For several months, maybe even a couple of years, I’ve always had it in my mind to try out one of (if not the only) Fresno’s rooftop bar: Quail State. Quail State is housed in one of the tallest buildings in Fresno, a little over 14 stories, and at night, it is hard to miss with its string of golden amber lights at the highest point of the building. Mind you, I had always assumed that this top floor is where Quail State would be located, because well, it advertiszes itself as a rooftop bar. Walking into the entrance from the bottom of the building, I was impressed by how classy the first floor appeared, with its victorian style (or whatever) decor. However, I had an impeding sense of disappointment when the door person said to take the elevator to the 2nd floor. Seeing how many floors the building is, I was thinking, well maybe, that the 2nd floor is a kind of check-in or a satellite location before heading up to the actual roof…
I head out the elevator to the 2nd floor only to find out that Quail State is ONLY on the 2nd floor. So how is it a rooftop bar? Well, the 2nd floor extends a considerable horizontal distance from the rest of the building above, which in effect, creates another rooftop, with this rooftop only being on the 2nd floor. The view is, meh, as one would expect being so low. You are instead mocked by the other buildings in the area looking down at you, with half of the view blocked by mundane buildings, and disappointing view of what little you can see of Fresno’s bleak skyline. The hum of the AC units littered across the rooftop grounds just add to the insult to injury.
Surely, Quail State’s bar area would at least have some redeeming qualities, right? I was hoping to order some high end spirits, such as Proper 12 and Gentleman’s Cut, but they didn’t have those on hand. So I just settled with a Jameson and Coke, delivered in a small glass, like I was at the club and ready to overpay Turns out that was exactly what happened when I got the bill: Prices though the roof, literally. $17 a drink; for a small glass of Jameson and Coke. The coke wasn’t even Zero Sugar, since they didn’t have that either. $17 for one drink is absolutely insane, and more insane in a small city where you don’t expect ridiculous prices like you would in SF, LA, and Vegas. Lincoln’s, Applebee’s, and countless other establishements, local or nation, typically have $5 drinks. $17 for a drink is pricier even than nightclubs such as from Splash. I would rather have just went out and bought a half handle of Jameson and a $1 bottle of Coke. Just, wow.
