Here in Lexington, the bar scene is huge.
If you’re of age, or just have a super stellar fake ID, you know how much fun bar hopping on the weekends in Lex can be.
Exhausted of the typical Tin Roof and Two Keys, Kimber, Stacey and I decided to head downtown to give Paulie’s Toasted Barrel a try. Here’s what we found…
Atmosphere: So, Toasted is a sports bar located in downtown Lex, complete with a million TVs and a ton of beer. They have live music (suspect), a fairly large dance floor and tooooons of seating. This is great, because I think we all know how hard it is to stand up by the end of the night. The bar has two floors, but the second was unfortunately closed, so we weren’t able to venture upstairs. Also, theres a skeeball machine, which is pretty chic and just a selling point in itself.
Grade: B– Very sports-y ambiance. Like, I’d want to come here on a Sunday to watch the games (I swear I’m a real girl).
Bartenders: Price of a drink, variety of the drink menu and the time it takes for a bartender to actually pay attention to you are really important in a college town. No one wants to go to the bar where you have enough time to second-guess the fireball shots you’re about to order. No one. I must say, the bartenders here are fast. Grant it, it wasn’t TERRIBLY crowded, but it was packed enough that you still had to shoulder past people to find your spot at the bar. But, once you found your spot, the bartenders took care of you; they knew what they were doing. Who could complain about that?
Grade: A
Drinks: Apparently, Toasted has a bourbon bar with 101 different types of bourbon on the mezzanine? This upper level wasn’t open when we went, but if you’re a true Kentucky Gentlewoman, I’d be sure to check it out. Like most bars in Lexington, Toasted has different specials each night. During the night in question, they had $2 tequila shots (dangerous game, my friends). My bar tab for the end of the night was $28 dollars, which included 4 lemon drop shots and 3 gin and tonics. 4 bucks a drink? I think that’s a pretty good deal.
Also, they have these things called “Barrel Bowls,” which are almost identical to the fishbowls from Two Keys, just half the price and sans shark. When you order them, they literally ask you what color you’d like. Personally, I typically stay far away from drinks that are blue or green or look like anything resembling Windex, but if you’re into that kinda stuff, head over to Toasted.
Grade: A
Crowd: Ladies, if you’re on the market for a burly, lumberjack-type man, Toasted might be the place for you. Lots and lots and loooooots of older men with beards and flannels. And, when I say “older,” I’m talking the average age in this place is probably 30, and my group of girls and I probably brought that number down. This could be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it. But, if you enjoy a nice beard, like myself, Toasted is basically a hairy heaven on Earth. Beware, though. With 30-year-old men comes 30-year-old women, many of whom have had their fair share of vodka clubs. These older women love. To. Dance. So, just prepare yourself to watch a bunch of older drunk women break it down on the dance floor. This doesn’t really bother me much; drunk Frankie actually finds these women pretty d*mn amusing and almost always wants to join.
Grade: B (B is for beards!)
Music: Honestly, this is my only major complaint about this place. The music was suuuper suspect. They had a live band that specialized in attempting to cover country songs. The lead singer and guitarists absolutely loved walking around and singing to the crowd. They also REALLY liked to climb on top of the tables while belting out passionate Luke Bryan ballads. One minute, I was chatting with my girlfriends, the next, we were given our own personal concert by a middle-aged man trying to sound like Hunter Hayes. It was just weird. Exhausted from treating the high tops like a jungle gym, they would take a break and play your typical bar favorites, and then eventually go back to their awkward crooning. They never played Beyoncé though, which is a whole different issue in itself, but that’s a story for another day.
Grade: D (still bitter about Beyonce)
Overall Grade: B
So, Toasted’s overall score is a B, meaning you should probably ditch the fishbowl at two keys (seriously guys, please get over those fishbowls; nothing you drink should be blue) and head on down to Toasted. You’ll definitely get excellent service, and in the meantime, you could play skeeball, meet a bearded brute or even get a personal serenade from their live band. Who knows?
Other than the awkward serenade, Toasted is sure to give you and your girls a good time.
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