In the heart of nightlife in Amherst sits Protocol, a luxury bar in between Spoke and Monkey Bar, two popular spots for college seniors. Yet, you won’t find the young crowd at Protocol. When you walk in, you’ll see more professors and residents laughing over the 90’s rap and R&B that plays during the night.

Long gone are the hooting and hollering of 20 something year olds, the generic bar or frat music and the sticky floors. From the moment you walk in there is a much more elegant feel.

Fresh herbs and live plants cover the walls. Customers can sit themselves in empty seats. Dim mood lighting gives the atmosphere a mystique presence. Copper covers the bar, which houses a huge wine cooler, long row of draft beers and a dizzying amount of liquor.

My girlfriend, Heather, and I went there on a Tuesday night, and it wasn’t crowded. Our server greeted us quickly and gave us drink and food menus. The first thing I notice is the pricing, which I personally found expensive. Heather and I took a glance and locked eyes in shock. A cocktail that costs $18. But again, this is more of a luxury bar and is clearly made for a more distinguished crowd.

Heather had the Moon Tower Margarita and I had the Pass Press, a non-alcoholic cocktail with a shot of Titos added in. Does it defeat the purpose? Did it still taste good? Yes. The margarita cost $14 and my drink cost $13. Both drinks were very enjoyable, but Heather’s margarita only filled about a third of her glass. I hate to bring everything to price, but you can get the same price margarita that’s four times the size down at Garcia’s.

We ordered a starter of ribs, thanks to a man who passed by us while we were walking to the bar and highly recommended them–and they did not disappoint. They were easily the best thing that I had. They were very tender and fell off the bone like Mick Foley falling from Hell in a Cell.

The ribs had a very sweet barbeque coating and Heather even pointed out there was no smokiness to it, but the sauce still paired amazingly with the meaty and fatty flavor of the pork.

Heather wanted to be elegant and ate with a fork and knife, but I ate them with my hands, so the complimentary wet wipes were much appreciated.

Next, Heather had a mushroom burger and I had a smash burger. The mushroom burger had a ground mushroom patty with a thick layer of melted mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. I had a bite and enjoyed it. The mushroom patty did taste like beef, and overall, the burger tasted like a singular big meatball sub.

My smash burger, which I enjoyed, had two thin patties and the usual burger toppings– but I always ask for extra pickles. It was like an average burger you would get anywhere. Both of our entrees came with bags of chips.

Though the food was good, especially the ribs, Heather and I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t for us. We paid $15 and $14 for meals that turned out to be average and only had a bag of chips as a side, it wasn’t worth it. I asked for fries and Heather asked for a side salad, but those substitutions couldn’t be made. The waitress we had did say we could buy a salad or fries to share but it would make the meal cost more and we would have too much food.

We had brunch before, and we will definitely go again. For the most part, I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re a college student. I know Protocol is mostly known for their signature drinks, but it’s just not affordable for us. We probably aren’t the target customer for Protocol, but I don’t want to dissuade anyone from at least trying it out. I want to emphasize that the food, drinks and atmosphere was good, we just didn’t feel we had our bang for our buck. Heather and I both agreed that this is a place we will definitely come back to when we are Alums.

Ethan Brayall-Brown can be reached at [email protected].