Wonder Bar

This is not a bad place, but there are just better options in midtown. This bar doesn’t have one thing about it that makes it special. It’s just a lesser version of the other bars.
It’s not as dancy as redoor. It lacks an open rooftop. It’s a smaller space. Yet you still have to go through the douchy bouncers.
Is it worth it? probably not.
I do have fun here though. However, I can’t help feeling like I’m on an average date and could be somewhere else finding my true love.

I came here with a friend and wasn’t sure what to make of it in the first 10 minutes of our arrival. The route to the bathroom seemed endless!
The tunnel during our walk to the bathroom is cool.
This place was poppin after 11 p.m. They play good music but be aware that strangers will be bumping into as they leave the bar around 2 a.m.

Eh, I miss Tipsy Clover:(
Regardless, this review is for Wonder Bar. They made a few minor changes to the interior that lets you know it’s a different spot than before. Few meaning the TUBES! Woah! They’re everywhere. A Norwegian guy would definitely hit his head on those things.
The place is hip, cool and definitely an it spot to be if you’re playing in midtown. It’s loud, crowded and the bar is 10 deep. That’s the criteria, right? :)
I’ll steer clear of the debauchery, but I’ll suggest this place to any young whippersnappers I meet.

Midtown dance party central. Good music. Reasonably priced (strong) drinks, and the AC’s always blasting. Get here early for a good spot by the bar.

Gets super crowded on a Saturday night. Word on the street the bouncer tries to hustle you for money. I would prefer to hang outside rather inside because I don’t do crowds. I do enjoy their music.

This place is SO SMALL. Literally a hole in the wall. The only other time I was here was for a university sponsored event, and Red Door and Wonder Bar decided to open up together. I didn’t realize how small Wonder Bar was since I could just keep walking and end up in Red Door.
$ 10 Patron shots. Not awful, but more than what I was expecting.
Songs I heard: The Wobble and Bubble Butt were memorable. So this is not really club music, it’s more Houston music. So if that’s what you want, then Wonder Bar is probably great. Also, everyone conglomerates in front of the camera during songs you can line dance to (see: The Wobble), so going from one side of the bar/​club to the other is a little difficult during these times.
Probably won’t be back unless they had some thing where they open up the door leading to Red Door for easy passage.

Came here on a Friday night and it was packed as usual. There was about 15 people in front, which in my opinion wasn’t that many people, but I guess because they were waiting for people to leave first, we had to wait a little longer.
A bouncer came up to us (me, my boyfriend, a girlfriend and her boyfriend) and said he would let us cut the line for $ 10 a head. I’m not in THAT much of a rush to get in. Once I said no, he came back within a minute saying he would let us on but my boyfriend ended up tipping him a 5. I guess its because they want a larger girl ratio in the bar, but since it we 1:1 in my party they didn’t care?
Watch out for those who have little patience, paying $ 10 is not worth it.
Music is always good, stuff to really dance to. Also lyrics you can actually sing.

I know it’s been beat like a dead horse… but this place is so racist, I don;t know if i saw a Pub Crawl or a Civil Rights March in front of it…

Racist racist racist mofos. First it was because my friend did not have a collared shirt. We said fine he’ll grab his dress shirt from the car. Then, «anyways you’re jeans are too baggy.». Fuck these mofos, we’ll spend our money elsewhere.

For the past few times my friends and I have gone to Midtown, we always end up here. Music seems to be good. I like that they have multiple bars inside and one outside as well. My favorite is to hang out on the patio because they have more seating and it’s fun to people watch with everyone walking by.
As mentioned, it doesn’t get packed until much later in the night. I like the atmosphere, the crowd, the drinks. No complaints here!

Overall, Wonder Bar is a pretty fun spot to go to when out in Midtown. I’ve been many times, the most recent being last Saturday.
If you show up before about 11 PM, you might be the only one in the place. Prior to about 11:30, they also will never turn you away for too many dudes or say that you’re underdressed. However, as the night goes on, the place really gets crowded all of a sudden (too crowded, in my opinion) and a pretty large line can form outside. This is the point where if you’re in a group of guys or not wearing the right thing you might want to think about going elsewhere.
I really like the outside patio they have, as you can get out there during the night to relax a bit if you start to get tried of fighting with the crowds inside.
The music is pretty solid and it seems like everyone can always dance to it. There’s a good mix of songs and a good tempo. However, dancing starts becoming a problem as the bar gets crowded, since there isn’t really a clearly defined dance floor. This results in a lot of pushing and shoving as people try to get through to the bar or bathrooms.
As far as drinks go, beer selection stops with the standard Bud/​Millers/​Coors, so don’t come here expecting to get a craft brew. Mixed drinks are made well, but are pretty pricey (about $ 10 for a standard drink).
Last time I was at Wonder Bar, I was impressed to see that after somebody shattered a glass while dancing (far away from where bartenders could see), a staff member was there within about 30 seconds with a broom to clean up the broken glass. It was nice to see them so quick to react.

Friend was rejected from Red Door for not wearing the right shoes (that’s code for «he’s a guy and is of no use in a midtown bar»). So we went to Wonder Bar. The line was LONG. Not wanting to repeat the same mistake, the prettiest girl in the group (me. just kidding. I tried once and everyone had a good laugh) went to the front of the line and spoke to the bouncer. Her argument: «We have a group of 3 boys and 7 girls. Let us in and we’re giving you MORE than a 2 to 1 ratio of (mostly) single women to men.» And so he let us in.
Was this terribly unfair to other people in line? Yes.
Did I feel shamefully used and objectified as a female whose gender was blatantly advertised for superficial benefits? Yes.
Was I also IN the bar with a drink in my hand, doing a poor rendition of the Dougie in under five minutes? Yes.
[Hangs head in shame]
Anyway, there are mixed drinks galore here but as usual, one has to do the stand-​wave-​wait-​push-​your-​way-​to-​the-​front-​wait-​some-​more routine to get the bartender to notice you. I think my experience was worse than most others since I am 5’2″ and not likely in our bartender’s line of vision. But alas, he eventually looked down mid-​sneeze and I was noticed. SUCCESS!
A couple rounds of vodka-​cranberry later (price wasn’t too bad compared to other downtown bars), we made our way to the back of the bar where there was more space. This was a weird journey because you pass through a tunnel. An honest to goodness vaulted tunnel. I have no idea why this exists. Post-​tunnel there are a few more tables (not many) and a DJ who spins the Hot 100 and some old school hip hop jams. It will get crowded and people will dance. At the last hour, they will play the Wobble, wherein people like me will awkwardly stumble around because we don’t know how to do the wobble but think maybe if we do a very sloppy electric slide, nobody will notice.
Last line tips: if you go to the bathroom, wear a hazmat suit. And if you’re parking street side, I suggest you bring some trainers with your stilettos because everybody in Midtown came to party and you’ll be parking closer to Mexico than Midtown.

Wonderbar? Wonderwhy.
Con #1: Entrance
While I haven’t had a problem getting in, good luck getting in here after 11:30pm if you’re a guy. Or at all if you aren’t «dressed appropriately.» This place is actually quite pretentious. Not sure why they still reject people when the place is empty. FYI, if you tip the bouncer $ 20, your chances of getting in exponentially increase.
Con #2: Overcrowding
I know I said it’s hard to get in here but it gets confusing because at some point in the night, they start letting WAY TOO MANY people in. I’m sure there’s a fire code violation going on. You can barely walk around and move, much less make your way to the bar to get a drink.
Con #3: Overpriced
For what you get this place is way overpriced and overrated. For how much these drinks cost I should be able to breathe comfortably and walk around without constantly fighting through crowds.
Pro #1: Music
The music here is definitely awesome. They change it up quickly so you don’t get bored. But how are you supposed to dance when you can barely move? Only con was that I heard Beyonce’s Single Ladies twice in one night. Not cool dude.

I have been here several times and enjoyed it until last Saturday. The bartender tried to over charge me for my drinks, one well drink and one well shot. When I told him and he said he would fix it and brought me back another receipt showing he did. Now I look at my account and he went ahead and charged me not just the over priced charge but both charges. I tried to call but the number is disconnected and they won’t reply to my email. My friends and I will never return. Beware of bartenders trying to over charge you!!!
**I just got the email and they are going to fix it.***

If I could give this place less than one star I would!
I’ve given the place a few chances and I always leave annoyed and irritated. The crowd seem super young, immature and sloppy. They are all over the place messy which drives me insane! Most of the time I’m losing my balance because they’re push. shoving, or falling everywhere. It’s so annoying!
The floor plan of the place is inefficient and is probably the cause of all the pushing and shoving. People are attempting to dance and walk around all in one spot. Unless you want to be on the patio (which I avoid because of the smoke) then theres no place inside to sit still.
I will skip out on a friends birthday if they have it there… thats how bad I hate the place!

I wonder, why the hate for Wonder Bar? This would quickly become my new favorite spot of I had a banker/​lawyer/​doctor/​socialite/​lottery winner cash flow, replete with money and stress to burn.
Located next to the newly renovated Red Door and newly monikered Xuco Xicana (with its newly fired head chef to boot) is Wonder Bar, itself just redone. Parking is typical Midtown, where you try to fight for street parking. Either get there early, or get there late, and pick a small car to squeeze into tight spots.
If anything, Wonder Bar reminds me of the hatch in LOST. There’s a strange tunnel that appears to once have been for rodents, some eighties-​looking TVs that blast Charlie Chaplin and cartoon reruns, an oddly placed mirror or three, and a whole host of other quirky design choices. Every 108 minutes, someone somewhere enters in some numbers.
There are three bars – the main bar, one in the exterior heated patio, and one in the far back not quite dance floor area. The space is oddly designed, more odds and ends rather than open space, but allows for a pretty solid people flow. Bar space is decently plentiful, and bartenders are quick with the pour and easy on the eyes.
The DJ was solid, if spastic. He jumped in 3 songs increments all night, playing everything under the sun: 80’s, early 90’s hip-​hop, dancepop, top 40, etc. He definitely keep the crowd on their dancing shoes. The last song as I was leaving was Skrillex, which just boggles my mind as a Midtown choice.
A combination of jack and cokes and jagerbombs came out to about $ 10 a pop, so no, this place is by no means cheap. It’s a pretty good time, though, much preferable to the claustrophobic Shot Bar and the takes-​forever-​to-​enter Red Door.

Let me see here… Wonder Bar… has…
— 3 bars
— 1 Crazy ass tunnel [brilliant for impromptu photo shoots of your new gay best friend that’s had a shitload too much to drink]…
— 1 secret penis camera that broadcasts whoever/​whatever looks at it in black and white for the entire bar to see…
— Booty poppin’ music… [at least on Saturday nights…]
— Pricey ass drinks… [at least I think I remember them costing a bit of coin…]
— Creepy as dudes galore! …You know, if that’s you’re type…
— Intensely focused DJ that really believes in the art form/​science that is Disc Jockeying for a bunch of wasted creepers…
I had a blast.
I think.

They don’t have Shiner. Yes. this is in Midtown Houston, as in Texas. Besides that here is a small list I have a created to explain my two star rating.
–Expensive drinks
–The people are extremely yuppy/​douchey.
–The door guy is a dick. (I got in but I heard the way he was talking to some Dutch people looking for Red door and I wanted to punch him in the throat…)
–The drink tube thing is ridiculous and not worth it.
–The dance floor sucks.
They earned the extra star for the interesting decorative concept.

Hm… I wonder why there are so many low reviews.
I thought this place was a ton of fun — I loved the trendy bright-​white furniture, the fact that they had THREE bars, the outdoor patio, and all the Lady Gaga blaring on the speakers. Also, they have these cocktails called tube-​tinis that they mix by sending through those vacuum tubes they use at drive-​up banks — super gimmicky but still amusing.

I was hyped to check out the Tube-​Tinis … somehow I thought the drinks were shot through the tubes and you’d have to catch it when it shot out… I guess I was expecting serious excitement! But it didn’t go down like that — the tubes are solely for aesthetics — but fun to look at!
Overall it was fun — décor was killer — music was hype — especially when they threw on some Biggie! Wah Wah!
I checked this place out on a Thursday after they came back from hiatus — I’m sure it’s more hyped up on the weekends and I’ll probably check it out again!