Brennan’s Zino Platinum Lounge

First off, let me say I have been a member of the Zino Lounge for nearly a year and a half and cannot say enough good things about it. The décor is fantastic, the music (live or vinyl) is top notch, and the drinks are fantastic. It is one of the few places in the city where you can get a stellar cocktail in a relaxed low key environment. It is also a great place to meet people. I have had amazing conversations with people from all over the globe, this is something you just cannot get at many places in the city.
Finally, let me compliment the staff, mainly Steve and Jordan. I have never been in another bar that had such an exceptional staff who always makes sure that not only are you comfortable, but your guests are comfortable as well. I understand that some of this treatment is to be expected due to the membership, but these guys go well above and beyond that. I have yet been to a bar with a staff as open, friendly, competent and willing to share stories (excellent stories might I add) as what you find at Brennan’s. Also, Kevin Brennan is frequently there and always another excellent host. What other bar will host a surprise music show in a small area with great acoustics? Brennan’s/Zino is one of a kind in St. Louis and is my favorite spot to take a couple friends and share cocktails until they boot us out.

Unlike the other two comments, I have had nothing but a positive experience at the Zino Lounge. I love the décor, how music is all played on vinyl, never had a problem getting drinks and the staff is very courteous, helpful and make sure you are your guests are taken care of. It’s priced right, each level has different benefits, I’ve been to a few other cigar clubs around town and the Zino Platinum Lounge is the best deal in town.

I agree with Tim G. Not worth the price at all in my opinion, and I wasn’t even the one paying for it. A friend of mine who used to live in town (and was my roommate as well) used to go to this lounge with me all of the time. We started out as regular Brennan’s customers and when they opened the «private cigar lounge» (I didn’t even realize until some odd months ago that they had a name for it) she decided to buy a membership.
There’s a guy who works up there who shall remain nameless who is perhaps one of the rudest human beings I have ever encountered. And moreover, he is flat out rude to customers who pay a lot to use this silly lounge. I am not sure if he still works there or not as of the date of me writing this review, but I sure as hell hope he doesn’t. The owner, Brennan, is always super cool, so why would he hire such an asshole to help run his lounge? I don’t know. This guy also does music/​DJing for the upstairs (non-​lounge) bar so maybe he’s kept around because he’s useful for those purposes. Yeah, I don’t know. Either way, his rudeness has prevented me from ever even coming back to Brennan’s. He talked crap about my girl-​friend who bought the membership. He talked crap about me for the style of clothing I wore to the lounge. (It was always very classy and always a different outfit each time.) He was rude to us for no apparent reason and I had seen him act rude towards other customers on a regular basis.
Yeah. Not. Worth. It.
She has since gone to the cigar club at the Ritz and seems to think it’s much better. I am personally not a smoker… no cigs, no cigars, etc. This friend of mine enjoyed cigarettes, cigars, pipes, you name it… she’s smoked it. So I guess this type of thing would be better for her anyway. I enjoyed going to the Brennan’s lounge for wine and beer while she smoked. Occasionally I would order the meat and cheese platter, but that’s really the only food they had at all. But really, the rudeness of their employee has prevented me from returning even to just regular Brennan’s.
Oh and Jordan is really cool by the way. Everytime I went, he always gave great service so if you do go, try to get Jordan.

What a great find!
3 levels of intimate excitement.
* Top level –has an open bar space with a private cigar/​humidor area (from looking into the private space they serve premium malt scotchs that hang upside down for easy pouring)
* Main level — has drinks and a long bar with various beverages with smokes and liquor for sale (infused vodkas for $ 6)
* Lower level — entertainment space for comedy, bands, etc.
I will definitely be going back. This place has an outdoor area and its just so chic that it’s neighborhood makes it a one of a kind.

This review is for the Zino Platinum Lounge, which, as others have noted (lamented?) has caused about half of the Maryland House to be membership only.
Honestly, when I first read about the ZPL opening here, I was excited. I love Zinos and it appeared to be a great deal (Junior membership being $ 35/​month with a $ 35 credit toward cigars). So after the last International Supper Club, the beautiful wife and I visited with the now departed Joe B. (he’s still alive, he just moved from St. Louis).
Well, I’m not entirely thilled anymore. Apparently somebody said «hey wait, there’s no profit» with the original pricing scheme, so now the Junior level is $ 50/​month with a $ 30 credit. And you also have to pay for a 3 month minimum (longer memberships get better rates). You do get to bring one guest, with each extra guest being $ 10.
There’s four rooms (though honestly, one «room» is really the first, entrance area that doesn’t have any seating, at least that I can remember). Another room is the «Boom Box Meeting Room» with the walls covered little showcase boxes with sneakers in them. It’s a place to watch the game, but you can’t smoke in there. Ummm, OK. Plus, it’s only for the über membership people. Or something.
There’s another «these people pay more a month than you» room, which was a little nicer and was occupied by one guest and his iPad.
Finally, there’s the «cheap seats» room for those of us who aren’t paying more than $ 50/​month. It has a «jazz dive» décor, which wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. Maybe tables bolted to the floor is the in thing, who knows? All the furnishings just felt… used. At least ventilation was pretty decent.
You do get bar service, though it is the same bartender who is taking care of everybody else upstairs, so at times, it gets a little slow. No idea how the wall of scotch/​whiskey works — there wasn’t a menu presented, so maybe you just have to be «in the know.»
As my three month membership recently expired (hell, we never went back, so I pretty much wasted $ 100 along with $ 60 in cigar credit) I didn’t even get an e-​mail from them asking if I wanted to renew.
If anything, coming here and joining made me realized that while I love cigars and great booze, I’m not a «cigar lifestyle» guy.