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The Basement Lounge

4.5 (106 reviews)
Open 5:00 pm - 12:00 am (Next day)

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Jesse Meraz, Owner of The Basement Lounge in Fort Worth, TX.

Absolutely appalling experience, avoid this place at all costs. I visited The Basement Lounge at 6323 Camp Bowie in Fort Worth after a friend recommended it. What started as a quiet evening quickly turned into one of the most uncomfortable and unprofessional bar experiences I've ever had. When I arrived, the bar was empty except for my friend, the bartender, and a man at the bar who introduced himself as Jesse Meraz, claiming to be the owner. We struck up a conversation, and I mentioned I was visiting from Dallas and was a big fan of whiskey, especially Scotch. At first, he seemed friendly. Let me pause and say, the bartender was phenomenal. Friendly, knowledgeable, engaging, and clearly passionate about her job. She made great drink suggestions, stayed composed even when rowdy customers showed up, and was the best part of the entire visit. We both mentioned wanting to try the Highland Park 21. She poured me a very small tasting pour (0.5 oz), which I appreciated. Jesse immediately and loudly scolded her in front of me and several others at the bar: "Did you pour him that? Why did you pour him that? It's expensive." She calmly replied, "He wanted to taste it, I only gave him a very small pour." Jesse responded, "You should've never poured that." It was humiliating to witness. I remained quiet at first, but when he later snapped at her again, this time calling her "dumb" for adding what looked like a normal amount of coconut shavings to another drink- I had to speak up. I told Jesse, as any decent business owner should know, that reprimanding your staff in front of customers is unprofessional and demeaning. He brushed me off with a sarcastic "okay, whatever." For the next ten minutes, Jesse stood over the bartender, hovering and watching her every move. Everyone at the bar was clearly uncomfortable. The energy had completely shifted, what should have been a relaxing evening turned hostile and tense. When I asked for my check, I also told the bartender to charge me for the 0.5 oz pour. She graciously declined and offered to cover it, but Jesse chimed in again, declaring the pour cost $98, for a half-ounce. "Yes, $98 for 0.5 oz. he reinstated. I politely questioned the markup (given the bottle retails for $369 at Total Wine), but still offered to pay. Jesse just kept repeating, "She should've never poured that." I asked for the owner's contact info to formally express my concerns, and Jesse, now clearly agitated, snapped, screaming "I am the f***ing owner." As I walked out, he yelled after me, "go back to Dallas with all the other Dallas gays." I was completely stunned. The level of unprofessionalism, disrespect, and flat out bigotry was beyond anything I've ever experienced in a business, especially from someone claiming to be the owner. Talking to other customers, it turns out this wasn't the first time he's berated his staff in front of guests. I truly feel for the employees who have to work in that environment. I normally love supporting small, local businesses, but The Basement Lounge is one I cannot and will not ever recommend. No one deserves to be treated the way that bartender was. Steer clear of this place. Fort Worth deserves better! Here's a pic of the "owner"

Ronda A.

Ambiance is above all and off the charts! Service is so quick you don't even know you have ordered! The staff loves its customers so much they know what you want with 1 word! Jessie the owner is absolutely hands on and loves his patrons! Such a niche bar with local patrons!

a person holding a drink
Veronica L.

My husband and I love this place. The ambience is great and you can actually talk without having to yell over the music. Space is cozy and perfect for date night. The drinks are amazing and strong. Service is superb every time we've been there.

Garnie B.

Okay, I found my bar, yes the bar you need to visit. We were looking for a bar to hang out and get a couple of drinks after late night of eating and hanging out and we stumble across this place. Well, the story goes that I was looking on Yelp for a bar, I found lots of great ratings of this place, and proceeded to follow directions using Google maps to get there. There. The funny part of the story is I drove around the parking lot several times looking for the entrance. When I was almost to my wit's end, I saw a gentleman step out of a doorway, he looked like a hipster, and I said what the heck. The heck let's go visit and see if this is the place. Well jackpot. Just look at the photos to make sure you know which door to look for and Google does map you to the right location, you just need to look for the door, and pay attention because there are no bright neon signs outside telling you this is the place. The place. I guess that's the best part of the charm is that you don't need a neon sign once you know it's there. Our bar keeps were Josh and Jesse. Now being there for the first time I was kind of wondering what specialty drinks to order, and guess what I found. The old-fashioned and the pecan smoked old fashioned. Both absolutely wonderful drinks. The bar keeps were meticulous and making sure that they prepared the old-fashions with great care and with great show. It's not a lot of seating there, but it didn't feel like you were stepping on top of each other. We were very comfortable. Very comfortable. In fact, we had great conversations with other people who were sitting at the bar. They have a fireplace. Have a nice little cove where there are couches. There are some other seatings that's kind of separated from the bar, so it is a nice place to hang out What I recommend this place, absolutely. I would say put this on your save list and do everything you can to go visit, because I know you will be back, and so will I.

Brittany F.

RANDOMLY DROPPED IN & WILL BE BACK! Great welcoming service, amazing drinks and such a laid back atmosphere.

dom 1510
Drew D.

The coolest vibe and craft cocktails on the West side. The bartenders are friendly and excellent at mixing whatever you can dream up. This is an excellent after work destination and it is an intimate date night wind down spot.

Oaxaca
Natalie B.

Great hidden gem. Lovely vibe and ambience. Service was great very attentive and nice. Drinks were good and strong. Will definitely come again

817 Javatini
Gabriela M.

My husband and I came here for a night cap after our anniversary dinner and we did not regret our decision! It was our first time at the basement lounge and the service was amazing they handcrafted drinks and presented them in a very espectacular manner. The ambiance was also amazing because they played chill house music and the lights were dim with art on the walls. The lounge is pretty intimate but there's plenty of seating. We got there at a good time and we were sitting in our individual couches drinking our beverages. I got a 817 Javatini it was a sweeter tastier version of an espresso martini. My husband got a mule and an old fashioned. The old fashioned was presented in a smoky box and he fetched his drink from this smoky box. I loved this lounge, we felt very welcomed and we will definitely be returning!

Rachel H.

What a great hidden gem in Fort Worth! The basement lounge is a super aesthetic and great place for a date night or to chat with a friend. It's dark, moody, and quiet and is a great contrast to the loud overly boisterous sports bars of the area. The cocktails are super unique and masterful and all have complementary flavors that you won't find in most cocktails anywhere in Fort Worth. Not only are the cocktails delicious they're beautiful and so much care is put into making sure they are pleasing to all senses. They do not skimp on cheap liquor or ingredients and many cocktails have fresh herbs, flowers, and spices in them that you can visibly see and taste. Nothing is overpowering or overly sweet so no money wasted on displeasing cocktails. They also sell beautiful art from local artists and have a small retail section featuring incredible and beautiful options for your home bar (like glasses, shakers, etc). You won't find this place ordinary or boring in any way and every sip will be so exciting!

Entrance
Jessica H.

If your looking for a unique bar in the middle of Ft.Worth check out the Basement Lounge. You open the door and head downstairs and walk into a quaint quiet bar. I ordered one of the drinks from their winter menu and was pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted. The bartender seemed very experienced and he gave great bar chat. I will definitely come back here for a night out.

Charred Rosemary Gimlet

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5 days ago

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1 year ago

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4 months ago

Loved the atmosphere, bartender and owner!! Our drinks were perfect!! We tried a few new drinks and will definitely go again.

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

This is one of our favorites! It's has it all, great drinks, great ambiance and great company.

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9 months ago

Fun and simple as you chill out with a mixologist drinks. Go easy! Nice atmosphere and cool seating areas.

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1 year ago

Cozy hidden gem. Nice calm atmosphere. FW Tea and their Autumn drinks were delicious!

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4 years ago

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2 years ago

Never disappoints. Come,relax, enjoy a craft cocktail. They are awesome. Quiet and private. A hidden gem

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5 years ago

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3 years ago

This is a great spot for relaxing after you have had a good meal. Drinks are very good and the service is excellent.

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6 years ago

Great spot underground. Decorated super cute, the bartenders were very nice and we enjoyed the music.

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2 years ago

Rude ownership, if you sit to long without buying drinks they are rude to you, I will not be back

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3 years ago

The ambiance was super cute and full of life! Definitely a cute spot for a nice drink and chill vibes.

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Ask the Community - The Basement Lounge

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Fiance and i walked were exploring and walked past an oddly placed and weirdly small laundromat…read morebefore realizing that there is no way this just a tiny random laundromat. We poke our heads in (accidentally going through the exit door. the front door is well camouflaged) and just found a wonderful very chilled out bar. Haven't been to a speakeasy in a long time. It was dark lighting with ambient black lights and string lights to keep it dim but you wont struggle to see through. Music was not super loud and the chairs were incredibly comfortable and the whole place was laid out to just have drinks and lounge while talking with friends. No food, which is fine. You have plenty of options on the same block for that. This place is just for drinks and conversation. The seasonal menu was awesome. It iss a bar so they of course can make anything you request if you don't want a specialty cocktail. I got my favorite, a moscow mule but they had a brazilian mule on the specialty menu. I never had that before and ordered it on the spot. It was grapefruit vodka with lime, lots of fine pellett nugget ice (the really good kind) with ginger beer and condensed milk. My god it was great, they told me how they made it because i never saw milk added to this before. It was a delicious limeade that almost was slushy like, creamy and with tangy vodka. Plus they actually served it in a proper copper mug. Best mixed drink ive had period and a cool twist on my favorite standard moscow mule. The place is now going to become a frequent haunt for us. Its very laid back, relaxed, with fantastic ambiance. It doesn't get jammed packed and is not meant to get wild in. We went there around 7pm on a friday night with about 8 or so others already there with their drinks. It did pick up later with 15-20 people in there but still spacious and comfortable. It genuinely was just a nice bar to have drinks and conversations with friends. Nice music that isn't too loud so you can talk with normal voice levels. The bartenders we had were super nice and charismatic. The drinks were not expensive, a respectable 13 bucks for my mule. If you have a bill over 40 dollars they automatically add 20% gratuity to it so keep that in mind when you are tipping. And after 8pm everything had 20% gratuity added to the bill. But the service is so damn good that you will probably still want to tip on top of that anyways. I loved it so much i actually made a yelp account just to post a review. TLDR super cool speakeasy type joint, cool aesthetics and laundry theme. Not loud, good for drinks and chit chat, cool well crafted specialty cocktails that don't break the bank. Good bartenders. Good times. Cozy seats that encourage you to hang out and talk even with folks you haven't met before and dim without being dark lighting. Clean bathroom too and quick charismatic service. Hit this place up for sure even just for the novelty of it. It was a wonderful surprise bar for a date night. Pro tip for this area in general. all paid parking, some place validates some do not, i am unsure if they do here but there is paid parking right out front and also a paid lot literally across the street. But i don't even bother. About a block and a half away northeast is a big shopping complex with a target. i just park there for free and walk. its a short nice walk and doesn't cost 20 bucks.

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The entrance
The entrance
Buttermilk Wedge
Buttermilk Wedge
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Guests having lunch everybody's invited

The Basement Lounge - lounges - Updated July 2026

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