Lotus

WOAH I an VERY sad this place closed down. Lotus was pretty easy to get into… even though bottle service is fun here to get a booth or area higher up to dance at. It had great music… we would dance our way thru the night on the tables between the booths and have a blast. :(

Maybe I’m being liberal because I’m from California or something? But, I am questioning the reviews for this place because, even though I just went to this place before Christmas of this last year, I still can’t get the place out of my head. The staff was kind, quick, the food yummy, and the price, well my business associate picked up the tab, so I really have no idea, but I would say that it’s probably well worth it. I went to 3 restaurants besides the Palace Hotels restaurant while in town for 4 days, and I must say, this was the best by far, and it competes with anything here in LA. There was another restaurant that I liked as well, but then one that was just dreadful, I can’t remember the name, but it was in the meat packing district, and the service was so lousy, the place was shaking from the throbbing of horrific «TWEEKER», that’s what we call it here in Cali, MUSIC. Anyway, like a rave club. Well, if I remember the name, I will do a write up, because their food was awesome, however the staff was rude, they made us wait for our table, and yes, wait a long time, then we ordered probably 6 or 7 dishes, just to taste, and then we had 5 minutes to eat them before the place closed… Our bill at that place was over 1k… Go figure. So, getting back to Lotus, be happy with this place, because I went to all the best, most trendy places offered this trip, and this place out ran the others over like an Olympic sprinter against a desert turtle. And that is not stretching it at all…
I’ll be back next year!

This is a review for the club only.
It was alright. The boys were alright. The drinks were alright. The DJ was alright.
Looking around at the other patrons, my peeps and I were definitely an upgrade to the place. And when you’re at the echelon of club attendees, where else can you go but somewhere else?
So start at Lotus. End up somewhere else. Please.
I heard something about a 25 dollar cover! 25! you crazy! I was on the guest list for my friend’s birthday. And I think the list is always available at Tantra. You can probably just say you’re on the Tantra list because there were no flashlights or clipboards anywhere. Just two bouncers handing out passes in response to the key word.
It’s pretty huge. The lounge upstairs is drastically different from the club downstairs but if size was all that mattered then I’d give it 5 stars. Lotus uses space well. And the place overall was very clean. Even the bathrooms were decent looking and that’s hard to find. But don’t you ever! ever! ever pay 25 dollars to get into anywhere. You hear me?!

This is a restaurant, later turns into lounge/​club
Food: it was average, I personally think the food is overpriced consider the quality was average.
style: trendy
lounge/​club: they tried to make it exclusive. however I don’t think there is anything special about this place, music was ok. people were ok.
Many better place in the city with the same restaurant/​lounge/​club theme

Closed… THANK THE LORD!!!
Hopefully when it re-​opens it wont be the disaster that i went through

There was a decent line outside but we got in fairly quick and avoided the cover charge since one of my friend’s was on the guest list for her birthday. As soon as you enter, there are steps to your left to go downstairs. Downstairs is the coat check and a small lounge area for a quieter less crowded place to talk to your friends. Back on the main floor was where the majority of party-​goers hanged out. On the right is the bar area which was almost impossible to get to since the dance area was right in front of it. People were constantly walking to and fro so it was a bit frustrating as you’re dancing with your friends, while you have people constantly walking behind you. On the left was the VIP area with several table areas. The VIP area was roped off with a bouncer in front, ensuring that only the privilege may enter. Music was loud, so a lot of talking does not happen here. The selection was decent, hip hop for the most part. Walking towards the back, there is a back room with tables to hang out at. Near the back, there is also corridor for the bathrooms. The men’s bathroom had 2 – 3 stalls and a couple urinals, but it was pretty cramped and tons of people were trying to get in and out. Further down the corridor, I believe there was stairs to go to the third floor but I did not bother to check it out.
The mix of crowd were young party-​goers, slightly more guys than girls. Drinks were pretty pricey here as you will find as most places charge similar prices, but I found them slightly cheaper than the club we had just checked out prior to Lotus. We decided to party the night here and had a pretty good time.

5.31.08: I would have never thought that lotus could hit that spot. Not wanting to figure out how to get in here for just the club, we decided to have dinner. The place had a really nice setup with booths and tables right next to a really long ass bar that I couldn’t take my eyes off of.
The server was really good looking. Hot boy! It took me awhile to decide what I wanted to eat. In the end I picked the black cod. Because we shared there was peking duck, sticky rice, beef salad, bak choy and I think maybe one more dish. There’s no words to describe the beef salad or black cod, it was simply excellente.
The place turns into a club at 11pm. The cool part about this place is that they don’t rush you to close out or to finish your meal. I believe the servers are there all night so they kind of have all the time in the world.
The place was beginning to fill up really quickly! I had my favorite pinot grigio to go with my meal. Dinner was fairly on the expensive side, but who cares I don’t come here too often. Maybe like never since I don’t live out here.
The place was freaking bumping and packed. There was three floors which made this place more exciting. Downstairs was really small but still had a good amount of room to dance and get your groove on. Upstairs was mostly booths and a small bar. The main room was where everyone was at. Yea keep the party going. Two DJs one in the main room and the other downstairs. The music was good. I didn’t complained one bit and the crazy thing about this place is that their shots were completely LARGE!
instead of a rocks glass or even a size above it. they actually serve their alcohol similar to water glasses that are usually used for upscale restaurants. what the? yeah for reals it was pretty crazy. I got drunk at the end of the night, which has been awhile for me. All I needed was 5 or 6 shots of those glasses. Its not my fault the bartender decides to give me grey goose shots for $ 5 and some random guy gave me a whiskey shot… ha ha.
Good times at Lotus! I can’t wait to come here again!

Despite a series of unfortunate events going on that Saturday night, i still had the best time everrrrrr! I was there for at least 3 hours at the same table with my gf, dancing dancing dancing the night away. Good music, live crowd, and a drink in my hand allllllll night longggggg– how can you NOT have a good time? :sigh: Goodbye Lotus. Goodbye. I hope i find someone as fun and consistent as you. Out of all the hot clubs, you had the least stuck up bouncers, the un-​snottiest crowd, the strongest drinks, and your DJ never failed to keep me from killin it on the dancefloor. Until next time… when your owners decide to make another one just like you… i’ll be there. Ready in my heels…

Not bad, not great.
Went out to celebrate a friend’s birthday one night. We had reservations and they wouldn’t seat us until our party was complete. When we were finally showed to our table, they wouldn’t let us order drinks without food as it was only 11pm.
To be honest the one word I would use to describe this place is it was a hassle. They made us wait for a very long time before we actually started celebrating– moved us three times before putting us at a table upstairs. The drinks weren’t wonderful either, but Good thing they gave us one free round of drinks for all the trouble.
The music was okay, nothing great, and the crowd left something to be desired. I had a great time because I was with friends– it is a pretty nice place, so definitely go if you are with a group of people you can have fun with no matter where you are.

We got on a list for this place so we didn’t have to pay a cover and I am glad we did, because I don’t think I would have liked to pay $ 20 to come here, but since we got in free (THANKS, ERIKA!!)
So this place is pretty nice – it is three levels, the bottom level stayed the emptiest of the night by far and played more of a techno kind of music mix. The main floor played the mainstream music along with the top floor, but the lack of a dancefloor here caused a lot of bump and grinding which resulted in sometimes some drink spillage! And with their drinks being at least $ 11 each that was a shame every time!!! I wish there would have been a more defined dance floor, but the area between the tables and the bar did make it work for most of the night until it got crowded. The people there were all pretty friendly, but boys watch out i think it was a bit on the sausage fest side, and they were hitting on my friends left and right! Good thing my boyfriend was there to scare them all away from me!!! ha ha But eventually it gets so crowded on that floor you either need to move down below or leave so get here early if you want mingling time before the dancing takes over!!!
The décor and lighting were nice and the music was pretty decent, and although the drinks were strong they did pack a punch in them which always makes you feel better when you close that tab at the end of the night!!!

Oh god. This was a night to remember.
Lets starts with the «Yays» :
–Random guy buys all 5 of us drinks 2 minutes into stepping foot into this place … YAY!
–The DJ was some gorgeous chick who rocked out hard with one hand holding her champagne glass in the air and the other hand ripping beats, i almost went lesi and made out with her … YAY!
That about sum’s up anything good about this place.
On to (my favorite part) the «Nays» :
–I couldn’t help but stare at the heavily intoxicated, heavily plastic woman (and friend) who had some sort of special VIP spot right next to the DJ (aka her sugar daddy was too old to sit any place else since he probably couldn’t hear… yeah he was that old) These women were dancing (swaying trying not to fall down) completely ruining the scene… NAY!
–This place gets wayyy too crowded… NAY!
–On to the basement, or what my friends and i later referred to it as «bazzaro world.» Talk about a change in scenery. Total of 20 people down there. Including a drag queen dancing around, a group of goths, group of business men in their 30’s, and to top it all off, a 70 year old woman dancing harder then i have ever danced. I’m talking white hair, bright red lipstick, and a dress she probably went dancing in, in the 1940’s. We were so lost an confused, as bazzaro people started approaching us we b-​lined straight back upstairs. HUGE NAY!
–Some girl almost knocked my friend unconscious by storming into the 2×2 bathroom… NAY!
Someone needs to remind me not to wind up here ever again, no matter how wasted i am.
Sky*

It was my first weekend in NYC and I thought it was a great little spot to party. The music was mostly old-​school hip hop which I loved. It was a very stylish and good looking crowd. Definitely dress to impress.

My friend and I hadn’t made plans to go here but we wanted to go somewhere close to where we already were, and it was getting late so lo and behold… Lotus.
The place was nice inside. Interesting layout. I guess it was smaller than I had originally thought, but at least the space [upstairs] was open and wide. Not too much room to dance, but enough, and plenty of room for tables and people to wander about. Mixed crowd (again), and some pretty good tunes. We went downstairs were they were playing some oldies (but goodies).
All in all it was fun.

Partied it up here for a friend’s birthday.
Thanks to a friend — we scored a table and did the bottle service.
The vibe was good and the music was good.
It was kinda small from my expectations — I suppose, I’d imagine it to be a bigger place. I was probably too drunk to really notice much but I did remember having a good time with lotsa vodka and JW. Dear me…

I’ve been here 3 or 4 times and the experiences were at best mediocre. The last visit being a complete DEBACLE.
We were a group of 10 or 12 girls on a Saturday night and we made dinner reservations for the latest available, like 8:30pm. We were seated 45 minutes after our reservation. I get this, the large party before us hadn’t left yet. By now we’re STARVING.
9:15 Our server takes our drink and appetizer orders.
9:45 We place our entre orders
10:20: Server comes to let us know our entre order was lost and we need to replace it.
WTF!@#@
11:00 We receive all our entrees
By now the main floor is getting quite crowded and other patrons are actually giving us dirty looks because we’re still dining.
The server did give us a round of drinks for our trouble, and even though I enjoy the atmosphere of the club, but I doubt I will ever visit Lotus again.

I would usually not step foot in such a place, but I was coaxed with the promise of a performance by Debbie Harry who was releasing a new video. Luckily my friend had «connections» so we were able to forgo the $ 10 cover. I would not have paid 10 cents to enter Lotus. When we entered, rather early still, they were still set up for dining and a large family with a number of young children was seated in the middle of the lounge eating. Definitely would not have paid $ 10 to watch a family from New Jersey chowing down with chop sticks. .
The drinks were way over priced, 20 bucks for a bud light and a g&t. But hey I suppose we were paying for the ‘great ambience’. This transitory time of the night was very interesting as the dinner clientele was finishing up and the night crowd was entering for the Burlesque show. Slowly the drag queens and sniffling coke heads entered, a stripped down pin-​up was twirling pasties on her tatas on the stage, as the mom and dad were covering young Billy’s eyes as they rushed for the door. That scene made the whole night worth it.
In the end I couldn’t abide this place… even for Debbie Harry, who I think wasn’t actually going to perform anyway, but just make an appearance to promote her new video. But if you are into overpriced, pretentious clubs with the ever annoying velvet rope and large blacksuited bouncers then this place is for you.

I can see this being a semi-​decent venue for a private party. Anything else, and it’s a serious yawn. Drinks are expensive and nothing special (then again, most cocktails in this part of town are poorly mixed), the space is unremarkable, and there’s always a cover charge. Music’s nothing to write home about either. Never tried the food.
Having majored in history, I’ll appreciate it for having pioneered the stilettos-​meets-​cobblestone social movement that is Meatpacking District nightlife. (I wasn’t yet in New York at the time, so I wasn’t there.) But aside from that — yawn.

Burlesque! Burlesque! Burlesque!
Had a great time here with my friends for a last minute birthday dinner. Got there around 9ish and there was plenty of seating, but it eventually got crowded once 10pm rolled around. The food was plentiful and not too bad. My steak was a bit overcooked as with others at the table. Of course the food didn’t seem like the main attraction that night, but a very entertaining burlesque show which I believe is every Tuesday night. The dancers were busty and gave a tantalizing performance which ended with tassels on their «superior posterior.» My favorite performer was a girl stripping as a crippled, abused S&M-esque women… very well done.
If you’re there for the food, then be prepared for some average bites. The taste was average, and nothing stood out that made me «ooh» and «ahh» at my plate. It was filling, but that was because I didn’t realize how large the side dishes were.
Overall it was a nice experience, but probably a better place to drink and dance, rather than sit & eat. I would have given it 3 stars hadn’t it been for the Burlesque show. Oh yeah, the waiter was very pleasant as well.
Price per entrée about $ 25 – 35 not including sides, drinks or apps.
Now I must come back to checkout the nightlife.

It’s official folks, Lotus is over. O-​V-​E-​R, Over. My sense of New York nightlife history appreciates this place for being the original Meatpacking District night club destination, but that was circa 2001, people. It’s time to move on.
Why, then was I spotted there on a recent Friday night? Well, it seems that Lotus, in a desperate attempt to regain its former level of cool is (smartly) pandering to the gays. Two parties seemingly marketed towards the ‘mos have crept into Lotus’ weekly line-​up — Sparkle (I know, I wish I were kidding) on Thursdays and Loaded on Fridays. When I heard my boy Van Scott was spinning at the latter, I rounded up a few of New York’s finest to see if we could pump some fun back into this place. But sadly, there are some tasks too difficult even for us.
The crowd was sparse but colorful — ranging from the «Way too old to be wearing that» to the «way too young to be in here» to the «my gold teeth match my entire outfit» sets. Van tried to bring his posse, but to no avail. Even he was frightened by the surroundings and bounced after his set. Seriously, If I’m gonna pay $ 15 for a martini, it sure as hell isn’t going to be in this place.
Should have gone with the gut on this one, but no one can say I’m not a loyal friend. One star for the sense of history (I even think the décor was cool and original back then), and one star for bringing in rising stars like Van, but this place has sadly become the place for people who just don’t know better.

I refuse to pay $ 20 cover for the following:
–cramped space
–overpriced drinks
–misplaced and misused attitude
–horrendous music
–lack of ventilation
So I didn’t. Even at the sweet price of $ 0, I still would not put myself or my friends through that again.