Excited about another first review! Met up with a friend here for cocktails during the Christmas break.
True to form for speakeasies, you have to go down a set of stairs to enter the bar. Granted down a staircase in one of most ornate hotels in the downtown and is well lit and plush. Overall first impression of the venue is that it's decorated very nicely; however they need to tone down the lighting, I would say by half to get a real speakeasy feeling.
Drink prices are right on par with some of the priciest joints in San Francisco so it will be interesting to see how well it does for the next few months. $14 for a Manhattan is just too much for this market. I don't even pay that much for some of the best Manhattans in San Francisco (Burrit Room, House of Shields, etc)
Service was great. George was a doll and very attentive to our group.
Drinks, just one round were decent, I had a hot buttered rum kind of drink, but the one I had a bit later at Meat & Potato was much tastier.
So it's just the early stages and I think they'll get their groove on as the months pass and I'll keep it in my radar for future visits to da Burgh.