Dockum

A fun experience. We had a reservation, you need to knock on the door. It was a first visit for some but not all. The cocktails are interesting and hit or miss for me. The smoking gun is my husband's favorite but the smoker is broken. I had the berry bubbles...just ok buy pretty. The have a small food menu including a burger and cheese board.

It’s my 3rd time here. The drinks are great. The atmosphere is okay. For a place that brands itself on the courage and history of black people, it is a shameful. Please, please be more culturally sensitive. At least show movies that show that history the film showing tonight has a white man with a black face! play music and invite artist that build on that tradition! Last time I was here, at least you had good music from black artist playing, today I was disappointed. I might try you again, but please stick to the tradition you claim!

It was ok. Loved the speakeasy aspect, but the food was just ok and waayyy over priced! We had a not great experience in our group. One of the ladies ordered a salad which was nearly $20 btw and she had not seen on the menu that it had anchovies and she has an allergy. Yes, it was her mistake, but they brought her another one without and then CHARGED HER FOR 2 SALADS!! Even though they took the other one away. So when we all encouraged her to ask the server about it, the server said "Oh, I thought you understood that you would be charged again" and refused to take it off. We then asked for a manager and he took it off. Thankfully. Because of this, I will probably never go back, but it was a cool one time experience.

We have been going to Dockum once a month since we moved to Wichita six months ago. It has changed so much in such a short time. The Smoking gun is not served the way it used to be. On a Saturday night they had one server working at least that was all we saw. The drinks are still delicious but getting someone to take your order makes it a little less wonderful. Also the added gratuity on all checks is ridiculous. 23%? I would not have tipped less than 20% even with the service we got this time but not being told it was added was shady. Had we not noticed it on our bill we would have tipped double. I wonder how many people have. Being able to order food from upstairs is a plus.

Ordered the specialty drink “The Smoking Gun”….according to their menu, it is smoked and served in a Dockum souvenir bottle…for $18. Drink came in a regular glass, didn’t taste smoked at all and the server claimed she had no idea it was supposed to be served that way and didn’t know how much the drink would cost. She brought over a Bic lighter struggled to use it, to light an orange peel for presentation . All this and the fact that they were open but a wedding party was finishing up….the lights were all the way up and it was so loud in here - ambiance was zero. Would not come back. I’ve been to a lot of speakeasies and this one was at the bottom of my list.

Great service, thoughtful and curated cocktail menu, throwback speak easy decor, sparse but pleasant crowd. And yet, I probably won't return. Allegedly, there is a happy hour Thursday and Friday from 6-8, mentioning certain cocktails, etc. for a reduced price, so I ordered one, along with another not mentioned. They were both very well made and satisfying. As I checked out, I noticed said happy hour drink was full price, and a 22% gratuity had been added to the check, pointed out to me by the bartender thank you. No mention of service added on the menu that I perused, to my knowledge, which is something usually reserved for larger groups, not a solo, well-dressed patron at a bar stool. I'm a long-time veteran of the service industry in New York, a 20% tipper for mediocre service, 25-50% for more. In a venue in a very nice hotel that caters to business and higher end clientele, and not vacationing tourists on a thinner budget in a resort, or Time Square, this did not sit right with me. Maybe I won't come across the superior quality of curated cocktails in most Wichita bars/restaurants that I had at Dockum, but I have found a few really good places that honor a happy hour price, serve well crafted cocktails, and don't add a service charge, so those establishments are where I will take my business.

My boyfriend and I love coming here, the vibes are very chill and low key. The drinks are always worth the price and the servers are so sweet. The burgers are delicious but I would not recommend the wings.

New to Wichita and went in on the advice of co-workers. The atmosphere was better than advertised, our waitress Kate was a pro, the waiter who dropped off our charcuterie plate gave a description of the dish as good as any Michelin starred eatery, and the selection of distilled spirits was extensive. The only reasons the rating is not excellent are; The tools for making a top notch Old Fashioned were not available to the bar staff a pestle for grinding the orange, And whomever in management that decided to charge an extra 2 bucks for the signature single cube of an Old Fashioned needs to go back to whatever tourist trap they learned at. They could have added it to the drink price and no one would have noticed. Rookie mistake..... Even one of the microbreweries here had that and a pestle. It's the little things.......

So why have people make reservations? We made one weeks in advance, for 9:30 pm, 1/28/23, because we had friends visiting from out of town. We wanted to introduce them to Dockum, as it is a unique experience in Wichita. We were told we’d have to wait at least a half hour after arriving right at 9:30 pm our reservation time… because “people just weren’t leaving.” We didn’t wait. Your competitor in town, has it figured out. You get two hours for your reservation on Open Table. At an hour and a half, the wait staff comes around and says you have a half hour left, before the next reservation arrives. I usually only review online, if I have something positive to say, but what you’re doing isn’t working, and it’s upsetting your customers. You can’t fix it, if you don’t know, so I’m bringing it to your attention.

One of the most unique atmospheres you will find in Wichita! The drinks are a little more expensive than most places around town but well worth it. We had a group of 6 and everything was amazing, I really enjoyed this place glad I gave them a try!