The HiLo Club

Ehhh. grung rock bar. Nowhere to sit with out smoke. Band was ok. was in and out despite paying 5 dollar cover. would only come here early in the night or mid day drink.

Love this place so hard. I love the juke box. I love the people. Strong drinks. The best of OKC. Don’t forget to stop by the art gallery upstairs.

The HiLo is so much fun!
The drinks are super cheap, and it’s got a nice divey feel. My friends and I love coming here for drinks, dancing and debauchery. I love the mix of patrons, and the bar tenders are always on point!
They also have Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst!!) on the jukebox! We love it!

HiLo Club is a must visit in OKC. It is definitely unique and I promise you that there will always be something to talk about the next day after having stepped into the HiLo Club world. The place itself is suprisingly well kept, prices are not bad, and bartenders are great. Just remember that HiLo deserves second chances, some nights may not be perfect due to the type of crowd.

Great quirky bar in OKC. Friendly bartenders, fun crowd.

I had the best night at Hilo ever! The bartender with caked on makeup hooked me up all night and even showed me how to put on that awesome 50’s style eyeliner. I loved it when she told me to wait my turn and if I was going to get sick to leave and do it at Edna’s? Where is Edna’s???
Love me some HILO!!!

I read a negative review recently regarding a bartender at this establishment. It was well written and obviously well thought out.
I remember the night the young man and at least 12 of his friends showed up late in the evening with one bartender on duty. She was going down the line of patrons, IDing everyone and preparing drinks, when said young man Hopped On The Bar and the bartender in question confronted him. She (of course) confronted him on his lack of manners and taught him a public lesson.
It’s a shame he felt the need to leave a negative review. It is my belief that everyone should work with the public to realize that no one is more entitled than anyone else.

I actually enjoyed this bar, it’s a fun place to drink, and pleasing to the eye! It’s decorated well and I love the people that drink here… BUT the purple haired bartender with caked on make-​up was extremely rude!!! I was ordering a couple beverages from the bar, and when I had finished telling her my very first item she had already turned around to make it «worst margarita ever»! When she came back I asked for my other items and she blew up on me in front of all the guest at the bar. I was never rude to her, but this experience has damaged my view of the place. I don’t think it’s worth coming back when bartenders are rude to the guest of an establishment.

Absolutely love the HiLo. It’s about as divey as you can get, but it’s loads of fun, the crowd is nice and the drinks are cheap. I’ve been here a few times and it’s always packed. If you see a table open up, feel free to snag it while you can. Even if they haven’t cleared it yet. If you don’t, someone else will! It is smoke friendly, which doesn’t bother me, but I know it bothers some. I tend to be one of those people who don’t normally smoke, but then want to smoke like a chimney when I’ve been drinking. They accept credit cards, but only if you’re charging $ 10 or more. The drinks there are so reasonable though, it takes a few to get to the $ 10 limit — at least in my experience it has been. It’s loud and smokey, but the most fun I’ve had in quite a while, so I’ll definitely be back again.

The HiLo is good for one thing to me: strong drinks. If I’m wanting a Long Island, they never disappoint me. I usually just have one but if you’re feeling adventurous, two will get you there. People like to have fun here and it has a good atmosphere. Play your favorite tunes on the jukebox or listen to what the other patrons select, either way you will likely enjoy yourself! They often have live bands as well. As an iconic dive bar in OKC, the HiLo is somewhere everyone should experience as least once!

For my first time at a «dive bar», it was a small, intimate experience. The drinks were relatively cheap from what I hear. The bathrooms were behind a small door in a sketchy hallway. Someone wanted to have their birthday party in one half of the place, so me and my other two friends had to go sit at a small, crowded table two feet from the already crowded bar.
People seemed at ease and the bartender was nice.

«This place is a goddamed shithole!»
–Brad Boaz (local legend in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City film community and lifelong dedicated alcoholic on his first visit to the Hilo Club)

First time at The Hi Lo Club, and I decided to go solo just to enjoy a couple whiskeys and maybe a beer. The second I took a seat at the bar, two drunk guys cornered me on either side and kept bothering me for my phone number (say it don’t spray it, dudes). The bartender quickly noticed how intoxicated one of them was and politely asked them both to leave. He also came back to check and make sure I was doing okay, which I thought was very nice.
The drinks were great, crowd was friendly, and the prices were definitely right (I had trouble meeting my $ 10 credit card minimum, even). I will be back.

The bar has great personality and plays decent music. The crowd is a mix of hipsters, trannies, gays, and others that defy categorization.
The smoke will prevent me from returning. Its so smokey I don’t know why people even bother lighting another cig.

As most of you know, I’m a fan of dive bars… always have been, always will be. And the HiLo is a place that anyone who is anyone should visit. It’s small, it’s smokey, it can be crowded, and on drag night, it can just be weird. Keep the HiLo weird, right?
But, it’s all of those things that I love about the HiLo. Well, the drinks too… but, I’ll discuss that soon enough. I just like the atmosphere of this place. There’s no pretentiousness and hooray for me… no dudebros! The crowd is an eclectic mix of young and old, but all bound around the idea of having a nice night out. And that’s why this place works… the people are all just fun to be around, even the people you don’t know. I’ve been to place on a Monday night and on a Drag night and the people are always full of spirit and fun. It truly is a great place to have a drink…
Which brings me to the drinks. I’ll put this out there right now. I’ve had my fair share of alcohol. Some might say too much, but that isn’t the point. The point is that I’ve drank all across this town and I cannot find a stronger and more tasty LIT in the city. Drinking just one LIT gets me leaning a little to the left and 2 has me on the verge of being white girl wasted. You would think that with a drink being that strong, it would taste like pure gasoline, but alas, it is quite good. Sure, you can taste some alcohol… but, it’s mixed so nicely that the alcohol taste is minimal in comparison to the overall taste of the drink. In summation, it’s just a well mixed drink. Kudos to the bartenders for being able to correctly mix quality and quantity.
Aside from the LIT, they have your standard selection of booze that would be found at any of your typical dive bars around town. They are fairly priced on their beverages as well. The only real negative I can come up with is their odd enforcement of covers. I’ve been to HiLo during a Drag show and wasn’t required to pay the $ 5 cover. I’ve also been on a Tuesday night, when it was just me and 4 other people in the bar, and had to pay the $ 5 cover. I suppose it’s just a little confusing, but it doesn’t bother me enough to keep me from enjoying this neat little hole-​in-​the-​wall joint when I’m visiting the Barmuda Triangle!

Dark lit, Inviting, the sweet smell of cancer sticks, and friendly faces of all ages!
I have tons of great memories from this place and I have made so many life long friends here. It’s the mixing pot of OKC personality and profession wise.
Drinks are cheap and soooo good!
I’ve never had a bad drink at Hilo.
My band played here a couple nights ago and the sound guy is AMAZING!
All of our levels were perfect!
Hilo gives a very good cut to the bands who preform as well; no stingy-​ness here.
I love you Hilo and always will.

It’s my jam. I am a dive bar fanatic and love everything about this place except for the smell. Sorry, I just can’t seem to get used to it. I mean, this smokeyness is far different from what you get in Vegas. To put it simply, the stale muskyness would be comprobable to the older casinos in DT Vegas. No real ventilation and no real way to escape the smoke unless you walk outside. A little dramatic, but hey. I’m not a smoker and I can’t get used to the smell.
All that aside, the guy who mans the front was super nice. The bartenders were easy going and the place wasn’t over crowded for a late Saturday night. The back room with all the string lighting was my favorite part. We were probably a rambunctious group that evening and I felt sorry for the patrons who were staring at us like a bad disease… But it was fun and I wouldn’t mind going back. Gotta remember to leave my purse at home next time.

A magical place indeed. High quality people, very affordable drinks, and personable staff.
This is where I take most of my first dates and meet up with my friends who don’t have an aversion to smoke filled places. Maybe it’s just me, but I find that people are more likely to be themselves or easygoing when they are in a dive bar environment.
Hilo is a pretty cool neighborhood bar, and I can’t imagine anyone ever feeling out of place here. This is the kind of bar that I picture anytime that I read Bukowski. I love this place, my friends love this place and half of my dates.

I didn’t so much walk into the HiLo as I was chased out of the Drunken Fry by women wielding inflatable penises. Bachelorette party? Little did I know that the penis gag would have made much more sense at the HiLo…
My band was on tour. This was our night off. We were meeting some local friends here for drunken antics while acquainting ourselves with the town. I’m not sure that this place is very representative of Oklahoma, but perhaps that’s for the best. Every city has its ‘alternative’ crowd. OKC’s is in this area.
10 seconds into my foray I’m startled by an older gentleman. Scratch that. Older man. Somewhere in that ZZ-​Top beard murmers a gruff voice asking about my hair. «Ohhhkay, so that’s how it is.» I scurried off, narrowly avoiding his outstretched hand, and found the bartender who was more than willing to put me at ease. Per recommendation, I ended up filling my stomach with happy meals (beer and shot of peppermint) and holy divers (hurricane with 151?). I also ended up finding out that this was somewhat of a «gay bar». Good. That wasn’t just a creepy old guy. There’s a reason to the madness. Back to party mode!
I have to say that, even for a weeknight, there was a buzz of energy in that place. I was with good friends, throwing back cheap yet stiff drinks, and enjoying the night away. I’m a fan. My last visit to OKC I wasn’t able to rekindle my affair with the HiLo, but I’ll make it a point next time. It’s just the classy (not!), divey (sorta), cheap (yeah…), dim room a guy (and his guy) can find the answer to lifes problems in the bottom of an empty glass. Or eight.

Oh Hi-​Lo, I wish I could quit you!
I have had so much mad crazy fun here over the years. When I was young, I looked old, and OKC was like the wild west, if you ran around with older people, and owned it, you got any almost anywhere. I saw my first drag show here when I was in high school, before they got strict on the door. The lady took a liking to me, swooped down in the middle of Cher and kissed me right where my hair meets my forehead. I had coral lipstick in my hair for a good week. Try explaining that one to mom.
Now, Hi-​Lo is just a really fun dive bar with the occasional rock or drag show. I saw Red City Radio there a few years ago and I think they broke the sound barrier. I love the bartenders, who are great to their regulars, even if you haven’t been a regular in years.
To me, the Hi-​Lo has always struck me for this reason: it looks exactly the way a production designer would design a local dive bar for a movie about people coming home for the first time in a long time. Like, if you wrote an independent movie about some guy who’s been living in Chicago for twenty years and hasn’t been home to his medium-​sized town since high school, and everyone thinks he’s super successful but really he’s lonely, you’d want the bar to look like this. If that makes any sense. Even when you’re in it, it almost feels like a set.
At least to me it does. But I love it. I’m in the movie that is my life and there is at least one scene at the Hi-​Lo, and the jukebox has the soundtrack covered.