Soiree

I feel sorry for myself that I can actually leave a review about this bar, but hey, people make mistakes; it happens.
Of course I’ve come here years back when I was underage, I think about 95% of Depaul students have; it’s like the gateway bar. But I’m baffled that this place is still in business, for multiple reasons:
The clientele here are 95% underage. It has been this way for as long as I can remember. I guess that makes it cool if you’re looking to pick-​up a bunch of drunk 19-​year olds.
The service has always been horrid. They don’t question those that are clearly still teenagers, but give a hard time to the ones who are of age and, not to mention, better paying customers.
The music is your typical top 10 mainstream «hits».
I can go on, but with an overall rating of 2 stars and skimming through the other reviews, everything has already been covered. This place shouldn’t be in business, or at least shouldn’t try to consider itself a bar, because that’s not what it is; it’s a playground for teenage college students.

So my single buddy decided to have his 29^th birthday shindig here and I suppose that should have been my first clue that this bar was no place for me, but it didn’t hit me until we were just about to walk in. The doorman scrutinized our IDs as if we were trying to pull one over on him before he opened up the velvet ropes to let us through. It might have been flattering if it weren’t for the fact that we were clearly one of the few groups of people in here that were legitimately over 21 and by quite a few years I might add.
Let me just mention that if I were a single guy well into my late twenties/​early thirties, this might not be a bad place to pick up on some DePaul girls dressed in the hoochiest attire they could get away with wearing. Seeing as the tables are reserved for bottle service only, I suppose you can look like a big shot for the night but why would you want to. If I’m going to shell out for bottle service it better be in a spot worthy, not a Lincoln Ave. nightclub with an identity crisis. With scantily clad girls dancing on the bars and red velvet couches, this bar wishes it were somewhere like River North.
On a positive note if you like the sleazy nightclub scene but you don’t like to travel out of the Lincoln Park neighborhood, this might be a place for you.

First time here, stopped by late night for a birthday party. Birthday boy got a good seating area near the front of the lounge. Easy access for the smokers to go in and out. Also a good vantage point to survey the crowd. The lounge is darkened with few red spotlights over seating and walkways. Way too dark. Hard to tell who is sexy and who isn’t. I guess it’s best for times when you want human connection without the bother of to whom you’re connecting with. We stopped in on a Saturday late, late night. Missed the birthday boy’s DJ set but the house DJ’s were doing a pretty good job spinning hip hop favorites. Some were dancing in what spaces they could, mostly towards the back and most were only girls. I wish there was more light, too hard to make out the sexies and find your way to the restrooms. It’s a nice change to see a crowd like this in this area of town. I’ve never been in any one bar in this area that hosted as many Latin, Black or grouping of peoples non-​White. Wait, the Apartment, but that’s different since they hosted parties like Asian night. Bartenders were busy but capable of working the crowd, possible we got nicer treatment due to the birthday boy. All the cocktails I enjoyed were hella strong but the one thing that irked me was the cost of booze. Two Miller lites for $ 14 dollars… Whoa. Can’t forget they charged cover after midnight, $ 10. This is not downtown nor a posh ultra lounge. For this night it was an okay spot, not sure if I’d check it out again the vibe was way too young for an old dude like me.

So I admit it, I was here. It was a birthday party and we had reserved tables and a bouncer to keep away all the underage hoochie mommas from drinking our bottles of goose. Hey I can’t say it was the classiest bar in town but I had fun. full length mirrors on the dancefloor made everyone get in the mood to grind up on each other. I have never smelled so much sexual tension in a room before, however, we had the right kind of crowd to make this place fun… for us anyway. I don’t think I’d come back without getting bottle service again.
The crowd was young as hell! I definitely felt like I was back in college… freshman year style. If you like that sort of thing, this is the palce for you.

I live in the area of this club and wish it would close. Most of the people in this neighborhood are either DePaul college kids or young adults, 25 – 30. The clientele that visits this club park on our streets (past parking zone times) and cause all sorts of loud noise after they leave the club, walking up and down the residential streets. In addition, we have seen an increase in gang related graffiti which is probably tied to Soirée and it’s clientele. Soirée, if you’re reading this… LEAVE THE AREA.

Sundays, this is probably the best spot for people who are 23 and under or like rap and don’t mind an younger crowd. The suburbs like Dolton and Markham might be viable options to some but they are too far out of my jurisdiction with my CTA-​riding ass so Soirée has been a spot I check out every couple weeks.
My first Sunday was so good I tried a Saturday the following week… Never again. From here on out it is solely the occasional Sundays for good times. That is when it is packed to capacity and there is always at least a handful of good looking girls. Everyone is bumping and grinding and partying. The girls are doin the latest dances on tv and looking cute in leggings and heels save for the bold few with skirts on. Guys are trying to grab arms of the girls walking by, and a phone number from the ones that stop to hear what they gotta say.
Cover is average for a rap club in Chicago, it is cheap if you get there before 10:30 but it is pretty slow around then. Not slow as in noone there because a good bit of people get there early, but slow as in no one is dancing, and the area past the bar is cordoned off to give the illusion of a packed club. If you get there early, you are so bored that you are forced to drink so that is where the club makes its money back for reduced admission I am guessin. Fuckers.
After things get crowded in the front area enough, they open the entire club up and you get some temporary space to roam but that gets filled up soon enough as the night progresses.
Not much else to say. Here are some bulletpoints:
–Bouncers are cool but the doorman can be a douche
–Mandatory coat check
–WTF is up with the Grey Goose bottle with the stick of dynamite in it?

The bartenders were awful, bouncers and door girls were rude, will not be going back.

Horrible horrible service. We exchanged emails and had terms agreed upon. They went back on all of it.
1. They went back on age limit & price AFTER we got there
2, Decided all NY ids were fake.
Yeah alright. What a waste of time and effort.

Cons:
guidos.
rude, hairy, tatooed, nose-​ringed, pregnant male management.
waitresses who can’t answer a single question:
«how much is bottle service, goose?» …
«kettle?» …
then later «YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME GRATUITY, OKAY?» what a waste of a life

Can someone please tell me HOW this place is still in business? I have never been to a worse «club» in my life… first off, for a group of 15 of us (mostly girls and the place was filled with guys when we got in), we were all charged an outrageous cover. Then we were forced to check our coats by the unnecessarily aggressive bouncers which was something I was really uncomfortable doing at this shady place… and it turns out my instincts were right.
So besides the horrible atmosphere and weird 18 yr old/​creepy men crowd, the drinks were pretty bad. My cranberry vodka tasted like cranberry juice and the special of the night, the long island, tasted like toilet water with cheap liquor.
Even looking past all of that, the worst part of everything were the horrible employees/​bouncers. I saw two fights in the back of the place on my way to the bathroom… I have no idea why the huge bouncers didn’t «nip it in the bud» and kick all of those people out right then and there… but these money-​hungry jerks did not address the problem and so the night ended with the horrible DJ (who also thought his DJ gig was a chance for him to go on the mic and begin a rap career… BAD idea) going on the mic to tell everyone he was done playing music and left an hour early because «someone disrespected him»…did I miss something? How exactly is that MY problem? My cover is paying him to play til close so I don’t really care!
So after yet another fight, the night ended with the bouncers frantically running through the crowd yelling at everyone to run out the back if they were not 21 because the police were coming, and just telling everyone to leave immediately. So most of my friends were ushered out by the bouncers and I stayed to get their coats with their tickets.
After waiting in line for about 20 minutes and refusing to leave when the bouncers told us we had to go repeatedly (I was NOT leaving without our coats) and listening to the coat check girl with an attitude argue with customers I finally got our three coats and turned toward the door… to find a large bouncer blocking my way, asking me WHAT I was doing with the coats… I reply, «I’m taking the coats that you forced us to check outside to my friends that you forced to leave because you can’t handle your crowd…»

Not a fan.
Didn’t enjoy my last two visits here (needless to say, I won’t be back)
Over price drinks, poor service, and a shoulder to shoulder crowed.
Worst Unilocal review yet.

I think I actually found a bar worse than Thai’s Till Four. I walked in to the stench of cheap boy cologne. It was so thick in the air one could choke. And the clientele… Oh how do I find the words to describe???
Picture a crowd all under the age of 21. I’m talking 17 and 18 year olds. It would be an insult to those from Jersey Shore to compare them. Let’s just say the hair gel used on all the male patrons would have given Pauly D a run for his money.
The girls were all skanky, and not in a hot «going out to the club» way. I mean, the STD’s were practically hanging off their Wet Seal dresses. We walked right in and right out. And the manager who kindly took our $ 5.00 cover refused to refund the money, even though we were in the place for 5 seconds. His wannabe Tony Soprano look really just wasn’t working for him. Never again will I step foot in this place…

Saturday are cool here I would say my first visit was the best. I have been to Soirée three times but usually I go to clubs were I know a promoter. I never pay so that gets you smiling upon entry. This place is not very big and it was shut down due to over crowding. To me it has a sexy vibe because its dimly light so word to the wise wait until you get outside to try to holler. You don’t want to have a Ludacris moment. The drinks can be better but then again I don’t pay for those either. The music is what saves the place I stay on my feet all night my first visit I come for the music Baby.

I came here with a bacholorette party in which the maid of honor had made reservations with «jack or Jeff» (can’t remember the name) who said the cover charge would be waived. Well, apparently he wasn’t there and we were forced to pay a cover. Which was utterly ridiculous considering the crowd was mostly male and our party of 10 would have definitely helped even things out.
The thinks he is the sh** doorman was rude and dorky!
The music SUCKS, plain and simple.
The décor is non-​existent. I think someone said lets add a couple of couches and call ourselves a lounge.
We had about one drink and got the hell outta there and headed over to Zentra, which was much better. And Props to the super cool doorman who let us all in for free without a reservation!

Wow, just… wow.
Small and dirty space, creepy crowd, and nastiest $ 5 long island I’ve ever had.

I didn’t think this place was so bad. My friends and I came here last night a little after 10pm. There was absolutely nowhere to sit which was annoying, but the drinks were cheap which is a plus! We had $ 3 Coronas and a few appetizers that were ½ off. The back area is VIP and for parties, as well as the little area to the left when you walk in. The tables on the right side were packed. I don’t know if you need bottle service or reservations for those… if not its best to go early if you want a place to sit. The music was alright. The bartenders were nice. We had a good time and I think its a decent place to start the night. Its a small lounge and became super packed as the night went on.

After getting in an argument with the bouncer in order to get let in, getting assaulted by at least 3 members of the staff about the special new years eve party, and paying way too much for a drink, I decided to leave Soirée and never return.
If I could give this place negative stars, I would.

Well after I successfully sweet talked my way out of a cover charge (really though a cover on Lincoln ave, no thanks!) to the man with the long gray pony tail, I should not have been surprised by the plethora of tools. I mean, I have met my fair share of over gelled popped collars in my life but when the beaming orange spray tanned man clad in mock turtleneck shouted if I’d care to join him. I told him «no thanks– I’m all set». He slickly counters with a «come on honey, I’ll get you a Jäger Bomb».
Note: the music is not only loud and obnoxious, it’s horrible. The glowing man was literally shouting at the top of his lungs…
Not impressed I shimmied my way out the door and made way to Lincoln Station for $ 2 Blue Moons and had a great time taking shots of Jäger (no bomb) with the bartender who throughly enjoyed my painful experience at Soirée.

Came here for a friend’s bday on Sat night. I can understand now why they chose this place — it’s a decent deal for $ 30 open bar (well drinks + beer) or $ 40 top shelf for 3 hours, and no bottle service required to sit down. However, there IS a reason why it was that easy to get a deal… The décor, first of all, was ghetTO. It was grimy, had what looked like a piss cup for a makeshift candleholder, bumps protruding out of the walls (was that supposed to be artsy) that looked like zits. Worst of all, since my friend and I got there early, the workers there were SRSLY duct-​taping dance lights onto the ceiling –uhhh. am I at a middle-​school dance?
The «bar» in the back room was ghetto too. I tried to order a glass of wine there, and she had to tell someone from the front bar to bring a bottle back, and the wine tasted like $hit…we also ordered cosmos, and they didn’t have martini glasses, so we drank it out of plastic cups! hAHA!
The music here is also really loud, and the DJ was playing the same songs over and over again — a lot of «old school» songs. Oh, how could I forget, there was a «dancer» on the platform stage «dancing» the whole night. It was just really weird to have her dancing there, esp. since she wasn’t even dancing to the music, and there were plastic tube-​lights taped around where she was dancing.
Needless to say, I don’t be back here, and will not have my bday party here!

Not bad. Not bad.
DELISH martinis. Super dark. Weird Ally McBeal-​type bathroom.
I don’t think it’ll last in its location but I get what they’re trying to do.
I would maybe suggest turn the hip hop down. I’m all for some Tribe Called Quest but at a lower volume, por favor.
Pretty classy.