Drink some of the South Sound’s best cocktails at this new Tacoma bar
The copper door at 12 N. Tacoma Ave. has a fresh patina, polished by none other than Devil’s Reef owners Jason and Robyn Alexander.
The sequel to that tiki oasis, Gilman House — also named after the stories of H.P. Lovecraft — veers from his robust encyclopedia of rum cocktails into the wonderful world of gin. From classic London Drys to New Western, Plymouth and Old Tom, the back bar will have you whirring through fields of juniper from this cozy corner of Tacoma’s Stadium District.
“As much as I love the tiki and exotic cocktail world,” said Jason Alexander, who previously ran Tacoma Cabana and The Fern Room with his wife Robyn, “I’ve got other ideas, too.”
Those creations sing in the form of seven specialty cocktails ($10-$14), including the house gimlet made with Citadelle gin, a French brand from the Cognac house of Pierre Ferrand.
Others range from refreshing, like the Serranian Sling shaken with spices and creme de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur), to moody, like the Eldritch Arbiter, a powerful combination of amaro and falernum (the almond and clove liqueur prevalent in tiki) with two over-proof spirits. A “big Antarctican glacial fragment” slowly mellows that one-two punch of Navy-strength gin, bottled around 114 proof, and not-joking-around rum.
Alexander also makes use of the underappreciated category of barrel-aged gin, which marries the spirit’s quintessential pine with oak tannins, adding spice and a straw-colored hue. Try it in the Escape from Room 428, stirred with pomegranate molasses syrup, and the Cafe G&T — one of four house gin and tonics — with crème de cacao and coffee soda.
Like he does at Devil’s Reef in Opera Alley, Alexander makes most all non-liquor ingredients in house. Sample his orgeat, a milky almond liqueur blessed with orange blossom water, in the Army Navy Cocktail. It’s a straightforward, four-ingredient classic, and it’s delightful.
That side of the menu runs 11 strong, from the expected — sparkling French 75, berry-flecked Bramble, perfectly bitter Negroni — to the uncommon.
“I want a little bit of everything,” Alexander told The News Tribune. “I just wanna make sure each of the five styles is represented by things I care about.”
The Sloe Gin Rickey 10, for instance, features Hayman’s version of the low-ABV gin-based liqueur, served tall with lime and soda. Dig deeper into gin lore with the Suffering Bar Steward (sometimes known as Suffering Bastard), a blend of gin and Cognac, falernum and lime, bitters and ginger beer. The origins of this one, explained Alexander, began during World War II in Cairo, where bar steward Joe Scialom sought a hangover cure for Allied officers.
“It’s a fun drink that makes people happy,” said Alexander.
It’s hard not to be happy drinking at his bar.
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY AT GILMAN HOUSE
Billed also as a restaurant, Gilman House centers on veg-friendly fare, with Robyn Alexander leading the kitchen.
“We want to work on flipping to the other direction,” said her husband of this conscious choice, noting their personal diet is “mostly vegetarian.”
All but two dishes, on both the dinner and brunch menus, are vegetarian or vegan: the cheeseburger and the coffee-rubbed New York strip steak. For the former, you can choose an Impossible patty — the vegan meat replacement that “bleeds.” Other normally meaty dishes are cooked by default with it, such as the shepherd’s pie at night and the biscuits and gravy on Sunday morning, the latter served with a roasted vegetable hash.
Flaky are the biscuits, which you can also order à la carte with butter and raspberry jam.
Entree salads include a summer Niçoise of butter lettuce, haricots vert, Italian butter beans and hard-boiled eggs, and the Bada Bing with mango, jicama, blueberries, candied pecans and vegan chèvre. Add protein (grilled chicken, Impossible meat, or an avocado rosette) if desired. Dressings — Washington cherry or lemon tarragon vinaigrette — are made in house.
Whether diving into a hot bowl of peppery mac and cheese or a fresh roasted veggie burger, salad will be on your plate: The standard side is mixed greens with triangles of watermelon radish and slices of baby bell peppers, cherry tomatoes and carrots.
DRINK IN TACOMA COMFORT
The “hotel lobby” vibe exudes the same thoughtful charm of Devil’s Reef, only here the palette sticks with dusty blues and golds, marble-topped tables and cozy velvet chairs. Seated along the windows, you feel one with the city streets, but the space also allows for secluded dates at tables hidden behind a wall of dangling foliage.
“We’re about matching an idea to a location,” said Jason Alexander, a former carpenter who had pondered opening a second tiki bar in Seattle but discovered this space had manageable rent.
The layout is as it will be post-coronavirus, but for now the long bar remains empty and every other table off-limits.
The Alexanders have opted for a counter service model to limit table interactions. A host will point you to the contactless menu QR code and seat you, but you order at the rail. The bartender on duty will call your name when drinks are ready for pickup, but staff will deliver water glasses and food to your table. Payment happens tableside on a handheld card reader, a welcome, if COVID-caused, embrace in the U.S. of this European style of check presentation.
Much of the menu, including drinks, is prepped to-go, too. They hope to add a walk-up window at the back door, which faces Stadium Thriftway, for cinnamon rolls and other pastries.
Once the world rights itself, a seat at the Gilman House bar will be one to wait for.
Gilman House
▪ 12 N. Tacoma Ave., Tacoma, no phone yet, instagram.com/gilmanhousetacoma
▪ Details: all-day cocktails, $10-$14; most brunch and dinner dishes, $12-$17
▪ Hours: Thursday-Saturday, 5-10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 5:05 AM.