We really enjoyed their Valentine's Day Dinner event! All of the food was exceptional, and the live pianist was a nice addition. The interior is nice and feels very upscale. The only downside was that it went an hour past the planned time, so it ended up lasting 3 hours instead of 2 and had some longer than expected wait times between courses. read more

See all

If I hadn't expected to be able to order dinner maybe I wouldn't have been so disappointed. Fried mediocre everything. As a vegetarian- a complete waste unless you can eat fried pimento pretzel knots again for dinner. My wine was from a bottle opened days ago. For a refill, I requested anything that would be opened new. Waitress came back and said that all bottles were open. I feel sad for this place, especially being so prominent downtown. Dueling pianos works so it's too bad for the artists playing that the house isn't steppin up. read more

The Venue - Dinner menu - (?)!! - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Came during a drag brunch show. Entertainment and space was nice. Sat at the bar and ordered from the brunch menu. The bacon scrambled bowl and a custom margarita were good. I asked for soft scrambled egg and received a hard scramble. The potatoes were wedges and I was expected more breakfast style potatoes, they were very hot and fresh but my entree quickly turned into some bacon and cheese covered fries. Gregory at the bar was nice. Tried my friends waffle and it was delicious. If you don't like too sweet ask them to put the maple syrup on the side! read more

The Venue - Bacon scramble bowl (with wedge fries) and biscuit - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

See all

It's recently changed names to The Main Course. Excellent dinner Saturday night 2/22/20 with 2 of our freiends. Great Caesar side salads. I and my buddy got the pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes and gravy. We were blown away how tender and flavorful both our dishes were. Wife got the Salmon with pesto, and she reports it was cooked perfectly and seasoned well. Buddy's wife got the chicken and she said it was very good. Finished our meal at 8pm, right when the band Elliot and the Untouchables started to play. Awesome band. They really enjoyed themselves and put on the best performance we have ever seen them do. Looking forward to coming back! read more

The Venue - Now called The Main Course. - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

See all

My daughter chose this establishment for me to take her mom on Mother's Day. First off, really enjoyed the atmosphere also, arrived a little early and had to sit at the bar until we could get seated at our reserved table. The bartender was great and accommodating... recommended a great bottle of wine. The buffalo wings were tasty however not of fan of jumbo (turkey sized) wings nevertheless all was good. The hostess was friendly and I was impressed on how she handled the reservations and walk-in crowd... The show was absolutely amazing! The violin and saxophone players had the audience lit! It was just celebrating mothers and enjoying the crowd, no mother could expect more. Recommend ordering food when seated because the popular dishes may not be available later. Main Street Columbia SC is nice and have an assortment of establishments (must visit again). My wife enjoyed her Mother's Day! read more

See all

If this place didn't have the piano players entertaining guests, it would get less stars. Let me begin by telling you that I was SHOCKED to learn that this place was owned by the same people that own Smoked and all the other places around the area. Which we have eaten fantastic meals at. When we got to The Venue, I was surprised by the over the top decorations. Valentine's literally threw up on this place! No hate, we sat down and ordered a charcuterie board... which left us desiring we had gone to a different restaurant. We decided not to order food. We got another appetizer that was also not a win for us and a couple of drinks. We absolutely enjoyed and loved the piano music and the gentlemen playing were funny and talented! Our servers were also great, no complaints there. The food though... maybe I'll just cross the street and eat somewhere else, but then come back to The Venue for drinks and entertainment read more

Overall, I would say the venue was a good time! They definitely do food well. Even though Service can be a little hit and miss and have experience this with main course as well. It just seems like the servers are all over the place but; they are all really nice. Also as beautiful as the establishment is, I feel like the servers look out of place they don't match the atmosphere. Honestly, they look like a bunch of college students wearing whatever appeases them. But let's get back to the food. The fried green beans were absolutely amazing! The firecracker shrimp wrap was very flavorful and very tasty but very very very spicy. The fried rice was absolutely flavorful and delicious may be a tad bit too salty. I truly enjoyed my cocktail. However, there aren't any prices on the seasonal menu so I'm thinking my drink was around $20 which is a bit steep I think! But overall it is a good time! The entertainment kept the crowd engaged and played great music! read more

See all

The Venue is owned by the Middleton family that owns just about everyother restaurant on Main Street and while I commend them for all they have done for the city of Columbia, I would implore them to invest in good Chefs and quality ingredients. The Venue is a little over the top decor wise and I such more appealing to the eye in the evening hours. Drink are pretty overpriced and the service is mediocre. We had the charcuterie plate for $18.00 and while the condiments when tolerable, everything requiring refrigeration; like the meats and the pimento cheese had an "old refridgerator" taste like something that was frozen too long. Even the the prosciutto was a little dull and grayish in color. It was old. The meatballs with sauce were pretty good but the ratio/price quality was not very good. Three smal meatballs for $18.00 and not even a slice of garlic bread to go with it. This place could be a lot better but until that extra investment in quality is there...it will remain mediocre, which is a shame for such an excellent location. read more

The Venue - a plate of meatballs and vegetables - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

See all

Music was ok. Still waiting for my food. It's been two hours but I have hope that one day my food will come. They brought 2 of our 5 meals that was supposed to go to another table. Then disappeared for the last hour. The manager came by once but hasn't checked back. I ordered a strawberry basil drink and then ordered a blueberry lavender but they combined the two for who knows what reason. Way too sweet to drink. Can't really comment on the food because I'm still waiting two hours to try it. read more

The Venue - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

See all

We chose to meet at The Venue for our FriendsGiving. We could have chosen anywhere. We thought the fun decor and holiday themed beverages would be fun. I made a reservation. This was a mistake. We walked through a maze of tables that were too close together and were seated at a four top in the center of the room. It took 30 minutes to place a drink order and ask for water. Drinks came after 30 minutes, water never came. We ordered dinners when the drinks arrived... we watched tables around us be served (even though we were seated before them). After another hour, we finally waved down the manager- paid for our drinks and left. He said he was short staffed because the college kids were not working the holiday. It would be a good idea to pull out some of the tables that were crowding the floor if you do not have enough wait staff to serve them. Make the business fit the capabilities. Instead, you ruined our evening We won't return read more

If my steak was better I would give 5 stars. My $30 steak had a lot of gristel in it. Was cooked medium rare when I asked for medium. All the food we ordered was very good/flavorful. The steak was tasty too but as I mentioned it had too much gristel. My wife had a drink- the grapefruit mule that was horrible(bitter) but they remade it and it was very good. The atmosphere of the place was fun as this is a piano restaurant where live music (pop/country/some rap) is played at request. The two piano players literally played the three hours straight that I was there. Don't go there to have a conversation with table mates unless you like yelling over the music. Our server (Erica) was new but did a great job - I left a 25% tip. All of the staff were professional and attentive to requests. I would definitely go back. read more

The Venue - a plate of food with a fork and knife - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

I was invited to my go's bday brunch which started at 12 noon. The menu on the table was FILTHY...looked like food was stuck on the for over a week. When the server FINALLY came to our table to take my drink order, it was almost an hour later and she was just as FILTHY as the menu Her clothes looked like they hadn't been washed in a MONTH. I presented her with the dirty menu and gave her my drink order along with other guests. Almost another HOUR goes by before she brings the drink stating "the bar is backed up", but there was hardly anyone there when I ordered. I asked when was she was going to take the food order as I was extremely hungry and had taken medication that required food consumption. She stated she thought I wasn't ordering because of the dirty menu. I immediately corrected her and placed an order for the quiche. While waiting, now going on another HOUR, the show started and other patrons were seated and subsequently received their food...meanwhile I'M STILL WAITING. I asked the server several times about my order status and she kept stating "it should be out shortlt". After 2.5 hours of waiting; I told her I didn't want the food and asked for the manager. When I was finally able to speak with the manager, I was advised that they were OUT OF THE QUICHE!!! 2.5 HOURS LATER!!! I expressed how disappointing this was considering the lack of urgency, cleanliness, and communication. I expressed that I now needed to urgently find something to eat since I had taken my medication. I was offered to order something else...BUT WHY WOULD I AFTER THIS HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!! I DEFINITELY WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THE VENUE. read more

Train wreck, dumpster fire, disaster, I could go on... Stay away. only one other table occupied when we arrived. Not one person received a full meal, still waiting on soups the next day, steak was a piece of gristle and fat. Missing courses, steak delivered before salads, some soup showed, some didn't, .. Spoke to the "manager" who ran to the back after we asked for some explanation on what was going on and he was gone never to return. We paid for what we were served and left.... We literally walked down the street to another restaurant to finish our meal - and laughed for an hour about the experience. We were told servers were walking out in the middle of shifts by a waiter at another stop. Whatever this place is, it isn't a restaurant. And whomever is running it has no idea what they are doing. Again - Dumpster fire in the first degree. read more

Finding a great lunch spot near the courthouse is becoming more and more difficult. Once seated I waited 15 minutes for the server who apologized for the wait. While waiting I noticed a few tables looking puzzled and trying to get the other server in the area. Once my server came over she offered to get me a sample of the veggie chili, after receiving the sample, 15 minutes later the server in training came to take my order. 10 minutes later, salad and cold wing fries, never received my water...and what do you know, my lunch hour is over! The "new GM" came and offers no apologies, just-"I'm working on service. I left-vowing never to return! read more

The Venue - The menu and the atmosphere is deceiving. - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Lovely space. Well appointed. Great lighting. Friendly staff. Went for the $14 breakfast brunch over Easter weekend. Max, our server, was lots of fun and took great care of us. Large menus. FYI-- drinks not included but it is nice that they have that option. The macaroons and other pastries from the bake shop are just amazing and were my favorite part of the meal, bar none! Food was freshly cooked and warm. Chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy, bacon cooked in all variety of different lengths(charred to just passing regulations for not raw), waffle bar, omelet station. No holds barred they really bring out all the stops here and it's just wonderful. Highly recommend if you are staying downtown or just want a pop up brunch spot. read more

See all

the service wasn't great, but the food was yummy and the piano bar is so much fun! we usually go and just sit at the bar. read more

See all

Got seated immediately and that was the highlight. Took forever to get drinks and to get our order placed. Took even longer for the food to arrive and one of the meals came 20 minutes after the rest of them. The food was not great either. Wish I could get that 2.5 hours back. read more

Everything is awesome and I really enjoy Nicole the waitress hospitality and service

First the good: very stylish venue with a cool vibe. That's about all I got on the positive front. wish they had a zero star option. So many issues with this place. As a former restaurant GM I would bet this place will be out of business in 6 months. 2 hour wait for food that when it finally came was for another table. Que another hour wait for absolutely mediocre cold food. No issues with the wait staff. Super cordial and apologetic. The issues are systemic from the current floor management. I was excited to try this place- totally hoping it lived up to the vibe but there are so many better places in Columbia. Or just microwave a hotdog. It will be better. read more

We stopped in for a drink and a quick snack around 3pm. We probably didn't arrive at the perfect time but really expected more. Reluctant service at best - the person who took our order seemed irritated to have us there. I asked for a glass of unoaked Chardonnay. The server said he didn't know which one was that way and didn't have offer to ask. He served a glass of very oaky Chardonnay. My husband asked for an old fashioned. He went behind the bar and asked someone for help to make it. It was not like anything we've had before - very odd. We ordered the ahi seared tuna and it was a skimpy portion, cut too thin, too well done with mushy cucumbers on the plate. We won't be coming back. read more

Had an amazing time at their Wednesday karaoke night. Highly recommend! The food was great and had a lot of options to pick from. And the service was good! read more

My boyfriend and I went to the Venue for his birthday. We saw the Saturday Drag Show and had brunch. The Drag Show was very entertaining, and the food was delicious. The wait staff was pleasant and accommodating. The decor is not the best, but it is clean and cozy. We have also visited on Thursday nights where there was live musical entertainment. There is usually a cover charge of $10 but it is well worth it for the entertainment received. There is no requirement to buy food and drinks unless you choose to do so. There is usually a variety of entertainment at the Venue almost every night. Every time we have been to the Venue, we have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I have suggested to my class reunion committee that we go there for an early dinner on a Saturday evening and enjoy the dueling pianos act afterwards. Check out their website for the list of entertainment. read more

Games are fun, although they seem to have an over abundance of left hand clubs. Food was decent but the service leaves a lot to be desired. It's the same as Michael's, they really need to hire better people or train them. They were nice but slack. read more

Food was good but the place needs a good cleaning. The floor was dirty and sticky and the floor vents were dusty and dirty.

If I could rate the venue a zero I would. Can honestly say I've never had a worse restaurant experience in my life. We walked in at 5 pm and were the only people in there. An hour and a half later still no food. half of the soups came out, half didn't. Got my entree before my salad. My one person got their full meal while someone else had been waiting for 2 hrs. It was our waiters second day, and he even admitted that he was thinking about walking out in the middle of his shift. When we spoke the the "manager" he said he was going in the back for a minute and 45 minutes later he never came back. DO NOT GO HERE! WORST EXPERIENCE EVER. PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A RESTAURANT! read more

Awesome music and food. I've been there several times and have always been satisfied with everything.

I made a reservation at the Venue for 14 people for 5/5/23 for a graduation celebration. I made it well in advance, sometime in February. A member of the party was able to get there early and let them know that we were here. We were there 15 minutes before our reservation time. We got there at 7:15, stood for an hour, we didn't leave the restaurant until 10:30 after eating. The wait time was so long that a few of my people had to leave because the wait was too long and they had a 2 hour drive to get back home. We waited over an hour to be seated and an hour for food. We didn't get to sit in the Venue and enjoy the live music, which is why I was looking forward to eating at the Venue. We had to be seated in the Hibachi restaurant. I recommend not sitting people at a table that's reserved for a big party. The Venue is beautiful, so people are going to want to sit and enjoy the music even after their dinner is over. We unfortunately didn't get that luxury. Overall, I did not have a good time at my graduation celebration because of this, I was very disappointed. Our server was great ! read more

Quality of food is all over the board. One day it's great and the next it poor. Luck of the draw.

I went to the Venue for my best friend's birthday. The over all vibe was okay and the band was good. However, service(bar and kitchen) was extremely slow. Food was just okay. The waitress was "nice" but telling the table about how you take Cashapp, zelle, etc. because tips go in a pool, and that was tacky to me. Especially since half day log the table hadn't received their complete order. It took 40 mins to get a drink from the bar AND to top that off, because the waitress didn't know how to balance her drink tray she dropped half a tray of drinks down my back, in my hair, and over my clothes. I was livid. She apologized and brings over a TABLE CLOTH for me to dry off with. NO member of management came over. The spilled drinks remained on the floor. My night was ruined and I left because I was wet and smelled like a distillery..... Unprofessional and I was Highly disappointed. I doubt that will ever go back. read more

Wow! Never thought something like this would be in Columbia! A Top Golf virtual simulator bar/restaurant. This is really a cool spot you have to check out. You pay for a simulator by hour and get a whole couch lounge area to spread out and eat drink whatever while hitting golf shots into the screen. I'm a golfer and this was amazing but even if you're not a proficient golfer you can still have a great time. Fun for all! read more

We went specifically to enjoy the simulator and it was just terrible. The one we reserved was apparently broken earlier in the day so we were put in another one. To put it mildly, it was awful. I had more fun using the simulator at Dicks. It hardly worked. We wasted so much time. Don't waste your time or money. Top Golf in Charlotte is a lot of fun. The Swing Suite was not! read more

This Venue is hires inefficient Racist managers and waitresses when it comes to African Americans. We went to 1626 on Friday 7/26/19 for a concert with Elliott and the Untouchables. The waitresses waited on white people on both sides of us several times without even looking at us .When we called for the manager to report this behavior he became confrontational ,argumentative and asked what we wanted.At that point we were so unhinged by the rudeness we asked to see the owner or main manager. We were given a card to call someone who is not affiliated with this establishment. The young white people are acting the same way their ancestors did during the civil rights era on Main Street.The prejudices shown by these young people is an indicator of the management of 1626 Main Street. This business will not thrive until everyone who enters is treated with respect. I will never go there again and will tell others not to go. read more

Top Golf Swing Suite was great fun. Took the entire family and played golf, dodge ball, and the carnival game. We are not golfers, but the you don't need to be for the golf games. The food and service was top notch. I would recommend the chicken and waffles. This is a great place for a group of friends or date night. read more