Anne S.
Yelp
Nice comment on my last review, but I forgot to email them and ended up wandering in on a whim after dinner at Meridian late one Friday evening. So, no free margaritas in this review. That said, there shouldn't have been ANY margaritas in this review. But here's what happened:
1. We walked up to the hostess stand and asked if we could get in the speakeasy (Apatito). She said there was a 45- to 60-minute wait, but we could have a drink at the bar in the restaurant while we waited. The restaurant was empty...just a few tables seated...and we were the only people at the bar for a while. I ordered La Ciudad, their mezcal Manhattan...always solid.
2. After about 30-45 minutes, I went back to the hostess and asked if we could get in yet. She said yes, so we closed out and headed back there...only to find that the speakeasy ALSO was practically empty (see photo). This really annoyed me, because we could have been drinking much more interesting drinks back there while we were just forced to sit at the bar for the sake of making it LOOK like the place was in high demand?
3. What saved the evening (and made this two stars, not one star) was that the bartender back there was this spunky woman who was just great. And she made some great drinks (see photos). However...
4. Last call was just after midnight. I mean, okay...I shouldn't be out that late anymore anyway, sure. But this meant we only had time for one drink. (Again, we WOULD have had time for two drinks if we hadn't been forced to waste half an hour at the restaurant bar first.)
I'd go back for the bartender and the drinks, IF I'm in the area and IF I'm feeling patient (i.e., willing to be lied to about a wait). But frankly, I just sort of find myself hoping that the bartender finds a better gig. Or maybe she likes the slowness.
If I lived here, I'd definitely wander over regularly and try to make myself known well enough to get in without being forced to wait. However, the speakeasy is only open Friday and Saturday evenings, so...it's just really hard to casually drop in if you don't live in The Village.
It's also probably really hard for a speakeasy with such limited hours to get any word-of-mouth interest in a city where we have so many speakeasies that are open seven days a week. I get that staffing is tight right now...I just wonder if La Mina (and their Apatito speakeasy) maybe opened prematurely and would have been off to a stronger start if they were more fully staffed.