So I came home from work a few days ago and my roommate wanted to go out and invited me to check out this spot up in the SCV so I figured I'd tag along cause I'm always up to check out new spot.
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LOCATION
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It was like 11pm when we got there, don't remember much of what the surrounding area looked like. It was in NEWHALL technically I think. We parked across the street and from afar I was like "WTF?" It looks like it's on the side of a mechanics shop.
Inside its pretty small, but according to him, for Santa Clarita it's either this or "Fridays" / "Applebees" which are the late night spots. The dancefloor was small... you could probably pack 25 ppl on it. Big bar area, then a patio area and secondary mini-bar outside.
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THOUGHTS
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He warned me before we headed up that it's hit-or-miss there... either it's backed... or there'll be like 12 people there. We went on a Thursday night which was TOP-40's and Hip Hop night. Music was pretty good. Standard "DJ'igng from a laptop" setup.
The beers were $4.50 domestic, $7 imported which was a bit much for a small place. However they had a $1-beers at the outdoor patio mini-bar, which was good. $1 for some Coors light on tap, can't past that up. Had 4 of those... eventually they ran out :-(
By 12:30am it got pretty packed, nice flow of people in.
Overall... you can't beat $1 beers, ...had some $4-well tequila. Music was good, dancefloor eventually got filled, a few cuties. It wasn't a bad place, definitely a solid 3.
Everyone loves to hate on the Vu (myself included), but at the end of the day it's a local bar that doesn't charge entry (unless it's band night), generally has a DJ most nights and cheap drinks. For the most part everyone there is actually friendly if you're not acting like a drunk asshat.
Review Source:I decided to check out Vu Ultra Bar & Lounge yesterday evening, I didn't expect much of a night life in Santa Clarita but decided to try this bar because they have live music. The bar is small, haven't been renovated in 20 years, and smelled awful. There were two bartenders who were very slow, the crowd is early 20s, hillbillies type, and rednecks. I paid $5.00 for the entrance fee and $10.00 for Margarita on the rocks. The band was actually decent but I left after an hour because of the awful stench and young hillbillies.  If you are 25 and older, have class, want good ambience decent crowd, and good drinks, I suggest going to the Valley or West LA. It is a drive but at least you won't feel like your  wasted your time and money.
Review Source:One of Santa Clarita's finest, Thursday nights with DJ Shadowman are the best check him out he is a Hollywood caliber DJ, and is really good at spinning, also they have $1 beers until I beleive midnight, really fun place to hang around Santa Clarita friendly staff 2 wednesday nights are also cool with EDM DJs all in all fun spots to go
Review Source:Bartenders are extremely rude. They act like they are doing you a favor by charging you $8 for the weakest jack and coke you can find. Its probably the worst out of all the dive bars out here, but they have flashing lights and a fireplace outside so they think they can somehow rape your wallet for weak drinks. I've been there a few times and every time I leave I swear I will never set foot in that place. Unfortunately I was dragged there yet again for another painful experience. Last on the list in SCV.
Review Source:Bands beware! Â Do not play here unless you get something in writing regarding pay. Â
My husband subbed with a band at The Vu recently. Â The agreed upon pay to the band was $400. Â The place was dead so the barmaid, or whoever had the authority to send the bands home, sent the band home early. Â And she only paid the band $200. Â
To the barmaid at The Vu: Â When you contract with bands to play at your establishment, unless there is an agreement that states otherwise, you pay the bands the full contracted price even if YOU choose to send the band home two hours early. Â
For people who have never been to The Vu, don't be fooled by the two pictures on Yelp. Â The place is a dump. Â It actually makes Doc's Inn look classy. Â And I'm not saying that because the barmaid gypped the band. Â I've never liked this place. Â It ranks right up there with Mable's Roadhouse in scummy'ness.
Great place for what they are advertising. If you want a low key after work beer, This is not the place to get it. (unless you go between 5 and 8pm) THe VU is known for advertising to the 21 to 27 range that are "some what still in college" as well as the "just got my first real job" crowd.
Best nights are Wednesday with their electro night - Â great crowd and amazing DJs, the even bring bigger headlining DJs that you would see spinning in Las Vegas Or around the world. And Thursday for their top 40 and hip hop night. They have their resident DJ shadowman who knows his way around a spinning record.
I have gone a couple times in the last 2 weeks checking out the different nights and is definitely pleased with the establishment.
Specialty drinks on wednesday were doubling the size of the cocktail for the same price. I really liked that.
You will be seeing me there more often than not because it is possible the only true dance floor north of los angeles.
Oh the VU... on paper you look like a 10, reality is a bit different but overall, I still come back to you.
Smoking patio, nice, DJ's playing hip hop & dub step... double nice. The glow bracelets and sloppy rave wannabe drunk/high dancers... ahem, so late 90's, please stop.
It's a good time though mostly, the clientele is hit or miss but as for a bar that serves drinks and has a fireplace (which I just noticed) it's not all that bad.
This is a great local club to go to if you like cheap drinks. But that's about the only draw. The clientele looks like a meth rehab facility that thought a disco ball would help boost morale.
If you can't dance-feel free to dance here. The dancing Here is about as coordinated as watching an amputee crotchet while playing twister inside a tornado. N
I went on a Thursday night--which was definitely a hot night for The Vu--but overall I was not too impressed. Â To sum it up: it's old bar with a nice patio and lots of people. Â The drinks are pretty good for the price they charge ($6-$9 for hard), and when I first got there it was happy hour so they had $1 beers. Â On the downside, there were only 2 bartenders there making drinks for the large amount of people waiting. Â Maybe they should think about adding another bartender once it gets too crazy. Â
I probably won't go there again.
This place is OK. Â Its fun if you bring a good group of friends that like to party and dance. Â I only go here if I have nothing else better to do for the night and I dont have enough gas money to go out to hollywood. Â The bathrooms are horrible only one stall for a bunch of drunk girls and the line goes out the door. It can get a little packed but other then that its an OK place :)
Review Source:Besides the regulars that ive made fiends with and the decent prices, I generally dread coming to this place. The music is less than crappy, and the service is pretty so-so. I always come with my bf here and the bartender serves him better drink service than me which I really detest. If you are someone who strongly values customer service like i do, dont come here.
Review Source:I see a lot of mixed reviews on this bar, but I have to say, as a patron of this bar for the past 5 years, I have no complaints. The service is more than friendly, if you are. The beer prices are decent, and the regulars.... are regulars. Yes the place offers electronic music late at night, on some nights, but if you are going to a bar at 11pm, you usually are not going for a relaxing evening sipping scotch. It is what it is, but it has always been an enjoyable couple of beers for me. I love early evenings on Wednesdays.
Oh, and the have Sunday Ticket football games every Sunday morning with beer specials.
This is one of those places where the words "what have I gotten myself into" come to mind when you approach the entrance. Â We missed the live Reggae band, but decided to stick around and check the place out. Â The DJ was spinning standard booty-shakin' hits, there were women dancing on tables, and the dance floor was pretty crowded. Â The bartenders got the job done, drinks were definately reasonable, dim lighting, but for as busy as it was it appeared relatively clean and maintained. Â I'm on the fence about returning to catch a live performance, but I can understand its local appeal being pretty much the only option after midnight when the rest of the Santa Clarita Valley shuts down.
Management earns the third star: changing a biker dive into the only late night dance club/live music venue within miles around (if you build it, they will come - and the place was PACKED), brilliant.
Hi, My name is Peter Rossiginol. I am the red headed freak security guard at the VU.
At this time, I would like everyone to know that my family is a bunch of theives. Yes, that is right. My dad, a real loser,,, is in jail right now after I scammed my friends for thousands of dollars. When I do end up in jail, my dad will teach me how to take care of men in prison. wink wink... see I had some friends I lied to. I made up some stories to my friends about a company BGX. Well there was no BGX. And I stole there money, Plain and simple. I am a liar and thief.
I lived a few blocks up from this spot for 2 years and it was the only place to kick it at really. The bartenders were always very cool and the drinks were reasonably priced for a divey / lounge type place.
They have some sort of event going on every night, but I'm not big on hard rock or punk or metal stuff. I would typically roll in on a Saturday night for their club/dj night. Top 40 & dance mostly. Â I've always had a good time there and met some cool peeps in the process.
If you are a fan of retro, underground, cutting edge music you will love this place. The fact that it's in Santa Clarita makes no difference to me. This place is as cool as anything I'd find in places like Silverlake, Long Beach, or Northeast LA. What you get is an unpretentious bar that gives a chance to original bands to play. Some people call it a dive bar, but they are missing the point. C.B.G.B's was a dive bar, Raji's was a dive, bar, so was the Rat in Boston. They are all gone now, but still talked about. The VU Bar may be in Newhall, but they have vision & are supporters of real Rock N Roll. Â If you are a fan of live music and want to see it survive in this day and age, then support places like this so we will still have bands to go see in the future.
Review Source:I had an election erection, so I decided to go to one of my local watering holes to work it off. Â History was just made, as America had voted in the first African-American president in this nation's history. I celebrated by getting tossed. Â It was my way of saying that the Bush administration would no longer be the one to screw me over and mess me up; I would.
(Note to self: My version still managed to assault my pocketbook. Come up with a better plan, or learn to omit key facts from reviews.)
The Vu -- once known as The Rendezvous -- is nothing special. It brings in the locals, which consists of suburbanites, bros, off-key singers (it was karaoke night), Cal Arts students (see hipsters, scenesters, oddballs, cool kids, etc..), and uncategorizeables like me. Â On Tuesday, I had strolled in with my sister and a few of our mutual friends.
The best part of this bar is the lounge area immediately to the right, once you you walk in. Â They've got a fireplace going, so for me that's the best spot in the bar. Â Although not a sports bar, but truly more of a dive bar -- yeah, I realize dive bars don't typically have fireplaces -- they have 4 plasma screen TVs hoisted up high on the walls. Â All but one of them were showing various news channels chronicling the historic night.
The Jack and Cokes were served for a modest $5, and I stuck with that winning ticket all night. Â The rest of the drinks carried a humble price, as well. Â On the night we went -- Election Night -- they were giving drinking specials in the form of half-off drinks for your first round. Because of this, everybody was taking turns buying the rounds. Â That's the way it should always be, and already you can tell that the Obama administration was paying dividends and off to a good start.
Because it was a week night, people didn't hang as long, leaving the unsuspecting karaoke mics at our disposal for the last two hours. Â I sang songs by Bell Biv DeVoe, Naked Eyes, Billy Ocean, and messed up the lyrics to Naughty by Nature's "O.P.P." Â There was the obligatory "Mr. Brightside" nightcap that my friends and I all sang, butchered, and probably hoped the next day that nobody took video footage of with their cell phones.
For all you smokers, they have a generous patio in the back for you to hang out in. Â For all you grubbers looking for free bar food, they have a popcorn machine that usually is popping fresh corn for you to scoop and put in your little boat trays.
Despite always having a good time, this bar never has me feening to come back. Â One probable reason why is that on some nights they have local bands, void of any talent, playing. Â I'm all for bands getting their start somewhere, but I just don't want to be the auditory guinea pig for most of them. Â Whatever the case may be, I do know that I just can't subscribe to being truly comfortable anywhere other than than the fireplace lounge area. Â Really, a potential night at the Vu is plotted in during a typical conversation that may go like this:
Friend: Hey wanna go grab drinks?
Me: Trying to cut back on drinking as often as I have, plus I'd like to spread my money out.
Friend: Â [Not trying too hard to convince me.] C'mooon.
Me: Â Alright. Where? Outside the SCV...local?
Friend: Â Let's do local tonight. How 'bout Doc's or Vu.
Me: Â Fine, you pick.
For the record, this is why I don't talk on the phone much. The possibility of boring conversations, such as this, make me nervously bite my fingernails.
Bottom line: Go here if you're curious. Â If you like it, go back more often. Â If a friend happens to use underhanded tactics by calling you up and lulling you into thinking local is how your night should be spent, let him or her feel special by allowing them to convince you.
The "Vu" used to be the Rendezvous, a crappy dive/biker bar. It was bought out by a club promoter and became the "Vu". Its a heck of a lot nicer than what it used to be.
However, its a tiny hole in the wall. Parking sucks, plain and simple. The drinks are reasonably priced. They have an outdoors smoking patio (you cant bring your drinks outside, so you have to leave them unattended at the door. -1 for that) that is almost bigger than the bar. There's also a dance floor and a dj that plays all the latest hits.
Because there is a lack of night life in the SCV, this place is always poppin.
Previously called The Rendezvous -- apparently shortened to "The Vu" because it's what the locals had nicknamed it anyways.
Interesting mix of dive bar and hipster (for Newhall anyways) spot. Â Seems like all locals who went to high school together. Very dark inside, with ultraviolet lighting. Â On a Tuesday night, pretty large crowd of about 50 people (mostly in their 20s) and a DJ spinning mostly 80s hits. Â Standard selection of bottled beers and liquor. Â On the walls, mirrors and TVs playing the Fuse channel. Â Smoking patio through an open door.
Bartenders handed out Tuesday night tokens for 2-for-1 drinks
You can't miss this place. There's a a light with the words VU ridding across the wall as if it were the bat signal. There's also a neon sign that reads "Bar Open." If only it said Open Bar.
This place knows how to make a drink and you won't go broke over it. Inexpensive drinks, good crowd, busy but crowded. There's a smoking patio but you can't bring drinks outside.
They had a live band performing so you will be expected to dish out some money for a cover. Luckily we knew the door guy so we were in like flynn and cover charge free. Honestly this place is suppose to be a lounge! I don't know why they have bands performing in the first place.
Every night has it's own theme. I intend on staying away for karaoke nights but I'll be there any other night. Parking is easy to find on the street.
Oh and on a good night you can catch two chicks making out with each other and no it wasn't me and yes I was sober. Shit why does my head hurt so much?!?
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