Watkin’s Branch Bourbon & Brasserie
Did the reality live up to our fantasy?
(UPDATE: Watkin’s Branch is no longer in business.)
Have you ever built a place up in your mind to be something special, even though you’ve never been there? Fantasized about romantic steak dinners and smoky bourbon drinks shared by candlelight? Pictured all the haute people socializing at the bar having lofty conversations about loftier ideas? Sort of like the famed round table at the Algonquin Hotel.
Well, that’s how I pictured Watkin’s Branch Bourbon & Brasserie* was going to be. Even the name, carefully painted on the plate glass window around a wise old owl conjures images of afternoon preprandials that lead into evening cocktails that lead to nightcaps. I’m thinking fedoras and trench coats, misty rain and streetlights. After all, they even have a Members Club that you can belong to (for a fee, of course). They have members, y’all! It must be something special. Right?
Ricky and I tried to go there once before Christmas, but the restaurant had been rented out for a private party. We left, dejected, as the beautiful people drifted in to celebrate the season. For the record, that’s how we wound up at Civitas, which made the evening even more of a disappointment and caused us to fantasize about the good meal we had surely missed out on at Watkin’s.
We drive by there often, although not so much lately since the streets of Mountain Brook have been dug up to do God knows what. Whatever it is, it’s taking forever! But I digress. We drive by there quite a bit and try to squint through the window to see what lies within. We’ve even walked by there and peered through the glass like kids looking at Christmas toys, only the toys are bourbon bottles.
Recently we decided to go back to Watkin’s and see what wonder lay behind the big owl on the tinted window and what gastronomical mystique would occur on “an old Native American hunting ground…pioneered in the 1820s” as the website describes the area. It was a Friday evening, a little before 5. I wanted to go early to miss what I was sure would be the crush of regulars and newcomers who would gather at the small bar to engage in the aforementioned witty repartee.
Before I go any further, let me return to a word I just used – small. Watkins is a very small place next door to the old Sneaky Pete’s/new Rougaroux on Culver Road. That was part of the allure – it’s tiny! The bar has six or seven bar stools and there’s only seating for 16 inside. There is a small patio out back, but more about that later.
Watkins opens at 3:30 and when we arrived about 4:30, we were the first customers it seemed. We were taken to a table and given menus both for dinner/drinks and for some happy hour specials they had. For a place that styles itself as having “an extensive bourbon list, craft beer, wine and other spirits,” we thought the drink list looked a little sparse until I realized there was a QR code on the menu that took us to quite an extensive list. To be fair, it even says “spirits” underneath the code, but why have to go the extra step?
We were told right off that they were out of vodka and tequila (even though there is a liquor store two blocks away) but we didn’t mind because we were there for bourbon and brassiere! Our server was also very jolly and welcoming, so we shrugged it off and ordered two Boulevardiers. We did notice that our server was also tending bar, but it was still early and we did hear the other server who was present tell someone that she is in training.
Around 5 p.m. some people started trickling in and gathering around the bar where many of them were greeted by name. It seemed like mostly regulars who knew each other, and they kept the bartender busy with their orders and chit chat. They looked more like golfers than Algonquin round table writers, but they seemed to be entertaining each other with happy chatter and back slapping.
Our drinks came out quickly and were pretty good for a happy hour cocktail. I guess they were made from the “well” bourbon, whatever it was, since that’s the special. I’m used to a Boulevardier with a more robust flavor of Campari and vermouth (a 1:1:1 ratio), but this drink (maybe a 2 bourbon to 1:1?), served with one large ice cube and the requisite piece of orange peel, was just fine. Ricky later ordered a Manhattan and was disappointed when it was presented with no cherry. It also seemed paler than the Manhattan’s we’re used to, but you could chalk that up to the choice of vermouth.
Watkin’s menu is small, like their kitchen, but has some interesting choices. We chose to start with the Joyce Farms chicken wings (french-boned organic chicken wings tossed in buffalo [sic] sauce, served with housemade ranch) and the happy hour special truffle fries (fresh cut russet fries, tossed in a white truffle oil and tossed with parmesan shavings). Both of these options are gluten free. They also have crab cakes, roasted pepita dip with pita chips, and a salad.
Diners should note that the menu states that the “Chef politely declines to accommodate substitutions due to kitchen size” but with such a small selection and in such a small place, we didn’t really understand why. There is a $5 plate sharing fee added for shared entrees.
The restaurant is a pleasant enough place to be, with the bar and kitchen both on the right of the front door and tables lined up along a very comfortable banquet dotted with cushions on the left. The bar stools are heavy and don’t have backs, but they do have ample seats for those of us who also have ample seats. We could see through the back door that there’s a small deck, which I imagine would be pleasant enough during some parts of the year if only it didn’t overlook an alley and the dumpster.
Our food came out pretty quickly but upon tasting the fries, which came with mayonnaise on the side, I wished they’d taken just a few more minutes to come because they were definitely undercooked. Brown on the outside, the insides were a little more al dente than I would like my potatoes to be. We didn’t really get any truffle flavor, but the parmesan was good and salty. The portion was smaller than I anticipated for fries, but maybe since these were the $7 happy hour special and the regular price is $14, we just got half a portion which I don’t really consider to be a “special.” (If you really love fries, go to Paramount where you can get a basket of salty rosemary fries with garlic mayo that’s so big you and a friend won’t be able to finish them for $6.99.)
The wings were “frenched” drums, which means that the meat is cut away from the bone on one end to give you a little handle like a lollipop, and there were about a dozen on the plate for $14. I liked them a lot – they were tangy and had a nice, spicy kick that didn’t overwhelm the flavor of the chicken. The ranch dressing was cold and flavorful and the perfect compliment. But I also tend to like wings. Ricky, who is not usually a big fan of wings, did not like the skin, which admittedly was not very crispy, and characterized them as “greasy.”
Up to this point, our experience was just ho-hum – not really bad per se, but not amazing like we thought it would be either. Our server, who was extremely nice and definitely a highlight of the evening, was stretched a little thin between us and the bar, which did get busy. Another server showed up about 5:30 or 6 and tended to two other tables of guests that had come in – a couple and a single man.
We perceived a little tension in the atmosphere, and when we asked, we were told that it was about the road construction and that it was definitely hurting their business as well as that of surrounding establishments. They said that some of the businesses were communicating among themselves about how best to cope with this challenge. It’s a shame to us when local businesses who are trying so hard to stay viable have to cope with these extra challenges. That’s why we should support our local favorites even though it might present us with a little inconvenience like not being able to park in front of the door.
We also asked about the cut of the day and the Gulf fish of the day. We were told that the cut was an “8 oz. sirloin ribeye,” which I’m pretty sure is two different cuts of meat, both from the rib area, but later we heard the other server tell someone that it was a “Wagyu sirloin.” Either way, it was supposed to be served with roasted potatoes, leeks, and onions, but for $42, I’d like to be sure what it was. The Gulf fish was grouper served with “lime rice risotto with grilled asparagus.” No price was given. The Moroccan chicken looked intriguing, and they also have a pork chop and a burger – basically something for everyone unless you’re a vegetarian.
But after our decidedly average drinks and appetizers and with the sting of the $100+ Civitas fiasco still fresh in our minds, we decided to be satisfied with what we’d had. We just couldn’t justify spending another $50-$100 for entrees when we weren’t sure what we’d get or that it would be any better than what we’d had. And that’s totally on us.
The food might have been the best plate of food we’d ever eaten. Maybe we just had unrealistic expectations. Maybe we’d built Watkin’s up too much in our imaginations. But maybe, just maybe, we did good to trust our instincts. I guess we’ll never know.
If you’ve been to or try Watkin’s, let us know what you thought in the comments. We’re always open to giving a place a second chance to make a first impression.
Here’s how we rated the Watkin’s Branch Bourbon & Brasserie on a scale of 1 to 5 whiskeys, 1 being the worst and 5 being the best:
Atmosphere: 🥃🥃🥃
Food: 🥃🥃🥃
Drinks: 🥃🥃🥃
Service: 🥃🥃🥃🥃
Bathrooms: N/A (We didn’t go in the bathroom, but there only seems to be one.)
*There seems to be some discrepancy in the marketing plan about whether there is an apostrophe or not in Watkin’s Branch, so for the purposes of this story, I chose to go with the apostrophe. To be perfectly grammatical, the settlers’ name was Watkins, so technically, since they owned the “branch” and their name ends in “s,” it should be Watkins’ Branch. And in modern grammar and usage, it is acceptable to have the letter “s” occurs twice in a row in the possessive, so it could be Watkins’s Branch. That’s my grammar lesson for today. You’re welcome.
p.s. Did you know Ricky and I produce a monthly zine about music and cocktails? It’s called “The Popskull Penumbra,” and we pair one album with one drink then share facts and trivia about both. There’s also original art and often a little surprise. You can see them and other interesting things at our website PopskullStudios.com and in our store.
I totally agree about the fries at Paramount - they're delicious and a great value!