I went to The Haymaker on their opening weekend and was very pleased! The bartender was knowledgeable and clearly happy to be there. I tried a Boylan Heights and it was fantastic. After that, I had my old stand-by, a Perfect Manhattan and it was, well, perfect! :) The decor is interesting. It's spacious, yet cozy. I can see myself coming here often. It is a bit hard to find though. Perhaps some better signage is in order! Note: They have champagne ON TAP! How cool is that? read more

Hidden little spot behind b. Goods on Fayetteville street. You have to become a "member". Seems dumb that all these bars make you pay a buck to get in. There is not a ton of seating- but that means it's also not that crowded. Got the punch bowl. Smell of liquor is intense-- taste not so much. Not cheap- but you get your money's worth for what you pay. (90's theme-- see the wallpaper of Biggie in the bathroom) read more

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Interesting and unusual interior. Upscale, classy feel, almost like a Manhattan bar, but not as crowded. Not too full, not too empty. The crowd is a bit older, no kids. Not sure if the gangsta hiphop music playing and Biggie references go hand in hand with the huge flowery wallpaper and the moose on the wall. You have to pay one dollar to get in as a member, I think you are supposed to get a card for next time, but I wasn't given one. Bar staff seem friendly. Overall, I think this is the best cocktail bar in the area. read more

Late night go to place with amazing margaritas and a chilled ambience. Get your membership then saddle up to the bar for a great finish to your evening in the center of raleigh. We stumbled across to the Marriott at 2am, life handled simply read more

Love this place, great music (they play all hard core rap)and awesome bartenders! Ask for Josh he is amazing..and if you like Biggie Smalls he is the wallpaper in the bathroom read more

**This review is only for the Miracle Christmas pop-up bar** We stopped in prior to a dinner reservation when we had about an hour to kill and had heard about the pop up bar here. I have mixed feelings about how to rate the Haymaker. Here's my breakdown: Atmosphere: I loved the ambiance - the Christmas decorations were fun, the bartenders were dressed up, everything was Christmas themed. That aside, the "regular" bar looked like it would be a fun place to spend a few hours with friends. Lots of tables and couches perfect for relaxing at. So ambiance gets 4 stars. Drinks: YUM. Again, we came for the Christmas pop up, so the drinks fit that. My martini was delicious, my friend's mulled hot wine was tasty, and the eggnog was also pretty good. On the pricier side, but that seems to be standard for craft cocktails. Drinks get 4 stars. Service: This is where things went downhill. The bar was packed, but there was only one bartender working when we arrived. At a craft cocktail bar. Where each drink takes ~5 minutes. Needless to say, we waited for what felt like forever to order drinks. No joke, we waited almost half an hour just to order our drinks. By the time we finally got them, we pretty much had to chug our drinks to leave and get to our dinner reservation. I was pretty disappointed because my drink was delicious and I wanted to savor it. The bartender was friendly enough, but she was clearly annoyed / overwhelmed by the mass of people waiting on a drink. Service gets 1.5 stars, bumped up to 2 stars. Overall: enjoyed the drinks, but will make sure I have plenty of time to wait if we decide to come back. Not sure I'd go out of my way to go back though. read more

Love this place! I was there just before they took down the Christmas decorations and the place looked so pretty. Me and my friends were lucky enough to get attended by Roy and he was nothing short of amazing! Roy was great company and the drinks were nothing short of top notch. I love the decor, the vibe, and the service. My friends were happy with my recommendation and we will certainly be back. Thanks again Roy!!! read more

Got bad service here on a busy Saturday night at 8pm with a friend. Waited awhile at the bar to order, which was fine, but after I handed the bartender $20 for two $6 beers, the bartender walked away and didn't come back with change. Uhh, what? Does anyone in their right mind tip sixty percent?! ($8 tip on a $12 bill) Ok, I'll assume it's just a mistake, so I wait for about three minutes. Our bartender does NOT come back, and no other bartender says anything to us. So, I get another bartender's attention and politely explain what happened. Without a word, he reaches next to the cash register, hands me a $5 and two $1s, all of which are SOAKING wet, and walks off. (And yeah, the change was $8, not $7.) I've spent a lot of time in all kinds of places, I'm always polite with service staff, and I can tell you that I've never experienced anything like this. Just bizarre and passive aggressive. As for everything besides service, I gave 2 stars because the placed looked swanky and the atmosphere was fine. read more

The ambience and the drinks are first class! It was like being inside El Morocco in 1947. I expected to see Rita Haworth and Clark Gable, but I did not. Instead I saw a handsome attorney I know and we talked and drank. It seems like the perfect place for one of those match.com dates because the moment you enter you feel sprayed in relaxation and comfort, not even a bad date can ruin it. They have champagne on tap which isn't the best but not bad if you're from Apex. The drinks are good and strong, like David Beckham! So come to Haymaker and get HAYED and meet one of the many men at the bar who say they're not married but we know better! If you get hungry you can go next door to B Good. read more

I can't believe the buzz about the Haymaker hasn't reached everyone's ears by now, because this place is awesome! If you're a fan of the Downtown Raleigh night scene, but are looking for a place that's still got that classy atmosphere even a little later in the night, this is the place! It has a pretty nondescript entrance as I almost missed it, but I like how close it is to the rest of the downtown bars. I wasn't brave enough to try anything on their menu this time, but I ordered a daiquiri. The drink was delicious, but note the price is around $10-12 for each drink. As some of the other reviews mentioned, they have punch bowls available for $38 each. The menu lists those as serving 3-5 people each, and they look definitely worth the price. The atmosphere is very inviting--I could see it as a great first date place, or a place to hang out and catch up with friends. Also, it was good to see they had 3-4 bartenders working so there was a minimal wait at the bar. They also had a waitress who went around to take orders to speed things up. Note though: due to NC law they have the $1 membership that you have to pay for before you're allowed in. I loved the decor of this place as well. It has a classic old-timey look mixed with some boxing accessories that somehow just works! I didn't get to check this out myself, but I heard the bathroom experience is interesting! read more

Awesome bar! Cool atmosphere with couches and lounge chairs all around. Know that it's a $1-2 membership fee (for life) to get in. The bar tender was awesome and the drinks were SO good! We will definitely be back again! read more

Great place for drinks. Chill atmosphere, bartenders very friendly, and not too loud or too quiet.

Great atmosphere-- casual, elegant and warm. You can choose a small table with comfortable chairs or sit at the bar. For me, the problem was the mixed drink. I ordered the Haymaker's twist on an Old Fashioned. Since my date paid for it, I forced myself to drink it. Basically, the balance of bourbon and mixers was off, so that the drink was both very strong and too sweet. I generally like Manhattans, and I frequently drink bourbon neat, which is to say strong isn't usually a problem. Sweet is always a problem for me, and this drink was simply not good. As an aside, my date's glass of wine seemed very small, i.e. very large glass and only a little poured into it. read more

We came here as part of our Offline Premium deal of the month. We got me a free cocktail and my husband bought one. They're theme was Miracle - which was Christmas themed event. The decor was so festive and fun! (Pictures posted) We met up with a couple of friends. The bar opened at four and we got there around 4:30. It took 25 minutes to get ahold of a bartender (we were literally just waiting at the bar in the corner...) but finally did. The cocktail I got was a warm one and quite interesting in flavor - not bad but not delicious either, and lacking in alcohol taste...more so other elements. My husbands cocktail was good tho - good ratio of alcohol to other elements. I don't want to completely fault them on that as we were there for a theme that is made in several bars across the country and not their normal drinks. Even the drink glasses were Christmas themed which was fun! I do wish they had more seating is my only reason to not give full marks. We will have to come back after Christmas and see the normal bar menu and try that! read more

they made us freeze to death in line while everyone was getting in.. fuck this place.

Definitely a great place to visit if you like great mixed drinks. I know maybe 6 places in the US that can make a good Old Fashioned, and let me tell you I travel a lot. Ask Ray to make you his signature Old Fashioned. You won't be disappointed. The dinners to stock Templeton Rye though. read more

The Haymaker - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

Atmosphere; cool and swanky. Drinks; tons of creative cocktails. Only there long enough to enjoy one, would definitely go back to try more.

Great drinks! Super stellar atmosphere, but i'm giving it four stars for the lack of seating. Large groups are not recommended.

Really fantastic! Fresh takes on classic cocktails and the punch bowls were fantastic for our group

A very cool craft cocktail concept - good drink menu, well done interior, but shotty service. I have tried this place a couple of times and it's always interesting to see the staff in the weeds - like they were surprised people showed up on a Saturday night to enjoy cocktails. I am not sure if they are short-staffed or trying to save on payroll - but it's a bit of a grind. Some of the drinks have unique 'homemade' mixes and it would be nice if the servers disclosed or gave the information when customers order (e.g. ginger ale is not really 'ginger ale'). This is a progressive spot for Raleigh - I hope it makes a ton of cash because that's what it charges. Just hope they raise the bar on service to go with the premium cocktails and concept. read more

One of my favs, just love the vibe and the crowd seems pretty cool every time we go. Champs on tap is rad!

Love this place! The drinks are delicious and very creative. The music is kept low so you can actually talk to the people you are with instead of screaming. Overall, it's a great place to relax and unwind with a great cocktail, read more

My new favorite bar in Raleigh! Awesome bar tenders, great music and champagne on tap- what more could you want? A must for Thursday night drinks and Sunday funday! read more

One of the best bars ever to have in Raleigh, and the owner is so welcoming. Loved the ambiance as well!

I attended two of the Miracle pop-up bar events at the Haymaker (the first on 12/12 and the second on 12/22). The bar was extremely short staffed on both evenings with just two bartenders. I waited 30 minutes for a drink one night and 20 minutes on the other night. It is ridiculous to me that these events were promoted widely but the bar was completely unprepared for the crowds. I'm not sure if this is the fault of the Haymaker itself or the Miracle pop-up, but nevertheless, what a disappointment! read more

Very cool bar, but the doorman is doing everything he can to steal from the poor, unsuspecting patrons. My group of four arrived to check out the Christmas pop-up concept and the doorman said we'd have to wait a while before he was able to let us in. He did say that $40 would speed up the process. Really? We're the only ones in line. Moreover, it's not NYC or L.A. I've been going to bars here for years and have never had a doorman blatantly say something this asinine. When he saw this scam wasn't going to work, he waited a few minutes and then said we were good to go in, but we all needed to buy membership cards. I gave him a twenty for our party of four. He fumbled with his wad of cash for a while and then tried to act like we gave him a ten. He said it was out of ten and gave us six bucks back. Ridiculous!!! We did get our money back because he realized we weren't the typical target drunks stumbling around and not coherent enough to realize we've been scammed. I made it clear we were not intoxicated and we knew the game he was playing. To add insult to injury, he only gave us two membership cards. I guess he'll pocket the other two bucks. What's even more pathetic is that when we got in, I talked to two other couples who said he did the same exact thing. REALLY????? How is this happening multiple times a night and he is still employed here?? read more

My friend had a Birthday here recently and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and friendly service! Also the drinks were well made! I'd recommend this bar to anyone who wants a classy downtown experience! read more

Best cocktail bar in Raleigh, by far! I can't say enough great things about this place. Cool vibe, awesome drinks, great music. In love! Well done, gentlemen. *standing ovation* read more

This place is Awesome. Went for the first time this weekend and I couldn't have been more impressed. First of all, the atmosphere is great. The decor gives you a classical feel to it, but then the 90's rap music keeps you on your toes. The drinks were great; champagne on tap is a really cool concept. The staff at the Haymaker are also great. I don't imagine that I could have felt more welcome as a first time patron. This is a great place for any occasion. read more