Bar Review - CRÜ Urban Lounge

CRÜ Urban Lounge, in the Ponce Springs Lofts off Ponce de Leon, is the kind of gem you stumble upon when you’d least expect it. The two-story space, which resembles a modern residential loft, feels like you’re hanging at a friend’s house who just so happens to serve drinks and small plates. The lounge serves a variety of wines by the glass and bottle (hence the name), but the exciting cocktail menu is the real reason to go. The fresh strawberry mojito — quite possibly the best in the city — has loads of mint; one is never enough. Even basic cocktails, such as a cosmopolitan, are expertly mixed, and the sexy and tattooed bartender is always willing to make you any drink in the book. While CRÜ’s food menu was designed to be paired with wine, inventive dishes such as juicy veal sliders on mini brioche toasts with a shot of sriracha mayo or the “CRÜ breakfast” composed of braised Berkshire pork belly, perfectly fried quail eggs and creamy Logan Mill Turnpike grits stand up on their own. We’re almost sad to let this treasure out of the vault.

CRÜ Urban Lounge, 620 Glen Iris Drive, Unit 101. 404-551-2361. Mon.-Sat., 7 p.m.-2 a.m. www.cruurbanlounge.com.