Just one block outside the Grove’s main drag, a terrific bar has opened — a serious place for drinks on the edge of what’s often a gloriously unserious neighborhood.
The Vandy (1301 South Vandeventer) opened January 17 in a building you might never have noticed, and even now could easily pass by. The sign carved above the door says only “John B. Gutmann Construction Co.” But inside is a strikingly modern cocktail bar with a huge whiskey list, a tightly curated roster of classics and friendly bartenders who manage to love mixology without ever tripping into being pretentious about it.
Indeed, the Vandy’s look is stylish, not fancy. A long wooden bar that practically shines in the candlelight dominates the shotgun-style room. Tea lights perched inside retro beer cans (Pabst’s Red, White & Blue Beer and Schmidt Beer all made an appearance on a recent night) accent the space.
The opposite wall is lined with 10 small high-top tables for people wanting a more intimate experience. And along the front wall is a piece of decor sure to launch 1,000 Instagram posts — a mirror decked out with the Vandy’s Art Deco-style logo. Charmingly, the logo also makes an appearance on the ice cube in your cocktail.
The Vandy comes from STL Barkeep, which is owned by married couple Matt and Jess Longueville. If you’ve had a cocktail at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis or Garden Glow or just about any event at Tower Grove Park, you’ve already sipped their offerings, and the Vandy provides a place for the roving bar operation to store its paraphernalia as well as showcase its work.
What’s being showcased might surprise you. The 11 cocktails on the Vandy's current menu aren’t the befuddling array of obscure spirits and bitters you often get at ambitious cocktail bars. Instead, the bartenders offer top-notch interpretations of the classics: an old-fashioned, a margarita, a Bee’s Knees. Six are intended to stay throughout the seasons; the five here for now have a “Carnival” theme riffing on Mardi Gras, with a “Soulard Sidecar,” a “Lafayette Sazerac,” a Vieux Carre, a French 75 and a “Tornado” — sort of a hurricane for smart people, with passionfruit, hibiscus and lime subbing in for the usual super-sweet juice blend.
Come spring, the bartenders promise, that seasonal list will incorporate produce from local gardens.
You can also choose among three zero-proof cocktails, wine by the glass and a roster of local beer, including offerings from 4 Hands, Narrow Gauge and nearby Rockwell, which previously colonized this long-neglected block.
If you want to keep things super simple, though, the Vandy could easily be your favorite new whiskey bar. The menu offers a series of reasonably priced flights ($16 to $28) and an astonishing array of whiskeys by the ounce, from Mellowcorn all the way to Angels Envy.
There’s no food, but you have the Grove for that — just a block away, and yet seemingly another world.
For now, the Vandy is open Tuesday through Saturday, with hours beginning at 4 p.m.
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