Runaway Whiskey & Wine

This was my first time here; and I will definitely be returning. I came here with family for my dads birthday! Patrick welcomed us with a warm smile. We came for the espresso martini flights that did not disappoint. Our favorites were the first and last one (sorry forgot the name LOL). The interior of this restaurant had a delightful ambiance, attention to décor, flavorful menu, beautifully presented dishes, and attentive staff. We had an enjoyable dining experience and look forward to returning for more vibes. When you go ask for Patrick, he is truly the best!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Expresso Martini Flight

Great Atmosphere. An upscale speakeasy. The whole staff was so attentive. Drinks and food were all impeccable. Steve (who runs the place) personally was walking around making sure everyone was taken care of. Great spot for drinks with friends or a date!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The owner is fantastic and friendly. The drinks and food were all amazing. We had the espresso martini flight, the pretzel, and the deviled eggs.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Devilled Eggs, Expresso Martini Flight, Pretzels

Very difficult to find. Wonderful atmosphere when the

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Awesome cocktail bar. Highly recommend Jamieson’s “Manhattan #2” specialty cocktail. Great drinks and outstanding service.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We had a fantastic experience here! Jamison was a fantastic bartender who made great amaro and cocktail recommendations. The paper plane is one if the best we've had in charlotte. The food (small plates) were also tasty. We will be back soon!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Very nice aesthetics. We walked in to sit at the bar and it was only half full. We ordered one of the espresso flights each and the bartender mentioned that he didn’t know if he had enough glasses. He suggested that we could either do one or wait on one to come. We agreed to the latter. However, after 45 minutes the second flight was no where in sight. He never checked in to make sure that we were fine or even gave updates for the next flight. In the end, after a couple attempts we decided to cancel the second flight. At that point, he tried to offer us dessert. We declined politely. He followed with “well that’s all I can do.”

Unfortunately, I think my bar experience is enough to never return. Charlotte has a lot of places with similar aesthetics and quality of food with better service.

Honorable mention: The two espresso (out of 4) martinis I tried were delicious.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 1

Received great service from Jeremiah and the bartender. Yes, it's a little pricey here, but you're getting an excellent dining experience in return. The atmosphere feels very high-end, the menu is small, but contains humble but transformed bar food favorites like pretzels and a burger (wagyu btw), and stuff that's hard to get like tuna tartare. We really liked that the drinks that we got were an experience - I had got a a drink with a sechuan (spelling?) flower once before at a dim sum place in Austin, TX, and this is the first time I've seen it again in Charlotte. The drink is called "The Numbing Effect" here, and don't let the gin scare you - it's well mixed. If that's not your thing, my fiance got a smoky cinnamon bourbon drink called "The Queen's Men", which is smokey, but smooth. Excited to come back with some people just for the espresso martini flight. My only criticism, that isn't a huge criticism, but I don't recommend sitting outside - your view is the parking lot, but I should've known that before sitting outside - that's on me.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Yuzu Tuna, Soft Pretzels

The reason for the two star review is the lack of customer service tonight. We ordered 2 expresso martini flights, a beer and a virgin mule. They forgot about the beer and mule and then told us to “be patient” when we asked about the drinks (30 min after ordering them and after we received the flights). The flight was great, I would not say the service is worth the high prices if they cannot match the value of customer service. I want to like this place, but will hesitate when considering to return.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 1

Recommended dishes: Expresso Martini Flight

I came here for a few drinks on my birthday and we also got the dipper small bite. The dips were excellent to munch on and the drinks were PHENOMENAL. It’s a little non the pricy side but the drinks are totally worth it. Probably some of the best cocktails I’ve had!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Buffalo Chicken Dip

Went for brunch specifically for the espresso martini flight. Overall ok each martini contained different alcohol which was cool but some to me were a thicker texture which to me was not pleasant but they tasted good. Brussels sprouts were delicious, fries were cold.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Expresso Martini Flight

This review is reflective of the overall experience and not food as we didn’t get to finish our dining experience to comment on that. First off, this spot is very hard to find at night. There’s relatively no signage and it’s very dimly lit outside. Then when you walk in you aren’t greeted by a host or anyone else for that matter as the owner is too cheep and pompous to hire an actual staff. Obviously this then caused us to receive the weirdest most inconsistent service we’ve ever gotten. He was not only a one man band but he was also a patron sipping wine at the bar with some of his friends while we waited to even be acknowledged as guests. After continuing to get lackluster service, we finally voiced our complaints to which he actually screamed at my friend and I about how this is how he chose to run his restaurant (gaslighting us into believing we were ruining our own dining experience by being too impatient) and that his mother was sick?!? Not sure what that had to do with the issue at hand but again, just more gaslighting tactics instead of treating his paying customers like actual human beings. When I pointed this out, more ego as he said he didn’t “need our money” and that he would take care of the bill. By this time, we were absolutely disgusted at the ultimate disrespect. This guy is clearly a new business owner and needs to go back to business 101 and pay extra attention the day they talk about how to treat guests that aren’t your buddies. It’s a shame because what we did try was decent enough drink and app wise, but some people can’t get out of their own way. Unless you know this owner personally, don’t go. He one of those “we’re all family here” owners and well… if you know you know.

Atmosphere: 2

Service: 1

We love bringing out of town guests here! It’s cute and hidden off the main street, but definitely worth finding. They have a fantastic cocktail menu we’re making our way through and have not come across a bad one yet. Haven’t had any food there but it always smells great. The atmosphere is always great.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

It was spectacular from the drink to the food. I loved the atmosphere.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I was very disappointed. The food was okay; nothing to write home about, especially for the price. The espresso martinis tasted premade and "chemically". The service was terrible. The bartender was incredibly rude and definitely didn't want to be there. He kept telling us that he will be kicking everyone out right at 9pm. I draw the line when you speak rudely and disrespectful to my wife. The only redeeming quality of this place was the vibe. Might be different on another day, but I won't be coming back to find out.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 1

Recommended dishes: Devilled Eggs, Expresso Martini Flight, Charcuterie