This is strictly a review of the drinks as I didn't get a chance to try anything on the food menu.
I tried the Watermelon Old-Fashioned and an Infused Lemonade with their house-made blueberry gin. While both were fairly tasty (especially the Lemonade), neither was very strong, and at $8 a pop ($10 for the Old-Fashioned), I expected more alcohol, and an Old-Fashioned shouldn't include soda water in my opinion. It was disappointing considering the place seems to bill itself as an upscale mixology experience. Looking around the room I only saw one other person drinking a cocktail as most people seemed to prefer beer. Maybe they knew something I didn't. I hate to make comparisons to Nashville bars, but places there charging similar prices always seem to deliver on the speakeasy style of a tasty, unique drink that's also plenty stiff. Flying Squirrel needs to work on this point for the prices they're charging.
For the second round I switched to beer. Their selection of beers was fairly wide and well balanced. They were even divided into Dark, Pale Ale, IPA, etc. to help make choosing your beer easier. This was a small but nice touch. Another was that they listed the next beer up on a given tap once the first runs out. Both of the beers I tried were plenty cold, and that's worth noting since a lot of bars seem to forget how important beer temperature is.
The look of the place seemed to fit their "upscale" vibe, though I recommend sitting upstairs as the downstairs was packed the whole time we were there, and the seating upstairs was cushy and inviting. The music varied in style but mostly fit the vibe of the room, and was thankfully never too loud to hear those in my party.
The staff were very courteous and helpful, though no one greeted us when we walked in and we had to wander upstairs before anyone approached us. There was also no signage whatsoever, so I had to ask the door man the name of the bar to make sure we were in the right place.
Overall it was a fairly enjoyable experience, and a cool place to hang out, but if you're looking for exceptional cocktails, you might want to keep looking. That said, I realize this place is still fairly new, so maybe it can be chalked up to growing pains. I'll give them another shot next time I'm in town.
Great job overall. Just one thing was not up to par for the menu. The charcuterie plate was not as good as the rest of the menu. I found the menu to be very nice. But the charcuterie plate failed to live up to the rest. Just a couple of unimaginitive meat and stale bread. I like to find this as an avenue for a bit of fun for my guest. Yes I also cook for a living. I would say. Play with some mustards. Add some nice house made pickled veg. Grill up the bread. Put on some meats like different sausages, head cheese, maybe some corned beef tongue. You are in Tennessee. We love to celebrate pork.
Review Source:Atmosphere is everything in this hip, friendly place. Â The architecture will blow you away. Â Based on other reviews, as a 60-something, I thought I might feel "out of place" in a crowd of younger folks, but heck no! Â Early in the evening, while we were there, the crowd was very mixed. Â As we left, the younger crowd was flowing in. Â Terrific cocktails, very creative, inventive and delicious. Â I have to go back and try more of the food, but my first impression is ... if you are hungry go somewhere else. Â The only reason I dropped a star is because of the very limited choices. Â That and a plate with a miniscule amount of mushrooms was pricey and silly. Â We probably didn't choose well and I did notice some nice looking dishes going to tables as we were leaving. Â Gotta go back and give the food more of a chance. Â That being said .... this is a wonderful place to meet friends for drink and a light nosh.
Review Source:What a pleasant surprise! We discovered the Flying Squirrel when we were at the Crash Pad for a post-race event and went back the next night for dinner. Â Everything from the atmosphere to the beer list & drinks to the food was great. Â We were there around 6 on a beautiful Saturday evening, and it wasn't very crowded. Â
Service was good. Â We didn't wait long for food or drinks. Â Each of us made a meal out of 2 or 3 plates, which we all thought were decently sized. We had the ravioli, arugula salad, mushroom plate, fries, and slider trio. Â Everything tasted very fresh and was well executed. We will definitely be back the next time we're in Chattanooga!
Chattanooga has been waiting for a place like this for some time. Frankly, most cities are still waiting for a bar with 1) great outdoor space 2) a focus on content (quality cocktails, drafts, small plates/food) 3) reasonable prices and 4) a non suited/non Audi A4/BMW 3 series-driving crowd. As to the last point, if a Flying Squirrel devotee happens to own one of these maligned vehicles, they will be wearing shorts and a race/event tee and will not mention their job or possessions once.
The space itself is incredible. Beautiful and spacious inside and out. The menu is varied and concentrates on micros, specialty cocktails that appear to be seasonally based, and small plates that are shockingly affordable and interesting.
Chattanooga is pretty blessed in that we have great food and drink, low prices, and great views from many of our bars and restaurants. Unfortunately, more often than not, you have to choose two of those qualities. Additionally, the Southside area of Chattanooga is known for having cool neighborhoods and some of the best food in town. However, the rugged urban environment (warehouses, graffiti, railroad tracks) is not one that has been yet embraced by any of our SS spots (with the exception of Terminal). Flying Squirrel's genius lies in its ability to marry aforementioned qualities #2-4 while creating an outdoor oasis by backing up to the seemingly 24-hour festival environment of Crash Pad.
Finally on point #4: luckily we don't have many spots like DC, SF, or NYC filled with suits and heels at 9pm. See roofdeck of the W in DC or most bars in the East Village for examples. If you don't work on the Hill or in finance, you can't integrate or stomach most conversations. Flying Squirrel's populace is likely going to be the polar opposite. Be ready to offer up stories about your latest attack up Lookout Mountain, night scramble up Middle Creek, or just your first 5k experience.
Leave your judgement at home, and enjoy the Squirrel.
I really, really liked this place. If I lived in Chattanooga, this would definitely be my local bar. It was right next to our hostel, The Crash Pad, which made it even better.
First of all, the architecture and decor is beautiful. The windows open up on the backside of the bar for patrons to sit outside or in. We sat inside, but had an outdoor view. I enjoyed the little chicken coop and mini-garden next door that I had a view of.
Our bartender was extraordinarily nice and made good drinks, although I can't remember his name. I think it started with an M. Mike? Max? Oh geez, I wish I remembered. We asked him what there was to do on a Wednesday night and he replied, "Stay here and drink." He was right. Chattanooga night-life on Wednesdays is pretty non-existent.
The food looked incredible. We opted not to eat there, and instead went to Terminal Brewhouse. That was a mistake. I'm still thinking about the Flying Squirrel's menu and all the tasty-looking food I saw people enjoying.
The place started filling up very soon after opening, so they are definitely doing something right.
I really enjoyed this place for dinner. Tried their infused vodka and their moscow mule. Both were enjoyable enough to order two of each:)
The patio was nice and next door is someone with a small chicken coop and garden so when not people watching I got to see some farm life. We tried the lamb pops, mushroom pasta, sliders, scallops, and the ice cream dessert all of which were supper tasty. The servers were quirky but in a cool way and very helpful in their suggestions. I liked how this placed looked inside and out. It's a perfect set up for warm weather. It does get crowded right quick like in the evenings but everyone was nice and polite. Plus just watching the people showing up after a run or from other different fitness fun or the hipsters it was great people watching.
This place is awesome. The decor is really cool and it has one of those "should be in Aspen, let's all hang out and share things like food and beer" vibe. It is definitely a place I need to come back to in order to give it a full, fair review. But I'll start one now. We came early and got a bunch of plates to split. The Bison Balls were awesome, the duck tacos everyone loved but I thought they were eh, the fries were good and the drinks were interesting! We ate, left, came back later to see it more as a "bar" and that is where this place may have problems. Met up with some friends, waited literally way too long to order a beer, that then took minimum 40 minutes to get to the table. The place is great early in the evening, but if they can't speed up the bar times it would get frustrating. It's a new place so I'm definitely willing to go back and try it again because I really did enjoy it a lot. They may just need to add another bartender.
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