gorline and bar manager Jason Swaringen (formerly of the Michelin-starred Bresca in Washington D.C.) didn’t include margaritas on the menu when Bar Avize first opened in March, but they were highly requested. “It’s still the highest selling stuff just because people are calling for it,” he says. His favorite cocktail on the menu, however, is most likely the “Quit Jerkin my Gherkin.” “It’s really crisp, really late,” says Gorline. The drink combines coconut aquavit, caraway and cumin liqueur, clarified citrus juice, and a gherkin brine. “Then we put it in these two-liter bottles and a CO2 tank and forced carbonate it like a soda. It’s really good,” he adds.

Expect a whimsical approach to Alpine-inspired food.

Here, the Alpine-inspired theme carries over from Avize but in a more laidback, bar-friendly fashion. Expect to share bites like the tuna carpaccio with Calabrian chili mayo, donut peach, radish, and crispy amaranth. There’s also a fun riff on Buford Highway dishes with a deboned crispy duck leg glazed in carrot taré (a Japanese dipping sauce), served alongside a Taiwanese-style scallion pancake, a German slaw, and a side of green garlic ranch. “That to me feels very Atlanta,” says Gorline. “I’ve only been here eight years, so I hesitate to say anything on behalf of Atlanta, but it’s like the perfect nutshell of going up and down Buford Highway and the different cultures, and how the food is turning into this through osmosis. It’s becoming this ultra eclectic fare.”

There are bistro-influenced options, too, like mushroom toast made with local chanterelles and a Gruyère emulsion over German sourdough. “Probably the best thing on the menu, honestly, are these grilled artichokes with bagna cauda (a blend of garlic, anchovies, red wine and olive oil),” he says. The flammekueche, a German flatbread with fromage blanc, bacon, and onion, also appears on the menu at Bar Avize.

The playlist is crowdsourced from regulars.

Gorline wants guests to come enjoy the music pumping through the atmosphere. To that end, he’s installed 17 speakers, so he’s not joking. “It’s not a listening bar, but I spent a bunch of money and adding all of this to the space to where it sounds and it feels good,” says Gorline.

The playlist is eclectic — expect a mix of classic hip hop, acid jazz, and contemporary Euro electronica. “I always sprinkle in some ‘80s,” he adds. “There’s some Madonna on there.” They’ve been building the playlist since they opened in March and have been open to guest feedback. “I would write down on the postcard, add a song to the playlist, and people did, and I put it on there,” says Gorline. That playlist has now crossed over the 24-hour mark, proof of the bar’s popularity and its regulars’ investment in its future success.