Hard Luck Lounge

I was introduced to this place by a coworker/​friend, and since then it’s become one of my favorite bars to go to.
It’s close to home for me, which is always a plus, and the staff are personable and helpful. The drinks can be a little pricey for my budget, but the atmosphere and service keep me coming back.
On the atmosphere, it’s a Vegas themed bar, though not in a gimmicky kind of way. They have custom Vegas-​themed fixtures, including a bar top that features cards and chips from various casinos encased in lacquer and card suit bar stools, lower lighting, and the print and visuals for their t-​shirts and matchbooks is in a sort of retro tattoo style. They also have a pool table and digital jukebox, which make this a perfect place for either a group of friends or a drink on your own or with a date. The thing I love about this bar is that while there is music playing all the time, it’s never so loud you can’t have a conversation, and the place (when I’ve been) has never been so packed that I feel uncomfortable. I’ve usually seen between 5 – 10 people there at any given time, no more than 30 on the weekends at once, which caters to my need to sometimes not be trapped between douchebag A and douchebag B while trying to balance a drink. Plus, their restrooms are always clean (very important!).
The bartenders are friendly and helpful, always willing to help me out with cocktail recommendations when I’m looking to venture from my usual drink order. There is one bouncer there (unfortunately his name escapes me right now!) who is usually working on the weekend evenings who I’ve found myself chatting with on more than one occasion. Their Candy Vodkas are the best thing, available in Red Fish, Lemon Drop, Root Beer Barrel, and Orange Cream flavors, and the best thing is that it’s now readily accessible in liquor stores around the area! I’ve never paid more than $ 8 for a drink, usually ordering well mixed drinks or something a touch fancier, often featuring one of their vodkas. This can be a drain on the wallet if you’re having several cocktails, but if you’re just doing rum & cokes or having beer, it’s not too bad.
There is a parking lot adjacent to the building, but it’s fairly small and is shared with Dylan’s Raw Bar, so many times parking on the street is a necessity. A little bit of a pain, but not too much so that it deters me from coming.
If you’re looking for a rowdy, frat-​like bar, this isn’t going to be it, but if you’re looking for somewhere to have a good time with friends where you can hold a conversation without screaming over the music or just to grab a drink or two during happy hour, I recommend you check it out!

One of my favorite watering holes in the Detroit-​area. Great 1950’s Vegas décor, decent music, lots of interesting spots to sit and imbibe, doesn’t have 8 billion flatscreen tv’s, groovy just dark-​enough atmosphere.
Mike and Natalie are two of the friendliest and most knowledgeable bar owners you will EVER meet. Hands down. Have them make you one of their signature drinks featuring the Hard Luck vodkas. You won’t regret it!

Go here get a signature cocktail pretend you’ve slipped into a swanky 50’s Vegas flick and enjoy.
I’ve gone here a zillion times and always forget to review. So here I am with Hard Luck on my mind.
Oh Red Fish how I love you so. This my friends is one of their signatures. Its like Swedish fish but in the form of alcohol! HELLO LOVE THE!
Service and crowd here are always great! I’ve never had a bad time here. I like how clean it always is too. The drinks are priced perfect. Parking sort of stinks because it’s shared with some other busy establishments. It’s OK though… I’ll walk!
Drink here! Have fun here! Go here all the time!

Hard Luck is the bar that’s furthest from my home, but the one I always walk to when I want to imbibe. It may have something to do with the fact that Hard Luck Candy Flavored Vodka was born out of this place.
There are some things I wish they would have more regularly though and those are DJs in the late night and better lighting during happy hour. As a self-​employed person, I like being able to go to a place and have a drink while I’m writing copy, fielding e-​mails or doing keyword searches. When Hard Luck opens at 4pm, they have a decent happy hour with $ 2 domestics and $ 2 wells, but it’s always lit like a scene right out of a Rob Zombie movie in there.
Mind you, I’m a glutton for cheap drinks, so I still take my laptop and smartphone in there. Most times, I’d rather be in Marge’s for the natural light though.
The Lounge doesn’t have a lot of seating, but there is quite a bit of floor space. They should take advantage of the space and have decent DJs in there from time to time. Nothing crazy, but it’ll help with the cool factor and add to the ambiance. Then when the daring east siders come there and get saucy, they have the allure of dancing while they’re there. Let this be my application to be a resident DJ, by the way. ;)
It should be noted that Hard Luck has wi-​fi, which is starting to become commonplace in Grosse Pointe. SWEET.

Absolutely love this place. The atmosphere is totally 1950’s vegas-​esque, and the staff is all very friendly. Check out their selection of custom-​made liquor!

Dark.
Smokey.
Vice indulgent vibe.
Despite the earmarks of a cool dive, I don’t quite like this place. The only positives about Hardluck that stands out in my memory are the darkness and cig smoke (even though I’m not a smoker). The bars in Ferndale are getting brighter (mainly due to the prevalence of TVs everywhere) and going smoke free, and I have a soft spot for smoky, dark, slightly sketchy bars. I coughed all day after my visit, and even my purse smelled like smoke. If that’s all you’re looking for, this place wins.
Fail:
— not enough seating
— not enough pool tables (there’s 1 or 2, can’t remember)
— terrible service
— preppy grosse pointers «living dangerously»
This place is peppered with sweater-​vest wearing khaki pants preps drinking light beer, reveling in the novelty of their «dive» bar experience. The tiles in the bathroom are clean and new. The only fight that broke out was between two girls over which actress wore a certain outfit better. I actually heard a conversation about yacht maintenance while sitting by myself at the bar.
The disparity in intended atmosphere and old-​money prepster accommodations is confusing at best, and farcical at worst.

I can’t decide what I like best about this bar. Is it the altogether cool atmosphere, friendly bartenders, or the fact they have photo hunt!
There is surely a 1950’s Lounge vibe here, with the walls decked out in black & white prints from 1950’s Vegas (check out the showgirls in the ladies bathroom) and the custom made bar stools are utterly cool.
They also have a small area you can reserve for parties with a couple leather couches, flat screen tv, makes you feel like a VIP.
Heading out on the weekend in Grosse Pointe? Put this on your list of places to check out!