Apollo’s Lounge

Great place lots of fun, always a great place to hang out and chill out with your friends

The nice place to be but one thing for sure you don’t want to ever try to call there and talk to anyone either patron or owner. The noise in the background is so loud you can barely hear the person on the other end of the phone who most often appears to be really rude and doesn’t have the time to help you. And I’m calling to talk to Ron or Lee who own the place.
When I’m told «honey I don’t have the time to help you» for the second time I never call back. Washington State

I am currently in the bar now and receiving such service that is very poor. Unprofessional and lazy. However one person does not an experience make. It is a neighborhood bar and we wanted to support it.

WORST PLACE EVER, the mc at karaōke night its the most racist ever, you need to change her, otherwise your place will be worth nothing. The owner on the other hand, wont listen to the client’s suggestions, and take part with the shitty employers. We order drinks and then asked us to leave the place, they wouldn’t even let us finish our drinks. So, it’s a really racist place that I do not recommend. Don’t go there, period.

Fun!!!

We stopped in early on a Friday evening. I think there were a bunch of people on the patio, but the bar was empty except for one customer. I don’t usually like empty bars, but this one had a good vibe.
We each had a couple of drinks then left for our dinner reservations, but I really enjoyed my time here and the bartenders were nice. I’d love to have an excuse to go back, but I don’t live around there. I may try to get some friends to go to Drag Queen bingo with me though.

Apollo’s was a fun experience, until I checked my bank account and find the erroneously overcharged me over $ 35.00. When I called they tried to tell me it was a debit «hold» for tip. It was not. This was a week later and the charge went through. They said they would have someone call me back. They did not. I got the run around and they gave themselves a very generous tip at my expense. Have fun, but check your bank account, they don’t play by the rules.

Very upset at this place, I’m outside in the beer garden having a cigarette when the owner came up to me and said that I smell pot on my person. I told him that I was a medical patient and that I medicated before I got to the bar. He told me not to smoke in the parking lot. I told him I haven’t, that I know the laws. Then he accused me of smoking in the parking lot. I really feel discriminated here and I will not come back. Even when u respect their rules, they feel they can just discriminate u and call u out in front of everyone. Definitely will not be coming back

Cute, small gay bar. I attended a sexiest bar tender event to represent for a girl friend who was a contestant. Drinks are a lil small but the staff and patrons are friendly. This place didn’t wow me enough to come back though.

When I’m feeling low and looking for a great atmosphere to cheer me this is where I go! Great drinks and the staff is so very nice. Throw a little karaōke in for fun and this is most definetly the place to be.

Love this bar! Cheap strong drinks, very friendly staff and its CLEAN! The patio is awesome and full of great conversation!

Wonderful neighborhood feeling. The bartender Nikki is the BEST hands down. Very attentive and personable bartender, not phony like a lot of Valley bartenders. Nikki keep it up girl!

Apollo’s is like a neighborhood gay bar. It’s small and has a patio for smoking. the parking lot is bigger than the bar… lol.
Come on Mondays from Drag bingo. That’s right, it’s bingo hosted by a drag queen. The game itself is naughty with perverted bingo games and adult prizes for winning.
Mondays are also two for one, so see Hannah behind the bar and she’ll take care of you.
Also, Apollo’s is fun on Sundays for their various drag shows and strippers afterwards.

As a breeder this is my favorite gay bar. The bartenders are hilarious, the drinks are cheap, the walls are salmon, and the scene is usually a mix of gay men and pretty girls. Win. I like to sing karaōke and this is a place where I can sing Prince in a mostly awful falsetto and still get cheered.

Pretty diverse group of people. Drink specials were really affordable and non-​special drinks were affordable too.
I went on a karaōke evening and it was a drunk mess… which is great.
Not my #1 choice of gay bar in Phoenix, but on the list.

This one time, at Apollos, some gay dudes asked my friend and I if we were real women. I knew I should have waxed my mustache before going out that night!
But never mind that snafu– I always feel like a diva here!
The girls and I have been to Apollos a handful of times for karaōke and I’m always a drunken mess every time I leave there. Well I certainly can’t handle my liquor but the drinks are poured well here. They have cheap cheap drinks and the first time I was there, I think the Pink Panther martinis did it for me. They were only $ 4 too!
Great place to gather a bunch of friends for karaōke. Yes its a gay bar but the coolest one. I’ve always met great guys there. They are never interested in me but they are always so nice and willing to sing a duet with me. The karaōke host is always fun, not a mic hog like some places. My only complaint is that my gay friends like to sing lots of show tunes. BORING! There are definitely some great performers here and but most are here to have a good time so don’t feel like you need to belt like Whitney Houston to come here.
My favorite things about Apollos are:
1) free fresh popcorn! best thing to munch on after you’ve had a lot to drink
2) the ladies room never has a line because its mainly gay dudes that frequent this place
I love Apollos!

Ahhh… Apollos…
The little gay bay down the street… Apollos has evolved over the years… I’ve had some good times here… and now that their makeover is almost complete (bathrooms to be renovated soon I understand… SOON I hope!). I might be going back more often.
The surly bartenders have long been replaced and a huge patio constructed… although I no longer smoke, its an enjoyable area.
Although its not my first choice of bars, I stop by from time to time to enjoy a «well made» (read: strong) cocktail, and catch up with buds. The best nights (my opinion) are Karaōke nites, when the place normally packs with a very diverse crowd.
Aside from my issues with the men’s bathroom… (only the padlocks were worse) and the overly bright lighting, this bar is getting better! After chatting with the owner… Its great to know that they are «in touch» with their patrons and will quickly address any issues!
I’m really looking forward to the completion of the renovations!

We went to Apollo’s Saturday night with a group that included Kristin S., Christine O., and their significant others. Apparently on the weekends there is karaōke, and let me tell you, this is not your average karaōke experience! I mean, karaōke where ¾ of the people that sing actually have decent to really good voices? Geez, where are the horrible screeching renditions of «Total Eclipse of the Heart» or «Fergalicious»??? Oh wait… that’s right my husband was there and sang the latter… and he was awful, but in a funny way. If you do go to participate in karaōke, there are plenty of TV screens with the words. I really liked that a few TVs were reserved to show football and Sportscenter!
Apollo’s itself is a moderately sized establishment with an outdoor patio. I only saw the ladies bathroom, cleverly marked with a «Goddesses» sign, but it was tiny; however, there was never a line as most of the crowd was of the male persuasion. My husband and I had beer, so I can’t comment on the prices for mixed drinks or shots, but beer was cheaper than most places I have been to in the Valley. Bud light drafts were $ 2.75 and Fat Tire drafts were $ 3. Since I was the designated driver that evening, I switched to soda halfway through the night, which was $ 2 and included free refills. The bartenders were extremely friendly and very prompt in service. There is also a waiter that floats throughout the space if you don’t want to go up to the bar.
The crowd ebbed and flowed throughout the evening, but it never got so full of people where I was getting knocked into or where it was impossible to move. All and all, a very laid back place where you can just hang out, chat, and enjoy singing along with «Sweet Caroline».

I spilled my drink all over my significant other and the table and the others in my party (Christine, Kristin, etc.) spilled their kamikaze shots all over the tables and karaōke books and I still did not get kicked out (or dumped by said S.O.). Score.
But the reason I am updating is because the bar owners (Ron and Lee) asked me to update since «we’re not divey anymore…» and they aren’t. Classroom carpet gave way to faux-​finish wood floors, new plasma screens replaced the old TVs, old furnishings gave way to new tables and barstools with wrought iron backs (but the OG swivel naugahyde chairs still lurk at the bar, thanks guys).
My original review was almost a year and a half ago before their interior remodel and new outdoor patio (as a response to the 2006 smoking in bars ban).

I’m giving Apollo’s four stars because it has a lot of things I look for in a bar. It’s clean and well-​maintained (including the «Goddesses» restroom). It also has friendly staff, a diverse group of patrons, a great outdoor patio (featuring appropriately-​themed «Roman» columns), and perhaps, most importantly, features karaōke on Thursday — Saturday nights. My husband and I went on a Friday night for karaōke with Stevey P and Kristin S and their SOs and had a great time.
The singers’ talent is definitely better than your average karaōke dive bar, and the song choice was good, but as an avid karaōke singer, I didn’t like the fact that there was no separate stage or area carved out for the current singer to stand. We just had to stand by our chairs or between tables and strain our necks to look up at the lyrics. Karaōke also wasn’t the central focus of the place, with much *very loud* talking and socializing going on in spite of (or because of?) the singing. I’m not going to penalize Apollo’s for this too much, though, because I know only serious karaōke freaks like me want it to be the focus.
One other complaint — some of us in the group were also a little disappointed with our weak our drinks were — I don’t know if this was just crowd control, but with a final tab of $ 70 or so, we expected to be feeling a little more loopy than we did for most of the night. Speaking of feeling loopy, we were appreciative of how helpful the bartenders were when we wanted to call a cab, and one came fairly quickly after they called one for us.
Apparently, the company that does karaōke here is the same as the one that does it at Kobalt (another gay bar in Midtown’s Park Central complex). If you are into a social and dynamic bar scene with a pretty diverse crowd and karaōke as part of the experience, you will really like Apollo. However, if you ever want to go somewhere a little more low-​key and really focus on the karaōke part, you might want to check Kobalt out.