Review: Fado
originally posted 12:32 AM on Feb 13th, 2004
Fado
3035 Peachtree Road, in Buckhead.
404.841.0066
Cost: Manageable, mostly. Multiple pints will get expensive.
Best time to visit is: on a first date
Amenities: 8 or 9 beers on tap, almost all imports. Booths and odd corners to hide in. No pool, no video games (good) but also no dartboards (bad). Pipe and cigar smoking is allowed.
Absolute coolest feature is: The fireplace, particularly on a cold and rainy day
Order suggestions: A pint of Guinness (or two, or five) and the corned beef and cabbage.
Description:
When it was new, Fado had a glossy quality, almost like the place was not quite the real thing, sort of a bar from the Irish exhibit down at Epcot rather than the genuine article. While there is still a bit of the darby-o'gill-and-the-little-people disney-movie glaze that used to blanket the place, it has aged well. What it lost in flash, it has made up for in poise and polish. I'd love to see it in about 20 years time, when the last of the touristy decor has faded into the smoke-stained walls and all that is left is a great Irish pub.
The place will get crowded on a weekend night, but it's hard to blame people for knowing a good thing when they stumble into one. A Tuesday afternoon may be the best time to first come in, just to acquaint yourself with the layout. There is one central bar, though several dividers separate the place into 5 'rooms', which all sort of flow organically from one to the other even though each maintains its own look and feel. The half-walls and other partitions also provide a number of secluded booths and other nooks for groups (and couples) to stash themselves. This floorplan gives the place a small-pub feeling no matter where you settle in, though for the first-timer it may make finding the toilet difficult. (but then, in a bar, is it ever easy?)
They pour an excellent pint of Guinness, the best in town, and the food here is just as good as the beer. (neither is cheap, but you pay for quality, right?)
Fado is host to live music on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Sports-wise, well, there are only two TV's (not that that's a bad thing) which they only turn on for premier-league football (soccer to you) and rugby matches on pay-per-view, which is cool even though they will charge a cover for the better games. The games draw a lot of expats and other true fans of the game, so it'll be a new experience for a lot of you, watching a game with people who actually care about soccer. (It's usually a live feed, so that can mean games at 10am. Hey, it's an excuse to drink before noon.)
While I can't afford to drink here every week, it is a nice place to visit. Highly Recommended.
web site
Fado
3035 Peachtree Road, in Buckhead.
404.841.0066
Cost: Manageable, mostly. Multiple pints will get expensive.
Best time to visit is: on a first date
Amenities: 8 or 9 beers on tap, almost all imports. Booths and odd corners to hide in. No pool, no video games (good) but also no dartboards (bad). Pipe and cigar smoking is allowed.
Absolute coolest feature is: The fireplace, particularly on a cold and rainy day
Order suggestions: A pint of Guinness (or two, or five) and the corned beef and cabbage.
Description:
When it was new, Fado had a glossy quality, almost like the place was not quite the real thing, sort of a bar from the Irish exhibit down at Epcot rather than the genuine article. While there is still a bit of the darby-o'gill-and-the-little-people disney-movie glaze that used to blanket the place, it has aged well. What it lost in flash, it has made up for in poise and polish. I'd love to see it in about 20 years time, when the last of the touristy decor has faded into the smoke-stained walls and all that is left is a great Irish pub.
The place will get crowded on a weekend night, but it's hard to blame people for knowing a good thing when they stumble into one. A Tuesday afternoon may be the best time to first come in, just to acquaint yourself with the layout. There is one central bar, though several dividers separate the place into 5 'rooms', which all sort of flow organically from one to the other even though each maintains its own look and feel. The half-walls and other partitions also provide a number of secluded booths and other nooks for groups (and couples) to stash themselves. This floorplan gives the place a small-pub feeling no matter where you settle in, though for the first-timer it may make finding the toilet difficult. (but then, in a bar, is it ever easy?)
They pour an excellent pint of Guinness, the best in town, and the food here is just as good as the beer. (neither is cheap, but you pay for quality, right?)
Fado is host to live music on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Sports-wise, well, there are only two TV's (not that that's a bad thing) which they only turn on for premier-league football (soccer to you) and rugby matches on pay-per-view, which is cool even though they will charge a cover for the better games. The games draw a lot of expats and other true fans of the game, so it'll be a new experience for a lot of you, watching a game with people who actually care about soccer. (It's usually a live feed, so that can mean games at 10am. Hey, it's an excuse to drink before noon.)
While I can't afford to drink here every week, it is a nice place to visit. Highly Recommended.
web site
Page created: September 21st 2004 10:08 AM