FilmBar: Come for a movie, stay for a craft beer.
Rum Bar: Come for a mai tai, stay for a daiquiri . . . and a rum punch.
Stylin' beer bottle lights, reggae on the stereo, and a really good drink menu.
Just blocks apart, there are two new Downtown Phoenix venues that can already count me as a fan: FilmBar and Rum Bar. If you haven’t stopped by either place yet, I’m telling you, go this weekend. Hell, go tonight. It might be coincidental that both places have “bar” in their names, but there’s no doubt that they’re both raising it for Phoenix culture.
FilmBar is the indie arthouse cinema you’ve dreamed of. The releases you read about that screen in other cities, but somehow not here. The underground, off-the-radar stuff. The epic foreign films, like 13 Assassins, Takashi Miike’s remake of Eiichi Kudo’s 1963 samurai flick. (I just saw it a few nights ago and was blown away by the intensity of it. The final battle scene was one of the most badass, ever.)
Just as great is the bar here, where you can order beers like Lagunitas IPA or Leffe Blonde, and either chill at the counter, hang in the dimly-lit lounge, or take your drink into the theater. Behind the rows of seats, there are several high-top tables to sit at. Even if I weren’t coming for a movie, I’d still stop by and have a few drinks.
Over at Rum Bar, there’s just as much ambience. I love the bar lights made from Red Stripe bottles, the cozy seating, and the fact that you can order food from The Breadfruit, the Jamaican restaurant that it’s connected to.
The service here is really top-notch — on a recent visit, my cocktail waitress took the time to explain different aged rums, the ingredients in the day’s specials (a daiquiri with fresh muddled cherries — wow!), and the overall philosophy of the place. Nothing is made from a mix, so you can count on fresh juices in everything.
I had a very memorable mai tai here, and I hope to have many more. See you at the bar . . .
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