The Tobacco Company Club

The Tobacco Company Club staff is terrible! I was in town for my Bridal Shower and was turned away. I saw men going into the club who did not look up to par (sneakers, timberlands. Etc…)I found the bouncers or whatever you want to call them complete jerks! He said I was not up to dress code along with my friends. I was wearing black pants not leggings! I went to talk with the manager and he said it was not my problem and walked off. I was at the tobacco restaurant earlier that day celebrating my bridal shower. I was excited to go to the club downstairs. I was visiting from California and my hometown is Richmond. I was very upset to to return home to one of my favorite clubs and be turned away in such disrespectful way. Word of advice learn how to treat your patrons who put down money in your establishment. They didn’t even try to correct the situation.
You just lost a good one! I will not be back. Shame on you… I’m done.

Was refused entry last night. 5 girls. Having a bachelorette party. We were in 80s attire. The employee at the door was quite rude about it.

I come here every time I am in town, often times twice.
The food is great, always solid. I love the strip steak. Always cooked perfectly. I also have enjoyed their specials which are very good. My colleague had the scallops and just loved them.
The atmosphere/​décor is amazing. It is full of history — it is a converted old tobacco warehouse. There is a beautiful atrium and gorgeous chandelier. And you have to take a ride on the antique elevator.

My first time here and the ambience was nice. A small dance floor (but big enough to get people out on the floor and move their behinds around! Small tables were set up all around the dance floor and there were two bars. One was shorter, more flashy, and right by the dance floor to quench the thirst of all those lovely movers. The other is by the restrooms, a longer bar, where visitors can be far enough from the bar to be able to hear their counterparts.
The reserved bar tables were nice, and we were able to walk in with virtually no traffic. The bartenders were nice enough, and the DJ wasn’t too bad. Around midnight, however, is when most people had enough to drink to get out on the floor and sway to the music like no one was watching.
We lost a phone there and when I tried to get back to talk to someone and let them know to be on the lookout for one, the door was already shut. That’s fine, it was about 3 in the morning. However, what was NOT fine was the dbag of a guy who was working the front door. When I asked to use the restroom real quick (I literally had just walked up the steps and then came right back down), his curt response was «We’re getting everybody out. Use the Omni.»
Rude, unnecessary, and definitely uncalled for. I was DD so I wasn’t drunk. He can speak to me like I’m a human. I’m not a dog, I’m not some drunk girl walking in off the streets looking for the bathroom.
First impressions are important. But human impressions are even more important. I’m the kind of gal who will pay the extra dollar to go somewhere where the staff does not treat a customer like they aren’t worthy to be walking in through the doorway.
Go get ‘em, slick. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of people who’ll want to deal with that rudeness.

The first floor was nice, there was a band the first time that I went which was nice. The club portion was a $ 5 cover which was not fun. No one was really dancing. It was a pretty small club section, I have no idea what they charged the cover for. It looks nice, but it just left a bad taste in my mouth.

Four of us decided to go here for Thanksgiving Dinner, the atmosphere is so nice here and they had a special Harvest Dinner on the menu with all the traditional trimmings. Three of us ordered Prime Rib and were underwhelmed (baked potato and green beans almondene were on par), wishing we had ordered the Harvest Dinner. Dessert was great, One of us had the pecan pie, it was perfect, homemade. One of us had the Butter Cake, it was good not great, and one of us had the Cheese Pie, very good. One declined dessert! We would do this again in a heartbeat. We are thankful for the staff who worked on Thanksgiving.

This douche mall won’t let people in who are wearing chrome bags. Meanwhile Mary poplins purses are a.o.k

I used to like this place it was mindless fun, until one night I was talking to a woman and a male bartender, who had an infatuation with the girl started some bullshit with me outside the place after that, security wouldn’t let me back in claiming I was outside causing a scene. If you ask me his ass should’ve been inside tending bar not outside trying to play casanova. After I got my friend from inside I told the bartender I was leaving the place and wasn’t gonna return, he told me to get the hell on and waived bye. I will never return to this place after the staff treats me bad like that and security puts the icing on the cake this place is history.

I recently went to a wedding’s «official after party» at the Tobacco Company and a few guests and I decided to head down clubside to hit up the end of the $ 1.25 rail happy hour. Those prices alone are worth 1 whole star. Everything else… doesn’t.
I was lucky enough to not have to pay cover because of a friend’s hookup. We started with tequila shots and I made the unfortunate decision of ordering calamari. It was… not good. Really. How bad could frozen appetizers that are then deep fried be, you ask? Terrible, I reply. Simply awful. Oh well. More tequila shots please!
The place was borderline fun, borderline creepy. No one was dancing on the dancefloor, a guy forcefully grabbed my arm as I walked by the bar to «chat me up» (gross), and my friend had a coat mixup with someone and when she tried to find her real coat, staff was kind of rude to her about it.
So, I will keep this place at 2 stars, but because this club is not really my «scene» and I don’t expect to come back. Plus, I can’t really handle the cigs (but it’s called Tobacco Company Club, if you don’t like smoking, probs shouldn’t pick this place out).

I cant stand this place anymore. The cover charge is too much for what it is. The cigarette smoke is disgusting (they need to buy a better hvac system or something), there arent a lot of «good looking» people, the crowd varies A LOT. the age bracket… well there is none. You will see grandma and grandpa, ugly, desperate, etc… The dress code is well i dont even know if theye nforce it or if it just depends cause ive seen sloppy outfits to completely casual outfits. Besides happy hour, get the heck out of there.

We ate a surprisingly good dinner here last night on the second floor. Very comfortably seated excellent service (thank you Miles!), and delicious crab croquettes and ahi tuna for appetizers and great rockfish and scallops for dinner, topped off by the ubiquitous chocolate lava cake. I highly recommend TC!

I’ve never been here and actually enjoyed it. Usually I end up talking to one or two friends, standing around watching people and deciding where on Earth to go next to actually have some fun. This isn’t a club, but it wants to be. If you like to second-​hand smoke, not be able to take two steps in any direction and have drinks spilled on you while you look around the room for people you might know… have at it.

Cheap drinks, friendly, and very busy on weekends. Came here for a friends birthday and celebrate, we got in and out quickly and easy, no problems when coming in or out, had couple drinks and it was fun when I was there. Cheap drinks on happy hour but when I bought a bud light for 5 bucks at the bar, I will say this that was pretty steep on my end. Great place to have fun. Prolly be back once I am in the area again.

I’ve gone to Tobacco Company Club plenty of times mostly just for happy hour since they have $ 1 drinks 8−9pm. That’s the best part about this place. The «club» is very small. They have a very strict dress code which is annoying at times. I just visited their website to read their very long dress code criteria and this was there…
«Just because you’ve read here or heard elsewhere that something isn’t allowed in our club does not mean that you won’t see it walking past the ropes. Someone may know someone, know the doorman, be a friend of the owner, or be a part of a group that is spending a small fortune on table service or dining in the restaurant. Don’t let the double standard bother you, that’s just the way it is.»
SO… I would recommend going here strictly for the happy hour but nothing more.

ultra cheap drinks for an hour 8−9pm on Thurs, Fri, and Saturday — hard to beat & a great party starter.
Some kind of pop clubby music in the background…
Scantily dressed college aged-​girls…
Hey cigar girl, I’ll have one of those. Can you light it for me? (oh yes — you can smoke in here…)
And wait: is that a black jack table?
It’s kind of like the man-​room I’ve always dreamed of making in my basement, but with two bars and cocktail waitresses.

We were here for dinner, not clubbing, so I can’t comment on that. But for dinner, this place was awesome! First off, the atmosphere was perfect. It is in an old tobacco warehouse and has brick walls, a pretty chandelier and a really open space. We had some drinks while waiting for a table at the downstairs bar, and went to the second floor for the meal. Both areas had a cool, old feel to them. And on the way to the bathrooms is something that appears to be a cigar lounge with puffy chairs. I did not get to see the third floor.
Which brings me to the food. I had a molassas-​glazed porkchop with asparagus, potatoes and a glass of red wine. Amazing meal, and portioned just right. We both had the she-​crab soup as an appetizer, which was one of the best soups I have ever had in my life. It had peppers in it which I usually don’t like but they were mild enough that it was flavored perfectly. HEAVEN! I wish their soup bowls were bigger.
Lastly, we noticed that they were bragging on the menu about a particular dessert item — the butter cream cake. «Get this, trust us, you won’t regret it» I believe is what it said on the menu description. So we decided to splurge and got the cake and a desserty chocolate-​y cocktail that also looked good. And we were glad we did! Boyfriend said it was the best dessert he has ever had in his life. I wouldn’t go that far, but it was pretty dang incredible. The «crust» mixes with the cream and they melt together in your mouth in this amazing way. If its not the best dessert I’ve ever had in my life it is definitely in the top 3. It was incredible.
If I had to complain about something, I would say that it was a little empty. We were finishing up our meal around 10:30 and were the last ones in the place! Downstairs, there were only a few patrons at the bar. This is probably due more to Richmond being a little slow. I would expect a place like this to be much more busy if it were in DC.
So, full five stars for a stellar place! Get the she-​crab soup and the dessert and there is no way you could possibly be disappointed.

I was pleasantly surprised by this place actually, after hearing that it was a smoky packed meat market…
I mean yes, those things are true, but there’s more to the story…
1. The music wasn’t bad. Current mixed with older tunes– stuff you can sing along to AND dance to… lots of Lady Gaga, Rihanna, also heard some Biggie mixed in there…
2. There’s good entertainment… the dance floor is small and has a huge mirror so people can «dance with themselves»… that to me is way more amusing to watch than actually getting out there and dancing…
They also have blackjack tables where you can make a donation and play… or you can watch drunk people play if you get there right after happy hour ends– also fun.
3. It’s a diverse crowd– my personal taste doesn’t run towards popped collar folks (no offense), aging urban hipsters (also no offense), or grungy college students (maybe some offense meant)… so for me this place was great. People were dressed fairly nicely, and the majority of the people there were in their 20s. Totally acceptable.
Oh and by the way, I didn’t see ONE loaded old dude there. At the worst, there were a few older ladies bumpin it on the dance floor. Amusing, but not offensive.
4. It’s packed– Ok really, who wants to go to a bar that doesn’t have lots of people to choose from? Not me. I like lots of options, and this place provided them.

Had dinner with some colleagues during a recent business trip. The service was good and the dining atmosphere was great. I ordered the prime rib which came with a baked potato and château St Michelle Riesling. The prime rib came highly recommended. Unfortunately, it was a bit underwhelming and somewhat bland. Others had the bacon wrapped monk fish and flank steak. Both were pleased with their meals.
I would return to try the monk fish.

What the hell are all of these 5-​star reviewers smoking? Oh right, cigarettes. But seriously, why do people like this place?
It’s a gross, over-​packed, over-​priced meat market that’s trying to be a club. They still allow smoking indoors. Why people would actually pay a cover to come here is beyond me. +1 for people-​watching.

Good place for entertainment, if you’re looking for a happy hour place that some young professionals will go to (for what little they have in the city). It’s located at the bottom of its namesake restaurant and still tries to provide the same service that it has upstairs.
Now — if you’re looking to land a little strange, I’ll tell you that this place isn’t it. You’ll need to head a little further down to the Shockoe Bottom — this is a joint where most people start and then get to the mating calls of, «O.M.G.I’m…so…drunk…will someone… please…take me… home?»