Hard Luck Lounge

I was really excited to check out the Hard Luck Lounge, being a huge fan of their flavored vodka line. The red fish flavor is definitely a favorite, and I wanted to check out the extensive martini menu I had read about. A few friends and I went in one night after a concert, and I asked the bartender for a drink menu. He gave me a blank stare, then with a snarky tone said «you’ve drank before, right?» …Yes? He told me they have «whatever» and asked what I wanted. Ok. Whatever. We decided on Lemon Drop + Sprite, Root Beer Barrel & Club Soda, and Red Fish & Club Soda. All were delicious. The lounge itself was a little too loud with iffy staff, but their drinks are pretty damn good.

Anyone remember Proof in downtown Detroit that shut down in late 2009? Hard Luck Lounge is Proof’s new avatar. What used to be a place with a more ‘clubby’ feel to it seems to have been reopened as a slightly more easy going bar with 90s grunge heard in the background. The interiors have taken on a Vegas hard luck theme with a ton of wrought iron horse shoes and roulette wheels and other such random kitsch adorning the walls, chairs, tables et al. That said, while a little kitschy, it isn’t an eye sore at all. Hey — you’re in downtown Detroit — If the place doesn’t have a certain brand of weird to it, it doesn’t fit in.
OK, let’s get down to business. Hard Luck lounge is in essence, what Proof used to be — a martini bar and a good one at that. They have a pretty solid selection of about 40 odd martinis and friendly bartenders who’ll help you with your selection.
Some recommendations —
Pickle juice — pretty self explanatory, strong on alcohol with a good strong flavor of. You guessed it… pickle juice.
Bloody Mary — I know… I know… not a martini. But I’m a sucker for a good Bloody Mary and I was impressed.
Dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives — good and strong
A few other drinks folks I know swear by —
Lemondrop — Made using their home brand of vodka (Hard Luck Candy?), it tastes almost exactly like a lemonhead. If you like the sweet stuff; this may be something you keep going back to.
Swedish fish — Another one made from their home brand of Swedish fish flavored vodka. Again, hits close to home.
Watermelontini — A combination of Absolute citron and watermelon pucker.
So why should you visit —
+ Good, reasonably priced martinis. Good selection
+ One of the few unpretentious martini bars
+ Gaming screen with 25c Erotic photo hunt and monkey bash. You know its fun.
+ Great if you want to enjoy a quiet drink on a weeknight. Not crowded, not too loud
What’s keeping people from the place?
— Not-​so-​clear marketing: The problem I see with the place is the same as I had with Proof. It still seems to be trying to be too many things. Is it an upscale martini bar, a sports bar, a lounge or just another neighborhood watering hole? If someone like me who likes the place can’t answer this question, I’m sure that’s keeping a lot of people from coming in…
— Beer selection: I read a few reviews where people complain about the beer selection on draft. Stop whining! Drink a damn martini! If you’re here for beer, you’re an idiot. There are ton of good local breweries in the vicinity (think Atwater, Detroit Brewing Company etc) that you should head to instead.
— Service can be a tad slow: OK. The service was slow the first time I visited. It’s been good the next couple times. The bartenders are chatty and sometimes that slows things down. That said, being chatty means they also help you with your drink selection if you’re a martini noob or just want to try something different. Not a big negative for me.
All in all, I hope they can keep things going strong. I for one am going to keep going back.

how can you not love a bar where the owner may very well be pouring your drinks? great spot with a great staff. i recommend this place any nite of the week. if you’re looking for a laid back weekday, weekend spot or a pre-​game warm up. this spot is good for any and all.

Do you ever walk into a place and think what you could do to make it better? That was my experience with the Hard Luck Lounge Downtown.
After a recent Unilocal Elite event, some fellow Unilocalers and I decided to continue the conversation and give the Hard Luck Lounge a shot.
It was an underwhelming experience of tacky Las Vegas-​like décor, giant flatscreens with women’s softball, Chumbawamba blasting on the speakers, and a child running near the bar.
The tableau was so bizarre that I wondered if someone slipped something in my drink; much to my dismay, they didn’t.
How can a great space in the heart of a metropolitan city be a mishmash of kitsch (and not in a hip, ironic way)?
Let’s just say I finished my non-​spiked drink and hightailed it out of there with my drinking companions.

I lived in Grosse Pointe Park at the time the original Hard Luck opened there. I have since moved downtown, and literally stumbled upon this new HL location on Tiger’s opening day 2010. I liked the GPP location, so a few times I went out of my way to patronize the downtown spot. I later found out that the two are only very loosely affiliated, almost just in name. But I digress.
It’s not the cheapest place to drink, but it’s not bad. My usual tall Bacardi & diet costs $ 5, same as it does at most of the other downtown spots I drink at. They have some game day beer pitcher specials, but unless you’re a Labatt’s drinker you’re out of luck on this one.
They have a dim-​lit, Vegas theme style going on. It’s a little corny, but not so over the top that I hate it. It’s a nicer atmosphere that is good for coming with a date, you can be a little dressed up and not be out of place. At the same time, jeans & flip flops are still totally acceptable.
Most of the staff (with the exception of one bartender who has the personality of a wet noodle) are pretty awesome. After stopping in only a few times, the security guy, barback, & a couple bartenders all remembered my name. A lot of residents of the Fyfe apartments (right upstairs) make up the «regulars», and so far I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t make for at least decent conversation.
I wish they would advertise more, and run some happy hour specials. Rumor has it that this is all coming — but bars open and close like nothing downtown, so I hope they hustle before they become a downtown Detroit business statistic. In the meantime, I’ll keep stopping by.

I live around the corner from this place and had been very confused as to what Proof was transforming into … so when a friend and I happened by after a concert, hours after the new Hard Luck opened (well before opening day, btw) we had to stop in. The place is definitely a work in progress but the bartenders are friendly and the drinks are reasonably priced (no more $ 10 martinis here!). I’d recommend it to a friend, especially another local looking for something different.

I struggled with what to rate this bar — especially knowing that I have sentimental attachment to the last bar that was in this space. I wasn’t even sure that I wanted to give this place a chance– but I got over myself, and headed towards Hard Luck with the intention of giving it a fair shot.
I didn’t even open the door before I spotted the first thing that made me roll my eyes, crinkle my nose and scoff — they had installed a cigarette machine right by the front door. Not the little behind-​the-​bar, atop-​the-​bar thingamajigger… no, a full-​sized machine. Hi. You just opened on Opening Day — There’s a little thing called a smoking ban that is due to go in effect just over a month after you opened… Why do you have this? You might be coming from the eastside– but do you really have to bring that stereotype with you?
We continued on — I’ve never been to the Hard Luck Lounge on the eastside– but looking at pictures, I think the décor is pretty similar. They are a big fan of wrought iron and the color red — The hard luck theme — with horseshoes, roulette wheels and card suits a plenty — is everywhere… up to and including their custom-​made bar stools. I would say it’s borderline overkill– but they’ve got their schtick and their sticking to it. They’ve added a few more TV’s to the place, a jukebox, dart boards, Golden Tee — etc.
We mosied up to the bar — liquor selection is pretty decent. Bottled beer selection is also pretty good. The # of taps in this location has always been few, but the selections on draft were pretty uninspiring. Blue, Blue Light, Oberon and Blue Moon. If you are only going to pour 4 beers, do you need Oberon AND Blue Moon? Oh well. I had heard that the other location has lots of martinis, and since this was formerly a martini bar as well– I thought I’d ask the checkered shirt wearing bartender to whip me up a martini. I wasn’t offered a menu, but he asked me about a few different flavors and I decided to let him go with his gut. I ended up with what was basically a root beer float martini — which was kind of strange, but tasted all right. Turns out that Hard Luck is starting their own line of vodkas– Hard Luck Candy. The first two flavors were Swedish Fish and Root Beer Barrel. (Hence the root beer float martini). He said that Grape, Creamsicle and something else I don’t remember were to follow. Don’t worry– if you stop in, I am sure you will find out. They are quick to push their vodkas on you.
I can’t say much about the clientele — it was a Thursday evening and there weren’t too many bodies in the place. The ‘90s grunge music gave me an idea of what might be in store for a weekend, but I really have no clue.
The service was decent. The prices were okay. I don’t know– I would probably stop in again to see what the place is like on a weekend or game day, but I would be lying if I said my initial reaction was above, «Meh. I’ve experience better.» So 2 Stars it is for now.