The Bull

18 SW 1 Ave

Bar/cafe/breakfast & lunch

5 thumbs up!

The Bull has become my go-to spot when it comes to nighttime in downtown Gainesville. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights, they have free live music by some of Gainesville's best musicians (Ricky Kendall, Michael Claytor, Nicole Miglis, and several others). They serve a solid sampling of local Swamp Head Brewery's offerings, including rare and limited run batches as well as a modest yet impressively hand picked selection of national and international beers. I honestly prefer a place that has 30 amazing beers as opposed to 300. I feel it's a sign of sophistication to limit your selection to choices that won't let anyone down but won't overwhelm customers. They also serve a very nice selection of fine, yet reasonably priced wines.

Don't want alcohol? Grab a coffee, tea, Italian soda, or Ginger Beer to whet your whistle. They custom make their own syrups for the Italian sodas. I find the particular brand of ginger beer to be one of the best I've ever tasted.

For lunch, I had the TLT, which is tempeh, lettuce, and tomato served open faced on a toasted bagel with veganaise (vegan mayo). I added some nice avocado for 75 cents. The sandwich cost me about 7 bucks total and the ginger beer was 3. The sandwich was very tasty, and they prepared the tempeh with white wine and mustard seed.

I've heard people complain that their beer prices are to high, but for 5 bucks (and occasionaly 6), you can get an excellent draft beer. Also, their bottles range from about 2 bucks to 5 bucks.

As one of downtown's newer establishments, The Bull seems to have already carved its niche despite competing directly with longer standing places such as Volta. I honestly think that while both serve fine coffees, teas, and small desserts, The Bull takes the lead in nightlife offerings and real food. Volta certainly knows their stuff, and I prefer to support them when it comes to coffee, as they were there first. But I can personally find a use for both.

I highly recommend checking this place out. It's certainly a great addition to downtown.