The Guild House joined the Short North skyline in January with the addition of a new hotel and retail space. Though a new venture, the owners are not new to the Short North. Guests may be familiar with Marcella’s, The Pearl and other Cameron Mitchell Restaurants.
The Guild House took hold of the space and made it their own. The feeling is definitely unique. At once the space offers a rustic feel with exposed beams, but all while you are sitting on plush, white couches that one might find in the Kardashian’s mansion. The atmosphere seems geared toward a professional crowd for an after-work cocktail, a classier place to catch up with an old friend or a first date with someone you want to impress.
The cocktails ($10 a piece) compliment this contemporary environment. Each named after the type of spirit they contain. The Guild House offers seven distinctive cocktails and a seasonal “Cocktail for Two” which is served in a glass porthole – yes, a porthole like you’d imagine, on a ship.
I had the “Vodka.” Pineapple infused finlandia, green chartreuse and dolin dry vermouth composed an excellent flavor portfolio. The taste initially reminded me of a childhood candy I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but my friend and I both agreed it smelled like a Lemonhead. At all times sweet and tart.
My friend had the “Gin”, composed of botanist gin, rosemary, raisins and fresh lemon juice. If you are not a fan of the rosemary flavor, perhaps not the drink for you. I, however, love rosemary on everything and apparently also in my drinks. The back end was heavily tart of lemon, which complimented the rosemary particularly well. Both drinks were sweet enough that someone, like me, who is wimpy with straight drinks, was not done a disservice.
Finally, we were graciously offered a taste of the “Cocktail for Two” by the friendly bartenders. This season it is a “Green Tea Margarita”. The cocktail develops tableside, which means that inside of the porthole they diffuse it with (this season) lemon wheels, cactus leaves and marigold flowers. It was a great margarita. The green rooibos tea and sugar cane refreshingly cut through the heavy lime of a traditional margarita and offered a different flavor than something you might find at a Mexican restaurant.
The Guild House offers a welcome new menu of cocktails to the ever-expanding taste of the Short North. The Guild House is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner beginning at 6:30am.
