The Red Phone Booth is located off of Andrew Young International Boulevard next to the entrance of Amalfi Pizza. Technically, it’s above the restaurant. The entrance is very inconspicuous, with a London-style red phone booth outside on the left and a black door on the left. The sign above the phone booth reads “A.C. Trading Company LTD.” Members can enter with their fingerprint. Guests without a membership must use the phone in the booth to enter the secret phone number to gain entry.
Once the passage is cleared, both guests and members enter through the restored antique London red phone booth. The ambiance is a 1920s speakeasy feel with brown Italian couches throughout the establishment. In the middle is the honey onyx bar with cafe style seating. In the back, there’s additional seating, a walk in humidor with an extensive selection of cigars, and a pool table.
They have a fully stocked bar. What makes Red Phone Booth unique is that their bartenders make all their juices and syrups, and crush their ice from ice cubes. If you don’t like your drink, they will make you another drink, no charge. The drink menu is very extensive and has about forty-seven special mixed drinks, including a specialty drink for each specific liquor, from gin to brandy, and an impressive bourbon and whiskey selection.
I sampled:
–Smoked Old Fashioned: the bartender used a fire smoke and placed it under a glass for five seconds, then mixed with bitters, in-house simple syrup, bourbon in a glass.
–Sazerac: made with bitters, Yellow rose rye whisky and a herbsaint rinse
–Brown Derby: made with bourbon, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, and honeycomb.
The Food
Red Phone Booth has their own separate menu and, and food is also available to order from Almafi Pizza upstairs. Their menu consists of light eateries. If you would like something substantial from Almafi Pizza’s menu, the sure bet is to go with their pasta, calzones, and salads. We both had two items from the Red Phone Booth and Almafi Pizza menu.
We ate:
-Half shell oysters – west coast oysters Served with a homemade Cocktail Sauce
– Beef Carpaccio: thinly sliced beef tenderloin, extra virgin olive oil, capers, shaved pecorino romano
– Margherita Pizza: house made sauce, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil and mozzarella
– Pizza Amalfi: hand crushed tomato sauce, spicy sausage, peppadew peppers, caramelized onions, house-made bacon jam with mozzarella
Everything we had was great. The oysters were very fresh and huge. The beef carpaccio was perfect and not too salty. Both pizzas were amazing. The red sauce was very sweet, and the crust was delicious.
The Service
The service here is very solid. If you sit anywhere the staff will offer you a glass of water. Menus are on the table. They do have a strict dress code. Men must wear collared shirts and non-sports shoes. The place is open to the public, but you need to know a member who has the ever-changing phone number.
The Verdict
This is the resurrected Prohibition from Buckhead. But overall, Red Phone Booth is probably one of the best lounges in Atlanta with their exclusivity, speakeasy theme, excellent bar staff, creative drink selection, and extensive cigar selection.
