Lounge

The bar tenders extremely drunk friend poured a beer all over our table after my friends and I turned down his terrible attempt to hit on us. Then the bar tender got angry at us for being annoyed at his drunk friend even though he had ruined all our belongings. Will never return. Horrible staff. :(

Such a blast from my past visiting this joint. Atmosphere hasn’t changed although I didn’t notice the pool tables of old. Tunes were as great as I had previously recalled and we had the choice of tables or booths and this was around 8:30pm on a Thursday night which was pretty cool. Chose a booth of course! The Pino Grigio from King Valley was very tasty and priced similarly to other Melbourne bars. Only downfall was the state of the loos but I still think I’ll be visiting again very soon.

I remember coming over to Melbourne years ago with my friend to check out the nightlife. While I had a few other clubs in mind, my friend kept on pushing me to come here. Okay, since I was not a local at the time, it wasn’t the easiest of places to find, being little more that a door and some stairs on Swanston Street, however once we ascended the stairs we didn’t end up leaving until they kicked the lot of us out. We actually loved the place so much that we came back the next night, and once again remained until they kicked us out. Okay, it’s not a flashy bar, and from the drink specials it is clear that they cater to the university crowd, and the balcony becomes ridiculously crowded at time, but this place brings back so many memories that when I am not in my work attire, I still pop in here for a drink.

Lounge. Pretty decent place. Quite grungy inside. Has a nice balcony with a decent view of swanston street.
Not normally a place I attend unless an event is on. Last night had a vice launch party which I attended. It was alright, but the performance was very average, and we were served very weak Bacardi 151 and coke drinks. Its not my ideal bar/​club, but its not horrible either.

I think like most people my age (early 30’s — YES EARLY!!) many an after/​before/​during uni was spent sinking cheap beer at the lounge. Back in the day it was a coffee place/​restaurant/​bar/​club.
I don’t think too much has changed. I visited for the first time in years the other night and it was kinda nice to see not much has changed. Sure, it’s defiantly a little expensive these days ($ 38 for house wine) but the food prices are pretty much what you’d expect in the CBD these days. And whilst I didn’t try any, it did look good.
Back in the day (after tracking to and from uni, in the snow, without shoes) the lounge did have a bit of a reputation for requiring illegal substances (think Cuban cigars) but I’m sure that’s been cleaned up now.
If like me, you spent more time here than your lectures, take a walk down memory lane. You’ll have a blast!

Oh Lounge, how I love thee. I have been frequenting this establishment from way back in 1998. I have seen it evolve over the years from a pretty dingy bar, to scraggy club nights, to the removal of the street-​level floor and beyond.
These days, I mainly use it as an after-​work hangout for jugs of cheap beer and the occasional dinner. And while slightly pricy, the food has yet to disappoint me, greatly. I may be easily amused, but I know when something is awesome. That’s the kind of critic I am; I’m not harsh, I know what I like, I like a lot of things, and I’m mostly positive. When I hate something, you will know it.
But I can never feel hate for Lounge. I have fond memories of being completely drunk in the early 2000’s at one of the first breakbeat club nights ever, called Out Of Order. Run by Ben Shepherd and resident DJ and friend of mine, Nick Thayer (who is now signed to Skrillex’s OWSLA label), this was my major introduction to this wonderful place.
There’s a balcony, there’s a good selection of wine, a tasty parmigiana, fish tacos and other specials on offer. Ciders such as Magners and Dirty Granny round out the selections. You can still find good club nights here from old school techno collective to dirty bass type business. There’s a balcony with heaters if you’re that way inclined, booths for cosying up in, lots of table space and a pool table to finish everything off.
I love Lounge. It’s a Melbourne institution. Let’s hope it stays that way.

They don’t have the risotto anymore, and some loud obnoxious drunks always take the best booth. Those people are the worst. THE WORST.

I only go to the Lounge for the balcony area. Particularly if it’s a bit cold or windy outside, the balcony here is perfect it you’re after some indoor-​outdoor time or smoke, or if you’re with other people who smoke. It’s closed off enough and has heaters, so it’s not exposed to the elements, but it still has that outdoor-​balcony feel. It can be impossible to find a table of your own in busy times, but there are larger tables here too and I find usually people don’t mind if you ask to sit an unused section of their table etc. It’s a friendly place — people don’t mind getting a bit squishy.
Inside — that’s another ball game. I’m not into the dance music they play and it’s usually on so loud that I don’t know how people can hear each other talking. And the prices are pretty crazy — you’ll pay as much for a schooner here as you would for a pint elsewhere, and the range of tap beers is poor. But, you know, it has an enclosed balcony where you can smoke, so sacrifices must be made.

Always crowded with people from all walks of life, Lounge Upstairs has been a fixture of Melbourne’s CBD bar scene for many years now.
Lounge is a bit of a chameleon venue, changing its personality from night to night depending on the weather and day of the week. On a warm Wednesday evening I’ve sat out on the balcony and enjoyed a quiet chat with friends over a greasy meal and a pint while listening to the trams clang along Swanston Street — a very relaxing way to pass the time. But at 2am on a Saturday, the balcony is awful — the air absolutely suffocating with smoke, dreadful house blasting from the dance floor, people shoving to get past constantly and not a seat in sight.
Either way, whether it’s a quiet night or a crazy night, Lounge itself doesn’t offer much as a venue beyond its central location and late opening hours. I’m not saying I haven’t enjoy myself at Lounge over the years, but it has always had far more to do with the company than anything the bar has to offer.

When I first moved to Melbourne, The Lounge was the place I always seemed to end up at the end of the night with pumping music and a whole hoard of loved up people out for a very good time. It’s open late is a huge draw for it. However, going late at night at a respectable level of sobriety I wouldn’t really encourage here.
Then only recently a bunch of friends arranged to meet up prior to going to something at the G. To my surprise, it is a very different place during the daytime and is a very respectable aussie pub serving honest food.
An interesting venue to say the least and one that you have to experience in Melbourne.

Lounge is what it is… nothing flashy or fashionable, but it serves its purpose as a laid-​back drinking spot. As it’s located smack-​bang in the middle of the city, it’s one of the easiest central locations to meet friends for after work drinks.
Lounge is quite big and has a lot of tables and seating available, and it’s large size makes it well suited to catering for large groups.
The food is nothing fancy, but very reasonably priced, particularly on Monday nights when they do «pay the time» pricing, where you can literally get a big chicken parmigiana for $ 7. They also have ‘Happy hours’ and a pool table, and are frequented by relatively few dickheads. So all in all, Lounge might not be the most hip bar in town, but it’s definitely one of the easiest and most convenient.

I used to bloody love Lounge — it was the first and last destination on a Friday and Saturday night for me and my friends for a number of years. We would even pop in mid-​week for dinner because the food was exquisite.
However, my love has sadly faded and I’m not quite sure when or why it did.
It may have been that more and more often I was being offered drugs when I went in, or perhaps it was that the lighting got darker and the crowd got creepier. It’s open ’til 6am on Fridays and Saturdays, and is located right in the heart of the CBD which may have something to do with it…
It now seems to attract people who aren’t really sure where else to go, so the vibe is never truly relaxed or fun.
Writing this review has made me reminisce and I think I might head back for a parma on their gorgeous balcony — $ 10 parmas on a Monday! It is always stunning on summer afternoon, but I don’t think you’d find me there in the early hours anymore…

A very none descript, neutral place with a big balcony (that gets stupidly crowded) to grab a drink and some grub. The food is alright, nothing fantastic, however many of my friends would kill me for saying that because they absolutely love everything that comes out of the kitchen.
The pros are:
It’s located in a good spot to get to
It’s not expensive
Big place with a big balcony
It stocks pretty much all the beers and cider you’d want
It doesn’t have a huge personality of its own so it’s suitable for most people.
The cons are:
It doesn’t have a huge personality of it own so there’s nothing unique or appealing.
The food is just alright
It gets rather busy and noisy

The Lounge is where hipsters used to go, back before hipsters were cool.
A former Melbourne landmark, the Lounge isn’t doing as well these days — they’ve even lost the downstairs bar. It’s a shame, really. Five or six years ago, the Lounge was the place you always ended up when you went into the city without a plan. And that’s not really the case these days. For me, at least. Now it’s just… a place.
A place I used to go, but don’t really see the point of anymore. A little stuck in the late nineties, I guess.
Still, the booze isn’t expensive, the location is central, and they do the standard cocktails fairly well.

Located right on Swanston Street, Lounge has become the sort of place you go if you have a large group of people and you can’t decide where to go for a beer or food. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s simply that Lounge caters for different crowds. It’s also big enough that if you have a large group you can generally find a table in the middle of the day, whether inside or on the balcony.
It’s not the most character filled place, but that might be because they seem to be catering for a wide birth of people, instead of just one.
Lounge is good middle ground if you’re mingling corporate friends with arty friends. The meals aren’t overly expensive and the drinks are on price.
Plus, with its convenient location all your friends can leave you at the end of the night to their respective public transports with ease. Meanwhile you’re left wondering why you try to mingle groups (it never works).

If inflated drink prices, average tunes and pretensious patrons are your thing then this is the venue for you. Otherwise the Lounge should probably be avoided. This said there is certainly a place in every city that attracts mainly students and those who like to think they know good music when they hear it. To be fair the Lounge has its charms, however, these are almost exclusively concentrated within the attatched, relaxed ‘Lounge Downstairs’, accesible via Swanston Street, with no cover charge and similar prices to the main venue above. Unfortunatly, as the ‘Lounge Downstairs’ closes much earlier then the main club the venue works best as a place to start the night rather then end it. The Lounge upstairs, the bar proper, suffers from having been well patronized over the years without critisism. A shame but certainly not the only place in Melbourne to suffer from this problem.