Went to VIP last night for the first time with my boyfriend, the atmosphere was very relaxed and chill. The music they were playing was great all night long. The drinks were a bit pricey, $11.25 for an LA Water and $8.75 for a Long Island Iced Tea. The bartender (Jason) was awesome, he makes the best drinks, strong a delicious, worth every penny, plus he's really cute, gives great service and fun to talk to. Jason makes it worth going out to VIP again. Overall a fun night with great music, great drinks and fun atmosphere. Will go back again.
Review Source:I had been talking with my friend who was all excited about attending another drag show after seeing the VLVT Lounge queens perform. I remembered loving VIP's Saturday evening show which I hadn't been to in awhile, so I organized a drag show night out. It was around this time that another friends alerted me to VIP's appearance on "Tabatha Takes Over". This show helps failing businesses that are dysfunctional and in serious debt. I was shocked to see VIP was in dire straights and close to closing at the start of the show. Tabatha was able to help them update their location and turn around the practices that were causing them to go downhill. After watching this I was determined to take as many people with me to help VIP back to glory with dollar bills. We went to their Mustache Party which just happen to coincide with Morghan McMicheals's birthday. Â
First off if you have not seen Morghan perform, get your @ss over to VIP right away. She is fierce queen who always gives a crazy, unforgettable performance. (She's one of my favorites.) Now back in the day you use to be able to call the day of and reserve seats on the floor, that way you could socialize for a few hours before the show started. Not anymore...sad face. Now you need to get there no later than 8 pm (that's when they start charging cover, so everyone tries to get in beforehand) to wait in a line for 1.5 hours to fight everyone for a seat. I don't mind this but a bunch of people cut ahead because no one was keeping an eye on the line. We still got a chunk of seats together towards the back. Word of warning if you sit towards the aisles/back you may be "felt up" by a queen. This includes dry humping, copping a feel or being licked. It was a great time held by all. After the show they clear the floor for dancing but we didn't stay as we had work the next day.
I loved VIP's new modern, colorful look and can't wait to return to spend some more time outside at the patio. When you head over to experience VIP make sure to try a Tabatha-tini. It was a martini that the bartenders came up with in honor of Tabatha helping them out. It tastes like creamy chocolate milk with spooge of chocolate syrup. It has earned a spot in my top five drinks. Cheers!
Iv'e come here twice. Both times on Monday. Both times after 10:30pm.
Little bit of people 4-12.
Pros: Decent priced drinks.
Free to play pool (2 tables and both generally unused after 11pm)
nice music in the background/dance area.
Chill people.
Bartenders are nice.
Con: 18+, not all bad but a pair of kids tried to start a fight with my friend for looking at his sister -.- kind of funny i guess :P
I'm straight but its still a sick place to go grab a drink and play pool/dance, definitely recommend it if your gay or straight, just pick your nights.
I have had so much fun here over the years. It was the first gay club I ever went to in California. And it's also the place I met my current partner of 4 years! The music is thumpin', the Sunday night buffet is delicious, and the drag shows are amazing! Plus, the bartenders make a mean drink! Yummmmm!
Review Source:Left this bar to find a guy so drunk laying on the parking lot floor, he could not even stand or say his name. The bouncer said it wasn't his problem and they wouldn't help us get this guy help. We had to call Riverside police to stop him from driving home and hurting another person or himself. The bartender clearly served this guy knowing he was drunk. The bouncer was rude and useless. Never going to this club again due to that experience. Thought our community took care of each other. VIP's apparently does NOT.
Review Source:Ive only ever been here on Wednesday's for miss mayhem miller drag nights. Always a fun time, the drinks are cheap the staff is friendly. I love the show, some of the ladies just leave you in awe! Remember to have some singles ready since they don't get paid to do this but come to express themselves and give a great performance. After the show the dancefloor is opened and it gets crazy! I'm straight but love coming here to dance freely, not have a creeper trying to hump me or shady chicks always  judging, everyone just has a good time!!!
Review Source:Last few times that I've been here, parking sucked and the place looked trashy. Seemed like this place is loaded with fag hags and rowdy hillbillies... and I just happened to have stumbled upon stripper night. It was pretty nasty if you ask me. Crowded. Expect to be rubbing up against people just to get through. I stopped going there after this huge ghetto butch girl in a tropical aloha shirt holla'd at me and gazed at me like I was a delicious plate of chow mein... "Hayyy, sweet thaaaang!". I don't think so... lol.
Review Source:I'm straight but love it there. Â Gays are always more friendlier than straight clubs. Â People there are very welcoming and drinks are pretty reasonable. Â Doesn't hurt that DJ-Julie is also one of my long time best friends either. Â
Park across the street though, to avoid getting your car dinged.  I had to replace my  bumper a few months back.
This place is fabulocity to the extreme. My first gay club AND drag show experience.. all I can say is UM, YES!!
Make sure you come on F*CK YEAH FRIDAYS. The show was amazing; a bunch of high quality ladies doing what they do. Miss Mayem is hilarious, and they had Morgan and Raven from RuPaul's performing too. If its your birthday, like it was mine last night, Miss Mayhem pulls you up on stage, lets you catwalk to a fabulous song ( I got Mamma Mia... worked it and made 11 bucks!!!!) and has everybody sing Happy Birthday to you!
Dancing was definitely an experience. The raging gays get flamboyant, take off their shirts and have a gay ol' time (no pun intended.. ahem). Always a fun sight to see. Definitely some lone creepers afoot, but where is there not in the inland empire..?
Its an 18+ joint, no one gets in w/out an ID, and b*tches get crazy. Riverside? ew. Definitely a con as far as location goes, but whatever.. there's always gotta be a diamond in the rough. All in all, the place is fabulous. Definitely coming back. Even the bouncer was looking pretty sexual. As a straight b*tch, HOLLERRR.
Tip: bring some $1 bills for the show if that's your kind of thing
I love VIP!! I go every saturday to see Morgan McMichaels' show Skandal!! BRILLIANT show with TONS of queens from RuPaul's Drag Race. Very professional. And Morgan is just the best performer! So much fun to watch. Great entertainer!!
Seats can be hard to get because you have to call at 5 for reservations for all of the drag shows and they fill up pretty quick because there isnt a very large stage area.
The food is really good, but it takes a while to get it after you order. The line at the bar gets kinda crazy after 10 too and it takes forever! (I hear drinks are cheap but I'm not 21 so I wouldn't know from experience.)
I haven't been any other day except Saturday so I can't speak for the rest of the week but whenever I go I always have a blast and meet really cool people! I'm a 19 year old straight girl but this place honestly feels like home!
Yes, it is a little place in Riverside. I was born and raised in Riverside and I hadn't even heard of it until just a few months ago a friend wanted to see Morgan's show. I've NEVER had my car broken into though. Nothing of the sort.
Overall, if you wanna see an amazing drag show, go Saturday nights to Skandal! So so much fun! :)
I was wondering, why this place is always empty... Tonight I got it, it is because of the S T U P I D Â OWNER.....HE thinks, that ppl will come bc of his idea of cheap food for free if u purchase one drink...
AND IF U MAKE Â RESERVATION LIKE OWNER DOES, THAN HE CAN KICK U OUT OF THE SEATS WHENEVER HE WANTS....
WHAT AN IDIOT, HE WAS ACTIN LIKE HE OWN ALL THE WORLD..!!!!
I WILL NEVER GO BACK AGAIN, AND HOPE PPL WILL NOTICE, HOW OWNER OF THIS BAR IS SO, SO STUPID!!!!!
I HOPE, THAT BAR WILL BE EMPTY FOREVER AND EVER!!!!!
What a low rent experience this place is! Â
We arrived around 9p on Friday night. Â The bartender, named Siren, acted extremely put out when I asked him to break a $100 bill (so that I could pay the cover charge). Â 20 minutes later he tried to charge me $3 for a cup of tap water (I was the designated driver). Â WTF? Â When I refused to pay that amount he simply picked up the cup and with a whole lotta attitude he threw it in the trash.
I would have gladly paid for a bottle, but he didn't offer one and that point I was so stunned I just walked away to avoid dealing with him. Â I can understand a bartender being short with customers when the bar gets crowded with drunks, but the place was completely dead until the drag show started at 10p. Â I guess I'd be grouchy if I lived in the IE, too. Â My advice, stick to places where service staff have manners and go out of their way to show customers a good time.
By the way, the drag show was fun, albeit a little disorganized, and that's the ONLY reason they get 2 stars.
VIP was a surprisingly fun experience. I've never been clubbing at a gay bar in Riverside so I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm use to the WEHO scene or Long Beach. The drinks are cheap, there are good specials, and the bartenders are cool.
The drag show is a lot of fun, probably one of the best I've seen. The stage area is too small, they should expand so more people can sit and watch the show. Very small dance floor too :/ The DJ played a good mix of music.
The patio area is huge, I think they need to make that the main area for the show and dancing :)
Tip: Make reservation to see the drag show!!
Cool place to go if you're with friends and looking for a place to drink and hang out. But if you're single and looking to meet someone then go someplace else. Nothing but Mexicans there. If you want to see a more diverse, better looking crowd, that's intelligent and classy then make the drive out to OC or L.A. The IE is crappy for the gay scene.
Review Source:VIP is definitely an interesting place to come. When I started college my friends whisked me away here because it was going to be my first gay bar experience.
Over the time I spent at college I developed a love hate relationship with this place. I have met plenty of really cool, down to earth, and nice people here. By the same token I have also met some really not great people.
The pros to this place is that it is in the IE which is great for the LGBT IE community. It also has one of the best drag shows I have ever seen. I mean it has Morgan, how could it get any better? It also is fairly cheap, and the crowd is generally pretty friendly.
The cons are that it is in the IE. It is riverside, not the Castro, so don't expect anything fancy. The place is also kind of a dive, which has its own charm, but can attract the dive people.
Don't be frightened off by the other reviews. I have never had my car broken into, nor have my friends. I have been there till closing and they didn't force us out the door, but did ask us to leave, and come on they want to go home too. The owners have hit on me when I have gone, and while slightly weird to be hit on by older men, but come on, you are at a gay club, and they are not threatening but just friendly. Finally the drag show is incredible.
VIP and I have a love hate relationship, but it will always hold a special place in my heart. I think that this place always deserves a chance. I think that if this place was in the Castro it would be much more popular, but fate has left it in Riverside. Don't be afraid to venture in, but also don't expect much. Be open, and just enjoy the ride.
Since this is one of the only drag places in Riverside, you must come to see the show. They have amazing drag queens who really can entertain. Each night is different, and come early to grab a seat. You may need to call to reserve a seat. The place is 18 and up and its 18-20 $10 while 21 and up is $5.
I haven't tried the food here so I can't review the restaurant portion.
Just a few tips:
1) come early to grab a seat to watch the show around 11 or 10 pm
2) at midnight they usually clear the floor for people to dance
3) specials in drinks include $2 for beer (check website)
4) dress code is casual
5) the crowd is mixed and diverse
6) the patio outside is huge if you need a smoke, and there's a bar as well
7) bartenders are friendly
The VIP is randomly home to one the most amazing drag shows I've ever seen. As a raging homosexual, I've seen many a man tuck it back and parade around the disco in his best Cher, so you must believe me when I say the VIP is THE place in socal to see drag. I've seen a lot of shows and these girls work it. Â Mogan and Raven from RuPaul's Drag Race call this club home along with the fabulous Miss Delta Werk and other ladies who are not just any drag queens, these ladies are queens. Period.
The VIP itself is a strange place but not awful. Fail number one is that its in Riverside. Fail number two is that its in Riverside. Get the point?
The place is large and the patio out back is just as large with tons of seating and heating for that dance party cool down outdoors. There are big bars both inside and outside that serve the largest, strongest and cheapest drinks I've had in a long time.
The cover was $5 the night I was there, and warning, the guy who owns this place is a serious prick. He's older, and crabby and has no problem barking at the guests. He got his panties in a ruffle because I left the club to gather some friends and came back. I realize the IE is the meth capital of socal and all, but seriously. Fat lesbians don't smoke meth, duh.
GOOD:
- best drag show ever
- cheap ass drinks
- big club outside
BAD:
- dickhead boss man/ owner
- you have to be seen in Riverside
A friend took me in here on a Thursday night and I had low expectations because Riverside bars are a shitsystem. Â The cover was $5 and there was a strip show with both guys and ladies. Â I had a blast. Â The drinks were strong and there was a real diverse friendly crowd. Â Parking was kind of tight but there was plenty of parking in the lot across the street.
Review Source:The crowd here is much to young for me, so not my cup of tea. Â They let 18+ in the door, but im sure the owners wouldn't mind them alittle younger. Â They sit in their chairs at the bar, and all the youngins come to hug them, and they get to grope the youngins. Â Eh, like I said, not my cup of tea. Â
I have had some good times there, when they used to have bear nights. Â Otherwise the other nights suck.
I am from SF and know all about gay nightlife. Â This place rocked!!!!! Â only 5 $
- GREAT diverse crowd!!!! Â straight, gay, trannies, cross dress, old young butch, lipstick, and for a club there was a alot more lesbians than I'm used to seeing.... usually gay guys go out, have fun etc and and lesbos are boring... :-)
- Drag show was pretty high quality for a hole in the wall. Â It was very entertaining and the outfits and make up were great. Â Performances were not bad either! Â I had TONS of fun!! Even a little comedy.
- Â Atmosphere was amazing! Â I felt at home!!!
HOWEVER... headache from the expected techno!
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