The Rabbit Hole’s hidden library transports diners to another world.
Calling a bar and restaurant “kid-friendly” is probably not the best endorsement, especially when that particular bar and restaurant is decidedly designed for adults.
But when it comes to the Rabbit Hole, the cozy eatery nestled in the Village of West Greenville, the term “kid friendly” immediately comes to mind. This is not to say you should expect a menu filled with kid-friendly items like cheese pizza or chicken nuggets (although, to be fair, the menu does feature crispy chicken “nuggies” with mango chutney and naan). Nor is it a spot well-suited to kids running amok (because the space is small and intimate, it’s probably best to leave the little ones at home).
Instead, guests should expect a space that does everything in its power to channel one’s inner child and transport them to a world outside of time, one lathered in magic and dreams.
See how the atmosphere of Rabbit Hole inspired this Alice in Wonderland fashion shoot.
“Think about somewhere like Disney World,” said Sebastian Carter, owner of the Rabbit Hole. “They have designed it to where you’re overwhelmed with all these aesthetics—the variety of the decor, the atmosphere, the sense that they’re taking you out of one world and placing you into another. So the idea for the Rabbit Hole was for people to sit here and think, ‘I’m not in Greenville anymore.’”
Those who’ve stopped into the Rabbit Hole in the two years since it’s been open are likely familiar with the design of the space, which harkens to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Carter himself grew up in the village of Daresbury in Cheshire, England, the birthplace of Carroll. Inside the Rabbit Hole, furry green wall adornments accented by natural wood gives one the sense of burrowing in some den beneath tree roots, while shiny velvet furniture imbues the space with a sense of magic, as though the materials were fabricated from wizard’s robes.
Down the Rabbit Hole to the Library
But this is just the initial reveal; walk around the bar, down a dim and cramped hall that looks like something reserved only for employees, and you’ll find the true gem of the Rabbit Hole: a secret backroom known as the Library.
This is where the promise of the eatery’s namesake is fully realized. The Library is designed to emulate the private library of a globe-trotting lawyer from a bygone era, according to Travis Giarratana, director of operations.
“We like to think of it as the lawyer’s study, full of trinkets from travels around the world,” Giarratana said.
Law books fill shelves along the walls. Golden timepieces rest in nooks and crannies beside wooden carvings of elephants. The floors are made entirely of pennies (with the exception of one lone dime – which, if diners can spot, earns them a free shot of a fine liquor), and the walls are covered with paintings of rabbits of all shapes and sizes. It’s hard to capture in words what makes this space so cozy, so whimsical, without seeing it for yourself.
The Library features its own unique cocktail menu. Reservations are available, although walk-ins are also welcome. Diners can enter from the back on Branwood Street, giving them their own private entrance. The space will be used for special dinners, chef’s tasting menus, and more.
“It’s designed to hit a note in the city, to be a warm spot in people’s hearts,” Carter said.
The Rabbit Hole, 1268 Pendleton St., Greenville, therabbitholegvl.com
Tea party
The Rabbit Hole’s new cocktail menu features special group cocktails, including cocktails served in a teapot that can be shared among a table, accompanied by small tea cups.
