I generally don't come here for four reasons: the smoke machine makes this place so stuffy; not well ventilated; no seating (on weekends); and tiny space because the second floor is almost always closed off. Â The bartenders here are quick though and attentive , and drinks are reasonably priced and made well. Â The music is not my taste... When I go (granted, not very often) it's a lot of rap and grinding... Not my thing!
Review Source:Stayed at a hotel downtown. Went to Diesel on a Saturday night and it was an $8.00 cab ride away. Cover was $5. No coat room ladies, so dress appropriately. Diesel has good music and great VIP table rooms. Â Drinks were cheap so that's always a plus (my Peach Ciroc and 7 was only $7) Â The place was packed and very hard to get around. Floor gets wet from spilled drinks, so ladies be careful. Â Ladies' bathroom was filthy! Age of crowd was between 22-28, mostly short, white males in club last night. I'm judging by Vegas standards, so if this is the best Pittsburgh has to offer, I'm a little worried.
Review Source:Okay, so I deleted my old review because it wasn't fair. I was sober in a club environment. Anyways, I went back for St. Patty's Day and wasn't sober this time. The DJ/music was great, the lights went along with the beat of the music (totally flipping awesome!) and the crowd was alive & in a great mood. It was a shoulder to shoulder like last time but hey what can ya do? It's a club. Also, I believe there is no cover before 11.
Review Source:Diesel is the best club in Pittsburgh, hands down. It's conveniently located in the South Side, so if you're looking to grab a few drinks or check out the bars it is walking distance away from everything. The club has the best lighting in the area, and one of the best lighting systems I have ever seen (I have checked out clubs in NYC and Chicago and it is on par with the best there). If you arrive before 11PM, there is no cover. Drinks are reasonably priced, and the earlier you go the cheaper they tend to be. The club is generally emptier towards the earlier hours (before 12AM), but after 12AM it starts to pick up and by 12:30 or so it is usually a huge party. Easy to dance here, get in the crowd and have a good time. Bottle service is reasonably priced and the service is excellent - the rooms are very nice and modern and the upstairs table area overlooks the entire dance floor. They are working on the rooftop bar/lounge, so that should be amazing during the warmer months. Overall, great club with a trendy, upscale atmosphere!
Review Source:This has always been the default "big night out" place for me and my friends.
Every time we go we always make sure we get VIP room/ bottle service. Â Can't have it any other way. Â Their rooms are awesome. Â Very modern and hip.
The cocktail waitresses are beautiful, the bouncers are well mannered, and the DJ always play good music.
The only thing that would make it any better would be a little bit more space!
Last year, the organization that I am a part of at Carnegie Mellon threw an 18+ club party at Club Whim for our annual Spring Carnival and this year they decided to throw it at Diesel Club/Lounge. It was equally if not better than last year's party. Again, because it was on a Thursday, Diesel allowed us to have an 18+ party. While security was a little bit frustrating because they were so strict with letting people upstairs in the 21+ section, everything else was extremely professional. The DJ was one of the best that I have heard, starting out with throwback songs moving into top 40s and finishing off with house music. We also had a VIP table, which was extremely legit. The place was packed with people and everyone including my friends had a great time. Diesel has always been one of my favorite clubs and I am so glad that my organization chose to have it here this year.
Review Source:No cover + reasonably priced beverages = yes, please.
Came here to get some dancing out of my system and DANCE I DID. The crowd was a bit on the older side (on a Saturday night, which was somewhat unexpected) but the DJ was playing good hip hop (my jam) and thus I had no complaints. A little later on, he switched to a techno set, which was my cue to pat myself dry and chug some ice water.
*The runners are incredibly sweet--one of them helped me find a safe place to stow my coat. (Ladies, the coat check room isn't always available so dress wisely!)
Just saw Matt Nathanson there last night!!!
Obviously my opinion is swayed since I enjoyed over 2 hours of music from such a great act...but I enjoyed the entire atmosphere of Diesel.
I ended upstairs, having a drink before the show started. The balcony was definitely cool, and offered a great vantage point for the stage. The only thing that got in the way were those darn VIP sitting areas!
Regardless, it was a great time, great club, and great environment. I highly suggest checking it out for some laid-back shows.
Loved this place!
Reminds me of the clubs where I'm from (Scottsdale, AZ)! I love the set up how the bar is separate from the dance floor and the tables are on the sides or upstairs. Pretty good music, I could do without some of the top 40 songs I hear 5 times a day on the radio already but the DJ made sure to throw some house and good hip hop in there as well. Drink prices were average for a club. Probably around $6-9 depending on what you want.
Highly suggest if you're looking to dance and have a good time!
This makes me feel really old, but I was at Diesel the first weekend that it opened. Â It was my roommate's birthday and a friend was a DJ there at the time. Â The joint was pretty empty until 11pm, our drinks were free, and we were new to the "club" scene. Â I was too punk rock to be comfortable at what I thought was just about the swankiest place ever. Â We were up at the VIP tables. Â It was awkward. Â (I never made it to veteran clubber status, FYI. Â Thank god. Â I also later learned that Diesel was not really that swanky.)
So I've been at Diesel in many different circumstances: early in the evening, so late that it's early morning, on the dance floor, in the bottle service section, when a DJ was spinning terrible music (house jams), when a DJ was spinning okay music (some rap, some top 40), and when a live band was playing.
That said...While I don't think that Diesel is a good music venue, there aren't a lot of good venues in Pittsburgh, so Diesel is better than nothing.
As a club, I'm not a big fan--except for the occasions when I had free bottle service. Â When I'm wearing my killer red dancing shoes, I want a club that plays all of the radio hits, but with a little humor behind it--mixing Ke$ha with the occasional 80s throwback or that Gin Blossoms song I never can remember the name of. Â Diesel takes itself too seriously. Â On that note, the wait staff also needs to realize that the reason we're paying $90 for a bottle of crappy vodka is for, well, the service. Â The only time that I've gotten decent service from the staff was when I was mistakenly thought to be with some Penguins players.
I'm not going to wax philosophical or get hyperbolic in this review.
All that really needs to be said is that I had a great fucking time here tonight watching Metallica's progenitors, unsung Brit-metal masters Diamond Head, with between 50-100 fellow devotees who all trickled in slowly up until the moment before the band finally took the stage.
The relatively small crowd sounded like they were 10,000 in number, chanting, shouting along, air guitaring, and throwing fists upward, forgetting where they were for 2 hours on a beautiful late summer evening, not giving a damn about the somewhat scant turnout or what MOR America thinks of the music they worship.
I have been officially converted. I love the slick, black outside walls. I love the glowing pillars. I love the futuristic pipes, pillars, platforms, and sheets of glass. I love heavy metal. I love this place for holding so many heavy metal concerts here over the past few years. I love this place.
P.S. The washroom attendant rules.
P.P.S. I met a gent from Glasgow, Scotland who emigrated to the U.S. and drove 5 hours from his current home in Rochester, NY just to see Diamond Head. The brotherhood of metal knows no borders.
P.P.P.S. The sound was magnificent.
Came here for my birthday and I have to admit... I was very impressed. Â Nice bar area, strong drinks, great dance floor, and overall good club music selection. Â Hot eye-candy from wall to wall never hurts either!
I ordered Patron shots for my crew and from there the night just kept getting better and better! Â People at Diesel know how to get down and have a good time. Â I may or may not have actually attempted dancing to "Teach Me How To Dougie" while I was at this fine establishment...
I probably won't be coming back here every weekend or anything, but Diesel is a great place to party if you're looking for a memorable night on the town. Â Definitely had a blast!
I went on a weekend night when they didn't have live music, but a local dj. The place was empty before midnight, and grew increasingly more crowded towards 1am. The dance floor downstairs, where the DJ booth rises up like a platform, was beyond a no-no with the slodge of Pittsburgh youth grinding on each other. Needless to say, I ended up in the upstairs DJ booth, serving up shots and no doubt entertaining the supposed Steeler's players who had a nearby VIP table and the displeasure of watching me moonwalk the entire booth with, again, said dj. What an accomplice, I Â just wish I remembered her name... At least I know that this is probably the most South Beach-esque club on the carson strip. No doubt!
Review Source:I absolutely cannot stand Diesel; I moved about 1/2 mile from the club six months ago, and its been a constant stream of drunken douchebags throwing up on my sidewalk, stumbling out of the club and dropping glass bottles all over the sidewalk. It attracts the trashiest people in town; but we were stupid enough to try it just once- and I more than learned my lesson. Within 15 minutes of arriving, while we were still sober, I was sexually assaulted by a drunk guy who shoved his hand up my skirt while I was on the stairs- and when I shoved him away, he punched me in the face (I'm 5'2"-that's ridiculous.) When my boyfriend punched the guy back, the bouncer kicked all of us out and told me he wouldn't listen to "explanations from drunk girls." Aside from the fact that I was sober, Diesel is lucky I didn't file charges against them. if you have any self-respect or class, don't ever go there.
Review Source:Okay, the venue is really nice. Good atmosphere and the staff was pretty much on their game. The sound engineer, Â his name I believe is Joe, was excellent and super friendly. It was a nice surprise to see this place take over Nick's Fat City (RIP A long time ago).
However, I can't say much good about the "Marketing Director" Santucci. This woman is absolutely horrible to work with and/or communicate with. I think she actually believes her shit does not stink. Advice: You hate your job that much. Quit. You're not doing any of us any favors. It's your job, your function, your responsibility in your position. Respect, information, and try to make the club profitable.
This is not just my opinion, but MANY that have had the "pleasure" of talking with her. We're all busy. We all have a million things to do. We all have to deal with stupid shit. Get over it and act like a respectable human being.
Venue is still good in regardless of that.
What a strange bar.
1) for shows, it's terrible! Â The sound is shit, the techno club lights are annoying, and the space is limited
2) as a bar/club I find this place slightly insulting.
Bring back Nicks Fat City
Plus: the led and color changing back panels are neat. Â It's sleek and modern.
Diesel has the best music on Southside. DJ's that can tear it up and shows on certain weeks. Â My favorite dance club in Pittsburgh. Word. that being said, the covers are expensive, the drinks are ridiculously over priced and the crowd has a tendency to be 1. creepy business men trying to get theirs or 2. wasted college girls who get in for free because they look bangin'. Â If you go with some friends, it's a great time. Â We usually bitch about the cover and (when I'm with some pretty ladies) can get in without the cover, but you may want to start a cheaper bar to avoid the $5 Yuengling bottles.
Review Source:Is my bartender supposed to be drunker than I am? Â I thought there were some rules about that. Â This is the old Nick's Fat City building reskinned to look like a swanky deal. Â It's really not a bad place for a show unless it is incredibly crowded. Â If it is, you'll quickly learn what human sweat tastes like, and you'll forget what it was like to drink beer because you will never get back to the bar. Â The last time we were there, I made it to the upstairs which was great, but since the bartender up there was seriously hammered, he didn't seem super interested in giving actual service. Â The sound is good, the space isn't bad, and lord knows it's good to have concert venues in the area, but the bartenders kind of blow, and security was having trouble keeping up with the crowd.
Review Source:so... i've only been here for concerts. but those couple times were lovely.
the lights are awesome. the sound is good.
there's tables and stuff along the sides of the floor in front of the stage.
and if you're short and get stuck in the back, you can sneak up and stand on the base of one of the columns and be like, a foot taller than the crowd.
there's a few cute little hidden lounge areas, but i suppose those are more useful when you're not there to see a band cause you cant see the stage from them at all.
the area upstairs seems cool, but of course i'm not allowed up there since i'm not 21.
if you're going to see a show on the weekend, it's really hard to find parking in the southside. so... get there early. or be prepared to walk a lot. or get dropped off. or take a bus. or something. i missed a show here once cause of this. i shouldn't be all that surprised though...
You know, it's tricky writing a review for a dance club. One man's trash is another man's treasure if you get my drift. So while I give Diesel a 5-banger, certainly there are others that wouldn't even warrant it a 1. C'est la vie...I'll put my observations up here and you draw your own conclusions.
Bottom line, Diesel is the best ~real~ dance club in Pittsburgh. It replaced the tired, old Nick's Fat City in the summer of 2006. The new owner came in, renovated the place, not all cheesey-like, but dropped some serious coin. Great lighting, sound system, VIP area (with a glass floor so you can see the peeps below), and to top it off, attitude!
Don't go here expecting everyone to be all nicey-nice. You'll get a little bit of NYC aloofishness (made that word up) from the employees, but who really cares? They are there to serve you drinks, not become your best friend. Because after all, you already have a bunch of friends, right? Well if you don't, it's unlikely you're going to meet any here. The girls are here to dance (more on that later), the guys are here to leer and attempt to pickup said girls. That's pretty much what it boils down to here.
So why 5-stars? Because if you really want to dance, this is the place in Pittsburgh to do it. It's not all Top-40, it's not all hip-hop, it's not all dance/techno but rather all mixed together! And the DJ here doesn't just play track A followed by track B. He actually "mixes", like what DJ's are supposed to do! You might hear a cool remix of a Madonna classic, followed by a current hip-hop track, etc. So as far as music, this place is about as fresh as pubescent boy in his first Adult World.
Humor yourself: grab a few pre-going-out-drinks, try out Diesel, keep in mind my fun facts listed above, and you'll have a good time. It may be for you, it may not, but hey, at least you tried.
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