The Volstead

11/19/09

Great Place for a Private Function

by eichlee at Citysearch

I had arranged to have my 60th birthday party at the Volstead, with about 30 guests. The management could not have been more accommodating. The space they gave us was perfect. We had our own nook, and our own dedicated wait staff. We were in a separate area but not totally cut off from the bar scene, the music, and the good vibe of the place. My parents, who are elderly, were made to feel very special by the manager, which I totally appreciated. The drinks were excellent and no one had to wait more than a few minutes for their drink order. We had a selection of their sliders, mac n cheese, steak sandwiches, chips and dip, etc. There was plenty of food, they just kept on bringing out more. Everyone remarked afterwards what a perfect place it was. I could not agree more. A great find!!

• Pros: Great drinks, cocktail food, wait staff, service
• Cons: None

10/04/09

Mixed experience

by MGPaneer at Citysearch

The Volstead has a policy that requires you to make a "reservation" for a birthday party or whatever kind of party you're hosting - the latest one they take is for 10pm. You have to have a decent number of people there at that time otherwise they reserve the right to decrease your space. Fine. They say they will only hold your reservation for 15 minutes otherwise you may lose it. Fine. We expected over 50-60 people in and out all night, but we decided to be really conservative and make a reservation for 15 people. We, the hosts, showed up a few minutes prior to our 10 pm reservation along with a few siblings/friends. There was a party of 20-25 people having dinner in the section reserved for us. One waitress said we were to have half that area and that the party was just finishing up. 10 minutes later, the waitress that was to serve our party came up to us, apologized for the wait and said, to thank us for being so cool with waiting, we'd have a round of shots coming our way later (which we never got, by the way). Then that party got dessert. 15 min. later we approached the manager, Mike. He apologized for the wait and bought 6 of us a round of drinks. This dinner party didn't look like it was going anywhere and we had more and more guests arriving! Mike said he would start pushing them out, but it wasn't until almost 11 PM that we had our area. Oh, and instead of half that long section, we were now told that we had 1/3 of that section - that consisted of 1 table that could normally seat 6 people (3 on each side). But with the booth on one side and ONE chair that they left on the other side, we had 4 seats for our reservation for 15 people. When I said this wouldn't be enough room for 15, Mike basically blew me off saying that 15 people doesn't really mean 15 people. I wonder why other groups the same size as ours got the giant areas in the back and on the side. I've hosted a lot of parties, and I know what my turnout is like. Wherever I take my group, that bar makes a lot of money that night. I also know what kind of space we need. When I told him that we were told that we'd be given half that area, all he said was that waitress was mistaken. No apology for it and nothing to make up for not only having to wait an hour for our section but now having room for only 4 people. I asked if we could work with some other space and he basically said everything else was booked. This entire time my co-host and I were very understanding - especially for people who had guests waiting this whole time. My friend playfully said to Mike that we'd forget about it all for a round of shots. He simply said, "NO. Not when someone asks for it." He could have responded any number of ways. We're not ditzy girls that were going to be appeased with a free drink. We were hosting a party, reserved a space, complied with their policies and were treated very shabbily. If I didn't have to worry about re-directing the 50-60 friends and colleagues of ours who were coming in and out that night, I was ready to move the party elsewhere.

The ONLY saving grace last night was the DJ. I forgot to ask his name. But he played great music - from 90's R&B to dancehall to college bar rock to hip hop to 80's Whitney Houston- and had us dancing the ENTIRE time. And we love dancing. Thank you, DJ, for saving our night! Because of you we ended up staying for over 4 hours. (And he's the only reason I'm giving the place 3 stars instead of 2 or 1.)

When it gets packed, it's really really packed - not much room to move, much less dance - but we find a way to dance, regardless. The waitstaff was polite and helpful - but there was only so much they could do. The manager, Mike, was not helpful and did not make us feel like spending our money there.

I may come back to dance - I heard lunch is good there, too - but I am never bringing a party, or my friends' money, there again.

• Pros: Great great DJ
• Cons: Poor treatment by mngmt - the customer doesn't come first.

09/14/09

Chill for drinks & happy hour

by gripdxd at Citysearch

Cool place for drinks after work. Crowded and full of business types. They have happy hour drink specials, but stay away from the Sangria. I'd come again, for sure.

• Pros: Atmosphere, Crowd & Drink Specials
• Cons: Sangria..ick