The Guest Room — Restaurant in Starkville

Being a senior college student in Starkville, I had been wanting to visit The Guest Room since my freshman year (especially during Christmas). My boyfriend and I decided we were going to go before we left for the holidays. We arrived 20 minutes after it opened and were told there was an hour and a half wait. We decided we were going to get there early the next night instead. But when we showed up 20 minutes before open and still had to be put on the wait list for 2 hours was a little disheartening. Despite this, we decided to wait. When it was finally time to be seated we were super excited and were going to make the most of the experience. We ordered drinks and decided to place an order for the crawfish dip appetizer. When the drinks arrived we realized that while they were tasty, they were incredibly small for the price which was a little disappointing. But we were super excited for the dip especially since it was around $13. But this is where the real problem began. I took one bite and had to spit it out because it did not taste right. My boyfriend tried it after seeing my reaction and he said the exact same thing. The dish had only one or two bites out of it when we had to stop because I honestly felt like I become sick if I took another bite. As someone who works in the restaurant industry, I reluctantly decided to mention it to our server who told us that he could not exchange it or take it off the bill. We were so off-put by this experience that we immediately asked for our check and left. The entire experience was very disheartening and disappointing especially since this had been something I had been looking forward to for the past 4 years. Would not recommend unless there are serious...

This place was a recommendation by a friend and I must say I am very impressived by the place. The Guest Room and Restaurant Tyler are connected together and serve the same food menu. The difference between the two is that the Guest Room has to be entered through the back alley.

The speak easy has a great atmosphere and does not require a password anymore to enter. While this may take away a bit from the exclusive feel, it is understandable from the perspective of a business trying to make money.

The staff is very friendly and made me feel very welcome despite it being my first time there. The bartender is a great conversationalist and really knows what he is doing. This is the type of place that I recommend you allow the bartender to have fun and make you an experimental drink. For me he created a gin, absent and cucumber based delicious drink that was not overly sweet and had an excellent aroma and texture.

I arrived before the kitchen was going to close but they gladly served me regardless. I ordered the braised lamb gnocchi and was pleasantly surprised. The sauce was richer and spicier than I expected but very flavourful. The portion size was nice and I even had leftovers.

Overall I would say this is a great place to experience while in the area. It is expensive but expected considering the experience. I would recommend calling to see how busy it is before arriving. If I am ever in the area, I will...

Little upscale underground bar, with an old tavern like ambiance and decor. If you don’t know where it is, turn left from the restaurant Tyler ( facing the city hall) and take the alley back ( written as one way). Then it is on the left hand side. But it’s not written anywhere. So just pull the door and take the stair down. The inside is quite dark and lit with mild lights and candles. We were there just for the drink and sat on the bar. Though it was crowded and fully packed on a busy weekend night, we never felt less cozy. The bartenders were nice and certainly know their job. We spent three hours and drank a few speciality cocktails. All of them were experimental and different for me. They have a lot of food options too. I loved the place and will definitely go back again.

Update: returned again- and this time drank house mule....