Eleanor's

Eleanor's is like a sneaky treat for dedicated, drinking fun-havers.

There's a secret entrance to Eleanor's through Muss and Turner's. You're going to think you're about to get pushed into the ice box only to later be fed to the fishes, but when you see a couple candles lit inside the door, you'll know you're in the right place and THEN you'll feel SO COOL. They do store a few things on a shelf behind the "ice box" door.. and this shelf slightly hides the actual doorway to the speakeasy, but it's a cool effect.

This is a small place.. on a Thursday night, the planner of our outing got there early and waited an hour for a table for the 7 of us. Thaaaaaanks, Treasure!

The decor is very pretty. Feels very vintagey and subtley stylish. The place is admittedly dark, and if you follow my reviews, you might have noticed I often count that as a negative. However, Eleanor's is like a Speakeasy - a fancy, vintage, you're-cool-if-you're-here bar hidden behind the walls.. it wouldn't be right if it were any brighter in there. The candlelight works nicely.

The booth seats we had were very comfy. At times the place got a tad bit loud, so that's a slight drawback - and really only worth deducting half a star. The service is pretty good - though if it weren't, something would be wrong because it's not a huuuge place. The specialty drinks are about $9-$11 and regular boring-people drinks (vodka cran) are super reasonable, especially since they're strong as sh!t! I had the Fresca something-or-other plus 3 vodka crans and a $16 charcuterie plate came to $47  Really not bad. The meat was freaking delicious.

I also tried the chiccharonnes (pork rinds) which were very good despite being plain, the cheese plate with lavosh crackers - awesome - and the pimiento cheese which was tasty though not orange and chunkier as we expected :)

Basically Eleanor's is pretty badass. Great place to take some friends here for a night out, bring out of towners visiting, or go on a romantical date. I'm looking forward to going back!

Very classy, yet laid back speakeasy-type bar - I got a kick out of giving my friend directions to it ("Go inside Muss & Turner's, head to the back, and when you see the thing that looks like a freezer door?  Go through that.")  Not good for large groups as there isn't much square footage, but great for grabbing a drink with a handful of close friends.  The bartenders are amazing and really care about their craft.  If you're stuck on what to try, chat with them a bit and they'll help you figure it out.  Each of the handcrafted cocktails (prices start at around $10 each) took literally about five minutes to make, but were well worth the wait.  I was very pleased with my Frank Costello (do NOT get this if you don't like gin - fortunately, I do) and my Maneater (which was just sweet enough thanks to the blackberry and garnished with fresh rosemary).  Unfortunately, the kitchen was already closed when we got there (which I thought was strange considering it was just after 10 on a Friday) so I didn't get to sample any of the food, but I look forward to that next time.  I will be back as soon as I can - probably with the bf for a date night.  :)

What a great experience. I definitely wouldn't have expected something like this out in the burbs. Great food. Great beer list. Great atmosphere. Great service. Wish it was closer to town.