PAve owns its corner of South Phillips Avenue the way a good bar should — with food worth staying for and drinks worth coming back for. It's one of the more honest bar-restaurant combos downtown Sioux Falls has going right now.
The kitchen runs a real menu, not an afterthought list of apps thrown together to justify a liquor license. Expect craft cocktails built with some intention, a full bar that handles everything from happy hour rounds to late-night orders, and food that actually pairs with what's in your glass. It pulls the after-work crowd, the date-night crowd, and the we're-already-downtown crowd without trying to be all things to nobody.
What makes locals land here is the balance — PAve doesn't force a choice between a decent meal and a good drink, which sounds obvious until you've been burned by every place that picks one and neglects the other. The South Downtown location means you're walking distance from whatever else the evening turns into, and the room holds energy without feeling like it's performing for you.