One of the places I go to guaranteed to have me feeling gggooooooddd. The shots are ridiculously huge and the drinks are strong. Even when I tell myself I'm going to be good, BAM! Shots, dancing and more shots and then getting kicked out at closing. I hate large crowds so I like that lounge is small and never crazy packed, also the crowds not bro-ish like over at killarney's. Dj's usuallys good but I notice very repetitive. Bartenders are quick and work constantly at getting everyone what they need. The decor is a little more modern than most bars in riverside and the front patio is large.
Review Source:Got a Groupon for this bar- we walked in and were totally ignored by the bartender and both waitresses. I stood at the bar for a long time- the waitress was talking personal stuff with another customer and even looked at me several times. She then walked away- went to the end of the bar and started talking with the other waitress. Bartender was extremely unfriendly as well. My husband finally got mad and went to the back of the bar to get a drink. We ordered a flatbread pizza  and it took FOREVER to get to us and was cold. We had to ask twice about that, as well.  We were overcharged for our drinks- it was happy hour and they did not ring it up as that price. It was too much hassle to argue about four dollars so we just paid.. So- will NEVER go back. This was the worst bar I have been to in a looooooong time.  I have several friends who have gone here as well and complained about the service.  We didn't present the Groupon till the end or I would think it was because we had a Groupon. At any rate,  it was an uncomfortable, odd evening.  I don't expect someone to jump to when we walk in the door- but we had to wait and then get  mad to even get a drink.  There are a lot of little local places around here that are happy to sell us a drink. Won't go back to this one.
Review Source:Came here last week to use a Groupon. I remember being so excited when this place first opened because the idea was to bring some of the glamour from Orange County/L.A. bars to Riverside, but it saddens me to say that every time I've been here over the last few years, I've found it to be a disappointing experience. It's a nice enough bar and the location is great (I'm a local), but the vibe here has always been strange, to say the least. It's either empty or filled to the brim with drunken college students. The bartenders don't exactly snap to when you sit down, and the food is so-so. They do have a large martini menu, but it's very much catered to those who like their drinks on the sweeter side. I would appreciate some dryer/spicier/more savory fare on the menu, personally. Maybe if the staff learns to be friendlier to its patrons and they diversify their menu a bit, I'll consider coming back. Until then, I'll take my chances with dives like The Sire or the Hideaway, or more upscale places with well trained staff like In Vino Veritas.
Review Source:My coworker had invited me here for her birthday on a Thursday night. And of course before hand, I wanted to see its reviews. Most of the reviews I read weren't too great, but I didn't really care too much.
The lounge is in a shopping center, but one of the fancy ones with the nice restaurants around too. I guess since DTR is down another exit, this place wasn't as crackin' as I thought it would be. But those are the best bars, cause you don't have to be fighting and waiting at the bar for a drink. There was a DJ who was playing Top 40s and 90% of the people there were my coworkers. They have a huge ass outdoor/patio smoking area, just make sure you don't come out of the gate with your drink ... the rent-a-cop will get mad at you.
It was a chill spot. I'm not into big crowds anymore, so it was a good spot. I ended up getting around of Patron for like $14 people and with tip it came out to like $150. So not bad. The drinks are pretty strong too. It was a good night.
So here, a positive review =]
Wow!! I am suprised to read the reviews below being so neggitve. The only thing I can say is I had a good time here. We started out a ooka down the street for dinnr and made our way here(walked). It was 6 of us (couples). I was plesantly suprised with the music mostly old school bone thugs, wutang, biggy and tupc you know the classics. It brought me back. They mixed it up through the night which was nice. The drinks were decent the only thing I can suggest is to maybe use better vodka or hard lqur on the drinks because I had a headache the next day I drank pink starburst. Ok other than  that it was a cool lounge to just chill. Now for thoes that keep comparing this palce to LA or  sd well you need to comapre apples to apples and oranges to ornages. First I have to comend the owner of this place for even taking a risk out in the IE. People are not open to pay oc la or sd prices so don't expect to have it all we are on a wine taste with a beer budget. So if you want to pay 13 to 20 dollars for a drink go to LA OR OC.
Review Source:Eh. This place is decent I suppose for what it is and where it is. It's basically like a bar during the day and a little dance lounge with music by night (little might be an understatement)
I got there around 11:30 PM and it looked like a good sized crowd, but not overly crowded like I have seen at some places. I rolled up there solo and was a little confused when I first got there because the entrance and the patio were basically the same thing, and the security/doorman didn't look interested in doing his job so I decided to just walk in. Then I guess he noticed and told me I had to leave because "nobody's getting in right now" although I'm sure if I had less clothes and more cleavage I wouldn't have been told to leave. Luckily I was only here for a friend's birthday who knew the owners and my cousin came and got me right after I was "kicked out" lol.
The crowd seemed to be 25+ with a mix of different races. The music was Top 40, some House/Electro. Pretty basic. I didn't buy my drinks so I have no idea what those were priced...but I did see a drink menu which if I ever do decide to come back I'll probably try. Overall, I'd come back here if I had absolutely nothing else to do on a Friday night but I'd definitely rather make the drive to LA or Santa Monica.
This place is okay to go have a drink. Plenty a places to sit down cause they have a bench/couch along the wall which is actually comfortable. The layout is narrow and long going from patio, "dance floor" to where the bar and bench/couch form a hallway and at the back there are two single bathrooms. my girl only drank sex on the beach and she said it was really good. i think it was like $7. I drank budlight and i like that they have the cool aluminum bottles, they even had the aluminum bottles for budlight lime. the lighting was good and the music wasn't too loud. cover charge was $5.
Pros: clean, good atmosphere, drinks are good
Cons: limited bathrooms
this is definitely a lounge and not a club, but there is a dance floor and people were always dancing, this is a safe pick for a night, we went on thursday, may 5th, 2011
It's hard to come from clubs in LA and SD and not compare them to this little itsy bitsy teeny weeny bar. I repeat Bar. Which is even smaller then average bars. I dont understand why they would make a bar out of such a small area! They should rent out a larger space or make this place 2 story's high. It's almost pathetic that Riverside has like two decent places to go to and this is one of them.
To make things even more pathetic they charge cover it's like really....?? You are charging a cover for a place that is smaller then my apartment? It's almost a sin! You can see the whole bar from the entrance so if you are thinking of going and youre wondering what it looks like and you dont want to spend your money on the cover (okay okay it's only five bucks but thats a gallon of gas!) then just stand outside and look straight, nothing special. They installed couches on the wall to be trendy...but it is so annoying trying to walk through to stand in line for the one bathroom and have to squeeeze between all the people sitting on the wall and the bar. I wish they can just knock down the walls for the crappy bar next door (Kilarney's) and extend this into an Actual lounge.
The people in this place....well what do you expect, it's Riverside.
For perhaps Brunch and Mimosa's this might be a decent place to go to but, If you want a fun night out don't expect anything special. My gf's and I are not going back here again. Ever. It's a joke, just drive out to LA or SD.
Every time I've been to this place it has been fun. I've only been on the nights when they've had a DJ and it gets pretty crowded. If you try to hold a conversation in that place, it's just not gonna happen because the place is so small inside. Some great things about it though is they have an outside patio, the drinks are not badly priced and the bartenders have always been cool.
Review Source:Maybe this place started as something nice but it's pretty bad. My friend and I went there Thursday at 6:30. There were only 2 other people sitting on the couch, not appearing to be drinking. The bartender is really nice and makes good drinks. Happy hour martinis are $8.
The only food offering is a party platter with french fries, 2 fried jalapeno poppers, 3 fried raviolis, 3 fried mozza sticks.
I don't remember if any music was playing. It was so dreary and depressing. Â The place is not really a lounge, more of a bar.
I don't like the vibe at this place period. Â For its name it has no such "lounge vibe" to it what so ever! I got the "bro bar" feel to it, not my scene so if thats what your into I totally recommend this place. Â I've been there about 3 times & this last time was just the icing on the cake, bartender just rude, dunno if he had a bad day/night but to just come & stand in front of me & not say a word is just plain rude! And mind you I don't go into places expecting royal treatment but to not even say "what can I get you?" I'm fine without even a "hello" but not even a word! Man thats your f**king job! Owell maybe he likes getting sh***y tips. O ya it was during the week too so it wasn't even busy! So anyways thats my opinion on this "lounge" Sucks. Cheers!
Review Source:Whenever I want to pretend like Riverside has a kickin' nightlife I come here. Sure it tries a little too hard to be cool. But I appreciate that they at least try to bring in a little LA atmosphere.
The sliders rock, and the drinks are generally tasty. I've always had great luck with the staff. When an irate chick threw a drink on me cuz I told her to stop cursing my friend out, security was on top of it, and had that looser out of there quick. They even comped my drink ticket for the night.
Watch out for the cops though. They like to park out back and just wait for all the drunkies. So be smart and take a cab.
The 5 stars is STRICTLY IN RELATION TO UCR & surrounding AREA!
We went at 10pm... no line, no whatever. Okay, that's awesome. We walk in (it's pretty empty), we're seated and we meet the most awesome bartender. Eric, you're awesome, and your drinks are hella strong. &your platter is delicious.
If you buy 25 dollars worth of drinks, you get a free sample platter (which is your standard onion rings, fries, mozzarella sticks, and nachos, with 3 dipping sauces). Otherwise, it's only $5. Completely worth it.
Their happy hour consists of 8 dollars martinis, and other well drinks. Not that many beers on tap, but they do have some interesting looking drinks that I wouldn't try. Like a cucumber based martini O_O.
There is only one girl bathroom and one guy bathroom. It's also pretty small. That doesn't bother me, but this is definitely a bar, not a lounge/club. haha.
I was tempted to take a star for all the creepers, but that's not the establishment's fault.
Definitely I think I will be coming here more!
I usually don't give bad reviews unless i feel like it's extremely bad.
This place is CRAP! first of all, I thought I end up the wrong place, cause  i never seen a lounge/bar in a plaza that's surrounded by movie theater, bookstore, cvs, & trader joes -_- I already doubt about the place because of it's location..
This is definitely not an upscale lounge at all... the whole place is UNATTRACTIVE, & the people, not even going comment on that. I did see some really gorgeous girl there... but still, the whole place just seems ghetto... especially the security guard, I didn't even know he works there (cause the way he dresses like a waiter, very unprofessional) until he stopped me "we r at our capacity right now, you gotta wait to get in" its like R U F*CKIN kidding me? I get into Vegas & LA clubs VIP status, & this shitty ass place is telling me to wait? I was visiting my girls in riverside & just wanted 2 grab a drink (btw, their drink is pretty damn average, nothing special at all)
anyways that place was & will only be a one time thing, never going back ever.
I have such mixed feelings for Lounge 33, and thus ended up settling at three stars due to multiple factors:
1. Sadly to say, this little bar is one of the most happening place in Riverside where the crowd isn't completely ghetto and in a newly revamped shopping plaza (plus points)
2. Plushy couches and seats, you can tell it's one of the newer bars in town (plus points)
3. You run into people from your high school who never made it out of Riverside (plus and negative points)
4. Can get very crowded (negative points) although if it does, just hop next door to Killarney's Irish Pub or El Torito for margaritas (plus points)
5. There is now a dress code and cover charge??!!! What does Riverside think it is, LA??? (negative points)
6. $10-$15 for a mixed drink? (negative points)
7. Music is deafenly loud. Although I love Linkin Park at a bar, I'd also like to be able to hear myself think, thank you (negative points)
8. Bartenders can be rude and unprofessional (negative points)
If you do go to Lounge 33, just remember that you are in Riverside so lower your expectations, have an open mind, and don't piss off the bros.
For a bar in the IE, this had a surprisingly nice ambiance. It reminded me of a bar in Pasadena or LA. The blue lighting is flattering and my friends and I claimed the large couch in the front room. The bar tender was friendly but moved incredibly slow!! It took him abut 15 minutes to make 4 drinks!!! Then... he mistakenly rimmed my lemon drop with salt instead of sugar. He could immediately tell by my face after taking a sip that he made a mistake. He promptly gave me a new glass.
The DJ was friendly and when I asked if I could request a song he told me if it was played on 102.7 he wouldn't have it. So, I kept my request to myself. However, his techno pop music went with the vibe of the bar.
Once the bar started to fill up with people I was reminded that I was NOT in Hollywood or LA Large groups of extremely drunk people were hugging each other and dropping drinks while committing extreme fashion faux paus.. At this time we made our exit. Lounge 33 satisfied the urge we had to grab a drink after dinner. Who knows, I may be back.
Wow this place was a definitely a small and super crowded lounge, I thought a lounge is suppose to be classy, it is called a lounge....the crowd was very young and there was a dress range between flip flops and jeans to club dressy.  They charged the drinks like a nice place but it wasn't that great of an environment...but I guess there isn't much of a choice if you're stuck out in Riverside on a Friday night.  Drinks were  running about $10+ each and there was a $5 cover charge.  Music was overly loud, couldn't even hear myself think.
Review Source:well being someone who lives in LA her whole life and has been to the utter most popular clubs and actually partying with celebs...coming here wasn't half bad..BUT i have to agree with one yelper about this place...paying SO much for my extra dirty martini for a location located in a shopping plaza?? PLEASE! never again..i would rather go to the Spider club on Sunset and pay that much for my drink..anywho i do like the decor and the vibe of an upscale lounge..but music is way too loud for a lounge..but it did feel like a little piece of LA here...overall..nice work..could be better..BUT ill give you a thumbs up for the effort
Review Source:My Grey Goose Dirty Martini was $12. I was pretty appalled, can I send a suggestion card to the proprietor to kindly remind them that they are located in a shopping plaza in RIVERSIDE? It's pretty amazing what blue lighting and leather cushions mounted on the walls will do to a place.
Lounge 33 is grasping to achieve "sleek and upscale" and luckily with the slim pickings in the area, it's pretty darn close to getting there. The music is very loud so it creates more of a club than lounge vibe. This is also evidenced by bountiful short skirts, tops (that should not be, but nevertheless) worn as dresses and killer heels running rampant in here.
A bar in Riverside takes a stab at being a classy martini lounge. Â Right... Â Yeah, I shouldn't have believed it either. Â Although the facade appears promising, this place does not deliver. Â The interior is small and cramped, the decor...well lets just say I've seen high school theater sets that were more believable, the ambiance is non existent, and the food and drink, lackluster. Â What is so "Lounge" about it? Â The tall seats and tables which comprise a majority of the seating make it pretty hard to "lounge." Â Their myspace says that they have an "incredible wine and beer" selection and then in their "general" section on the left boasts "Widmer Hefeweizen, Bud Light, and Stella Artois on tap." Â Are you kidding me? Â I've been to dive bars with a better beer selection. Â Hell, the crappiest sports bar near UCR, "The Getaway," has a better beer selection on tap. Â But, as it seems from their menu, this is a place to get martinis, and boy do I love me a good martini. Â The aforementioned myspace says that they "[offer] a variety of unbelievable hand-crafted martinis" and that they'd like to meet "All of Southern California's Martini Connoisseurs". Â Well, I was excited but when I opened the menu I didn't see a list of martinis, I saw a list of trendy, cliche mixologist concoctions. Â A glimmer of hope, I saw that they had a decent selection of gin which contained my favorite gin, Hendricks. Â The waitress came by and took our orders and I ordered a dry Hendricks martini, stirred, up, and with a twist. Â She departed to relay the order to the bartender but then quickly returned to tell me that the bartender informed her that they cannot "stir" my martini... Â Are you kidding? Â The bartender is claiming that he is actually INCAPABLE of stirring a martini, which, right off the bat, implies that this place is incapable of serving a REAL martini. Â I earnestly and somewhat disbelievingly asked, "Really? Are you sure?" to which she shook her head in response. Â "Fine, shaken is fine," I reluctantly said as I retreated, leaning back into my chair. Â The place was not, particularly busy, a handful of people at the bar, and most of the tables were occupied, but not all. Â There was no line either outside or at the bar, but it still took a rather long time for our drinks to come. Â When my cloudy, ice chippy (i.e. shaken) martini came, the twist, as it turns out, was actually a squeezed out, bruised skinned, lemon wedge... Wow, that was a first for me. Â So not only were there ice chips in my "martini," but now there are also bits of pulp. Â I take a sip. Â I swear there was at least a half jigger of vermouth in there, did I not ask for it dry? Â I don't even know what to call this since calling it a "poor excuse for a martini" still implies that it was a martini. Â I can't believe how much it was, either. Â I've no problem paying for drinks, God knows I've spent some money on single pours, but I expect them to be well made, and made as I ordered them. Â The menu? Â Cliche salads, lots of deep fried things, and blase fare-turned-classy by replacing an ingredient with something that sounds "fancy." Â Kobe sliders and Lobster BLTs feign pretentiousness. Â Skip this place, it's a dive bar with a face lift.
Review Source:Been to this lounge a couple of times when I used to live in the IE. Â This bar definately has a more trendy/hip look to it, which you don't find many like these in the IE.
It gets packed on tuesdays bc of el toritos taco tuesdays. Â I like the vibe, it can get packed at times but i've always found a seat. Drinks are good, and pretty strong especially their special martinis. Â Music is chill and the crowd is chill. Â You'll see a lot of usuals that come around here.
Lounge 33 is a good hang out for a great drink. Â The scene is like something you would find in a plush vegas ultra lounge or hip bar in LA. Â The bartenders are friendly, quick, and have some good recommendations just case you can't decide which drink to go after. Â My suggestion: The Irish Cosmo. Â This drink is awesome! Â I go there just for that drink. Â They have random DJ's throughout the week, so the music can be a hit or miss. Â The entire place is pretty small so it fills up pretty quick on a Friday and Saturday night. Â Its a very casual place so no dress code (jeans and a T for me). Â Overall, it worth checking out. Â Cheers!
Review Source:a jizz of vegas in the inland empire, lounge 33 is not that crazy puro pari scene. locals kick it spot, and a pre party or after hours spot. i've been there durning the week and on the weekend. both where good but i prefer the week vibe. the music was definetly feel good music as too the dumb wanna be ibza dj that spins cds on the weekends. i myself a music buff belive with a different dj on the weekends would be a better look for them. get a surfer on acid... its greaaaaaat
Review Source:I recently went to Lounge 33 for the first time, at the recommendation of a friend. I was a bit wary going in, as I expected it to be an overcrowded meat-market type of bar, but was pleasantly surprised.
We went on a Tuesday night, which is apparently the only night that some kind of theme isn't going on. The place was active, but not overcrowded. The music selection included a lot of 90s music, which my friends and I (being in our late twenties) enjoyed. The seating was comfortable, and allowed adequate room for our large-ish group. I tried the lobster BLT, which sounds strange but was absolutely delicious. I also had a cucumber melontini, which was refreshing, strong, and reasonably priced. Our server was attentive and friendly.
Overall, this place gets a thumbs up. I'm not sure that I would come back on one of their theme nights, but I will definitely come back on a Tuesday night. A nice place if you're looking to have a good time with friends, and not necessarily looking to go home with someone.
Wow to the negative reviews of this place. Â So maybe you might be too young to appreciate a bar that plays great bar music (80s - more recent) music. Â Maybe you don't know Sublime or too young to realize that Third Day Grace song is a cover song of someone else's music. Â Maybe you like your bar to be a meat market and that's fine. But sometimes, its nice just going to a bar to chill with friends, drink drinks comfortably, listen to some tunes that remind you of being a teen in the 90s or the early beginning of this decade and just straight lounge.
Apparently, I visited there on a good day at a great time, when it wasn't packed with people who were just aiming to get sloshed or a sports night. Â The group I was with was able to get the corner booth area with the two small tables, and ample room for all 7 of us. Â We had great service, my soda was refilled twice without me asking, and while the food took time to get to us, we talked, got our drinks. Â
So, since I didn't drink any alcohol, I'll have to go with my friends who ended up ordering more drinks. Â The strawberry lemon drop was a hit with the group. That was ordered 4 times. Â They didn't have ginger ale and at least the bartender didn't try to make a faux ginger ale. Â
The food was good and decent. I had the cheese & crackers plate which was fine and bigger than some cheese / cracker plates I've had at other restaurants and bars. Four different cheeses, not too salty crackers, grapes and orange slices. Â The cheese I had were Gouda, chipotle Gouda, muenster, and brie. I asked someone who worked there who ended up being one of the owners of the bar. Â Very helpful! Â My friends devoured their sandwiches (the lobster BLT was a surprise) and they weren't skimpy with the fries which also weren't salty.
So this bar, which may seem out of place between Killarney's Irish Pub & Grill and El Torito and seems small from the outside and different, is actually just fine in its location. Â It may not fit so many people, and its lights at the bar may distract people, and some people don't understand the wall painting of the old Tava Lanes Bowling alley (where this bar came from, I think?), but like I said, if you don't like the place, leave and go to Killarney's or El Torito, or the numerous other bars and dives in Riverside. Â Leave room for the rest of the customers who like the place.
So, on my birthday after spending waaaay too much time at dinner to make the trek out to L.A. or O.C., we decided to just go to Lounge Thirty Three. I was put under the impression from friends that it was a cool place to go to, so five of my friends and myself decided to try it out.
FIRST PROBLEM: couldn't really figure out the entrance, the patio is the first thing you see and the bouncer wasn't acting like he was working so we spent a few minutes trying to figure it out. SECOND PROBLEM: I had been drinking a bit so the only identification I could find was my military ID, I've used it several times at various clubs and bars and have never had a problem. However, this douche of a bouncer says rather rudely "This can easily be made, I'm gonna need to see your Driver's License." I could have gotten all crazy saying "this is a government issued I.D., you can't turn it down, blahblahblah.." but it was my birthday so I muttered "douche" to myself and looked for my I.D. VOILA! I found it and I was in. He also decided to give the rest of my friends a hard time with their IDs, so that was AWESOME.
After dealing with the wannabe MMA fighter douchebag of a bouncer we all were in dire need of a drink. The drinks were actually pretty well priced, under $10 for each drink, so that was good. Not only were they cheap but they didn't skimp on the liquor. Strong, cheap drinks, I'm in heaven. However, there is this one female bartender who was a real piece of work. She was rude and didn't know what she was talking about half of the time. I was closing out the tab for my friend and I when I put $0 in the tip portion but gave him $10 in cash for a tip. This woman looked at the receipt and started bitching & moaning & complaining about how they work for their tips and blahblahblah. Well.. no one told you to become a bartender and it wasn't even your tab so shut up. That didn't help our night what so ever. But I digress..
The rest of the night was well.. uhm.. just uncomfortable. I'm 21, so most of my friends are 21-25 years old. The lounge was filled with thirtysomethings and some pepaws (geriatric males), drunk pepaws at that! Watching a 70+ year old man with a hunchback grinding on a thirtysomething year old woman makes you want to run, far far away.
I'm used to going to L.A. for clubs and bars, so this just didn't sit well with me at all. The club looks very L.A./Hollywood but the people there look like they are from Riverside.
AFTER THIS LOOOONG review (I'm sorry!), all in all, the drinks aren't bad, the crowd isn't all that great, stay away from the female bartender, and make your own fun and its not so bad.
Went here for the first time last night. What I noticed first about this place was that it's pretty small. Theres a good crowd there, mostly locals. Another thing I noticed was that there are some good looking women here. I was a little tipsy, but yeah, they looked pretty good. I forgot my beer goggles at home last night so my critique of them is pretty accurate. They're not bad lookin'!
I walked up to the bar with 2 friends and the bartender handed us the martini menu. One side was 10 dollar martinis and the other side was a little more than 10 bucks. I chose the "purple heart". It's a mix of a little cranberry, lot's of crown royal, and chambord. It was pretty strong. Didn't really like it much but my buddy who got the same drink seemed to like it. It's up to debate. I'm not much of a martini guy anyways.
The music was pretty bad. The DJ was spinning what seemed like the same beat over and over. Techno stuff I couldn't really bob my head to. As we walked by the guy he was looking through his book of cd's and later he was still playing the same beat!
The cool, generic crowd was hanging out in the patio and near the bar while the old folks, you know, the people who come here for drinks after work with the co-workers and try to look hip were all hanging out in the back. There were a few cougars lurking around the premises so beware!
Lounge 33 is a nice breath of fresh air in Riversides otherwise stagnant bar scene. Finally a trendy, Vegas/LA style ultra lounge has come to Riverside. Lounge 33 offers a great drink menu of creative cocktails which run about 12 to 14 dollars. The bartenders are friendly, fast, and accommodating.
I have spent many a wonderful night at the lounge. I would recommend to anyone looking for a nice change from the Riverside standards.