Royce

Royce describes itself as, «Your neighborhood bar,» and that’s definitely an accurate descriptor for the place. Tucked away behind the Old Granite Street Eatery, you walk in under a red awning and enter one of the coziest bars I’ve been to in Reno.
There are tons of comfy couches, a fireplace, and a couple well-​placed TVs if you’re interested in catching a game. But to me, the TVs might as well not be there because it’s the rest of the ambiance, not the ability to watch the World Series, that will keep you coming back to Royce.
It’s the type of bar you come to after a long day at work to sip on a glass of wine and commiserate with your coworkers. It’s the type of bar you slink to after a date didn’t go as planned to relax and hope for better next time. It’s small, intimate, and makes you feel at home from the minute you arrive. The bartenders are friendly, the wine is good, and they have a really nice whisky selection if that’s what you’re looking for.
It closes fairly early, so this isn’t going to be where you do your heavy late-​night beveraging, but it fits the bill for many other purposes.

I came here before a show at the pioneer center. We were able to grab a couch next to the fire, and I loved it. The atmosphere was warm and cozy (very English pub like, which warms my heart!) The bartenders were good, not overly friendly, but it was busy so I can’t slight them for that. I will be back!

Visited Royce for the first time last night as part of the Unilocal!Whiskey Hunt. It’s a very unique spot. Small but cozy with lot’s of couches for seating, even some around a fire place. This would be a fantastic spot for groups of 4 to 6 friends to meet to enjoy good Whiskey. Their selection is mostly scotch, with a few bourbons and a lone bottle of Jameson and the Irish offering. Very friendly service.
As I left there were three separate folks sitting at the bar eating the Royce burger. It looked extremely good, and was priced at only $ 7. Can see I need to make a return trip to give the burger a try!
Give this place a chance. Highly recommend.

A year has passed since my last review of Royce and much has changed. When this spot opened I sang it’s praises for being brave enough to remain a very focused concept, serving only wine and whiskey, but this has changed, and for good reason. As the smart business men they are, owners Justin and Ryan watched the market and listened to customers, and today’s Royce offers the same great atmosphere with an expanded menu featuring quality wine and whiskey, and a whole lot more.
The cocktail menu has been distilled down to a few favorites, and the spirits selection sports many familiar faces with a few obscure bottles in the mix to keep things interesting. I will say I miss the more expansive cocktail menu they offered about 6 months ago, as they had a damn good amaretto sour and served a Penicillin, a classic not seen much at all these days.
They’ve also added a dedicated menu to Royce, including a burger that looks like a hot juicy mess requiring at least 5 napkins to safely attempt consuming it cleanly. The kicker here is that the menu is only available until 9, when Granite Street’s kitchen closes.
All in all, Royce is a fantastic place to grab a drink with friends. The warm and dapper design of the space makes it intimate and conducive to conversation, and the drinks and meant to be sipped and savored, forcing you to linger a little longer. As the cold temps make their way into Reno, I’m looking forward to spending some time here in front of the fireplace.

Nice neighborhood bar, great service. Visited here as part of the Reno Whiskey Hunt, and it didn’t disappoint. Nice patio out front and comfortable, almost plush living room style furniture inside. Decent whiskey selection.

I really liked this establishment. We stopped in for desert and a drink about one week ago on a Friday night around 9 pm. Place was not very busy, but décor was inviting with plenty of outdoor seating. Service was also very good, the bartender took some time to sit with us and review the whiskey-​bourbon selections. Though the wine and spirit menu is very good, on this particular night, I was hungering for desert and the Royce delivered! I ordered the Butterscotch Pudding and loved it, the attached picture doesn’t really describe how tasty this desert was. Surprisingly not too sweet, with a nice chocolate crumb bottom, a smooth butterscotch pudding, and topped with a very nicely whipped cream. Must say, this dessert was stellar, wish I could make it at home but probably would never come close. Will return the next time in Reno to try a few more items on the menu and their sister property Old Granite Street Eatery.

I love this place… I don’t know why, because I haven’t had a GREAT drink here and the food is stuff that I can get from Granite Street anyway. And really, each time I have been, the service has been disjointed. But man do I love this place.
I love how it feels like a cool treehouse with a big deck. I like the dark woods and the comfortable chairs. I like their focus on real cocktails and not the sugary ones.
I’ve sat mostly at the bar… but I’ve roamed a little and mingled with different groups of my friends that have been there at the same time as my party.
Really…I can’t put my finger on it of why I like this bar… but I really do.

I love cozy little places. Wine, whiskey and food– what could be better. They had one chardonnay by the glass — and it was wonderful. The snacks were great– we had the bacon bits, the cheese dip and the chilies. Kaitlyn at the bar was awesome. She was whipping up some radical whiskey cocktails. We sat outside on the patio. I just wish someone would have offered to set up the heat lamp for us — but no biggie. Bonus — the bathroom was well lit and clean.

I’m really torn on granting the stars for this review — I’m pretty firmly between 3 and 4. More visits may hopefully warrant moving Royce upward into four territory, depending on the quality of the bar staff. On my first visit, there were two servers behind the bar who seemed to have a total of two descriptors for all the wines the served; either light or funky. Neither of which told me much about the wines I was inquiring about. How about if you’re going to serve wines at a place selling itself as a wine bar, learn some good descriptive wine words?
I saw on the board an advertisement for «bites and flights» on Wednesday nights so decided to try that and came back a week or two later. The food served was delicious, but what perplexed me is that they advertise it as «pairings» of food with wine, but really they give you three glasses of wine with some food and say, «Here, drink some of these with that stuff in whatever order you want. Some mixture of it will taste good.» I’m no sommelier, but generally, that’s not how pairings work. The chef determines what wine should go with what food and they are *paired*. Also, the three wines were ones that were regularly on the menu. I was expecting some not normally served. But for that night, at least that server was more knowledgable about wines, so that made the evening more pleasant, and the food was definitely good.
I think I’ll give the bites and flights one more try to see if they have new wines and continue to have knowledgable servers for that event, and just steer clear on other evenings. It would be great to see them make an effort to actually pair the food with the wine. That could get them up to 5 star territory possibly, because the have the ambience totally dialed in.

Stopped by this swanky spot on Friday evening for a drink with friends. What a great addition to our little community! The atmosphere is awesome. We hung out in two comfy couches and it honestly felt like we were chillin at home, with a bartender and great snacks! The bartender was super friendly and provided great service. We ordered some snacks from the menu– deviled eggs, bacon bites and the charcuterie board — all delicious. The music choice was also fab! I asked the bartender who we were listening to (Bodus band) and came home and purchased the album :-) great spot, fantastic happy hour. My husband and I will be regulars here.

The guys behind Imperial Lounge, Lincoln Lounge and Old Granite Street eatery have opened a wine and whiskey bar called Royce. I’m impressed with their selections of both, although I wonder if Reno is the right market for a place that sells hipsterish wine.
Not all the wines are natural, but they skew towards lower alcohol, organically produced wines. The prices are pretty good, too. The conventional wisdom is that you sell a glass of wine for close to what the bottle sells for at retail. They have the Luneau Papin Muscadet for $ 8 a glass. It retails for $ 13 to $ 15 a bottle. Maybe by selling a tasty white at such a low price they are trying to kick start the market for people who have never tried it. (Don’t confuse the dry Muscadet from the Loire Valley in France with the grape muscat, often sweet). Teutonic Riesling from Oregon is $ 12 a glass and is another good value.
The tails of natural wine lovers will start wagging when they can get PUR syrah for $ 8 a glass. Au Bön Climat pinot noir is only $ 8 a glass too. My only complaint here is that even Clendenen’s inexpensive wines need some bottle age to show well and even though it’s a 2011 it might be too young.
By-​the-​bottle choices include La Pierre, Broc Cellars, and Clos Rougeard for the reds and two excellent whites, Texier, Occhipinti. Those last two really make those tails wag.
But the real coup is Allemand. I don’t think it’s on many wine bar menus in San Francisco or New York or even restaurant menus. I wonder if the boys scored a case or two and have it on the menu as a trophy. At $ 160 a bottle, I wonder if they sell much. Part of the problem may be the people in Reno who can afford that are geared more to the ripe, oaky Napa cabs. Allemand can be floral, elegant, sometimes smoky. It is nothing like the typical trophy Napa cab. But it’s cool that we have a place in Reno selling Allemand.
I just got into whisky this year. They have several good single malt and Japanese whiskies. I could get seriously hammered trying everything they have there that is good.
You can order appetizers from Old Granite Street Eatery next door. Those are usually pretty good.
I went there for the Beaujolais Nouveau tasting. For the price of a glass of wine they had a nice table of goodies, charcuterie, cheese, crackers and fruit. It was a nice spread.
I like the idea of Royce. It joins the West Street Wine Bar as the two best places in Reno to get a glass of wine. I hope the market is here to support it.

Visited for pre-​show drinks. Place is VERY small with maybe 15 seats at the bar and 3 seating areas comprised of a couch and two chairs each. It feels wrong to take the two remain seats in a setting where there are already two others seated. My girlfriend and I were asked to move to a different seating area by a patron who came in about 30 minutes after we did. I thought that was odd… rude. Thankfully, my girlfriend wasn’t afraid to say no to the guy. So that group of people ended up taking over an area & running off the couple who was there first. Strange vibe overall.
It is a wine bar serving mostly organic wines. I had the Syrah (La Boutanche, Maison), which was delightful. My friend had the Chardonnay (From the Tank, Patience), which she found equally as good.
The couple ejected from the seating area behind us ended up sitting in our seating area. They were very sophisticated. Or at least that’s how they played themselves. They totally missed the joke we made about their ejection from their first seats. AWKWARD.
On a bright note, the bartender was excellent. She knew her stuff & didn’t hesitate to share her knowledge of the wines offered.

Swanky little spot — more like a gentleman’s lounge than a traditional bar setting, which is a nice addition to the midtown scene. The cocktails are all whiskey based because they serve, well, whiskey. When asked about vodka, they politely said they do not carry it. They have whiskey, wine and beer. I appreciated sitting on a big comfy couch near the fireplace. I ordered an amaretto sour which was perfectly prepared and accompanied by a freshly marinated cherry — YUM! Michael had something called a penicillin which he enjoyed very much as well. I will definitely be back — I really liked the atmosphere and laid back, sophisticated vibe and they made me a believer in whiskey with a delicious amaretto sour!

I don’t get too excited about new bars opening anymore because there’s just SO many and so many that have very redundant themes and offerings. I was pleasantly surprised when I went to Royce and maybe even a little worried as to how often I could see myself there ;) The patio is amazing. Large wicker furniture and tables fill a large L shaped space that wraps around the building with a 4 or 5 ft enclosure to offer just the right amount of privacy. The female bartender was very attentive and brought us water to our table and kept that and our wine full the entire time.
The wine menu isn’t huge but it’s plenty sufficient in offering a good selection at good price points. Snacks and small plates from granite street are offered as well.
My only complaint is why there isn’t window coverings over the windows in the bathroom? There are windows that face the outside with no blinds or curtains. Granted it faces an alley of some sort, but most would appreciate that security while using the restroom.

Not so happy, happy hour. I went for their grand opening and was told drinks were on special for happy hour but then when I got my bill it was charged for full priced drinks. When I asked the server about it she said no drinks were on special… Only food. I mentioned to her another staff member had told me they were and she just said ‘sorry, they aren’t’. The ambiance of the place was nice enough but the inconsistency really got to me. Besides who has happy hour without offering some sort of drink special? I won’t be back and as a long time regular at Imperial (which is run by the same owner), I question taking my business back there as well!

Another place to enjoy a glass of wine? JUST what Reno needs! I was very excited to try this new bar opened by a few guys very familiar with hip Reno spots.
The atmosphere in this place is great. It’s cozy — filled with couches and comfy chairs, a fire place, and moody lighting. There was a very different selection of wine than I normally see. The bartenders were knowledgeable on the wines and let me try a couple to find one I really liked.
There’s a small snack menu with items like pressed watermelon and charcuterie. I had a grilled peach (with chevre, almonds and honey) and it was delicious.
They have interesting sodas you can try (dandelion or cucumber, anyone?) and I will be back for some coconut porter.
The patio is great… I hope they add a fire pit!

A group of us stopped in here after the Dine the District Food Tour. The inside definitely has a «theme» (I think Ernie describes it well) and doesn’t match the outside. The outside screams inviting — big wicker love seats and tables that create nice seating areas throughout the whole patio, heat lamps, and a tall wall that blocks you from nosy people on the street. I’d sit on this patio all day (and did put in several hours on this particular day).
The inside is really warm (heat-​wise) and made the patio even more inviting. I’m sure this won’t be an issue in the Winter, but in the Summer it may be unbearable. The unisex bathrooms are teeny-​tiny and the one closest to the door has a window that can let anybody who is out back peer in. They need a shade on this ASAP.
Not knowing that this was a wine and whiskey bar, I tried ordering a gin and tonic only to be told they have no gin and no tonic. Well, alrighty then, I’ll take the Four Roses and Ginger Beer you’re advertising. Oh, you’re out of Small Roses even though you’ve only been open for 2 days? Sigh, ok, choose a whiskey for me and mix it with the ginger beer. So, if you’re not a whiskey or wine drinker, this is not the place for you, no matter how great that patio is.
If I’m in this part of town again, I might stop in, but I don’t think that Royce will be one of my go-​to spots.

This is the latest venue from the guys behind Imperial, Lincoln Lounge, and Granite Street. This wine bar is situated in the house that’s right behind Granite Street, and it’s proximity means that they’re shuttling over some of the food, namely the small bites and desserts.
The big renovation for this house was the large, wrap around deck. They built up some nice walls/​planters around it. Sitting the comfortable wicker chairs, you’re just below the wall, and you can’t see the street, isolating you slightly, and removing you a bit from the city. There are hedges planted, which should eventually grow in, and make it much more isolated. I spoke with one of the owners on my way out, and he mentioned the plan is to put in a roof over most of the deck as well — the framework is already up for this and some planters they’ll be hanging.
The interior is small and cozy. A bit of a Victorian/​smoking parlor feel, dominated by the pink marble bar.
I’m not wine drinker, so much of the selection is lost on me, though their whiskey/​Scotch selection is solid.
Overall, seems like this could be a nice oasis from the surrounding area, especially with the deck being slightly isolated. They had the heat lamps going tonight, though it didn’t seem necessary, but the huge deck (I’m guessing there were a half dozen wicker couches, as many seats, and built in seating along the whole wall as well. Add in some small bites from Granite, good company, and it seems like it’ll be a perfect venue for low key socializing.

New wine and whiskey bar now open
The little house behind Granite Street is now a new area bar. Spacious outdoor patio with lots of intimate seating areas. Inside three seating areas with large comfy couches and the bar area. The tall panel pieces make you feel your having a drink in a cozy library or living room.
They had some unique smaller vineyard wines– the Pinot noir had that light cherry note and not a dry finish. It wasn’t hard at all to finish the glass. A selection of whiskeys. And for the designated drivers or if you just don’t feel like an adult beverage, they had craft sodas.
If you get hungry, they offer a snack menu and the always delicious food comes from Granite Street. Royce offered a happy hour of three plates for $ 10 from the snack list.
Enjoyed the spot very much. Staff was friendly and knowledgable about their products
PS the patio is dog friendly. Sheela will be trying it out soon.

Royce sells themselves as a wine bar, an adjunct to Old Granite next door where they presumably share a kitchen for the appetizers, but it’s about as much a wine bar as Vino Jungle, you know, the place where baristas graduate to serve wine not by learning about wine but serving latte’s. If you want to know what a real wine bar is all about, I suggest West Street Wine with the owner’s encyclopedic knowledge of wine and wine regions or Midtown where you have an extensive wine-​by-​the-​glass list along with flight opportunities. Heck I’d even recommend UnCork’d Eatery at Midtown with an extensive Italian selection and a passionate bartender who actually knows a thing or two about the wines she serves. In fact, go there, and then go to Royce, and tell me what you think. Instead, at Royce, you have to ask what every wine tastes like and be exposed to a rather obtuse, abstract rendering of the taste profile after which you’re not entirely sure you were talking about wine or Rene Magritte’s philologically interpretation of art. Any which way, you just have to take their suggestions, OMG this is the greatest wine in the world #wineisthenewlemondrop. The menu says they select lighter wines, because they’re more into taste than impressing people. Well, that’s sort of like opening an ale house and saying you select lighter ales purposefully. As in, say Genesee Ale? I’m not entirely sure you want to be known as the lighter wine bar. Drinking darker wines or heavier wines is not being pretentious. Nobody drinking a Guinness has ever been accused of being a beer snob. It’s just a different style, a different palate, no more pretentious or less. I’m not expecting to see Rombauer here, but it’s such a straw man argument to say you’re better because everyone else is pretentious.
Royce has a small bar with nice comfy couches behind the bar and a patio outside. I’ll give them credit for egg white cocktails and privately owned liquors as opposed to say a certain Wild Beaver that stocks all their shelves with miscreant corporate labels. Anyone who has Noah’s Mill is passable in my book, but the cocktails need improvement. If you encounter any bar that has a shelf full of birthday cake-​flavored Smirnoff, run, run fast, run like you’re being chased by Brock Hekking and his angry mullet. They also have a selection of cordials and liqueurs to shoot like Fernet so you can be so 16^th and Valencia. They also like to drink shots of Angostura bitters, I’m serious, because they’re hipsters, and tastes buds are so ironic, they can’t be trusted. If they just called themselves a funky bar, I’d rate this place much higher; it’s funky, and there is one dude bartender who I think is pretty cool. But let’s not kid ourselves claiming not to be a pretentious wine bar and then watering everything down and not really knowing what good wines are. It’s not ironic, unless you’re not trying to be ironic, in which case, you are pretty ironic.