We stopped by Friends Grille & Bar just across the State line in Valdosta, GA recently on the recommendation of someone we were talking with. Damn!  We need to get more recommendations from her!

They are located near the Five Points area of Valdosta and if you don’t know where they are, you aren’t finding them. They are located in the back corner of a business complex and even though we knew roughly where they are, it still took us a little while to find them. The locals sure know where they are though. They had a full house on a Thursday night.

The restaurant is spilt into three main areas, the bar area, the dining room and a bar along the grill area where you can sit and watch them prepare your meal. There is also an outdoor patio area but it wasn’t open the night we were there (probably had to do with it being February).

We sat at the bar which is surrounded by several high-tops. The two bartenders were kept busy pouring craft beers from five of the six taps and mixing up some pretty amazing cocktails. The taps that evening were a mix of local Georgia breweries and some larger, widely distributed crafts (Left Hand Milk Stout, Gooses Island Sofie). They also had a macro-light beer on the sixth tap for those who prefer that style.

We got talking to Justin, who was behind the bar, and he gave us a taste of a watermelon gin martini that he developed and it was pretty darn amazing.

Food is great! All farm to table.

Check them out next time you are near Valdosta.