Blind Duck Cocktail Lounge

There's speakeasies--secret doors, passwords, the weirdest cocktail lists out there--and then there's cool bars with unassuming entrances. Blind Duck is the latter and that's a good thing. Tucked down a hallway on the top floor of the Raffles you go through what might look like an Emergency Exit and are welcomed into a curtained off vestibule before entering a grand balcony bar with lounge seating. Downstairs is an even larger lounge area with comfy seating and those little teeny tiny circular tables that practically say "finish that drink or food asap!" One big plus to me is how dark the spot is! You really feel more present with your group huddled in the low lighting straining to read the menu and then look left or right at groups that are their own huddled masses of private convos and reconnections. You want need a flashlight to walk around, but you might use your phone screen to see what's on the table in front of you, for sure. Speaking of the menu, there's not that many options in the book so if you're not the adventurous type you'd better know what you want to drink ahead of time. Service was dope with consideration taken at every turn to provide an elevated experience. Only downside is on this night there wasn't a DJ and the music was way too low for me. I look forward to coming back for a more high-energy experience, for sure

Beware of the service here, there is some shady stuff going on. I asked for the check and an itemized bill was provided which I verified to be correct, I proceeded to hand over my credit card to pay the bill at 8:50pm for $185.11 and the charged bill comes back at 8:58pm for $225.77 for me to sign. After having a few drinks, I shrugged it off thinking that the establishment decided to add auto gratuity for our table for 4... Not a huge deal but would be nice if it was disclosed upfront. I write included under the tip section and sign the receipt. Fast forward to the next day, my coworker leaves negative feedback and the manager replies to him saying auto gratuity is not something they do at The Blind Duck. Red flag #1, the manager starts digging and finds what seems to be my bill but the items on it don't match up because there are two cranberry vodkas which our party didn't order and there was a 45$ tip added on. After comparing the CC# we were able to verify that this was indeed my bill and the server added two addition items after I handed them my CC they proceeded to add two items and charge it without bringing it back for me to verify. Red flag #2, the server then also gave themselves a 45$ tip after I crossed off the tip, wrote included, and signed the receipt. Which I believe is illegal to do. I reached out to the manager and we talked about what happened. They refunded me the difference and the tip. However they were not able to provide me any details about what happened and how it happened. Ultimated they chalked it up as an honest "accident" and couldn't find the copy of receipt that I signed... Shocker right? Of course no one is going to admit they over charged the customer and gave themselves a tip, that would mean they become at risk of being fired. I kept going back and forth on whether to leave a review and whether to give a 1 star or a 2 star rating. I want to move it to 2 stars but at the end of the day, if my coworker didn't do the survey, then I would have never known I got overcharged and that the server had tipped themselves. My biggest issue is with how the situation was handled, not what you would expect from a 5 star hotel.

Beautiful sunset view and chic atmosphere. Cocktails are tasty, but weak. Service was awful. Had to flag down our server 3x after our first drink order. We ordered the French onion dip, but after 20 minutes of waiting for chips and having finished our cocktails we canceled our order since the kitchen was "backed up"--there were 5 tables of people at a cocktail lounge.Overall wouldn't come back.

Absolutely love this place. The cocktails are incredible. Spectacular views of Boston. Pricey cocktails (approx $20) but worth it for the view and taste. Drinks are served with snacks!

Very fun vibe, especially for a Tuesday. We didn't have any bites but our cocktails were awesome - the Blaze On was delicious. Drinks are pricey but worth the overall experience our server was attentive and polite.

Such a fun and up-scale bar! Seats are quite close together but with such a nice view the staff is really helpful and accommodating to try and get you seated in the area you want. We wanted to be seated in a less tight space and near the window and they happily moved us! We ordered two cocktails that came with complimentary snacks to munch on. Cocktails were great! Sooo yum, would recommend the two we got if you like more sweeter, less alcohol forward drinks. It was my friends birthday so I asked if they did anything for birthdays and the waiter said she got us. She had me pick from two desserts and we got the egg tart -- SO YUM!! But we ended up getting charged for it anyway even thought we were told otherwise which was....interesting. But regardless would love to come back again, apparently they'll have DJs and open dance floor but didn't get to confirm that with the workers.

I really loved it here. It's all walk-ins but there was one seat open at the bar and lots of space behind the seat when I went on a Thursday at 9pm. I got the cherry mocktail but spiked with gin. It was very pretty and tasty. The views here are great. I also loved that they gave us a little bowl of complementary nuts to snack on!

Possibly now my favorite speakeasy lounge. Drinks were amazing. Bar tenders were great! Very helpful and had personality and made sure you were taken care of. We sat on the second floor bar after being second in line before they even opened. Views were amazing Ambiance and vibes were top notch. Didn't stay past 8 so I couldn't say much more, but there was a DJ table so I'm assuming the place gets lit at later hours. Definitely will be returning!

Prepare yourself early as your first entry into this speakeasy is a walk down a dramatic staircase into the main seating area. Even if you do your best Gloria Swanson impression, sadly they may not be looking at you but at the amazing view of the Back Bay flanking both sides of the room.We were seated at the bar downstairs and had a first hand view of the bartenders practicing their craft. Blowtorches ablaze infused a lingering smoky wood flavor to my spicy mezcal. I enjoyed the flavor, but wanted more heat from the habanero on the back end (I was told later that they can jazz it up, if you ask). The other drink pictured is a Grey Goose with a mix of spices -- not too sweet and an interesting flavor palette. I followed with a duck fat bourbon, which had a nice bit of texture making it much more interesting than the one at No. 9 Park (where the drink was supposedly invented).We were on our way to dinner so didn't eat, but I have it on good authority that the onion dip is divine. Overall a great stop for a romantic drink or to gather with friends.

Was finally able to get into Blind Duck last night for drinks and apps after a few attempts in the past. One time was told a 5 hour wait which was good sign. We got right in no wait two seats at the bar. Definitely speakeasy vibe inside and the bar itself was tricky to find being a secret door which was cool. Drinks were good. Customers terrible but that's not the bars fault. Other customers were just rude, acting like they are from out of town. Drinks and fries were great along with the service. Night was ruined and we closed the bill when the DJ came up to us and said we had to get out of our seats to set up his booth? What?! We didn't move but have never experienced that and called it and left. When we got up two people that were trying to sit at the bar for over 30 mins tried to take our seats but told them no he's setting up his booth now. What speakeasy has a live dj? And what dj does this in such a "elegantly advertised" bar.