The White Rabbit — Restaurant in Gilbert

Short answer: All talk, no class. Tip gougers, poor service, ableist and not disability friendly and overpriced

Long answer:

The speakeasy vibe was trendy pre-covid and it could of been cool here, except they fail at every turn, add on their own tips, overcharge and they don't even stick to their own at shtick. Then, there is the accessibility nightmare, but more on that later.

Show up with friends, and its clear it's a bar: The "hidden" entrance has a bouncer and some corporate dude with an earpiece like a wannabe secret service agent. They make this big deal that you need some password that you need to sign up for so they can data mine your email and socials, but when we tried to give it they didn't give a moments care and started just reading the bar's sales pitch. Applebee's feels more edgy than this place already.

Then they said it was reservation only! My friend told him that she tried to make one on the website, but it just flat out wasn't working. The small corporate guy gets on the radio like he is negotiating a hostage swap, making us feel like tools that made his day 10x more difficult. After about 5 minutes he "works something out" and were permitted to go inside, past velvet ropes (soooo speakeasy style).

Once downstairs (and, ONLY stairs! Disabled folks, forget it. Not cool enough I guess. And, the website says nothing about this or accomodations), you come to a chintzy hall with stereotype 1920's ish looking junk to a door dressed as a bookcase. The club wasn't even half full, with a full room to the side EMPTY! WHY the drama over the reservation I don't know. Also they claim this is a bar with a "dress code". They don't care. We took the time to take the cues and dressed for the dress code stated on the website, but inside was just more dude bros with tshirts and backwards ball caps. And the music? Canned dad rock from the 70's.

The "speakeasy" part begins... When?

We get seated, and then are reminded that this is a "seated bar"? What the...?? Now we are being told to stay in our seats like children? And the seats? Round, tiny 18" ottoman tree stump looking things that you have to perch on! There are some benches, but again, if you have mobility issues or disability, they clearly don't want you here!

The food? I've had better Costco samples, and I am not sure these weren't. Frozen pizza and prepackaged junk. But, it's a bar, so I guess I should not complain about that. Except that the tables are SO tiny, one appetizer tray and the other 4 of you sharing the 20" or so table don't have room for drinks. Especially since the waiters dont clear your empty drinks!

Speaking of drinks, for all of the hype for "craft cocktails" all they seem to care about is fruity or gimmick drinks where they brag that you cannot taste the booze. Have these people actually seen a bar before? And the underwhelming drinks will put you back about 18-27 bucks EACH! And, at the end of the meal the server decided to add EXTRA to my bill, charging me almost $100 on my $62 bill! And, that Bill was for two cocktails, a flatbread and a coke no ice!!

Untrustworthy, unhelpful staff, overpriced and underwhelming drinks and food stale gimmick atmosphere (what little there was) that the employees didn't even care about and credit card fraud all lead up to what I already know: I will stick to GOOD establishments in places like Phoenix and Tempe. The last time I go near this place ever again, and I will be sure to let...

So by now you probably know the back story on this place so I'll spare you those details and tell you what I think could be helpful and the good and bad during my visit so management can review what is happening in their venue.

Aside from what all of the news articles tell us this is different than what I had read about. It has transitioned into a modern speakeasy with a more of a goth apothecary and curiosities type feel. The wait staff dresses in all black and some are gothed out. Upon waiting to enter one goth gal didn't acknowledge us it made me feel uncomfortable. Then she went on to openly chat about personal things with a door man who had returned from his car. He was friendly when spoken to. No password was ever requested. They didn't tell us about the venue, drinks, what is special about the place, they did not add any value to our experience at all. Sadly I find this kind of lackluster service common in Arizona so I won't ding this place too much for it.

Once we got through the door the entrance was really unique with the hallway of apothecary bottles. Once you found your way in a hostess was waiting for you and took you to your seats. The atmosphere was extremy dark. Too dark for a selfie on a date in most areas. The music was awful honestly.... It was a Friday night so they had rap playing. I tried to appreciate the attempt at some of the smoother rap songs but it still contradicted the entire experience. Why would they do this? Have you not heard of Perov Stelar? Frank Sinatra, anything prohibition era with a twist? You could probably get a DJ to mix something for you here in Phoenix.

The music played at a comfortable level and we were able to talk just fine. Our beautiful long wavy haired waitress quickly appeared. She graciously returned my excitement to be there and quickly started to bring our experience back to five stars. To see the menu we needed a cell phone to scan the QR code. Reception was sketchy and I was bummed the beautiful menus I had seen in photos were no longer available. They really add to to ambiance I hope they come back after the pandemic is completely over. I wish I could have seen photos of the cocktails on the online menu. It was hard to figure out what was what. They only had four unusual craft beers so my very traditional friend had to order a drink he doesn't normally order, sadly he never finished it.

I had three lifechanging cocktails I found absolutely supurb, these were the best drinks I have ever had. My biggest disappointment was I couldn't drink more! I loved the smell of the smoked cocktails. The bar was beautiful as was the interior. The chandeliers were gorgeous. It's fun that my take home drink was retrieved from an apothecary cabinet. Those little details really go far. I will definitely go back any time I get the chance when I visit...

April 28, 2023, Friday - It was Friday First Speakeasy Day. I totally made that up. I visited my first speakeasy even though I had plenty of opportunities in Washington State! I was told to sign up for the newsletter to get the "secret password" like an authentic speakeasy. I invited my friends to join me since we were headed to the Hale Theatre for the production of The UnSinkable Molly Brown.

The doorman at the top of the stairs will seat your party once you're all there - just be aware of your friends, family, peeps that tend to be fashionably late to all gatherings.

Once we all arrived, we had to prompt the doorman for the password instead of vice versa. To his credit, he was built and dressed for the part with the bow tie, etc. So minus point is countered with a point.

Moving on ... we carefully walked down the flight of stairs, and intuitively found the correct bookcase (monster hint in the newsletter, y'all)

The hostess with the mostest sat us quickly. I surveyed the decor, and atmosphere - perfect. Then I noticed that the music was 90's hip-hop. Not that I minded, but felt TWR missed this perfect opportunity to play period specific music such as swing, or big band.

Maybe it was the early Friday night, but still ... if you're delivering an experiential then immerse your patrons in it. Again, minus point.

Our server was a period dressed brunette that was attentive (she was lovely, attractive and smiled a lot) The drink, and food menu were available as a QR code. We collectively chose: Dorsia On A Friday Night (Audrey) - apropos, Scarlet Sundown (Rachel), and yours truly, choose 1837.

ALL WERE FANTASTIC. The mixologists were on-point. Speaking of which, point picked up. As we happily drank our concoctions, we noted WE missed the mark by not dressing up in zoot suits, or flapper dresses.

If you're touring the local speakeasys, add this to the list. Perhaps they'll read this and update the Spotify playlist with 1920's music. And add to the experience for yourself by...