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| - My first impression while waiting a full hour in line was that no bar in in Phoenix could be worth that wait. I was not proven wrong. We had to meet some friends who were already inside so we gave it a try. Despite the somewhat unique offerings on the inside, I would not return unless there was no wait.
I'm not sure what they were shooting for in their atmosphere. They tried going for the speakeasy feel with an alleyway entrance, but on the inside, they couldn't decide what to settle on. There was a dimly lit bar area with scattered high tops. There was an area with a few booths and board/game offerings including Connect-4 and Jenga. Also nearby was an area where you could play skee-ball lanes, pool, shuffle board, or one of 2 arcade games. There was yet another area with live music/salsa (Friday night).
The bartenders that night were attentive, and I never waited long for a drink. I tried the Big Nowakowski, which is basically a Mudslide with a splash of Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur.
As for patrons, it was a younger crowd, mostly dressed down with many donning the ubiquitous t-shirt and shorts that unfortunately plagues Arizona's night scene.
The deal breaker for this bar with multiple personalities was the hour-long wait, and the seemingly disorganized manner in which they allowed people to enter. There were two lines, the long one for the bar, and the faster line seemingly for the salsa night. However, once entering and walking down the stairs, it was unclear whether anyone would have known which line you came from(so why wait in the longer one?). Also, while in line, one bouncer with his 8" goatee made me feel a bit uncomfortable with his overly patriotic sentiments directed at me. Was I not standing in line patriotically enough? I don't know, but I'll try harder if there is a next time, sorry.
If you'd like to have the combination speakeasy/dive/mini dave-n-busters/live music+salsa experience, then this is your place.
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