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    Old Wives' Tale

    4.5 (11 reviews)

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    Richard B.

    My husband and I had a great experience when you first walk into the Old Wives Tale. It's almost like if Moby Dick had a bar, this would be it. The vibes were dark with warm tones. The bottles against the wall with light gave it a nice touch. We had their signature cocktails which I cannot remember. Let's just say he had one that had a boat, and I had one that had a mermaid. Very tasty and the bartender that night was amazing. You might be wondering "then why only four stars?" I am taking one star away because that night the fb managers on duty kept opening and closing the speak easy door, and it really ruined the moment from time to time. I get it. It's probably the only entrance to go in. But still, it just really kills the moment.

    Tiana G.

    Such a fun spot! This is a hidden speakeasy within Seamark in Encore and they did a great job with the interior decor. Drinks were really good and all came with beautiful presentations!! It's a bit pricey but definitely fun for a night out!

    The mermaid drink - wow!! so delicious and well-made!!

    We had an amazing time last night at this speakeasy! Lindsay, who is bartending was so amazing and wow, I had the most incredible cocktail served in a mermaid container ! They also heard that it was my birthday and sent me a beautiful ice cream dessert right after my drink, which was so thoughtful and much appreciated! This is such a wonderful place it's a must see whenever you go to encore and don't forget to eat at the amazing Seamark restaurant after!

    Brian S.

    First time but won't be my last! It's easy to get into just ask for it by name when you enter the Seamark. You're let in by the manager and the door opens to a 15 seat cozy and cool room. The bartender Briana was amazing. I gave her a flavor profile and she made me an outstanding cocktail. If you're at the Encore, or looking for a cool spot for cocktails this is it.

    Beautiful ambience the staff are knowledgeable the drinks are a good pour. Small but beautiful intimate space

    Small but intimate space great ambiance. The staff are full of knowledge . Drinks may take longer but that is because of the love and ingredients that goes into making them

    Treaty of veracruz

    Ambiance was fun! Drinks were a bit gimmicky, leaving me feeling it was ok to do once. Service was inconsistent we had to flag someone down more than once for such a small place with 6 tables.

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    4.4
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    As per usual 10/10 Greeted in door way…read more Clean well stocked bathrooms Welcoming to everyone 80s 90s 2000s knowledgeable stylish Mushroom app and burger were nice treats to add to the awesome studio ghibli themed menu from the BB guide so clever top notch cocktails Cocktails Drinks Music and kikis delivery service on the projector good vibes

    I am a lover of everything studio ghibli so when I saw Backbar was doing essentially a month of…read moredrinks based on the movies I knew I had to go! The bar is really funky fun which I loved. There is literally fun everywhere you look from the panda stuffed animal riding a tiger on the wall to the hilarious shrek pillow. Coming right when they open I was able to see these things that you would likely not see in the evening. But to be fair I came right when they opened since it is first come first serve. A majority of the drinks were more on the savory side which was very interesting like "may all your bacon burn" with bacon bites at the top of the drink. The drinks my friend had were all stunning with the use of egg yolk to elevate the drink. We ended the evening by walking over to Bow Market and trying Viet Citron which was so DANG GOOD my gosh. The to go orders were insane but looks like they are doing very well despite recently opening in. I got the grilled lemongrass pork ribs bowl and youtiao and the side sauce was so good. The ribs were all very meaty. It looks small but I was surprised how full I was after having it. Nice night of drinks and food. What we got Kiki's marmalade buns Castle in the sky Milk Punch May All your bacon burn

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    Saigon Babylon

    Saigon Babylon

    4.0
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    Was not expecting the food to pop off but everything was delicious. We had a reservation and came a…read morelittle late but were still allowed in. It was pretty busy and we were seated at the bar which was a little crowded. Loved the decoration, it was black interior with red lighting and interesting seating arrangement with tables down the middles and plants around. For drinks we got the Saigon Sunset which had a little sour flavor and was my personal favorite, the Gimme with an interesting flavor, and the Old Fashioned which is what you expect (old fashioned are not for me). The bartender was great, he was so patient even with how busy it was making sure to always check up. For food, the Goi Ca/Fluke was so good. It was flavorful and the texture. The peanut butter sauce wasn't too nutty and went so well with the fish. I ate every little piece up. We also ordered the Wagyu Viet Carpaccio which was also good. It was refreshing to eat and came with a large cracker for eat bite.

    Such a cute rooftop spot! We randomly saw Saigon Babylon and thought the rooftop looked really…read morenice, so we decided to stop by for drinks. The atmosphere was definitely the highlight. It's a really cute space with a nice rooftop vibe and would be a fun place to hang out, especially when the weather is nice. Unfortunately, we weren't the biggest fans of the drinks we ordered and probably wouldn't come back just for cocktails. We didn't get a chance to try the food, but we heard it's good, so I'd definitely be open to coming back to try the food next time. Overall, super cute rooftop and great atmosphere, but the drinks were a little disappointing for us!

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    Remnant Satellite

    Remnant Satellite

    4.5
    (18 reviews)
    1.9 mi

    We stayed next door and ended up visiting Remnant Satellite more than once because we enjoyed it so…read moremuch. The vibe here is one of the best parts--it changes throughout the day. In the morning, it's a relaxed coffee shop serving breakfast and great coffee, then it transitions into lunch, dinner, beer, and a lively evening scene with music. We stopped in for lunch first and sat at the bar. I ordered one of the bowls and added sausage, which was absolutely delicious. The bartender was incredibly friendly and gave us excellent beer recommendations. I loved being able to try several mini pours. They also had spirits available. There's an outdoor patio too, that looked sunny and like a great place to hang out. We liked it so much that we came back the next morning for coffee. The bartender that morning was just as welcoming and made us excellent coffees. She also told us that the actual Remnant brewery was only about a 15-minute walk away! Overall, such a great spot with friendly staff, good food and drinks, and a really fun atmosphere no matter what time of day you visit.

    This burger was pretty fire, had it well done with the sweet potato fries and got the roasted beets…read moretoo. Everything was solid and the burger was fat with good salt. I would hella come again to this place. Vibe seemed alright like a typical pub but the burger got my heart.

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    Ambiance on a Monday afternoon. Not pictured is a bar counter and several other tables
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    Cloud & Spirits

    Cloud & Spirits

    4.0
    (84 reviews)
    2.6 mi
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    We had reservations for 7:30, and when we got there, the place was decently busy - a few empty…read moretables here and there - so we were seated immediately. We ordered quickly after perusing the (rather short) menu, most of which was either small plates and cocktails . Our first plate was the hainan chicken arancini. I really liked the contrast in textures between the crispy exterior and the tender chicken and rice mix on the inside. Overall flavour was not bad, too, but I'm not sure that it was exactly good enough to merit the price point of $18. Next was the Xi'an street noodles, which was probably my favourite dish of the meal. The noodles were very well cooked - chewy but not too soft - and I loved the sauce, with the gentle peanut aroma on top of the various spices they used. One comment was that the chilli crisp, which was tasty, was very lacking (in amount) and as a consequence the dish was really not spicy at all. Finally we had the chilli crisp buffalo chicken. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the chicken was boneless (I was expecting something more like chicken wings), which made for very clean eating :) The buffalo sauce was nice (and perhaps a bit spicier than the aforementioned chilli crisp) and the chicken itself was very rich and juicy. Portion size was quite large too and overall I was very happy with this plate. For drinks we ordered the Jaded, which was a fun matcha-themed cocktail (even the marshmallow was matcha-flavoured) and a (spirit-free) cranberry limeade, which was surprisingly refreshing and sweet. Overall a yummy meal, but definitely very expensive. I would be interested to try some more of their cocktails, which seem very creative, but I'm not sure if I would be keen to come again primarily for the food. (To be fair, though, this is often the modus operandi of these restaurants that specialise in small plates and drinks )

    Great Cocktails, Average Food. I hovered between 3 and 4…read morestars here - ultimately deciding on 3 because while this is a great place to hang and grab drinks, the food is disappointing. Everyone was friendly and attentive but the food took a while to come out and it was just average. The best thing was the curry noodles and even those were a little bland. Also it was fairly expensive so I expected bigger portions or at least better flavor. Drinks on the other hand were delicious!

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    Nook

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    4.6
    (28 reviews)
    1.7 mi

    both of my drinks were delicious!! super creative menu, especially the elly the elephant drink (my…read morefav). both were pretty light drinks if that's your vibe! wish they had more food options but great spot for a quick drink. service is good!

    My friend found this spot online and suggested we check it out, and I'm so glad we did. When we…read morearrived, I did not expect to find an entire courtyard filled with shops and restaurants tucked behind this little alleyway. It was such a cute hidden area, and I was already excited before we even got to the place. We headed upstairs into the bar, and the vibe was perfect. It's small, cozy, dimly lit, with vibey music playing. Since it was our first time, we were a little confused at first, but the waiter was super kind and walked us through everything. I ordered the Elly the Elephant and my friend got the Laughing Gull, and we both really enjoyed our drinks. One thing I thought was really nice is that they allow you to grab food from the surrounding restaurants and bring it in to eat there. We didn't end up doing that, but we did get the charcuterie board they had. It came with cheeses, crackers, and some fruit, and you can add meats for $10, which we opted out for. I will say I was a little disappointed by the fruit portion. The menu mentioned fresh fruit, so I expected more than three thin orange slices and one sliced strawberry. HOWEVER, when I asked for more strawberries, our waiter kindly brought out a whole bowl for me, which I really appreciated. We stayed for about two hours, and as the night went on the place definitely got more crowded, so we headed out. Overall, this is such a cute and cozy cocktail bar. I'll definitely be back when the weather is warmer to try the other drinks and restaurants in the market.

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    Viale

    Viale

    4.1
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    2.7 mi
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    I had dinner there Monday night with 4 friends and we all agreed that Viale was a fantastic place…read moreto eat and talk. Each of our entrees was excellent, I had the halibut and it was fantastic! The wait staff and atmosphere inside were very good! The only bad thing is it is difficult finding parking in Central Square. We would definitely return to Viale!

    Food - 2/5 Service - 5/5…read more Ambiance - 4.5/5 Price point: Dine Out (3 courses) + tax/tip/kitchen appreciation fee = $60-80 per person (latter if you get a drink) We came here on Friday night for Dine Out week! This was our first time at Viale and restaurant week is always a good way to try somewhere new. Unfortunately our party of 3 all agreed Viale was a miss, especially for the price point. I ordered the salmon crudo, swordfish, and tiramisu. The salmon in the crudo was fresh as was the avocado, but it felt bland and like it was missing multiple ingredients - salt? Citrus? My friend said the sauce with the fried cauliflower she ordered didn't pair well with the cauliflower. The mains were the strong point of the meal - my swordfish was cooked well but still felt like it was missing something and I desperately wanted to ask for a lemon wedge but didn't get the opportunity to. My friend said her chicken parm was very good and my other friend said her crab risotto was decent and better than the salmon crudo. However, the desserts were once again disappointing like the starters. The lemon cheesecake was OK and the berry compote was my friend's favorite part - she ate that and left the rest. My friend's panna cotta was bland and the hazelnuts on it tasted stale or not prepared properly. My tiramisu was soggy and barely had the cream layer - sadly one of the worst tiramisus I've ever had at a formal dining restaurant. The service was a little slow but overall very good. Our server Marcelo was very good at checking in and keeping our water glasses full. There was complimentary bread which I really appreciated while waiting for the dishes. The ambiance was nice! We chose to sit inside for the AC, but I wish we'd chosen to sit outside because the inside was a little loud and we were struggling to hear at some points. This got better later in the evening when the restaurant was less full. All in all, it was an interesting experience. But the disappointing food means I won't be back and couldn't give this place more than 3 stars, especially when there are plenty of other restaurants in the Central area to try that can probably do better.

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    Old Wives' Tale - cocktailbars - Updated August 2026

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