Bar Guide 2014: Angel Face

By Matthew Korfhage

Angel Face

14 NE 28th Ave., 239-3804. 5 pm-midnight Sunday-Thursday, 5 pm-1 am Friday-Saturday.

Angel Face is precious. The food is little and lovely from oyster to meurette—not surprising, since it's a product of Navarre and Luce's owners—the "wallpaper" turns out to be meticulously hand-painted, and the cocktail menu is trapped somewhere inside bar manager Kelley Swenson's head. It's a neat little negotiation wherein you say something terribly douchey like "I want something gin, but savory?" and he humors you with a lovely improvisation. The niceties seem almost destined to make the just-opened bar into a bit of an insiders' club, a place that comes with an admission price of slight bewilderment, but Swenson is an enthusiastic and friendly enough drink ambassador that the process is painless. Still, it's kind of like being inside a luxury pillbox. MATTHEW KORFHAGE.

WWeek 2015

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