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| - This is truly a hidden gem and I mean truly hidden! Even with the help of the trustee Yelp app, we still drove around and around the shopping center, only to finally see the glimpse of a sign out of the corner of our eyes. With a couple turns, we came to the back parking lot where the sign welcomed us inside.
It might be hidden now, but I learned that the Ice House Tavern has been around since the early 1960's...during the era when the ice rink was in the middle of a booming mall and a center attraction. I can only imagine how popular the Ice House Tavern was during those days. Although the mall is long gone, the Ice House Tavern survives and serves as a memory of what Phoenix used to be and it's a very cool memory at that. I just wish the mall was still there. How cool would it be to have a skating rink in the middle of a shopping mall!
I must admit, we were a little nervous parking in a secluded back parking lot and walking into a windowless bar, but we had been reading about this bar for years and had to check it out! The moment we walked in, we knew we'd made a good choice! The very friendly and knowledgeable bartender welcomed us inside while two old timers sat at the bar and started to chat with us. Now as the other reviews say, the very coolest part about this bar is the fact that the bar's back wall is actually the window looking out onto the ice rink! We happened to stop by during the men's league championship hockey game so we got to watch a hockey game while we enjoyed a drink!
Speaking of drinks, who would have thought that this was a bar for a beer aficionado! The bartender handed us a thick binder that listed pages of beer and then the description of the beer. They have several different unique beers here and the bartender knows each one! I also enjoyed the food menu. It's simple. It's one item. When we were there, they were featuring a pulled pork sandwich and it was tasty! It was pecan smoked meat and had a sweet BBQ flavor to it.
Everything about this bar is vintage, casual and friendly. It's truly a neighborhood bar and although we were first timers, we felt like family by the time we left. Besides watching people ice skating, they also have games including Big Buck Hunt.
Don't let exterior appearances fool you and give this place a try!
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