Bar Review - Bucking the trend in Buckhead

Everything cheesy and wrong with the Buckhead bar scene is located on a tiny stretch of East Paces Ferry. It’s a street whose popular nighttime refrains include: “Dude, I’m so hammered”; “I’m gonna hurl”; and “You have the right to remain silent.”

But just as every desert has an oasis — or to put it in Buckhead-speak, just as every strip mall has a smoothie shop — so East Paces Ferry has quaint, friendly, unassuming Robert’s. Here’s how it works: You walk in, say hello to Ariana, the beautiful single- dimpled bartender, take a seat, and politely ask for a beer. Pretty cool, huh? Then something even cooler happens: As you get to the end of your beer (served extra cold), Ariana pours you another. Rinse and repeat.

It’s a small place — 12 seats at the bar, two tables, four booths — with a UGA flag on the wall and lots of beer paraphernalia. And the crowd, though still young Buckhead types, is less doofusy than usual because Robert’s is more a neighborhood bar than a place to see and be seen.

There’s live music every night. Singer/acoustic guitarist Gareth Asher (brother of the dimpled bartendress) graciously corroborated my theory that every musician performing in Buckhead knows Oasis’ “Wonderwall.” But Gareth also knows Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” and “Rocket Man,” my favorite Elton John song.

You get the idea that the bar exists just so the owners and the bartender will have a relaxing, fun place to hang out. In fact, the owners (neither of whom are named Robert) both have day jobs. Owner Steve is a banker by day — probably a hungover banker on some of those days.

Robert’s, 262 E. Paces Ferry, Buckhead. Wed.-Fri. 6 p.m.-4 a.m.; Sat. 6 p.m.- 3 a.m. Closing time subject to change if owners wanna go home. Trivia Thursdays 8:30 p.m. Beer and liquor drinks $3-$7. 404-495-0705.??