Testify!
Now this is my kind of church going experience! Â It was a raining (pouring actually) night in Atlanta and we were up in the air as to what to do - when I was asked if I wanted to go to church... Â not being a church type by any stretch of the imagination, I begged off but as I found out, this is not quite what I had expected.
We scored 2 seats at the bar and while waiting for the bartender I had a gander at some of the decorations and artwork that adorn the chapel walls. Â I was duly impressed by the actual church lights and assorted church items holding up the available beer list... forgot what you call that thing.
We went with our usual cocktails and watched the show - as others have pointed out, there tends to be a mostly young male crowd here and that seemed to be the case the night we were there.
The artwork is just awesome - probably not everyones cup of tea, but it surely didn't bother me at all.. score a bonus for being located across from an actual functioning church.
The bathrooms were surprisingly clean and the bartenders were very good- so all in all we had a fun time and walked away with stories to tell the friends back home. Â
Definitely something different with the holy trinity of Elvis, MLK, and Jesus over the bar! Â Toss in a few scattered Pee Wee Herman dolls and the flying nun over the main floor and you have yourself one hell of a revival!
Hallelujah, pass the booze!
Drinking it up at Church?! Lol, we all had to come and experience this place since it's not very often you find a bar decorated with Jesus paintings with crude remarks on them. Oh, definitely not for those who are VERY religious since I think some might take offense to it.
The ladies in our group had enough to drink at this point, but I wasn't done. So, the boys and I decided to grab a few shots to end the night off with. First time trying a "slippery nipple" and my oh my was it delicious. Loved the boys for the recommendation! We went upstairs and found a few stools to sit in and then the music started playing, and I was FINALLY dancing!
Everyone seemed really chill, and quite respectable which was nice. One girl in our group came with her BF, and a random guy approached her and said, "Hey, I know you're with that guy, but I just want to let you know that you're really beautiful." and then walked away after she said thank you. He wasn't rude, nor pushy, nor made her or anyone else feel uncomfortable which is quite a first at places like this so kudos to the guy lol.
They also have the murphy robes that people can wear and take pictures with and act silly with. Like I said, not for those who are very religious as it can be quite offensive lol.
I put up a few pictures on my Instagram and M&M instantly replied stating how she LOVES this place! So, it must be worth checking out.
Quite an interesting experience to say the least lol.
Let me just tell you that this is one place you have to experience. I would not recommend going here for the first time on a busy Friday or Sat night -- we were here  on a lazy Saturday afternoon and were able to casually wander around and see all the wacky art (even in the bathrooms).
Highly recommended. Try the Sangria too!
"My ping pong scholorship came through." -- Nice Girls Don't Explode (1987)
So my visit was not a good one. I feel sort of guilty reviewing after this visit but it was a mess. Â First of all, it was so packed, we were getting knocked around trying to get through the mess of people. Â People are just rude when they are drinking - they need some help with crowd control.
Next, I forgot there is NO bar upstairs. Â We went upstairs to get away from the masses, and didn't get a drink first (not that we could have if we wanted). Â We finally got thru the throngs and were bummed we couldn't get drinks.
Not sure why this is a ping pong emporium when there is only one table - but my visits here it is always taken and I have never had the chance to play.
Back down we went. Â We took a longing glance and the bar and realized NO WAY would that happen, nor would we be able to get out the front door - thank heavens there is a back door.
I may try again on a less insane night.
I have been wanting to come here and finally got to and it was everything a Catholic school graduate could ever hope for. Oh Catholic school. How many atheists can you produce? Though at the same time I am still terrified how one of my closest friends turned out. In fact I'm not even sure about the last time I spoke to him since he got married and is now just like in the business of producing Catholic babies.
The inside of this place would make the religion teacher I got stuck with two years in a row faint. Oh hell, the school has nuns now, so they'd probably faint too. (So glad I was out of there before then. I was also part of the last class to get to wear legitimate skirts and not those horrific skort things.)
Also the music, it just got to me, it was like they were inside my laptop, when my music taste is trapped and cannot move past 2002. "Pony" followed by that Sum 41 song my friend and I sang karaoke to at our 8th grade graduation party? YEAH.
I was here on a Thursday night and it was pretty nice, I don't think I'd come on a more weekend date. It was still kind of busy but people were super nice, like I actually had someone apologize for barely bumping my arm. I don't think I've ever had that experience on Edgewood before. My friends were kind of running the ping pong table, it was hilarious...except when their cheerleaders turned into their enemies on the table.
I was kind of surprised given the name that it is only one table.
One day I shall come back.
Church Bar is a testament to why I don't like to review based on one or only a few visits. On the weekends, I give church bar a 2 or 3 at most. Its overpacked with d- bags and it's on the bottom of my list of bars to go to on a Saturday/ Friday night.
On the weekday, however, it's a completely different story. During the summer, on a half empty patio, in the middle of the week, it's really great for catching up or hanging out with your friends. The atmosphere is so laid back. I think the sangria is average/ below average even though I'm not a sangria expert. At 8 per glass, it's so so. All the other drinks are priced decently.
The ping pong tables involve a long wait on the weekends. There are church robes, but don't try so hard to make other people wear it (I'm talking about you, weird Cacucasian girl whose boyfriend was hitting on me and you kept trying to convince me to wear the damn robe. Creepy). I'm a big fan of all the artwork though. I like the F*** fear and the big triptych behind the bar with Jesus, Martin Luthor King Jr, and Elvis. It's so perfect and Southern. And the bartenders are pretty handsome. Also they're good bartenders. I had a shot called "bullet to the head". I think it had grapefruit juice, honey, and something else. It was sweet and delicious, I couldn't taste the alcohol at all.
4 stars during the week, 2 stars on the weekend. (My personal preferences are for more laid-back, casual, and unpretentious bars)
What a fun place to spend a Friday night! This bar has more personality than anywhere I have been in a long time. It has two levels- with the famous ping-pong table upstairs. We arrived pretty early 9:30ish and had no problem finding seating upstairs. The music was vibey and fun (Dirty Diana, anyone?!), but at a good volume level so we could still have a conversation.
The entire bar is full of RAD art pieces and fun trinkets to browse. There are interesting conversation pieces around every corner and I seriously could have spent the night just looking at the artwork!
I'm dying to come out and rock the mic on a church-organ karaoke night... where choir robes are available for costumes. How brilliant! I will absolutely be returning to this quirky establishment. Local or visiting, Sister Louisa's is most certainly worth the visit.
A holy place of drinking, fantastic music, and unique and sacred decor. An awesome place that is vulgar is in the coolest way. Â I enjoy that they play the oddest and sweetest mash up of music. Â It can get crowded and chaotic and so you may have wait a while for drinks and service. The Bar Tenders do make weak drinks and can often times be rude on busy nights.
Review Source:Drink and be merry...Or else!!! Great atmosphere, visual stimulation everywhere, and NO SMOKING! This place is a blast. When I went the seating was non-existent, but we found a table meant for 6 with only 3 people at it. We politely asked if we may occupy the other side and were happily granted permission. Shortly thereafter our tablemates vacated and we then returned the favor to 2 other groups that came and went. Drink prices were on the lower end of average. Service was prompt even though the bar was slammed, some times 3 deep waiting. The only negatives are the lack of two bars and the very cramped environment. I can't wait to go back. Maybe I'll don the choir robe next time!
Review Source:If you don't have a sense of humor, don't even bother setting foot in Church. I've heard way too many people claiming they are going to burn in hell because they were in there. Do yourself a favor and leave. Grant has created an establishment where every part of the bar is a conversation piece, from the art, to the trinkets, to the people that get a bit too drunk and put on the choir robes (I've done it. You will too.).
You walk in and no one is having a bad time. Iit can get super packed on the weekends, and if a bar gets back on the weekends, there's only a matter of time that it gets overrun by hipsters. There's only 1 bar downstairs (I reaaally wish there was one upstairs) that causes people to pack in right by the entrance. So if you do get a drink, go ahead and get a few so you don't have to wait again. I enjoy Church since it is non-smoking, and clean. There's constantly someone walking around cleaning tables and grabbing the empty bottles. The bathrooms stay pretty clean considering how many people go through there (They were out of TP when I went but grab a few napkins and you're good). If someone catches you not smiling, they will make it known and lift your spirits up. You don't feel like you need to be part of an elite club walking in here. No one is ill-willed, everyone just wants to have a blast. And the sangria is awesome.
Enough about hipsters and all that shaz. Â This place serves beer, It has a cool atmosphere, it's small, and apparently many people are over thinking this place. Â It's just a bar. Â The rest is in your head....AKA.--Don't let people change ya da da da dada. Â Yes lots of skinny jeans, lots of little boys with skinny jeans, Â lots of girls with glasses that don't need glasses. Â People that probably have a club before hand and then go as "a group" to Kareoke nigh heret... Â Yah a lot of that kind of stuff. Â But really it's just bar.....with people in it. Â Â Decor good. Â Atmosphere - Hipster , Â Alcohol- Average Selection, Â Patio outside- great in the summer, You - Worried you ain't cool enough!!
If you're mad about it just step on a pin pong ball... Average'
Dudes everywhere.
The crowd here is about 85% boys. Not men. Not guys. Man-children stuffed so tightly into the small two-story space that you can smell PBR mix with a distinct flavor of hummus as you pass each rambling, obnoxious mouth.
"Oh, but they have table tennis and darts!"
Yawn. Good luck getting any enjoyment out of that with all the inconsiderate, drunken imbeciles surrounding you. Actually... Good luck getting to play at all. ONE dart board. ONE ping pong table. Boredom level: infinite. I'm pretty sure Drug Emporium sold more than just BC powder and Robitussin, and kept more than one of each on the shelves. Were diversification and just-in-case inventory the reasons for its demise?
If you're a dude who loves being in an environment where, throughout the night, you're forced to stand in a single spot, immobile, as your junk is rubbing against another dude's junk, with only a thin buffer of skinny denim preventing their meeting... er... meating, then this is your place.
Church gets 3 stars for occasionally playing decent music but loses one star for transmitting it over a shitty sound system.
Overall, 3/10.
Hot dang! This place is fun and unique. It definitely deserves a visit to check out the sacrilegious surroundings. We went on a Saturday night and it was hopping with little room to breathe. Still, we ordered our red Solo cups of beer and found our way to the second floor and the sole ping pong table.
The crowd was in good spirits and happy to make room for us. We added our name to the long list of those waiting to play. Though we didn't withstand the wait required, we enjoyed watching the tipsy players wield their paddles with skill.
We liked the typical bar atmosphere found on the first level, especially with the added benefit of choir robes for any patron to don.
Recently I've ended up at "Church" a few times. Each time has been a different yet equally enjoyable experience. I've been on a Thursday night when the place was completely dead i.e. A friend, me, a tired bar tender, and some old dude asleep in the corner. I've been on a Thursday when it was packed with lots of college students geared up in Church robes and swinging the ping pong paddles. Â I've been on a Friday when it has been filled to the brim with hipsters in their mid to late twenties who are regulars and claim the place as their turf (think Sharks v. Jets showdown).
The decor is quite humorous especially for those of us lucky enough to attend Catholic school for most of our lives. If nothing more, it's a great place to visit just to look at all of the art and crazy things they have hung up everywhere.
There is a large parking lot to the left of the front door and a few street-side parking spots are up for grabs on the near by streets. There is also a dirt alley behind the building and parking lot. Â You can parallel park there without fear of being towed.
In the spirit of Sister Louisa's Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium I offer these closing thoughts:
Hail Sister Louisa's, full of hipsters
The PBR is with thee.
Blessed are thou among ping pongers,
and blessed is the fruit of thy special sangria.
Dear Church, haven of the thirsy,
serve us sinners
now and between the hours of 5pm and 3am.
Pack your skinny jeans, American Apparel clothes and hipster, douche bag hair and meet me at Sister Louisa's! Not a local? Come sit next to me at the bar and be shunned for hours while you literally beg for a refresher on your drink. Want to play ping pong, darts or even pool upstairs, get in line. This Babysitters Club-esque only section will literally escort you back downstairs where you belong.
I don't get this place and trust me, I've tried. The house DJ makes me wish I still did lines in bathrooms and the sassy brunette behind the counter makes me want to repent for my sins and give thanks for her amazing rack. I was so confused but any church tends to do that to me. Come on in, precious...
I enjoyed the random music, and I mean random. Lords of Acid was playing one second and the next there was a remix of Katy Perry. Dear God and baby Jesus... WHY?! I am convinced my reaction was being taped or was it being taped because I was literally doing the chicken dance in hopes of getting a drink from the bartender?
I loved the art work and the sacrilegious, in your face points they were clearly trying to make but again, its all too urban, Euro-trash, trying too hard to get their point across. I get it, you're filling a niche that Urban Outfitters just can't.
Good for you Sister Louisa's, you have a bar that is more like an old school playground. You've shown me you have enough friends and don't want anymore. I will take my ball and go back to Cypress Street.
Sister Louisa's Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium is a bar. Most people seem to refer it as "church." So they can make the, "I'm going to church later," jokes. Â I call it the Ping Pong Emporium or SLCOTLRAPPE for short.
The bar is 2 stories. The downstairs looks like a typical bar. The upstairs has the ping pong table and a dart board. Unfortunately, they only have 1 ping pong table. If you want to play, you might be waiting a while on a busy night.
I went on a Friday night. It looked pretty slammed. It looks like a popular bar in general.
In the end, it's just another bar with a lot of kitsch.
Every second Sunday of the month, I ceremonially repent and sin at Church when I come out for Second Service with DJ Vicki Powell. Glad to have Sister Louisa's venue be the party place of choice for such a fun event. On the winter months, the dance floor moves upstairs and in the warmer months, the party goes outdoor on the patio. The availability of the other space during the dance party is great for catching your breath and to kiki with all your squirrel friends.
Bartenders are attentive and are pretty quick at taking your drink orders, despite how packed the bar can get. Pro tip - If you forget to close out, you're automatically charged 20% gratuity the next day. So if you're happy with your service and were planning to tip that much (which you should!), then it works out beautifully. Lord knows I've done that quite a few times when leaving as a sweaty mess after dancing to the DJ that saved my life.
Ok so I think I enjoy Sister Louisa's Church a little too much. Â Especially church organ karaoke on Wednesday nights. Â It's my go to place if I want to go out on a Wednesday night. Â It's located at the intersection of Boulevard and Edgewood. Â There's usually plenty of street parking at night during the week. Â I avoid this place on the weekends.
Wednesday nights are my favorite because Church has karaoke. Â Not your normal karaoke. Â There's a church organ, choir robes, and the good book of lyrics. Â It starts at 10 pm upstairs. Â It's great to watch even if you don't sing. Â If you do want to sing, there's a stack of papers with the songs available. Â You write your name down on a scrap of paper also floating around and give it to the organist TT Mahony. Â
The artwork is fabulous although you might be offended if you are super religious. Â
They do have other things going on during the week if karaoke is not your thing. Â Ping Pong tournaments on Mondays and Revival on Tuesdays. Â
Drinks aren't too pricey but sometimes hard to come by at the bar. Â You may have to wave a little bit.
My mom always tells me that I need to go to church more often. Â Is it bad that I tell her that I go to Church on Wednesday nights on occasion?
Wow. What a rockin place! I just happened upon it one night and they just so happened to be doing church organ karaoke, so I put my name on the "list", which was really just me writing my name and the song on a crumpled piece of paper that I was told to find myself and give to the organ player. Ha! Now that's customer service right there.
When my name was called, I slipped on a choir robe and belted out "Common People" by Pulp. It's quite clear that Church has a lot of regulars because everyone got quiet and took notice of my newbness strolling up there to sing like I owned the place. But everyone was nice and clapped and high-fived me when I was done, so I have no complaints. Nice hipsters, yay!
The sangria was REALLY good and the decor was amazing. The upstairs part where they do the karaoke was really chill with couches and stuff. Yeah, I'll be back!
Sister Louisa's Church is a popular bar in the growing nightlife of Edgewood Ave, but I'm so-so on the place.
My first time here, I was immediately into the novelty aspect of the religious mockery, the priest robes you can wear for fun, and the random ping-pong tables. Â But... within half an hour, the novelty wore off and I realized I was in just another hipster bar.
It's still a fun time in that the crowd is diverse and the drinks are moderately priced. Â But I frequently find myself wanting to use this place as a jumping off point rather than stay here for longer than an hour.
It gets crowded but not overly crowded, and there's little mingling amongst social groups. Â I feel this place is primarily filled with regular patrons and first-timers who are interested in checking out the novelty. Â Very little in between.
I enjoy going to this place before I head to Noni's whenever I'm out in Edgewood, but it's not something that I'd enthusiastically recommend to any of my friends. Â Still, it beats nothing.
I try and make it up to Church once a week. Â It's not for everyone. Â Bottom line is that if you're not easily offended, do yourself a favor and try it once... especially on a Wednesday to watch some Karaoke. Â It's a lot of fun. Â And parking isn't so bad.
TT Mahoney is an Atlanta, no national treasure.
The F*** Fear drink (rum based) is a personal favorite.
don't care about the ping pong table.
Not sure why i even bother writing reviews though. Â Yelp's just going to filter this like they do all my other ones. Â dillweeds.
Dear friends, we gather here at Sister Louisa's Church to pay homage to PBR, patios, ping pong, and hipsters. There's nowhere else in Atlanta where I can don a choir robe while throwing back a tallboy. Everything about this joint screams debauchery and damn do I love it on a night out.
My brothers and sisters, this place is not for the faint of heart. My Catholic relatives would disown me if they knew I was laughing my ass off at the "Jesus Loves The Gays More Than He Loves Kittens" artwork. But hey - I'm not throwing stones - and when I feel like having a good time in a place where I know I won't be judged, I'm heading to Sister Louisa's.
I mean, the way some of my friends talked about this place, I expected heaven on earth. Or I guess more specifically, heaven in a parody for a church. Instead, I experienced a mix of a down-to-earth dive bar and hipster hang out, which has its  bonuses, such as:
-no cover (at least around midnight on a Friday)
-cheap beer
-happenin' Patio
-ONE ping pong table (I second those that suggest the addition of more tables if you are really going to call yourself a "Ping Pong Emporium")
-no dress code. Come in flip flops. come in PJs. I dont think anyone cares and, worst case scenario, you can just hide your outfit under a robe.
-eclectic music
What I wish they had-
A better drink selection for us non-beer lovers. (The $8 sangria is a good start, but that better be a great sangria for the price point).
A better beer selection for beer lovers. Â
All-in-all, a fun place to stumble into late at night.
I love this place and Grant Henry (Sister Louisa) is an amazing guy. He sat down with me one night and told me the whole story behind Church. The artwork isn't just supposed to be shocking or kitschy, it has to do with the reason he left the church (he was a pastor). Anyway the staff is super friendly, the patio is huge, and you can walk around in choir robes!
I tend to go early because it gets packed later at night. Some of the hipster crowd is too much to handle.
I like going upstairs when it's not crowded and just goofing around with ping-pong. It is a great place to socialize.
Their selection of food sucks-but fun GA law makes it easier (and I think cheaper) to get a liquor license if you serve food! Hooray for loopholes!
We went really early in the evening, like at 5:30 pm on a Saturday. There was almost no one there, just some people upstairs at the ping pong table, and others just milling around the bar. We pretty much had the place to ourselves! It was very chill and we could talk (and hear ourselves) and get a good view of the crazy art and old church robes and lanterns and other old church and oddity memorabilia that is everywhere. By a window bar counter, you can sit next to Mary and Joseph a la life-sized nativity set, and Joseph is wearing a snorkeling mask.
We had some of their famous sangria, which was just what we needed after a hot day outside! It has fruit in it, and the bartender brought us a bowl of goldfish crackers to snack on too. Delicious.
The owner also does a lot of the artwork hung on the walls, often taking old paintings he finds (or copies) and writes sayings on it, as if quoting Sister Louisa. The whole place is kitsch-tastic! There are also a lot of Pee Wee Herman dolls around. Upstairs, they have one ping pong table, and four of those life-sized light up choir kids that you see at Christmas time, as well as a whole shelf of old awards, some dating back to the 50s and 60s, that were rescued from thrift stores. It's worth going in just to look around!
We didn't get to experience their organ karaoke (which is on Wednesdays), but I asked a few questions, and the bartender said they have a real organist that comes in and plays from a book of songs which include hymns and pop songs. I'd love to come back to see that.
Area is a little run-down, but there is a Marta station nearby, and there is meter parking as well as a small parking lot and an alley that are free.
It was a quiet stop for us, but that's how we like it. Later in the evening, so I hear, things cat get a little sinful ;)
In my humble opinion, the best way to encounter Church isn't on one of the insane, hipster-filled weekend evenings after 11pm (sorry, I don't own suspenders, skinny jeans, or ironic t-shirts, but more power to those who do). Church is really amazing on just a regular, early evening, where you can pop a squat on the patio--and bring your canine companion--or hole up with your sweetie upstairs, sipping a delicious-and-sneakily-strong Sangria.
I could say what everyone else is already saying on Yelp, but if you want an insider tip, it's all about the timing. Avoid the crowds and get to know the place like your own personal "Cheers" - so much better than slamming your way through drunk frat guys and Williamsburg wannabes on the weekends.
P.S. The live organ karaoke on Wednesday is a blast, whether you're observing or participating.
I made so many promises Saturday night. I would not drink a second glass of punch. I would wear heels. I would learn to ride a bike in traffic.
Sister Louisa's is the perfect place for promise-breakers like me. I atoned for my sins with, yes, a second glass of what I call punch but they call sangria. I wandered the halls in my flat shoes looking at pieces of art profaning Jesus and other religious figures. I lounged on the patio, gossiping with my friends. (As for that third promise, I drove home, by way of Delia's Chicken Sausage Stand, so, no bikes for me yet.)
This bar is an excellent bar, and if you're not a total priss, it's the place to drink on a weekend night. It's crowded enough to feel populated, but not so crowded you have to wait too long for a drink. It's hipster in that it's edgy and provacative, but without that annoying hipster exclusivity.
I love O4W more every time I visit, and this is just another attraction to lure me there.
I feel more than a little bitchy updating my review of Church the night after they got vandalized, but hey, here I am. I went back again tonight and I have to admit: I'm just not sold on this place. I still love the kitsch, but I don't love the feeling of not being cool enough to hang out here. It has a lot of regulars, which is great, but non-regulars shouldn't be made to feel like lepers.
It wasn't that crowded and it took us over 10 minutes and a lot of waving to get a bartender's attention. The first one we ordered from blatantly ignored us, the second fixed our drinks and handed them over without much of a smile. You're not doing much to make me want to become a regular, Sister Louisa's.
Also, minus one star for cutting off the musical genius of Marvin Gaye in exchange for some Stankonia-era Outkast. I love me some local flavor, but dang y'all, it's Marvin Gaye. Have some respect.
Oh Sister Louisa's. (AKA Church "It's a Bar")
This place is so sinfully delightful. If you are a serious Christian who doesn't have a sense of humor, stay very far away, this is not the place for you. In fact, in some circles this place could be offensive...
I however have no such qualms. I love this bar. It is probably one of the most laid back bars I have ever been to. Located in the somewhat questionable Old Fourth Ward area, this is one church that brings a loyal gathering mixed with all types of people searching for the eternal answer to the question, what is the most fun, casual bar in Atlanta.
Preach it Sister Louisa! What's not to love about this place that has a ping pong table, priest robes you can take silly pictures with, the tacky Jesus decorations with Sister Louisa's naughty writings all over, a spacious outdoor patio, and plenty of retro lounge furniture to park yourself on.
The cons that I have with this place are that it gets really crowded downstairs and the restrooms are in poor shape. So crowded that you have to make your way through the crowd to get upstairs and outside and pray you don't spill your drink. (Which they have an excellent selection of, btw). So if this bar ever expands, it will be the best bar in Atlanta. Until then, its promising and my friends and I love it, but its a little too cramped.
Church has been on my list for a long, long time. Since it opened. I have a hard time dragging my crew all the way down to Edgewood. (I mean, it's a good five or six miles from Emory's campus. Practically OTP. /sarcasm) I finally saw my opening. For some reason everyone was asking me where we were going for the night. (Probably because our usual social chair, Jen C., was on a date.) And the answer was Church. One friend texted back: I'm Jewish. ALCOHOL KNOWS NO RELIGION.
We got here around ten, before it got super crowded, and did a lap. My recovering Catholic boyfriend was a little sketched by all of the Jesus imagery, but once I explained the bar's backstory, he conceded that it was cool. We may have taken home a postcard with a painting of Jesus saying "I want to be inside of you." Sexy.
Drinks are pretty cheap, and they offer a nice selection. I would have liked to try the famed sangria, but I couldn't say no to four dollar pints of Hopsecutioner. At 7.2 percent ABV, I was tipsy one beer in.
I like the dichotomy of hang out spaces. The downstairs seems like a relatively traditional bar, save for the pervasive Jesus artwork. Upstairs is well-lit and cozy. Folks hang out in the priest robes hanging on the wall. I wish there were a few more ping-pong tables, but otherwise Church is basically a perfect place to kick it. (Except, like, does anyone else get really uneasy going up and down stairs when they're drinking? I wasn't even super drunk, but I definitely almost took a fall. I'm scared of stairs though. I'm sure someone has ate it here before, though. And I'm terrified that person will one day be me.)
Basically, I lovelovelove Church. This should probably be a five-star review. Pray Jesus I can drag my lovely friends here regularly. Amen.
After my first visit to Church, all I can say is thank you, Baby Jesus, for this offering of peace. From the moment that I walked in and saw a picture of Jesus sitting by the shore with the caption, "I can see Alaska from my rock", I knew that I had finally found a congregation that I could actually tolerate. Some might label this place irreverent, but I consider it a glorious palace of satirical genius. Â
Food/Drink: Church is first and foremost a bar; as such, you shouldn't come here expecting a menu chock full of culinary ingenuity. Aside from a limited selection of perfectly edible light bar fare, Church has a fully stocked bar with beer, wine, and liquors to please most reasonably-minded individuals. The "Spiritual Sangria" (aka the red blood cells of Christ) is among their more well-known specialties, which is packed with liquor-laden fruit and ladled out of a glass vat for your personal enjoyment. The fruit absorbs all the alcohol, so they even provide you with a spoon to help expedite the inebriation process.
Service: Not overly friendly, but by no means pretentious or unwelcoming. The bar has a loyal following and is almost invariably packed, so don't expect to receive any sort of preferential treatment.
Atmosphere: As others have noted, the atmosphere at Church is like no other in Atlanta, or anywhere in the Georgia for that matter. The church theme is complete with a confessional, choir robes for patrons to don at their leisure, a flying nun mannequin hanging from the ceiling, and a vast array of Sister Louisa's famed artwork. As others have noted, the clientele is comprised of a fair share of hipsters. However, I'm a self-professed yuppie and felt more than welcome. Â
Cost: Competitively priced with most bars in the area. You can expect to pay in excess of $5 per drink, but can rest assured that it will be strong and delicious. There is no cover charge, regardless of the day.
Other: Church does not have a formal website, so Facebook is their primary means of communication. For those wishing to partake in the infamous church organ karaoke, it has been moved to Wednesday evenings from 10PM - 2AM.
I get it. I get the joke.
I mean really, we're talking about someone who's next purchase will be Jesus and Virgin Mary salt and pepper shakers, here, people. I love religious satire. Anyone who'll poke fun at deities and the like get my vote.
This place is playfully irreverent, jokingly sacrilegious to all the Bible thumpers out there. Basically, with all the drinking and debochery going on here, I wouldn't recommend bringing your churchy friends. They'll try and preach the gospel to you.
Lots of crazy artwork, and lighting. You'll see Jesus, Mary, and lots of Catholic usual suspects all over the walls. What a truly ironic place to get shitfaced in.
Yes, I'm a heathen, and I approve this message.
Oh, and don't come here looking for ping-pong. You'll be disappointed. They DO however have church robes you can wear around, so, it's a pretty decent trade.
Lately I've been obsessed with blow molds. Right now a flamboyant light-up snowman sits in my living room, his pinky shyly grazing his lips, his feet girlishly crossed. He's part of my winter decor; I wish I could find a bunny blow mold for spring, a butterfly blow mold for summer and a scaredy cat blow mold for fall (actually, Etsy sells those).
Church manages to decorate with choir boy and Santa blow molds year-round. They create a warm, vintage vibe that only retro globule Christmas lights and other such seasonal items achieve.
It's funny that other people might describe this bar as "hipster," since the people I've met up with at Church are not hipsters at all. I arrived at one friend's going-away party at Church at 12:30 over the holidays, assuming that was acceptable.
"Y'all are cool, so you got here late," one member of the party commented.
Whatever. I prematurely assumed this place would ooze indie standoffishness, but it doesn't. Church is one of my favorite Atlanta bars now because of the:
* blow molds
* non-smoking atmosphere
* upstairs water cooler
* nice bartenders
*****Quick Tip***** BEWARE PARKATLANTA!
I'm only writing this because this place has so much hype, I know it won't make a lick o' difference to add any criticism. Most of my friends go here on the regular and adore it. The decor is the epitome of bad ass and yet somehow not trite. The drinks are cheap and realreal strong. Yes ping pong, yes kitschy food options, yes the entire bar makes you feel cooler for being there, which lord knows I need.
That said, there is something off-putting to me about this place, primarily **on the weekends**. The massive influx of people who, not unlike myself, want to feel cooler than their jobs and lifestyles will allow is overwhelming. The last time I saw a grown ass woman with a dress that short and that drunk was when I last went to Vision. Yes, Vision, the night club that closed 6+ years ago.
The other reasons I don't freakishly love hanging out here are personal. I smoke. I love to smoke, especially when I'm boozing. Everything about Church screams "F*&k yes you can smoke here!!!" But you can't. That annoys me, so cheer away all you condescending, anti-smoking vigilantes. La-tee-da. I also feel that the unwelcome socioeconomic diversity of the crowd, e.g. Vision skank 2001, would be somewhat alleviated if we were allowed to smoke. Yeah, I said that. Oops.
The final issue is that I am short. Not aggressively short, but at 5'5", there is no place in the entire downstairs where I can sit comfortably except the confessional, and thus I am thrown into the fray with Vision skank's boobs on my shoulder, where I gently whimper until someone has mercy on me and brings me a drink.
Yeah ok, I'm done whining. I lied, I guess I do like this place. Dammit.
This is one of those times I definitely should have written my review as soon as I got home (if for no other reason than to have documented my Tweets from that night). It was unplanned, but that's what Labor Day weekend is all about, right? Or maybe that's just how I celebrate my holidays. Either way, I had a great time.
I met up with Alexa G. and our friend Cristina. One or both of them promised me a drink, so I definitely wasn't going to pass that up. It was a only matter of time before more folks showed up (including Ivan S. and Alain L. who both showed OUT upstairs during karaoke).
It all started off innocent enough and then somehow the evening turned into a John Waters movie. That's the best way I can describe it. Actually, I think I called it the gay hell version of "Phantom of the Opera." The electric organ background music is awesome. At some point they encourage preaching too. I could have done without that, but in the grand scheme of things I guess it all worked out.
The crowd is awesome and I ended up meeting a new friend. In case you were wondering, Sean has already been to a Yelp event and we've only known each other for a few weeks. Yup. I recruited another one.
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