Partners Morgan Holzman and Heather Taylor run Bullwinkle's Tavern, and the first surprise is the building itself. It sits in a Five Forks warehouse space off Woodruff Road that gives away almost nothing from the parking lot, then opens up inside into a genuine sports tavern: walls covered in a collection worth wandering past, TVs going for whatever game is on, dart boards and a claw machine, and a patio with outdoor games when the weather cooperates.
The kitchen keeps its focus on what it does well, an American menu built around hand-formed personal pizzas, build-your-own pies and calzones, wings, garlic knots, and baked meatballs in marinara. The bar is where the place earns its name, though. There is a craft beer list with rotating taps posted on the wall, and a bourbon selection that catches a lot of first-timers off guard, plus bourbon slushies for anyone after the easygoing version.
It plays family-friendly in the daytime and turns into a livelier end-of-night spot later, with live music some evenings. That range makes it an easy call for catching a game with friends, a casual dinner with the kids, or a night out that lands somewhere in between.