The Ranstead Room — Restaurant in Philadelphia

I am a little bit on the fence about this place. We were visiting Philly from NYC and decided to google cocktail bars around our hotel and this was the 1st suggestion. We went 1st on 09/01/23. It was a 45 minutes wait as per the hostess, but we got a table after about 10 minutes, which was great. That 1st night, our bartender was Rito, and he was amazing. He was knowledgeable, and very patient. We had millions of questions, and even though he was busy, he did not show any signs of impatience. The drinks he made were really good!We had such a great time that we canceled our Saturday plans just to come back to this bar. This time we were not seated in Rito's section. The head bartender recognized us, and was nice enough. I asked about one of their drinks because I do not like sweet cocktails. I decided to go after his answers, for their version of an espresso martini. After 1 sip, it was way too sweet for me, and espresso martinis are my go to drink whenever I am out in NYC. I immediately ordered another drink, and from that point on, he was openly less friendly. I was not criticizing his skills, but it was a personal taste. He did not offer to remove it from the bill as common. Also, we did not ask, and it was not a big deal as the other person I was with ended up drinking most of it, so we wouldn't waste a $20 cocktail. I will not hold it against him as I heard him being very nice and friendly to other patrons, so he has it in him, and maybe our energies just didn't match, it happens 🤷🏾‍♀️. We left more than 20% tips regardless. Now, I have been working in the hospitality business in Manhattan (UES) since 2012 on the service side, and then on the corporate side for a fine dining group. Even by NYC standards, their cocktails are way too expensive for the amount you get, and too many of them are mostly ice. However the decor and the quality of alcohol make it worth it, depending on what you are looking for. We really enjoyed their old fashioned #1 and #2, but I would like them to have more classic cocktails rather than the sweet ones they offer. It seems like it is possible to order not based on their coktail list, but we did not try. Moreover, I believe treament may vary from patrons to patrons, I am not sure based on what type of criteria. Overall I THINK I soukd...

I would like to report a racist experience that my significant other and I experienced on Saturday 3/23 around 10:30 pm. The hostess denied service to my significant other, who is a 6 ft 3 black male. I am of mixed decent and it is hard to decipher my race. I actually tested the hosted(Gothic looking female, glasses, white, nose ring, bangs, strawberry blonde hair) to see if rascism was at play. It was because I was NOT denied service. My significant other was so called put on the wait list around 10:30 pm. He was told there were 4 people ahead of him. He was told that he would get a text . We sat in our car and watched about 11 people leave the establishment. We waited about 10 minutes and did not get a text. He went back in and asked about our place.He was told there were now 5 people in front of him.He asked, "How is that possible if 11 people just left? The hostess says, " I'm not doing this with you.I'm not doing this". He asked, "Doing what? I'm just asking about my spot." She became hostile so he left. We could not believe that a Starr establishment had a racist employee that was bold enough to show it. I said, before we jump to conclusions, let me test it out. I went in about 11 PM. I asked to be put on the list. I was told the wait was an hour to an hour and a half.

The other non-black patrons were told the same regarding wait times. At 12:01 a.m., I received a text that my spot was ready. HOWEVER MY SIGNIFICANT OTHER NEVER received a text. Which means his information was never recorded and he was denied service based on his race. We are local residents that dine at Starr establishments including Parc, Love, Buddakan, and Barclay Prime, but after that experience, not ONE DROP OF MY MONEY will go to a Starr...

My wife and I are obsessed with speakeasies. Call it a speakeasy and they have pressure to remain hidden, evoke ambience, and craft the best cocktails. Ranstead Room hits all three but each with a major asterisk. Here’s why:

Remain hidden: It’s in a dark alley off of Ranstead Street west of Center City. If you go at night, it will feel a little creepy, but don’t fret. Once you get to the black door with their logo in red, enter through it. You’ll find yourself in a dimly red fluorescent lit longue talking to the hostess as if you were in a popular restaurant. She will then take you back to the actual room where food and drinks are served. There’s a long bar and booth seats. Besides being in an alley, it’s a very public bar rather than a need-to-know exclusive speakeasy.

Evoke ambience: It’s dimly lit as most speakeasies are, but the entire place feels a little odd. There’s giant paintings and photographs on the walls and in the men’s restroom of naked women making it an odd date spot.

Best cocktails: The drinks have the price tag of an exclusive club, but much on their menu seem like more traditional cocktails. Because of that, we went with the bartender’s choice and we were served quality cocktails, but not the top 25 cocktails we’ve had in our lives, which you’d expect at a speakeasy. Also, our drinks were small for a steep price.

Ranstead Room was a decent experience, but it’s not in the top 50% of speakeasies...