New Albany's Windsor Restaurant and Garden adding full service bar with draft craft brews.

The Windsor Restaurant and Garden shares ownership with the Grand Convention Center, and the two establishments are located adjacent to each other on Market Street in downtown New Albany.

In fact, the Windsor occupies the spot on the corner of Market and Bank where the Bistro New Albany held court until October, 2007, and following a slow and steady start-up during the summer of 2008, the Windsor looks to be hitting its stride.

Chef Justin McMillen has been on board for a few months now, and while I haven’t had time to sample the dinner menu (sorry), I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. The patio’s as nice as it ever was, and the interior is about to undergo a major conceptual makeover, which is even more exciting to me because the retrofit is to include a full service bar and the restoration of the former Bistro’s ten-tap draft system.

That's excellent news.

John Campbell and I spent time earlier this week with Isaac Fox, server and bar manager extraordinaire, who did time with the Bistro and later gravitated down the street to Speakeasy before alighting at the Windsor.

Isaac told us that the plan is to have the space known locally as the “place where the music shop was” (it now has relocated a block west) renovated and a bar installed. There’ll be comfy furniture, a couple of flat screen televisions, and with a full 3-way liquor license, the full gamut of beer, wine and cocktails.

Draft beer highlights are to include two NABC beers, rotating taps for Samuel Adams seasonals and Indiana microbrews, Bell’s, Goose Island, Newcastle, Dogfish Head 90 Minute, and a couple of others that have slipped my mind since. The bottle list will begin short and grow.

The whole thing is supposed to hit the ground by Harvest Homecoming on the 9th of October. Look for beer dinners and tastings later this fall and winter. It’s great to have another venue for craft beer downtown!