Even those of us who didn’t grow up watching the sitcom Cheers is familiar with the “bar where everyone knows your name.” And anyone who has moved to a city away from friends and family knows just how amazing such a bar would be.
Lucky for me, I return to Salt Lake City on a regular basis and there are several joints around town that I know — with increasing thankfulness — that I’ll run into a familiar face or two. But on my last few trips into town my friends and I have gathered at Under Current, the bar next to Current Fish & Oyster, for drinks and catching up.
Cocktails and Conversation at Under Current
When I say that walking into a bar full of some of my favorite people is truly heartwarming, it’s the best possible description I can come up with to describe how incredible it feels to see so many smiling faces anxious to clink glasses together and share a hug and “How are you?”
And that was just how the evening went last weekend. Friends gathered in the back of the bar scattered over its tiny tables as the light poured in through the window, passing each others’ cocktails around for a group taste test.
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Everyone always jokes that alcohol turns them into lovey-dovey fools who constantly exclaim “I love you, man!” when the liquor starts to take its toll. But when you’re surrounded by the people that I am, who come to share a giant bottle of rosé and then write the sweetest “I miss you” messages on the bottle as a souvenir, it’s hard not to look around the bar and express your love to those people.
For me, Under Current isn’t just a bar where some people know my name. It’s a bar where I can sip on delicious cocktails, munch on the most delicious clam dip I’ve ever tasted, and hang out for hours without being bugged by servers to move on. It’s a place where cocktails are artfully created, yet don’t take a 20 minute wait to make. Where it’s cozy enough for a date, lively enough for friends, and comfortable enough for a solo drink.
For me, Under Current feels like home.
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Thank you to all my lovely friends who joined me at Under Current. (And for all the drinks… especially to a certain someone who brought a bottle of rosé!) And for being such amazing rocks in my life, even from 1,200 miles away.
Go to Under Current for :: a good craft cocktail in a comfortable — yet upbeat — setting. Notes :: Open 7 days a week from 4pm – 1am. As a full bar, you must be 21 (with ID) to enter. Small bites are served from 4pm – 11pm.
