The Blind Elephant — Restaurant in Wilmington

Normally I'd have nothing but raving reviews for this place, but it's been a while since I've been in and it's not what I was used to raving about. My friends are in town today and I was trying to show them some local spots and took them to Blind Elephant. I paid the membership and headed straight to the bar. From the instant we walked up the bar tender acted annoyed and impatient. There were about 6 people in the bar TOTAL and no one seemed to be needing any refills and were engaged in talking to their company. There were 5 of us and we weren't dressed to impress. It's a Saturday afternoon and we were walking downtown to show our friends the town we live in. My friends were asking about the drink specials just to get rude responses like "well, those are two totally different drinks and flavors" and practically an eyeroll away from helping us further. He was insistent we all order our drinks all at one time like he was so busy and couldn't spare the time to mix our drinks....remember....only 6 people in the entire bar. I inquired about a stack of books I saw sitting behind the bar that I was hoping to get to read one of. I asked if they were for reading or decoration, of which he said "those are ours".....whatever that meant. I was so upset at the level of rudeness I just experienced I couldn't even enjoy my drink. I spent the whole time apologizing profusely to my friends about the embarrassing choice of bar I'd just hyped up. I just wanted to go. That was a waste of my money and time. I'm honestly not sure if I'll be back after today, which sucks because it's been my dream to hold my wedding reception there soon because I love the environment and the live pianist. So. Thanks for the old school memories but management seriously needs to reevaluate their staff. This is...

UPDATE: (lowered rating to 1 star)Against my better judgement I wanted to give this poor representation of an establishment a second try. So I present myself at the door with friends (you know, paying customers, money for the owner, tip for the staff) I put in my phone number as I had previously paid for membership...long story short, I was not allowed in because I had written a “false review” (the original FACTUAL review you see below.) So, we all laughed in their faces and brought our business elsewhere. So, not only did they lose out on our business, but my friends now think the place is a joke and will be telling all their friends starting college this semester. Instead of apologizing, owning up to poor service and saying that’s not the experience they strive to provide...they just banned me lol! I know management is reading this, so this is for you. You’re a joke and an embarrassment to what the service industry stands for. Should have listened to myself and NEVER RETURN. What a joke. Great business motto- if the customers don’t like it, bam them🤣 Original review: Heads up, 1$ cover charge per group. Went on a Sunday night around 9:30- there were 4 other people inside. But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was hay even thought the girls behind the bar were doing NOTHING and not busy - since there was only 2 people actually sitting at the bar-they still made us get up and come order drinks at the bar instead of walking around and giving us service at the couches...we had to get up to order drinks, receive drinks and pay the bill. HORRIBLE SERVICE. Specialty drinks were all full of sugar and not balanced at all. Nice spot inside - despite bathroom stall lock being broken, so I had to manually keep it closed while I was inside. Wouldn’t recommend it,...

My boyfriend and I arrived a bit after 10pm on a Saturday and we’re able to get a seat at the bar right as another couple were leaving. Immediately after taking a seat we were greeted by Lucas as well as another lady bartending that night, however I only got Lucas’ name. The bartenders here where extremely attentive and I watched Lucas greet every guest promptly after seeing them sit or walk up to the bar and getting their drinks quickly. The bar staff made sure we were well taken care of all night and we’re quick with anything we needed. Lucas was so friendly and awesome, he responded kindly to every question I had. This bar is a true craft cocktail bar. The cocktail recipes are relatively complex and unique and worth every penny of the $15 for their craft cocktail menu. Being from the Charlotte area, these prices seem very fair compared to what I would pay for similar back home. These bartenders go above and beyond what other “craft cocktail” bars in the area offer and are timely while doing it! I know lots of places in the area won’t smoke drinks so if you love a nice smoked old fashioned this is the spot! They have an incredible bourbon selection and had one of the best rye selections I’ve seen in the area! Buffalo Trace lovers in the Carolina’s know it can be difficult to get your hands on a bottle anywhere or even in some bars, but this place has some right on hand and had unopened bottles to spare! They also have a few mules on draft which is super efficient, I had a Moscow mule in front of me less than 2 minutes after I ordered one, which tasted incredible. If you’re looking for somewhere more chill than the average college crowd that you’ll find in many Wilmington bars, this is the...