Main Course: Horrible Service Side Dish: Attitude Â
Several of us went to see the live band outside (which were great by the way) and to have a few drinks and appetizers. Â We found our own seating as is custom for outdoor patio seating and waited for a waitress. We saw several waitresses come and go neither of which stopped to take our order. After about 25 minutes we flagged someone down and placed our drink order and two orders of nachos. Â By the time our drinks and ONE and only ONE of our nacho orders arrived, it had been over an hour. Â We confirmed that we had ordered two nachos and the waitress assured us that our second order would be coming out soon. Â Meanwhile, a couple that had arrived nearly an hour after us received their nachos. Â We were now nearly 1.5 hours and still no nachos. Â The rest of our guests had already finished their food and drinks. We never got the opportunity to order a second round of drinks and had to flag someone down again to ask them to remove the second nachos from our ticket since we never received them. Â Rather than apologize for the delay (now nearly 2 hours after we ordered our nachos), our waitress proceeds to tell us that the chips were homemade and that is why it takes so long. Â Hmmm, so we received one order of homemade chips but had to wait 2 hours for our second order? Â Couldn't they have made 30 homemade chips instead of 15 the first time around? Â And what about the table that came an hour after us and got their nachos within 15 minutes? Â Boo! Â I smell bullshit!
fresno is famous for it's douchebag bars, bad food and skank women and men who couldn't dress properly if they were winning an Oscar at the Academy Awards. If you want a good time with class... Stay away from these fresno "hotspots" like The Standard, etc etc. Â For a good time, find a great artist playing at The Tower, perhaps Tommy Emmanual... and get a nice but over priced glass of wine at the painted table to drink during the show.... wine is over priced, but you won't have skank douchebags or men with their wallets connected to chains.
Review Source:The standard is a nice venue. I was only there for a short time, but was there long enough to make some observations.
First off, they have at least four "security" people working. This is a double edged sword. It means if there's trouble, they are ready and staffed for it. Kudos, management. It also means there's a likelihood to be trouble. I saw at least two frosted tips mad dogging every guy who walked in.
Fresno bars are funny. They veer between the cantina from Star Wars to douche festivals. Luckily there's a wide swath of watering holes to choose from.
Additionally, about 70% of the guys in Fresno don't know how to dress. If your girl got dolled up, pull up your pants, and lose the wallet chain and the Skechers.
Minus one star for faux hawks and frosted tips swarming about like locusts and one star for music that's intolerably loud. Any more, you'd need a dry erase board to order drinks.
I'll be back again someday.
Oh, The Standard. I used to come here YEARS ago quite often but after growing up and moving away, haven't haunted its bar in a while. My posse and I went here after dining near by and its nice to see not much has changed: still has the dark and sexy decor, nice outdoor area, and the usual North Fresno crowd. Since we went pretty early, we were able to sit and enjoy a few drinks. Something I learned while there is that they serve food. I guess since I had always come for the late night crowd I never really noticed.
Its a typical North Fresno bar, no different from the others. You'll see the same people you see at other places but I am glad it is still in business and not much has changed after all these years.
All in all The Standard has become a standard for me.
I really never have eaten here so my review will be based on their Monday Night Football Service, VIP/Cabana Service and their nightlife offerings. All in all this is Fresno...and as you all probably know there are not that many options as far as nightlife goes.
Night Life:
I like Standard, it is a nice venue to look at and as many times as I have been there the atmosphere is normally really chill as well. Of course I usually go with a large group of MY friends so we make our own atmosphere. Timmy the bartender is amazing and always takes care of us when we go...yes sometimes you have to wait but that's why there are lines, so people should get over the "I had to wait for my drink" issue because we all at one point or another have to wait. Â As for the crowd, well it is constantly changing. Are there DB's? Well, yes...but those are everywhere including the "cool chill bars of Tower...trust me I lived down there for a while too. Different themes bring different people but I have always found that as long as I had my friends around it was a guaranteed good night. Sometimes there is dancing sometimes there isn't just really depends on the crowd and how much room there is inside. Bathroom lines can get long but that is the case with EVERY club/ lounge-bar. Overall it is a cool place to spend a weekend night.
VIP/Cabana Service
The Cabana service prices are extremely reasonable and we are usually taken care of decently...sometimes the waitresses are easily distracted by others but I have never been the person that feels the need to be waited on hand and foot and can mix my own cocktail with no problem. We have always opted for the outside cabanas since the inside tables can get EXTREMELY crowded on busy nights, and overall I really like the cabanas. Their large, well maintained, fit large groups easily and their outside heaters have always kept us comfortable even on the coldest nights. They only require a 50$ deposit and a combined tab of 250$ (including the deposit) to be spent throughout the night by your group. I really like this because you don't HAVE to buy a bottle to get table service and everyone can easily have their own tab set up to contribute to the "required total" at the cabana. This makes it easy to assemble a large group without the hassle of slitting a tab at the end of the night.
Monday Night Football
I love MNF here. Up until halftime, and sometimes a little later, they provide you with FREE FOOD! They have mac n cheese, nachos, and buffalo wings all hot and prepared for your consumption while watching the games. They also have MNF drink specials. The place is never too crowded during this time so I have always had no problem snagging a whole booth for my friends and getting a good view of one of the TV's inside. Definitely an underused MNF spot IMO. Â
So, in short this place has served me well. I have never experienced any fighting or overly douchey situation that has made me cross it off my list of spots I would visit on the weekend. It may or may not be your cup of tea, but that is ok, I like it and wanted to give it a fair review.
Yes, it is nice, the bathrooms are clean, and it has a fun vibe. Â But, the people make this place lose stars. Well, I take that back, this will be the EXACT Â type of crowd you are expecting, therefore you should know better before walking in.
Everybody is too cool to dance, too cool to drink just a beer, and EVERYONE is on their phone. It's lame. However, if you are 21, this is the PERFECT spot for you. You get to wear your cute/slutty outfits and have douchey guys buy you drinks. My kind of night 10 years ago. Not so much now.
So I have a temporary kidney condition, where i have to use the restroom. There were 15 girls in line and the men's restroom was empty. I decided to use the men's restroom since it was empty. Once I stepped out, security asked me to leave the venue. I showed them my medication and explained to them the reason I needed the restroom right away. They were not understanding and told me I needed to leave the restaurant. As if I started a fight or some other violent incidence, but I had a medical condition that they had no tolerance for.
I highly NOT recommend this venue. Inconsiderate venue that wishes they were a SF or So Cal venue. Reminds me how lame night life can be in Fresno. Take it easy...you're just Fresno. Poor customer service. Never coming back.
On Valentines Day You have got to be kidding me.... Lets start with the entrance; on the side of a building... They have a banner directing you to the entrance (should have left then!). Once inside the decor was nice. Select menu as it is V-day. Order and now the wait begins..... No bread or snack of any sort... 35 minutes later a salad come, about the size you would get from Micky D's for a buck...... Then another 35 minutes for entrees.....
Ok so now we have a Filet stuff with crab, not to bad but the demi glaze is WAY to sweet.. luke warm risotto as if were plated and waited for the steak. Now thne halibut, about a 3 inch 3 inch size..... Thanks for ruining our evening. Â We could have done better at RED LOBSTER!
This bar/lounge/club has an identity crisis. Â I actually went there on a few occasions. Â Scratch that. Â I was forced to go there on a few occasions. Â Basically I had no choice, but I did have a choice of leaving after a few minutes. Â Let me get to the point of the intro:
I go there one night on a Saturday and it's apparently club night. Â They had a DJ there playing some top 40 club hits. Â For what it was, it was ok except the fact that you have a bunch of douchebag-meatheads that bump into you as if you're some obstacle that's in the way. Â Girls are skanless there. Â Or a majority of them from what i've seen. Â Very pretentious looks from everyone. Â Seriously, if you don't have on a cool ass designer shirt, designer jeans, designer hat, designer anything, you're looked as an outsider. Â They will look at you like as if you're a some homeless person.
Another night I go there, immediately I was welcomed with a fight in the front, which quickly escalated to the parking lot. Â HOW OLD ARE WE GUYS?! Â Judging from the crowd, either these guys were barely 21 and couldn't hold their liquor and/or the creatine has gone to their head to uncontrollable levels. Â I couldn't stay any longer.
I met up with some friends during the day and it was actually quite dead. Â we had come cocktails and that was that. Â It was nice, peaceful, and a big change of scenery from before. Â I almost fell in love. Â The patio was nice. Â Basically had the whole place to ourselves. Â Drink prices are outrageous however.
My final night there, same crowd, same pretentious attitude, but there were much more of a mix than before. Â I've seen from younger folks who basically looked like a bunch of helpless kittens in the wild, over dressed, wannabe glitzy "i'm super rich" douches that try too hard to impress, gold diggers only trying to talk to said douches and no one else, wannabe gang bangers. Â OMG times a million. Â I had to get the hell out of there immediately. Â It was like I was stuck in a bad dream and couldn't wake up. Â
If you go here, bring your ego, bring wads of cash that you don't have or can't afford to spend, put on your best Affliction shirt and skinny pants, rhinestone goofy mesh caps with childish drawings on them, and make sure to have some red bull-rock star-5 hour energy drink-creatine shake before you come. Â You'll fit right in. Â Otherwise, stay the hell away. Â Far away.
I liked The Standard.
I'm pretty sure the main reason for this (based off of others' reviews) is that i'm not from Fresno, so the only person i actually knew the night i went was my husband. I went on a Saturday night at around 11:30 pm just to hang and see what the "hype" was about. It's a nice lounge/restaurant that gets a good sized crowd on the weekends. The setup of the place is REALLY nice and i love the ambience inside. It's dark (the furniture and decor, i mean), has a VIP-looking booth area off to the side, a full bar with plenty of room, an inside dining area with tables/chairs and booths, and then two patio areas with seating as well. It's a pretty big place. The restroom was nice and very clean, even on a really busy Saturday night. My only gripe was that it was small and only has 2 stalls. I waited in line to use the restroom for a good ten minutes. NOT cool.
The crowd was cool and pretty friendly (more diverse than i expected) and the music was actually really good. The DJ had some good taste. It's pricier than other bars/clubs (drinks & food) and more upscale due to the area that it's in, and I didn't mind that at all. I prefer upscale, to be honest, minus the stuck-up people. There were no fights like others' said there usually are, but maybe i just went on a good night, who knows. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, and the staff here is great. The bartender was cool and greeted me with a smile and the waitresses/hosts and even the bouncers were friendly as well. I'd come back with a group of friends or guests from out of town just looking to chill and relax at a nice weekend spot.
I'm really torn, because part of me wants to bash this place into the ground. I never saw it, but I'm pretty sure there's a dress code somewhere requiring Ed Hardy and Affliction tees (or some similar brand but maybe with wings on the back for extra effect!) and excess hair gel for dudes, while women are required to wear too short, too tight bandage dresses and knockoff LV bags....ok, that was harsh.
But the other part of me wants to give rave reviews! Twice I have been here for after dinner drinks while visiting friends and twice we had much more fun than at Elbow Room (ew.). The first time we sat inside by the fireplace and they had a great DJ spinning, no dance floor, but would have been great to have one. I remember their dirty martinis putting hair on my chest (theoretically, of course.). Second time we were with a large group and we got bottle service at one of the outside cabanas. It was a nice night weather-wise, so we enjoyed being in our own private-ish party while still being "out".
Minus stars for some skank stuffing toilet seat covers and flooding the bathroom! Gross! I'm sure the floor in that place was already covered with infectious diseases, didn't really want to add sewage to the bottom of my boots!
This place says its a restaurant and lounge so we went over to try it out for the food. Apparently it is ill equipped for the restaurant portion because the only seats they had were at the bar, which was full and outside, which was freezing.
I did check the menu before going and it looked like the food was good, cant say because I didnt eat any.
I'm a fan of Standard. Fresno doesn't have much in the way of nightlife and Standard is among the best. The service is good and if you ever spend real money they treat you great. I appreciate that they cater to a higher class. I wish they played better music. Always decent looking woman and a fair mix of people. It's worth checking out and putting in your rotation.
Review Source:So many meatheads it's unbearable. I went out just expecting to have a chill night and felt like I walked into a F***ing creatine convention. Overly crowded, bar tenders blow and take forever to serve a drink, meatheads galore, and if your night isn't ruined by all that, then there's a guaranteed fight or two that'll do the trick. Go here if you're looking for a hookup on anabolic steroids.
Review Source:Nightlife only:
What do you get when you put men with Ed Hardy and Affliction and women with bebe and coach? A ton of douchebags and hochies. haha.
Seriously, not a place to come. They discriminate on my friends for wearing a clean white t-shirt. ( No gang affiliation whatsoever ) The patrons are mostly meatheads with an IQ of 30. The women, ahem, are (no comment) nice. Fights happens here every weekend. It's WAY TOO CROWDED. Drinks takes forever to get. If you wanna do it right, call the real Standard Hotel and ask them how they treat people.
Do I need to say more? Come on, really?
It seems to Evil that one of the signs that a city has hit "metropolitan" status is when it gets a bar called "The Standard".
Well, Fresno has one right in the heart of The Douche.
We stopped here after a day at the Evil Lab for a couple of pops. Â
Frankly, we were expecting a room full of douchebags...but it turned out the the douches only come out at night, so Evil and his companion enjoyed a few tasty adult beverages and more or less had the place to ourselves.
It's actually very nice...whoever designed the interior knew what they were doing. Â
Perhaps we'll try this place again...
Since i live out of town and dont come here every weekend, i only see it for the restaurant it is and not for the supposed shitty crowd that frequents.
I was last here for a celebratory get together. Â Our party arrived at 530 on a saturday night (before the crowd) and rented out the back patio for the event. Â Loved it! Really nice when the weather isn't really hot. its shaded as well by the structures surrounding the patio so it really cant get all that hot, anyway. Â We went through platter after platter of some surprisingly good appetizers! I think the fried artichokes were about the best thing ive ever eaten. HOLY COW! awesome. The seasoned green beans, shrimp, and quesadillas were delicious as well.
As for the bar-side of standard, the bartenders were super friendly and very experienced. Â Especially Luke and Rene, nice people. Â
Quick snapshot:
- Excellent apps
- Very cool decor on the inside and out
- big patio. Excellent for hanging out on a nice day
- Crowd is eclectic but I dont see the problem with the crowd as the other reviewers have pointed out. Â Stick with your friends and mind your own and you should be just dandy.
- Big bar with efficient and friendly bartenders.
- good music in the later hours
Been here a handful of times and i recommend. Â One of the few places in fresno i actually enjoy going.
This place is drastically over-rated. The decor is nice and on first glimpse you think you will love it. However, it doesn't take long to realize that it's just a bad scene. Most of the people who frequent here are rather trashy and are just coming here to flaunt what they don't have going for them. (at least on the bad nights). Everything is overpriced and the service sucks. I feel like the bathrooms are always disgusting too. Please just try to keep things a little cleaner than the frat houses I go to...
Review Source:This place doesn't know what it wants to be. Posh lounge? Sports bar? Wedding Reception? Eating Establishment? Karaoke bar? The only thing they know for sure is that they love Dave Matthews Band enough to play full live albums all the way through during business hours. Â My confusion kept me entertained for a few minutes...then I was out of there.
Review Source:Wow was I surprised at how good the food was. I bought a certificate on KMJ Dinning deals just to give it a try and I'm glad that I did.
We went early because we were just getting dinner and drinks so the place wasn't that busy. We started off with drinks, I got a beer and my wife got a Cosmo which actually tasted good with a little bite and not like some sugary sweet syrup.
Next appitizers, we got fried artichoke hearts and tiny chicken taco's. I asked if the hearts were fresh and was told they were, I never order these if frozen because they are watery and chew like rubber. I was not dissapointed and they were crispy with great flavor. The chicken in the taco's had great flavor but otherwise were not over the top.
For dinner we shared their New Your Strip and it was perfect. We ordered it rare and it was good correct, even on both sides. They serve it with a peppercorn sauce that did not take away from the meat. On the side were garlic mashed which were fresh and flavorfull and sauted vegitables which I really didn't care for because of a sweet sauce on them but my wife thought they were fantastic.
For desert a molten lava cake which was a nice finish to dinner.
We will go back for more.
I actually liked this place better as The Dirty Olive. But then again, I was underage when that place was open, so I was happy just to make it through the door at the time. A tip for aspiring minors: it helps when you go with hot ladies ;)
The venue itself is not so bad, it's a lounge and doesn't charge a cover. I don't know how the drinks are priced, both times I've been there have been in private parties on the patio area with bottle service. The thing I really can't stand about this place is the crowd. It just seems like every douche bag I ever knew from high school goes here. Seriously, I ran into at least four people I had known on each occasion, and our conversations went something like this:
Them: Heyyyy! I know youuuuuuuuuuu! Gimme a hug!
Me: Uhhh.. yeah. What's up?
Them: THIZZIN!!!! I'm smackin' hard right now, brrrrrrroooo
Me: Still stealing from your mom's purse for coke and x money, huh?
Them: ....... LET'S GET F*CKED UP TOGETHER!!! Afterparty at...
That's seriously about the extent of it. Not just them, but a majority of the crowd didn't look much better. Almost completely suburban upper class Caucasians with the same "style," and a lot of people appearing to be under the influence of a lot more than just alcohol. Hell, there's gotta be dealers in here getting rich off these f*cktards.
So, yeah. I think that about covers it. I don't really have an issue with the staff, venue, or anything else. It's actually a nice place. But honestly, the crowd makes or breaks the whole nightlife scene. Believe me, this shit is just broken.
Went here for a friends birthday. The decor is amazing. Love the ambiance and low lighting they have.
Friday night was packed, they didn't have anywhere to sit. Saw a booth and sat there not realizing that you can "reserve" a seating area. Was told by some grumpy old couple.
This place is full of mid-life crisis folks. A couple cute ones here and there.
If your'e planning on getting drunk, make sure your pockets fat and stacked cause the drinks are kinda expensive, my opinion. Got 2 bj shots and a blue moon and was charged 23 bucks. I don't know, you decide.
Overall, it's a great place. I'd probably go back a few times or so when I make bank.
This place is cool for being a bigger bar in Fresno. No where near the caliber and quality of Daygo( SD) .  Drinks are overpriced not much of lounge. There was hardly any seating outside. No tall bar tables to set drinks on or to lounge out with your friends.  All ages welcomed here which is a plus. Younger women can look for a sugar daddy. The young men can pull a cougar. Tapout , afflicition, or whatever douchebags wear is present here. Not much of dress code So if you and your douche entourage need a place  to kick and show off you new gear this is the place. I just want to thank the cougars for taking care of a young cub hahaha
Review Source:just went at nite. had no food. only drinks. :)
me and my friend were probably like the youngest ones there, no offense. it seemed like everyone was having a good time, except it was hard for me to tell because i was kiiinda being suffocated by some douchiness.
would have given it two stars, but the fact that i might of saw a cutie or two, i gave them an extra star. holla!!
This was the nicest night venue I've ever been to in Fresno. Â I can't review the food or daytime ambiance, as I arrived around 10pm on a Saturday night.
It seemed to be the spot where cougars and mid-thirties professionals of Fresno gather on a Saturday night. Â The decor is beautiful, and it was easy to find a table where our friends could all sit. Â I was surprised it wasn't reserved for bottle service, but I saw that there were tables that were reserved, so obviously that's available for purchase if you want it. Â Anyhow, we didn't, so we sat down at our table in the corridor to the left of the front door, not realizing that the walkway in front of us turns into somewhat of a dance floor as the cougars get progressively more drunk. Â We had a great view of the festivities! Â
I could imagine going to a place like this in Orange County or downtown San Diego. Â People dressed up, and I'm told there's a dress code they enforce that that doesn't include baseballs caps. Â My one complaint was that our cocktail server took an hour to stop by and ask us if we needed anything, then took our order and brought our drinks by an hour later. Â And not our complete order. Â She brought it on two different trays, 15 minutes apart, and then said she still owed us a Blue Moon, even though we had ordered it, but it wasn't rung up on the bill she placed on the table. Â We paid that bill in cash and waited for our change and the remaining Blue Moon. Â We got neither, and she never came back to ask us if we needed anything further. Â Spotty service, GREAT venue
its not bad... decent i guess. but a friend of mine paid 32 bones for 2 martinis and a corona for me... now i dont kno if there was a mistake or a missing drink... but thats quite alot for 3 drinks.
other than that i had a good time. crowd was good. several hot chicks there... i'd def go back.
So....I'm going to paint a picture for you...it'll be brief...like one of those white canvas paintings with a few splashes of color....
New Year's Eve bash...
Packed Bar...
Only 3 Bartenders...
Cheap, Drunken hoes (forgive the language) throwing themselves at anything with a penis...
Place COMPLETELY shuts down and kicks everyone out by 1230 am...on New Year's Eve...
Yeah...'nuff said.
This took over what used to be the Dirty Olive (which I never knew about until post close). I applaud the fact that someone is trying to bring some elegant nightlife into Fresno but the crowd that exists is still a mixed bag. They certainly put a lot of work into the space, and it's nice to have a decent bar  a stone's throw away, allowing escape from family holiday commitments. However we'll see if it can maintain and still be here when I'm back next year.
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