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A “dive bar without the grit” is how the team behind Michelin-starred Protégé describes its newest venture – a cocktail bar across the street.
But that’s where the similarities end between Bar Underdog and your typical dive bar.
Mixers are made in-house, like cola with hojicha, coriander, vanilla, rosehip, citrus and three types of sugar, carbonated to 110 PSI (fizzier than Champagne). Cocktails feature flavors such as calamansi, chrysanthemum and genmaicha (a green tea with roasted brown rice). And culinary centrifuges are used to clarify cocktails in just 20 minutes.
While the techniques used to craft the cocktails are also used in Michelin-starred kitchens, the vibe of Bar Underdog is meant to be far from pretentious, co-owner Dennis Kelly said. You won’t need reservations for Bar Underdog – it doesn’t take them.
“We lost Antonio’s Nut House (and Calave), and people really need a place to go before or after going to all the great restaurants on California Avenue,” he said.
Antonio’s Nut House shuttered in 2020 and is slated to become Croissanté, a bakery with outposts in Santa Clara and Los Gatos. Calave permanently closed last year, leaving Palo Alto’s California Avenue without a bar.
Protégé founders Kelly and Anthony Secviar had been interested in opening a cocktail bar for years, Kelly said, and when Calave’s owners approached the pair to see if they were interested in taking over their space, “it was just the perfect opportunity.” Bar Underdog held its grand opening Thursday, Sept. 18.
Former patrons of Calave will recognize the space: The bar and structure remains unchanged, but the incorporation of charred Japanese cypress and new lighting design makes the space a bit more moody and dramatic. The inside seats 40, including a 14-seat bar. Outdoor patio seating will likely be introduced in the spring, according to Dennis.
Inspired by picture-cluttered walls often seen at dive bars, Bar Underdog has a gallery wall featuring framed pictures of underdogs, including Rocky, Charlie Bucket from “Willy Wonka” and the Jamaican bobsled team.
“I’m from east Cleveland, (and Secviar is) from Hammond, Indiana,” Kelly said. “We don’t really come from means … And so I think our spirit is that of an underdog, and that’s what led us to the name Bar Underdog.”
Dani Heinonen, who has been with Protégé for four years, is the mastermind behind the cocktail program, which took a year to develop. House cocktails are $18, traditionals – think modern takes on a gin and tonic, vesper and Manhattan – are $15 (or $10 during happy hour) and mocktails are $11.
“I get a lot of inspiration from Protégé’s kitchen, the way that they blend ingredients and flavors,” Heinonen said.
One of Heinonen’s favorite cocktails is the Fru-Ti’ Punch, which is her take on a ti’ punch. The national drink of Martinique and Guadeloupe, ti’ punch is made with rhum agricole, a French rum made from freshly pressed sugarcane juice instead of molasses. The Fru-Ti’ Punch incorporates rhum agricole, beerenauslese (a highly concentrated, sweet German dessert wine made from berries), papaya and lychee.
“It’s just so crushable to me,” Heinonen said. “That’s my style of cocktail.”
Another favorite of hers is the Pickle Juice, which has a serrano salt rim and includes nasturtium-infused mezcal, lacto-fermented cucumber, pandan, cacao and a float of Teeling Irish whiskey on top. The nasturtium adds a black pepper quality, the lacto-fermented cucumber offers a “vegetal, funky, umami, savory, salinic note,” pandan brings a touch of vanilla and toasted coconut and cacao creates the base note, Heinonen said. Picklebacks (a shot of Irish whiskey chased with a shot of pickle juice) inspired finishing this cocktail with an Irish whiskey float.
“It’s just so layered and dimensional,” she said.
The XXX is Bar Underdog’s take on a porn star martini, elevating the drink with Champagne pearls. The spirit-forward Chilly Wonka features “everlasting orbs,” spherical ice coated in cocoa butter that hardens into a shell and reduces dilution. And the C.P.R. is a Sazerac-style cocktail featuring Bar Underdog’s housemade cola, which Heinonen took about 10 iterations to perfect.
Heinonen created four house cordials (lemon-lime, ginger beer, cola and tonic) with a Hoshizaki Highball Dispenser, which filters and carbonates water to about five times the internal pressure of a bottle of Fever Tree, according to Kelly. Creating cordials in-house not only results in better beverage quality, Kelly said, but it also is environmentally beneficial because it saves on transportation for shipping and glass production.
Secviar created a small snack menu featuring East Asian flavor profiles ($8-$20). Expect plates such as “D’s nuts” with gochugaru and candied bacon, wagyu shumai with pickled mustard seed and hot chili oil and a matcha brownie with sweet cream and strawberry.
Bar Underdog, which opens at 11 a.m. on Sundays in the midst of the California Avenue Farmers Market, plans to eventually introduce a to-go menu with bear claws, sandwiches and canned cocktails, Kelly said.
In addition to happy hour weekdays from 4-5:30 p.m., Bar Underdog offers a Moonlight Menu, which features happy hour deals during its last hour of service. The goal is to allow those working in the hospitality industry to also enjoy happy hour, which conflicts with work hours, although the deal is available for all patrons.
“We want Bar Underdog to be a spot where it’s super casual, come as you are, have a drink and enjoy time with your friends or the neighborhood,” Heinonen said.
Bar Underdog, 299 California Ave., Palo Alto; Instagram: @barunderdogpa. Open Monday and Thursday from 4-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 4-11 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Happy hour is Monday, Thursday and Friday from 4-5:30 p.m. Moonlight menu available Monday and Thursday from 9-10 p.m.,Friday and Saturday from 10-11 p.m. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
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