Scotty’s Bar in Palo Alto
Quality cocktails, chats don’t run dry
Palo Alto is a town blessed with a bounty of bistros and restaurants — many of which have delightful cocktail menus — but it has relatively few true bars. If you’ve spent time on University Avenue and its adjacent streets, you can probably name them off the top of your head.
Which brings us to Scotty’s Bar, a bar that doesn’t pretend to be anything else but manages to anyway. Scotty’s sits on Emerson Street, far enough away from University Avenue that you probably won’t stumble upon it without meaning to. Scott Bailey, who spent 13 years at Empire Tap Room, opened the bar in 2009. He took over the spot from Fred Maddalena when he decided to close both Maddalena’s and Cafe Fino next door after three decades there.
It’s not terribly different inside the narrow space, with the weathered wood bar on the left and a series of banquette tables on the right. The piano in the corner is gone, and Maddalena’s vintage movie posters ( on loan from David Packard) no longer grace the walls. But an art deco chandelier hangs above the door; it and the trompe l’oeil ceiling of clouds against a blue sky both add charm that many bars lack.
The cocktail menu is pretty charming, too, though the prices — $ 9 to $ 11— would seem steep anywhere but Palo Alto. Fortunately, the quality matches the price.
After scanning the chalkboard menu on the wall near my barstool, I settled on a Hendrick’s Negroni ($ 10). If you’re not familiar with the cocktail, it’s about a century old and most likely traces its origins to Italy, home of the distinctive Campari liqueur that is its essential ingredient. Campari is a bitter, red herbal liqueur that can easily go wrong if it’s not well- balanced with other flavors.
In the Negroni, those flavors come from gin and sweet vermouth, and Scotty’s gets it right. Using a premium gin like Hendrick’s, which has a subtle floral flavor, certainly helps. But bartender Alexis Brash said the vermouth is what really makes the difference, and Scotty’s uses Antica Formula Carpano, one of the best out there. The result was a flavorful drink — served on the rocks with a curly lemon twist — with a smooth finish.
The other cocktails I ordered from the menu were just as well- made, including a Sidecar ($ 9), which went down very easily, and a Moscow Mule ($ 9), which is pretty popular among the Scotty’s crowd. I’ve written about my love of the vodkaginger beer concoction before, and I’m happy to report that Scotty’s serves its version in a traditional copper mug.
While I think of Scotty’s as a true bar, as opposed to a restaurant with cocktails, it has an extensive food menu of appetizers, sandwiches, pizzas and entrees. I enjoyed a plate of two grilled Italian sausages ($ 10), served with housemade potato chips that were warm and crispy, and gave serious thought to the Buffalo Chicken Wings ($ 9), which are another specialty. ( I failed to order Scotty’s signature dessert, homemade sugar doughnuts served with a Chambord whipped cream. I will be correcting that error in the near future.) Appetizers are 50 percent off during happy hour, from 4: 30 to 6: 30 p. m., which makes it much easier to get a few items and share with friends.
I stuck to cocktails on my visit, but there’s also a good selection of California wines available by the glass ( mostly $ 7 to $ 9) or bottle ( most are in the mid-$ 30 range) and a number of craft and import beers that generally run $ 5 to $ 8 apiece.
The bar is popular with both the Stanford crowd and employees at other Palo Alto restaurants and bars, and you’ll find a nice crosssection of regulars ( one of the pizzas on the menu is named after a regular, and I’m told Maddalena still comes in on occasion).
There are a couple of TVs at the bar so sports fans can keep up on the day’s happenings, but the main entertainment at Scotty’s is provided by the customers. Chances are decent you’ll strike up a conversation with someone, and what a relief it is to not have to shout over loud music.
Someplace where you can chat with friends — old or new — over a well- made drink. Well, that’s a good definition of a true bar.