On a Wednesday night recently, with a few friends, we decided to try Miracle on Main, the pop-up…read morebehind Bittersweet.
The place looks festive, all decorated for the Holidays with thousands of lights, candy canes, trees and reindeers. There are individual heated greenhouses, and plenty of tables under two big tents. The atmosphere is over the top kitschy and fun.
Since we were a group of 10, the greenhouses were too small so we were seated under one of the tents. We had made reservations (there is a mandatory $5 fee going to a local charity) and were ready for the cold, with coats and blankets, just in case.
We were surprised that it was far from full, we actually were the only ones parked under the big tent, just a few greenhouses were occupied.
We enjoyed the cocktails, not cheap at $14 each but tasty an strong, all made specially for the season with flavors such as nutmeg, marshmallow, vanilla... The menu is limited, focused on cocktails with a few wines and beer, a couple snacks. I had the Christmapolitan (with vodka, elderflower, vermouth, spiced cranberry sauce, lime, rosemary and absinthe mist) yummy! The popcorn was disappointing though, it came in a bag (like the ones you pop in the microwave, except the package was more like Holiday wrapping paper). It definitively was not fresh, tasted a little stale.
After a while, despite our coats we were getting really cold and asked our waiter if he could switch on the fireplace next to us. Too bad, we were told that it's for show, the regulations don't allow them to use it. There was no heat under that big tent and it was getting chilly.
Overall, that night, despite the decorations, our group felt a little lost under that huge tent. I bet it feels totally different when it's packed, but during the week it was a little dead.
There is a 20% discount for groups that they forgot about. When we asked about it, it became impossible to get checks separate per couple. Supposedly the system is not set up for it.
When we left, our impression was that when you include the mandatory $5 reservation fee, it's adds up to an expensive drink that's not really worth it. And we were cold!
Once again, it might be a very different experience during weekends.
If you want to get a souvenir, no worries, it's all setup for it, you can buy glassware and gifts.
This was not my idea of a fun evening, and I don't think I'll go back.