Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on September 11, 2026.
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The Forge in Lawrenceville is one of those spots that you may not notice when driving along Penn Avenue. Apart from a small sign out front, this one is easy to miss if you're not looking closely.
But for those who make the effort to stop and head in, a delicious cocktail bar with Mediterranean small-plates and a modest pizza menu is your reward!
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Inventive Cocktails at The Forge
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As The Forge is a cocktail bar first and foremost (and is 21+ for good measure), we started off with a round of drinks including the Long Rider with Bourbon, Sweet Vermouth, Cynar 70, mango, apricot, passionfruit, and bitters plus the Intro to Mezcal with cardamom and black peppercorn infused mezcal, chile poblano, strawberry, lime, and mole bitters.
The Long rider was a delicious riff of a Manhattan with a nice bitterness from the Cynar 70 while having some prominent, but not overwhelming, fruit notes to balance things out. Meanwhile, the Intro to Mezcal itself was a bit stronger on the fruit notes which helped mask some of the flavors of the Mezcal- good for those who do not like the super intense smokey notes of mezcal, but it did feel a bit too fruit-forward for our liking all the same.
Our second round included the Tomato, Tomato with za'atar infused gin, salted tomato water, dry vermouth, and za'atar oil as well as the Pool Snax with honey bourbon salami washed vodka, dill pickle and banana pepper mustard cordial, and dry vermouth.
These two cocktails were where The Forget gets interesting.
Both of these felt like savory martinis with the Tomato, Tomato having an almost pizza-like characteristic to it thanks to the flavors of the za'atar pairing nicely with the tomato water and the Pool Snax had very prominent banana pepper and dill notes that we quite enjoyed. Savory drinks like these are not our first choice at a cocktail bar, but with the Mezze (more on that below), these two really were quite delicious.
More savory cocktails with food please!
Don't Skip the Mezze at The Forge
As we were visiting with friends, we ordered several items from the Mediterranean mezze and small plates menus, including the Mediterranean mushrooms, shawarma hummus, kafta skewers, and gambas al ajillo.
The mezze dishes here are on the smaller side, but each had a few bites such that two of each made for a great spread for a table of six. The flavors of each were quite delicious and the shawarma hummus with chicken and lamb seasoning was a standout for us.
In a future visit, we'd love to try more from the mezze menu like the labneh and babaganoush as, if these other dishes were any indication, they would be right up our alley. The small plates menu is the kind of selection we could order anything from and likely be pleased.
We finished our meal with an order of two pizzas for the table, the Just Peachy (a seasonal special with burrata, fresh peaches, mozzarella, arugula, sea salt, and cracked peppercorn) and Feta Feta Bang Bang (with feta, dates, sun-dried tomatoes, arugula, and spicy honey).
Both of these pizzas caught our eye for their interesting toppings that were quite loaded and flavorful; however, we felt like the crust could've gone in the pizza oven just a bit longer or at a higher temperature overall. Likewise, the Just Peachy itself was heavy on the burrata which seemed to mask some of the flavor of the nominal peaches.
Despite this, we really enjoyed the cocktails and mezze at The Forge, and admittedly found the spot to be quite the surprise. So whether you're looking for a night out for cocktails, some apps, or to make a meal of it, don't overlook this one the next time you're in Lawrenceville.
The Forge is located at 3345 Penn Avenue in Lawrenceville. Please note that they are 21+ only.
