Blind Elephant Inc. Reviews

Off the beaten path in an alley no less. A nice find.

Turned away because I was wearing basketball shorts. All of my friends had flip flops on though and that was ok? Really disappointing that there s a dress code for a bar in a college beach town.

The staff was amazing and professional.
Loved everything about this place.

Great place making sold drinks. Atmosphere is one of a kinda.

It's a cute place, but the drinks are uniquely odd. I ordered one, and did not find it enjoyable at all. I asked if I could swap it out, she said "no, the ingredients were clearly listed before you ordered it" I asked for the manager, she said she was it, then asked if I would like to "sit and talk about it" I got the impression they just don't care if you like your drinks if they have already closed your tab.

A little expensive but the craft cocktails are really good. Love the tshirts but I don't know if I love them enough to pay $25.

Super cozy speakeasy down a sketchy alley. Arrived shortly after opening so had the place to myself. Great conversation with the two chaps working. They make all their own syrups for cocktails. Mules on tap! It was fantastic. Live music started at 6pm and the dude on the piano was amazing and it really set the mood. Great place for a romantic interlude or late nightcap with friends. I ll be back!

Our favorite new place! We went there Saturday with friends from Michigan and had a blast! Great atmosphere and specialty drinks. Nate,the upstairs bartender, was perfect for this place.

Spent hundreds of dollars at this establishment in the past. Denied entry tonight while wearing a designer bathing suit made from duck hunter camo. 0/10 will not visit again

Over priced. Not a great selection of drinks. A few drinks and they do fancy names to make it seem special to hide the fact that they don't have much of a selection. Staff has been rude, unfriendly and dismissive on more than 1 occasions. Staff tends to use the place to hangout with their friends and cater to them while neglecting the other customers. Even seen staff yell at customers over trying to get service a few times.

We stopped in Saturday 8/17/19 @ 5 pm. We got our usual favorite drinks (The Jive) and a couple new drinks. The bartender and door guy were both very nice and made excellent recommendations for our drinks. They make craft cocktails with fresh cut or muddled ingredients you probably have never heard of in a cool laid back atmosphere of a prohibition-era speakeasy. They have a HUGE selection of whiskey, burbon, and rye and a new alcohol-free selection of mock-tails. The place is down an alley between Front Street Brewery and Port City Cafe with a small barely-lit sign with just an elephant on it is a really cool entrance and makes you feel like you are going to a place that is exclusive and off the beaten path of Front Street. Great place to take a date or a group of friends.

Super relaxing, couches, old silent movie on brick wall, Thursday night jazz band(Robert Butler Trio), great drinks!

A chic cocktail bar with two levels and ample seating (comfy couches). The drinks were creative and tasty, and the atmosphere was just right. Would be back again!

W a name like this you have to try right-
That s how we wondered in there.

To my surprise it s amazing

Lovely night club for interesting cocktails, piano players, just sit and relax, enjoyable evening.

Immediately greeted when we arrived, staff was super friendly. MATT MADE THE BEST DRINK I VE EVER HAD! Ask for the weekend tuxedo! The fact that this place is in an alley makes the experience even greater. The inside is so cool. Vibe was awesome. Music was awesome.

Great drinks wonderful atmosphere! David is the greatest of all time bartender! I am a regular at this bar and come quite often. This past weekend was their anniversary Great Gatsby Party. I came with high expectations but left with the opposite. It was advertised that there would be a professional photographer and free tastings. When I arrived none of that was going on. It just seemed like a normal night I arrived at 9:30. It didn t seem like there was any change from a normal night at all besides people being dressed up which was disappointing. I visited another time and they were out of buffalo trace yet they have two pieces of buffalo trace advertising and a large buffalo statue on the piano and a buffalo on the wall.

Great staff super nice I enjoyed the craft cocktails!

Me and a couple buddies walk in reluctantly Saturday evening, became members, walked out HUGE fans.
Can't pinpoint if it was the nostalgic atmosphere, amazing cocktails or the Ashley the mixologist who knew more about college football than any sports bar bartender I've come across.
It wasn't until half way through the second of our better than perfect old fashions did she let it be know she was also the proprietor.
Definitely worth the trip back to Wilmington from New England.
Damn proud to be a member.

Best Moscow mule in town. Neat private upstairs area and fun live solo piano

very rude staff and pretentious guests. Staff seems to be impolite and coarse with anyone younger than 25. Also their drinks are very overpriced

Go here for speak easy and unique cocktails all made by hand. Fresh squeezed everything!

Good spot if you can avoid late-night weekend crowds. Becomes extremely crowded at times. Good cocktail recipes but have had some inconsistent experiences when they're really busy.

The best Moscow Mules on draft...ever. Downfall..not taking debit cards for their membership fee. We aren't from the area and how to scrounge for cash.

Good drinks. Friendly bartender. Awesome atmosphere. Highly recommend and thoroughly enjoy this place.

This place is a great little hole in the wall hangout. It never seems overcrowded, the drinks come fairly quickly and are always delicious. Definitely a fun destination.

Great Speakeasy! Solid whiskey selection and great bartenders. Super cool place.

The bartenders truly earn their tips here. I went here on New Years Eve, and the service was still great. They've got some great drinks, such as the Kleptothelia. The space itself is beautiful. Small, but a cozy 2 stories. However, the clientele here is a bit stuck up. The bar will only open up the 2nd story bar if you have a private party, so it seemed like they wasted some space on a bar they don't often use. I would come back here though.

Yes you have to walk down the dark alley and up the stairs. Delicious drinks, cool atmosphere.

This place certainly has a really cool, unique vibe. The bartenders are really skilled and good at interacting with customers. The drinks are all designed by the staff, and they come up with some really yummy ideas with variety to suit anyone's tastes.

A great speakeasy. Highly skilled bartenders with great handcrafted cocktails.

Good mixed drinks however if you're looking for single ladies go elsewhere its all dudes or married woman with thier husbands

Nice atmosphere, but drinks aren t up to snuff for what you d think of a high end speakeasy type cocktail bar. There are just better places downtown for good cocktails.

Get yourself the best Mule in town! Also chill place where you can enjoy your drink and still be able to hold a conversation.

All 6 of my friends and I were turned away because we were wearing shorts (not gym shorts - nice shorts). It s 92 degrees outside. There were only about 12 people in the entire bar, and at least 6 of the guys were wearing shorts. No idea why they turned us away but made sure everyone else in line was aware and they left too. It was my first time - I was excited to check the place out - but never coming back now. Bouncer was a douchebag about it. It s Wilmington guys - not NYC. I ll stick with the bars who aren t stuck up. Good luck running a bar like this in Wilmington.

Great place to catch up with a friend or a date night, super cool ambience and decoration, friendly staff

I hesitate to give this a bad rating, so it won't get too popular and busy. My favorite place fer drinks.

The best speakeasy in town with cozy and lively environment

Terrible customer service.. My Fiance was looking forward to going here our whole week in North Carolina. We finally made our way to this speak easy and they told her she couldn't come in because there was a small rip in her jeans... We explained that we were from out of town and that this was the one place she was dying to go to, however they still turned her away with tears in her eyes. She was devastated the rest of the trip. Don't waste your time or money on a place that would turn a woman in tears away for a rip in her jeans...

Best drinks in town. They take time to make it right.

Make sure you re completely sober. Very upity. Over priced. Terrible stuck up customer service. Over serve high class clientele.

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 completely not ok

Best cocktail bar in town. Upstairs with Justin is the best.

HOSPITALITY AND GOOD PEOPLE. What a wonderful day. Thanks for the memories.

Great speakeasy vibe, bartenders are knowledgable and friendly. We have David he was the best ! Highly recommended !!!!

They had really awesome mules and great service! We will definitly visit the next time were in town!

Cool bar with black and white movies playing on screens. Drinks were OK. We were dressed like a 1920s flapper and gangster and thought it would have more of that flair but it was still a cool place to hang out.

Well made drinks, good (live) music, and a welcoming atmosphere, what more could I want in a bar? Honestly, while we're in town, we'll be back at least once more.

Excellent cocktails and mules. Especially the border mule.

This was an amazing experience. Cost 1.00 to get a membership but so worth it! Drinks are about 10-11 dollars a pop but they are high quality drinks and are fun! Will definitely go back again the staff was friendly and the people were great company.

Such a neat classy bar that you must go see if going out in Willmington. They have an amazing drink menu and great atmosphere.

One of the coolest bars in Wilmington! Drinks are a bit pricey, but totally worth the extra cash.

Little hidden gem. Prices are an average of $10 a drink. Drinks are amazing.

Tries to be an upscale cocktail bar but fails - had pre-mixed Moscow Mules, Manhattan was marginal at best

A wonderful place to have a drink and enjoy good conversation with friends.

Awesome place. Atmosphere nails the Speakeasy feel and staff is great. Excellent drinks. Highly recommend!

Love this place. Mixoligist are spot on. Speak easy vibe. Join the bourbon club its the best deal in town

Great hangout spot, definitely a go-to place for good conversation and some truly excellent handcrafted drinks. Laid back speakeasy with a classy retro 20's vibe.

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, not returning.

Enjoyed the atmosphere, wine, and their cheese plate.

It is such a relaxed atmosphere, great drinks and wonderful bartender can't wait to enjoy here on a busy night.

I have given this place two chances. It markets itself as one of the best cocktail bars in Wilmington and I can assure you it is not. I will be fair and say they make reasonable cocktails (if they have a good bartender) but by no means has this ever been a premium experience. When I pay $14 for a cocktail I expect to not only have a great cocktail but also great service. Both bartenders I have encountered here were undertrained and far from polite. It would be much more reasonable to get a shot of Jim Beam from the bar next door for $5 instead of coming here for a genuinely fake cocktail bar experiance. If you want the bartender to look at you like you are crazy when you ask for a Negroni you are in the right place.