Dinner, Drinks & 18 Holes: Inside Sun Dog Downtown Clubhouse in Cortland

There are restaurants where you go for dinner, bars where you gather with friends for a drink, and places where you can spend a few hours perfecting your swing. At 28 Main St, Sun Dog Downtown Clubhouse has decided there is no compelling reason these should be three different places.

The newest addition to downtown Cortland occupies a historic Main Street storefront, though little about the interior feels stuck in the past. The décor lands somewhere between vintage clubhouse and neo-deco cocktail lounge. The historic brick and marble bar are juxtaposed by oversized globe pendants and sumptuous curving powder-blue chairs, both a little playful and polished without being too precious. It is posh enough for date night, but comfortable enough to settle in with friends. Peppered with vintage golf paraphernalia, it’s just sporty enough to remind you that there are, in fact, three state-of-the-art golf simulators just a few feet away.

But first, cocktails.

Sun Dog takes its cocktail program seriously, which is immediately apparent after my first cucumber margarita. Crisp, bright and dangerously easy to drink, it is the sort of cocktail that makes ordering a second seem inevitable.  

The rest of the bar follows suit: thoughtful drinks made for lingering, whether you are settling into the overstuffed lounge furniture for happy hour or fortifying yourself before discovering what your golf swing looks like when subjected to sophisticated tracking technology. For those of us not imbibing, their mocktail menu is so deliciously mixed, you won’t even miss the alcohol.

Calling Sun Dog a golf bar grossly undersells what is happening in the kitchen.

The menu takes familiar bar and clubhouse favorites and gives them just enough of a twist to keep things interesting, with local ingredients featured throughout. The Kraut Dog, for example, gets its bite from locally made sauerkraut from Food & Ferments. The Loaded Dog features Skaneateles Buffalo, turning the humble hot dog into something considerably more ambitious.

They have jackfruit tacos, smoked in house, for the vegetarians among us. And Elote corn dip that feels impossible to share. They even offer gluten free options, so those who can’t partake, don’t miss out on the fun. And their sandwich menu is as long as my arm.  Even the tots get an upgrade. Sun Dog waffles them, air fries them and turns them into crisp, golden squares served with a cornucopia of house made dips. The cilantro ranch is not to be skipped.

There is a sense throughout the menu that the kitchen is having fun. Nothing feels overly fussy. These are recognizable dishes, cleverly reimagined, delightfully delicious. Whether you play golf or not, Sundog should defiantly be in your weekend rotation.

But, for those who do golf, dinner and drinks are just the tip of the iceberg.

Tucked into the back of the clubhouse are three TrackMan simulator bays (including one large enough to host private parties), capable of transporting golfers to some of the world's greatest golf courses, no passport required.

By 5 PM on this particular Friday, two of the three bays were already occupied by groups having a decidedly rowdy good time. Sun Dog has cleverly designed each simulator with its own built-in bar-height table, making the experience as comfortable for spectators as it is for golfers. It invites folks like me to order another round and settle in, heckling a friend’s backswing while dinner arrives directly at the bay. It feels less like reserving time on a piece of sporting equipment and more like getting your own private corner of the restaurant, with a golf course attached.

Serious golfers will appreciate the TrackMan technology. Casual golfers can play a round without worrying about the foursome impatiently waiting behind them. Complete non-golfers can sit at the table with a cucumber margarita and offer unsolicited swing advice.

Everyone is welcome at the Clubhouse. No membership required. The simulators are open to anyone, making Sun Dog as useful for keeping a swing intact through a New York winter as it is for a spontaneous Friday night competition among friends. They even offer golf games for kids, so the whole family can make an outing of it.

Despite the name, this is not a clubhouse in the exclusive sense. There are no membership dues, no dress code and no requirement that you know a birdie from a bogey. It is a clubhouse in the much better sense of the word: a place designed for people to gather.

Come for dinner. Come for the cucumber margarita. Come to play 18 holes while a Cortland snowstorm does its worst outside. Or come with absolutely no intention of touching a golf club. While the golf may be optional, the waffled tots are not.

For more information or to book your next round visit sundogdowntownclubhouse.com or click here.

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