East Side Lounge

Two words: COKE DEN. I don’t care what lifestyle you lead, but the management doesn’t even try to conceal what’s going on. I’ve been to many a bar where people were doing questionable things in bathrooms or dark corners, but I never felt threatened or uneasy or like I had to leave lest I get shot in the middle of a drug deal gone bad until East Side Lounge. They might as well throw it like snowballs at everyone that walks in the door. The patrons are hip, the terrible music is way too loud (a feat, considering my motto is ‘if it’s too loud, you’re too old’) to even get a drink. I literally had to write down what I wanted to communicate with the bartender, and I am quite used to getting drinks at venues during shows. I’d suggest literally any other bar in East Atlanta.

I was in search of a liberal atlanta spot that lacked the so very common pretentiousness that I find in Georgia. East Atlanta isn’t really my kind of thing, but I like when kids just don’t care. I was instructed to go here. The bouncer was really nice, so that warmed me up to the place. Bartender was really cool (the black guy). Drinks were reasonably priced. I believe the Yuengling I ordered put me back only around $ 3.50. So far everything seemed great so I sat down at the bar with my brother and began getting my drink on.
I made my usual look around to see who was eye raping me and I spotted a young gal. I do my thing and she moves on over. After a quick convo it’s apparently time to insert some nose candy. Not judging her at all, I turn it down and told her to come back when she’s done. She didn’t. Okay that’s fine, you win some you lose some.
After sitting there for a good 10 minutes I again do my patented look around and again find another making the o’ so familiar eye contact. I wave her over and I strike up a rather great convo, i’m just that good at conversing. Fifteen minutes in the subject once again takes a dark turn as she requests going to the bathroom to fiddle with baking soda riddled coca plants. I knew refusing would mean the untimely end, but was I going to jeopardize myself for a relatively attractive girl? No. I walked her to the bathroom and gave her a hug, it was time for me to escape the fate that waited for me at the other end of the unlockable bathroom door.
Walking out the exit door I see the first one and she had become bitter towards me. So it is. I don’t blame anyone, I blame myself. When in Rome do as the Romans do. I didn’t. That’s very unamerican of me, but alas I’m no American.
Cheap drinks, nice staff, decent patrons, pro drugs, small dance floor, enough seating if it’s not packed. You’ll have fun if you can adapt to your environment better than I could.
I’m still in search of a place in Atlanta where I can be me and not be judged, why is that so hard?
«Been fooled again, the search continues»
Cheers

Bad that I Google’d ESL so that I could accurately try to piece together the times that I’ve been here?
Shameless, this girl.
East Side Lounge is a cool spot in East Atlanta Village. Unlike the pictures on the website represent, my memory tells me that ESL is a bit more divey than you would expect from it’s sleek architecture. For instance, you can smoke inside.
This is a GREAT place to go dancing in East Atlanta. (Although I don’t think you can go wrong with dancing at Graveyard, or Mary’s, etc.) What’s cool about ESL is that the entire downstairs is wall-​to-​wall bar on one side, with a lit staircase leading up to where a DJ typically spins. It’s fun to dance up there, because you have a view of the bar & lounge down below.
I like this trend with the bars in EAV. The atmosphere makes it feel like one big house party, on 104 Party Ave. (rearrage the letters in «Ave.» to spell «EAV») Yup, went there.
I tend to forget about how much I like this place. Just another stop on a smokey and sloppy adventure in East Atlanta.

ESL as its commonly known via text message that I get from women I meet in the area. East side lounge is where you plan on going when you have no plans. Depending on the night you go there could be gog dancers on the bar, to a beat bass DJ battle going on or you can sport the venue on Sunday nights where only club membership holders can get access. Either way it is the right place to LOUNGE. SO when y

Granted, I was pretty tipsy by the time my friend and I made it here, but I loved it! We stayed upstairs mainly to dance and I cannot rave enough about the great music played (Jackson to M. Gaye to current Southern hip/​hop). The crowd was wonderful, and everyone was there to simply have a good time. The drinks were strong and cheap, and the staff was very nice. I think cover was only $ 3 too.
Only downside I could see was the line for the bathroom was ridiculously slow– dear coke users– please be a bit more courtesy to those who actually have to use the toilet in such a small venue.

I witnessed my 1^st «Michael Off» Friday night @ East Side Lounge.
defin. Michael-​Off; noun: a Michael Jackson inspired dance-​off.
Sentence: Are they dancing to Smooth Criminal??? IT’S A MUTHAF**N’ MICHAEL-​OFF!
Can’t believe last week was my first time visiting East Side Lounge (thank you for inviting me, Angel!). What a cool spot. The bartenders were good, the DJs keep people on their feet, and crowd (diverse) is just out to have a good time. Leave the stilettos and the attitude in Midtown.

Best Spot in East Atlanta, No Comp… will always have mad love for this place

The East Side Lounge is gross yet fun. Many thanks to the «bouncer» for giving my friends and me a group cover discount. I don’t know what the entrance fee paid for, other than a deserted bottom floor and terrible techno beats.
The other night my group and I made our way to the top level, where booties bobbled against rungs and poles. My friend paid the DJ a dollar to play «Da Dip,» and that’s when the grinding moved from architectural elements to strangers’ genitalia. I put my hand up on my hip while staring at the voluptuous train of undulation. Other musical highlights included «This Is How We Do It» and «My Boo.»
However, I gave the DJ a crisp bill to spin me some «1, 2, 3, 4» by Coolio; I felt like I enunciated my request loud and clear – but the tunes soon reverted to monotonous trance. Had he upheld my supplication and allowed the room to get up to get down, my review would reflect 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 stars – but now it has plummeted to 5, 4, 3.

I have no idea why I like this place, but I do! Maybe I just like all the people that I meet here. The crowd is pretty diverse and I tend to like places where a wide variety of people hang out. Everyone i have met here is pretty down to earth and friendly.
It’s a small spot, on Fridays and Saturdays its normally pretty crowded, but I have never felt like it was impossible to get around or anything annoying like that. The music here is pretty bumping– they place a huge variety of stuff from like 80’s pop to hard rap!
Bartenders are pretty cool, $ 10 minimum for credit kind of sucks if you just want one drink.

You either like this place or not… drinks are strong and that’s what I like! Better than I can say for another bar in the area called Gravity that is a joke with their «alcoholic» beverages.

Actually never having been to East Side Lounge, I was eager to check it out when my friend invited me to go see a band here a couple of nights ago. $ 5 for a show is cheap, which gives them one star. The other star goes to the bartenders, who were friendly and adept at their craft.
now for the lack of stars. The thought that ran through my head upon entering the door was «wow, I need to do a lot more coke before I can hang out here.» Maybe it was just the night I went, and maybe partly due to the band upstairs, but the crowd was the biggest concentration of straight-​up hipster I’ve seen in quite some time… dress like you’re homeless but surgically attached to your iphone? please become extinct already.
the sound quality was terrible. standing upstairs, it was too loud to hear properly (until then I didn’t really even know that could be an issue), and while you did get the proper volume downstairs, then you can’t see the band.
bathroom lines were horrendous… probably due to the 3 girls at a time who would exit rubbing their noses.
Overall, I guess the place isn’t bad, it’s just totallllyyyy not my scene.

Good times with the right DJ and genre of music. the drinks are just a little north of reasonable and paying cover always sucks.
bathroom lines can be a real terror sometimes, too.

ESL is pretty awesome. Pat is the best bartender in Atlanta, and he always makes you happy. And, he makes some damn good drinks. The service at ESL is one of the best of any bar i’ve been to in Atlanta.
Very welcoming atmosphere. They’re going through some changes on the dance floor, including a stage, and some pretty cool lazer light things. The DJ’s always know how to have a good time, and it’s really nice to have a separation from drinking to dancing.
Most of the people who go to ESL are pretty down to earth and friendly, expect to have a casual conversation while standing at the bar, expect to be entertained by the dancing. And if you’re as lucky as me, maybe you’ll meet Bill Murray here, too. :)

I’ve done the math and i’m still not entirely sure how it works out, but i’m pretty positive that i’ve been drunk here more time than i have in my entire life combined otherwise. come with your inhaler because you aren’t going to be able to breathe. patrick is the best bartender ever, ever since mark left, who was the best bartender ever, ever since cici left. i love this place and have been acting a fool here on a regular basis since it was the fountainhead and i was too young to drink.
Fridays are amazing — come see Quasi and dance to 80’s night. Or come earlier in the week and see Randy. Or even earlier and see any number of fun and awesome djs, including the bartenders.
Also, the owners are really fantastic. And they support local artists. Seriously, why aren’t you here with me already?

This weekend I took some out-​of-​towners to EAV for some Friday evening fun. Normally I take people into the Highlands, but the bars are over-​crowded and too many of them have covers, so I decided to change it up.
The East Side Lounge was our final stop of the evening for 80s night. First let me say THANK YOU to ESL for having a resonable website that clearly states the events, covers, hours, etc. That makes a huge difference when you’re planning an evening out somewhere new.
On to the details — there was not a cover for women before midnight, which was a plus. As some have said before me, most people don’t get there until late. We were the only ones on the dance floor when we arrived, and it didn’t get crowded until well after midnight. When it did start to fill in, the crowd felt older, like an early to mid-​thirties bunch, but it was dark so I can’t say that for sure.
I won’t become a regular here — there are better places for hot, sweaty dancing in my opinion — but the group had a good time, and I’ll go back the next time I have to find entertainment for guests on a Friday night.

After being here a couple times, I’m not entirely sure I like it, yet for some reason, I kind of do. Maybe it’s the fact that 80s night means actual 80s (I’m glaring at you, Masquerade) or perhaps it’s that you get quite a bit of liquor for your bucks. If you’re looking to get wasted while flailing around to Tears for Fears or Michael Jackson, then you’ve stumbled on the right place.
There are cons, however. I’m not a fan of the upstairs dance floor. If I’m drinking and dancing, the last thing I need to be trying to navigate are stairs, much less a tiny hallway to reach a bathroom. The dance floor is also small and shares space with couches, so it can be crammed. It’s also hot, and I don’t mean the people. Sweat easily becomes a part of your outfit whether you like it or not!
The price is right, though, so if you’re looking for a cheap 80s night ($ 5 is right, though sometimes it’s free under certain promos), this is one of the best. Just don’t wear high heels and try to navigate those stairs under the influence. You’ll quickly be wishing you ditched your manolos for some chucks stat.

Fridays = 80s night. Tears for Fears? Aw yeah!
A couple of friends and I were meeting up with Tulie L and some of her peeps to get our grooves on recently. I think we were nerds though, getting to ESL at 10 ish. It was pretty dead at that early hour, but we had some fun for a bit on the dance floor, getting a few laughs watching an overly exuberant couple practically having sex on the dance floor.
«Shout…shout…let it all out. These are the things I can do without, come on… I’m talking to you… come on!»

Used to dig this place. It’s itty-​bitty, but usually has cool events and fun dancing upstairs. However, the staff lost my husband’s credit card one night, and we’ve had to call the Better Business Bureau on them. Never going back.
In short, they lost the card, told us to cancel it and comped our two drinks. The owner took us aside, explained everything very graciously, gave us VIP passes and got our phone numbers. All very nice. This was 4 months ago. Since then, we have spent countless hours on the phone haggling with the credit card company and this same man over someone else’s tab which he would like us to pay. He actually mailed them a receipt SIGNED BY SOMEONE ELSE and said he «remembers» my husband asking his friend to sign. Doesn’t even make sense.
Poorly managed business.

Typically a late-​night spot. Don’t expect to see anything but regulars there before midnight. Also, it is notoriously hit-and-miss…some nights are a blast, other nights are lame (Friday nights are usually a good bet with 80’s music). However, you never know until after you pay the (thankfully reasonable) $ 5 cover. Drinks are pretty standard.
The crowd is really diverse. A lot of commerce used to go on there, but I haven’t seen much of that lately.
Overall, its usually a sweaty, goofy, fun time. It is also nice because there is always one dude there who dances so terribly, that it actually makes me look good!

This place has always had a weird vibe to it, even when my closest friends were DJ’ing britpop there many years ago It has this weird layout– it’s a lot like the bars I went to in Brooklyn. It’s long, narrow, and cramped when it gets full. The layout leaves little room for seating so get there quick or else be prepared to stand up all night.
The people who go to ESL are pretty varied– I’ve seen hipsters, punks, and yuppies there all at once. In fact, some yuppie bought my boyfriend and I our first jäger/​bull shot here and I don’t remember anything after that. Anyway, it’s an interesting place to try out, but it’s more likely I’ll be at The EARL before you spot me at ESL.