Libertine Liquor Bar
Editor’s Note: This business has moved locations and is now below its sister restaurant, Pizzology, at 608 Mass Ave.
This ode to the Prohibition speakeasy shakes up a leather-bound menu full of carefully devised cocktails such as the refreshing Oakland Maid, a blend of vodka, lime, sugar, mint, and cucumber. Equally as sumptuous are chef de cuisine Paul Haveck’s small plates, including fresh oysters and a bacon flight with multiple dipping sauces. But it is Haveck’s ability to interpret otherwise intimidating dishes, like Southern-fried sweetbreads and roasted bone marrow, into table favorites that keep us coming back.
VESTED INTEREST: The dreamy barkeeps, who dressed to the nines under owner Neal Brown’s original concept, no longer sport genteel fashions (to every girl’s dismay).
MIX IT UP: If you’re going to skimp on the indulgent small plates, accompany your drink with a bowl of the snack mix, a heavenly hodgepodge of salt-and-vinegar chips, miso-honey–roasted nuts, and croutons.
PREVIOUS METIONS: Best New Restaurants 2012, Best Restaurants 2013
38 E. Washington St., 317-631-3333, libertineindy.com
See all 25 Best Restaurants here.
The article appeared in the May 2014 issue.
