Bar 5306, you got me (and my friends) good. Located on Washington Ave., close to many popular bars and clubs like Sugar Room, parking is not easy. There's metered parking on Washington Ave. A lot of the side streets don't allow parking Thursday through Sunday from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. unless you have a valid permit. I was trying to park around 11 p.m. on a Thursday evening, so that made things more difficult. I ultimately found free parking on a side street seven minutes away by foot, but it took a lot of effort.
Ambiance (3.5/5): Bar 5306 is a Latin club on most nights it seems like. When I stopped by, there was a DJ there, but he was playing hip-hop instead. The music is loud, so this is the type of place where you go to dance. With it being a Thursday, there were only 15 people there or so. I imagine that's a different story on a Friday or Saturday night. There's a large dance floor, booths for VIP seating, table top seating, and a bar. If you want to get away from the music, there's also an outdoor patio. Which is where we hung out for the most part so we could talk.
Service (1/5): This is where Bar 5306 sticks you. Upon entering, they have a list of 10 or so craft cocktails on the wall. Prices are not listed. I made the mistake of not asking for a menu and ordered from the wall. Rather than keeping my tab open, they close your tab upon each transaction (which is annoying if you order multiple rounds throughout the night). They also add 20% gratuity automatically. I understand that Washington Ave. is a popular party area, but how is this allowed in America?! Gratuity is based on service. It's a customer's right to decide how much to give based on the service they receive. An automatic 20% tip takes all of that out of the equation.
To make matters worse, my buddy asked for a water for him and his girlfriend. They don't have water on tap and only offer bottled water at $5 a water for water from Costco. Talk about a nice profit margin for the business and sticking the customer yet again! My friends said they would never return. The policies are based on management, so I will say that the bartender who took care of me was efficient and took my order quickly. No complaints about her. There are also bottle girls here, though they were just hanging out when I arrived since nobody was there for bottle service.
Food (N/A): I'm not sure if they have food since I didn't see a menu. Either way, I had dinner prior to stopping by.
Drinks (3/5): My cocktail was solid for a club. It was $15 and then the 20% gratuity on top of that. It's just tough to enjoy your drink when you're dealing with these sorts of policies.
When you arrive, they ask you for your ID and frisk you. Just overall, such a bad experience from a service experience that it makes it tough to enjoy any other part of the experience. read more