Red Square

Honestly let me start with sh*t and orange because that is what this place smelled like. For some reason the management has completely ignored the perfect storm of nasty. There are bathrooms with lines right next to the DJ on the dance floor where the not so classy clientele blew up the bathroom one after another while the bartenders and DJ spray natural orange air freshener to try and cover it up. I think this place needs an upgrade/​makeover.

Quality staff, customers, and environment! Best club experience in town.

What can I say, overpriced drinks that taste awful. I won’t be back.

The bus boys and bartenders take your full drinks so you will buy more. When I approached one bus boy about this he innocently said that he doesn’t take drinks. In that moment he took a girl’s drink next to me. She called him out. The only positive thing about this is one bartender cared and gave me a beer in return for the one taken. There are too many security guards and they don’t really do all that much. They are snobby, even though the club is not that great. It’s too small. The good Djs are often stuck in the hallway-​like space. The only good thing about this place is the music, both Djs and bands. Zen lounge is way cooler… friendlier, nicer drinks, better space.

Cannot believe this place. Overcharged us cover for a live band — got in and there wasn’t a live band at all! This after having asked the bouncers if there was a live band and them having told us that there was indeed one. To boot, it was completely empty. Great job Red Square, thank you for ruining our night!

Whiskey off the hook. Live music jammin legit. Maroon 5, Steely Dan, & Sam Cook. #luvinlifeinBtown Snowboard boots packed out. Peace.

Back after a while. Never fails to disappoint. Always a good time and a very attractive clientele!

Go to the Red Cube if you wanna pay a five dollar cover, get a watered-​down drink AND get grabbed by a weirdo or two on the dance floor. FYI: Psychology says red incites anger and derision. Hmmm…

Management for this «bar» (if you can even call it that) is terrible.
Employees are not trained, no one in this place knows what they are doing. Cover is way too expensive, and again not a nice place.

This place used to be way more fun when I was in college. Now it is kind of sketchy. The music that they played on a Saturday night was not really inviting nor dance-​encouraging. It was so old school and not really in synch with modern dancing styles so this was rather dissappointing. Also, as most people commented, there was a very strong smell of sewage around and in the place. Yuck.

The bouncers here are horrible

Definitely a staple of the Burlington nightlife. The staff is friendly and courteous, the food is great and there is always something entertaining going on! I had some special request when i last visited and management and staff truly went out of their way to help me out. Highly recommended.

Stopped in his bar last night to have a drink… it was a Sunday night so the place wasn’t too busy, but they had a handful of people. We sat outside because it was a incredible day. Ordered a switchback and before it even arrived we were noticing a fowl odor. This restaurant has the distinct smell of sewage wafing in your nostrils. I don’t think I will go back, but they had a nice selection of drinks and the locals seem to like this place.

I heard about Red Square when I was in town on a business trip. Previously, I had been to a few other places in downtown Burlington, but they were pretty bland. On one particular weekend night, a very nice cocktail server at Chili’s and I began talking, and when she heard I was from out of town she actually ended up inviting me to go out to Red Square with her friends later that night!
I met up with her at Red Square and was immediately enamored by the all red mood lighting. The first bar is just inside the entrance ($ 10 cover), which is a very narrow bottleneck of people getting in, out, or just passing by. Past that is a mini-​dancefloor with another bar, but it is really awkward because it is also a major thoroughfare. So there are constantly people walking by while the others are pseudo-​dancing around them. Finally, when you get to the back, there is a full dancefloor in what seems like a shack that was added onto the back of the building. The DJ is up on a 1.5-story podium, and they mostly spin electronic music (on weekends anyway). I had a decent time there, but it tended to get rowdy and sloppy. It is definitely a college spot, since U of V is so closeby, so the drunk kids were out in full force. I almost got into a fight because this wasted dude was trying to move through the crowd but was colliding and leaning on everybody. He ended up putting the full weight of his body on me, and when I shoved him off, he tried to make a move but luckily his friends stopped him.
There are quite a few spots to check out in downtown Burlington, but I thought that this one was pretty cool. It’s quite unique, venue-​wise and music-​wise, so I have actually been back a couple times after that. The locals around here all go bar-​hopping and Red Square is always consistently in their rotation. I mean, what else is there to do?

I went to Red Square for the first time in my entire Vermont life on Friday February 14^th because a couple of girlfriends and I had dinner near there. I had high expectations since everyone told me this place was the best in Burlington. You should get there after midnight because it didn’t start getting crowded until 12:30 am. It’s a good late night place for dancing to trendy music. They have coat check where you can stack coats for $ 3 and cover is $ 5 so relatively inexpensive. My only gripe is I wish they had free cover before a certain time for girls. I’d be more motivated to go then. I’m going to divide this review into categories and rate them individually from 1 – 5 depending on what you want to do there.
Dancing: 4
The music was trendy and there were good house beats that’s very danceable. The people on the floor were energetic. I didn’t like that there were multiple small spaces to dance because they were too small for me. I’d rather see one big dance floor, but that’s my only gripe. The people are pretty touchy and if you’re looking for a hookup, you definitely can find one.
Drinking: 4
The bars are efficient. We hardly had to wait to get the bartender’s attention and get our drinks. I tried my friend’s cranberry vodka. I know typical college drink, but it was good. Usually they’re too heavy on the vodka, but this was perfect for me. Had about ⁵⁰⁄₅₀. There are lots of places to sit so definitely a good place to sit down and drink too although it’s more for dancing.
Décor: ³⁄₅
I like the overall décor, but am not the biggest fan of the dance floors. Then again, I’ve been to big Chicago clubs so I’m biased.
Drinks: ⁴⁄₅
Atmosphere: ⁴⁄₅
Overall: ⁴⁄₅

This place is having an identity crisis… hipster? casual? divey? salsa dancing? My friends and I came here on a Saturday night because everyone said this is «THE place to go.» I’m not quite sure what we were missing, but the place was awful. There were three types of music going on at once… and you could hear them all clashing with one another. There was some local band in one room, salsa dancing in another, and elevator type music in the third. The place was trying to cater to all crowds, but unsuccessfully. The place was so dark, which, I believe, was done so you couldn’t see the filth on which you were standing. And to add insult to injury, there was a cover charge.

Went here late night after a wedding. It was wall to wall people, asses to elbows all up in my grill. And yet the service was remarkably speedy and attentive and the bathroom lines never got out of control. We escaped to the patio and had a great time. There was a solid DJ spinning inside and the dance floor was bumping. My crowd was just all danced out.

I have been here twice. This place looks interesting and fun from outside, but once your inside it’s incredibly loud, the waitstaff is rude, drinks are overpriced, and it’s cramped (we had to weave through the band to get to a seat.). We left after 20 minutes.
Ps– don’t play with the annoying red lights that hang down in your face… they will threaten to kick you out (though that might be to your advantage.)

I’ve been to Red Square quite a few times since I’ve been in Burlington and I have to say that this place is just a ton of wasted potential. The vibe in here is pretty cool, and it’s got a pretty good setup. The music is usually pretty good, and there are always two types of music going. There’s techno in the Blue Room and then usually something else out in the main bar.
However, getting in there is an absolute chore. The bouncers are horrendously rude and pick on those coming into the bar. On many occasions, I’ve had bartenders laugh at my ID, try to mess with me about my birthday, etc. Also, the drinks can be pretty weak depending on the bartender, and I’ve never been charged for what I drank, unfortunately it’s usually an overcharge.

Red Square is the most popular club/​bar in Burlington. If you’ve never been, they have three separate sound systems with your choice of a live band, a hip-​hop DJ and a house DJ. There’s something for everyone.
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