The Architect Bar & Social House

Excellent bartenders! Fantastic service, and the best drinks we had all night during our bar crawl! They were also generous with the water, which I really appreciated since a lot of bars scoff at you when you ask for water! They had great music and a good atmosphere. We even saw that the light was on for the Green Light Bar (representing the green light at the end of Daisy Buchanan's dock in "The Great Gatsby"). Four members of our party were able to head back to the mini bar behind the bookcase, and ordered even more fabulous cocktails in a quaint little space holding perhaps enough seating for 20 people.

My wife and I stumbled upon this place completely by accident. When we found it, it was open but mostly empty and the host let us know about the speakeasy hidden behind bookcases so we gave it a go. First off, it’s got great atmosphere, cozy and inviting. We sat at the bar and the bartender was just amazing. There were a few other people in the bar but he was not busy and was personable, chatty and very knowledgeable regarding his craft. My favorite type of bartender. We were just one and done but both of our cocktails were delicious. The experience was great and we are looking forward to coming back.

Awesome bourbon. Great and very knowledgeable staff and bartenders! Was here for a business and bourbon event. It’s a very neat venue with an old school prohibition feel. There’s a speak easy thy you have to make a reservation to get into. YOU should do this! YOU should also come here to drink absolutely wonderful cocktails. If you want to learn about booze and cocktails, these guys are more than happy to educate you. Highly recommend!

Greenlight shot was definitely interesting...great if you love spice but the habanero definitely has a kick. Honey rose cocktail was delicious! Good variety of drinks. Ambiance is cozy

I hosted a private event there recently, and the vibe that we created here at The Architect fit very nicely. The staff was good to work with and the drinks were great. The only issue I had is that the stair lift chair did not work, so our older and more handicapped guests were at a disadvantage, due to the steep stairs. Other than that, I would recommend this place for younger crowds that want to have a good time in downtown Raleigh.

Do NOT use your credit or debit card here. My friends and I ordered a drinks. I did not start a tab because I wasn’t planning on having more than 1 or 2 at the most. Drink was $11…I tipped $3. About an hour and a half later we went back to the bar for a 2nd drink…same price. My card was given to them twice. One of my friends said check your account because there is a $50 charge on mine. I looked at my account and there were 4 pending charges from The Architect! Two for $50 each and two for $35 each…a total of $170 in pending charges for 2 drinks that totaled less than $30. I did not start a tab so there shouldn’t have been any amount held. The bigger issue is nobody could explain to me why there were 4 charges made to my card. The manager or owner said they’ve been having that problem for a few weeks now. A few weeks!?? And you still haven’t figured out a way to NOT put multiple fraudulent pending charges on people’s cards!?? That is unacceptable! We went for open mic night on a Wednesday. If you ever decide to go BRING CASH and be sure to count your change!

Fun place. The Green Light 'secret bar' was pretty neat, too. We had drinks and a good time. Bartenders were nice and quick to serve.