Uptown Lounge & Restaurant

The staff is friendly, but the place is way to smokey. I smoke and can’t handle everyone inside smoking. But if you can handle the smoke it’s not a terrible place.

Their food is really good and you simply can’t beat their burgers in Anderson (in my opinion). However, I’ve had a few bad experiences with their wait staff. I always try to eat outside because the smoke/​smell inside is unbearable. Overall, it’s a good local place to try!

Decided to try Uptown Lounge again today for lunch. I would like to say that the experience was worth more than the 2 stars I gave it on the first visit but I can’t. As with the first visit, the food was very good but after waiting on the burgers for 40 minutes we had to change the order to take-​out because of a schedule conflict. The waitor was great but I felt sorry for him because of the fact that a large to-​go order was placed just before he submitted our order to the kitchen, which, by the way, had only one cook (we were told this by the waitor). My draft beer was heavily carbonated and we were told that this has been an ongoing problem.
I’m still holding out hope for UL but they still have a little work to do.

I have reconsidered my position after some new information. Great jukebox (one of those internet/​modern ones with a little bit of everything instead of the same old same old), the crowd was just right, mostly people unwinding and some unwinding a little bit too much, which is typical so I can’t take anything away for that. Atmosphere was nice. I was able to get a seat at the bar immediately upon entering despite the crowd as people were fairly evenly scattered throughout the bar thanks to wait service vs. everyone hanging out around the bar, which I dislike. Good job. Bartendresses were very attentive but not pushy, which is another plus. If there’s one thing I hate it’s when I’m not even half way through a drink and I’m already being asked if I want another one, and at other bars, this happens frequently, not so at Uptown Lounge. In fact they seemed to anticipate my needs by watching my glass… imagine that! If only every bartender could be so good. Prices were on time. Did not sample the food menu this time, but for the drinking alone it was good. Good selection of beers on tap and bottle, domestic and import. I didn’t like that they ran out of chocolate stout but I don’t blame anyone for that except the people who drank it all up! At least I got the very last bit of it! Delicious! Ventilation was good, which is a huge plus. While I like a smoky bar atmosphere and smoke myself, I don’t like nearly dying of smoke inhalation. Again, not the case here. All and all a pleasant experience and I will definitely be back. Location is low key, plenty of parking in the area even if the bar parking is full (I never park at a bar for obvious reasons), reasonably clean, better lighting this time, not too much, not too little. 5-​star! Keep up the good work! «I’ll be back!»

Now this review is purely based on my lunch experience. Has nothing to do with the nightlife. Also, I may periodically repeat so review may change based on experiences.
Visited for lunch on 8÷6÷14. It was just the beginning of lunch, so they weren’t busy just yet. Since I was solo, I bellied up to the bar. The uptown lounge is in an old lounge that appears to have been attached in some way to a motel back in the day. From the outside it looks like it could be a seedy establishment due to its lack of windows and medieval looking heavy ass wooden doors. When you walk in its totally not what you expect from the outside. Besides the whiff of stale and fresh cigarette smoke that hits the nostrils (which can be a detractor for some but remember this place is really a bar first). Place has been recently updated within the past 3 – 5 years at it appears. There’s a couple of pool tables, booth seating and a jukebox in the corner. Here’s a breakdown of my food and hospitality experience.
Ambiance 3.5 stars I like seedy but modern. This place doesn’t try to hide its roots and beginnings. It doesn’t try to pose as some little trendy bar for hipsters with fluffy beards and skinny jeans. It’s just what it is. Full demographic of Anderson. From lawyers to blue collar workers. Soccer moms to the local lady of ill repute.
Cleanliness 4 stars. Unexpectedly clean. Based on the outside I was expecting seat covers to practice safe eating, but was really clean and like I said had a fresh face lift a few years back and they’ve done a good job maintaining.
Bar 3.5 stars. Pretty good selection of liquor, beers and custom drinks. Only detractor was seeing soufflé cups over the nozzles of liqueurs. Usually a sign of a fruit fly problem.
Food selection 4 stars. More than ample selection for lunch or dinner. Typical bar food but with a little more creativeness.
Larry’s Burger 5 stars. Sweet 6 pound 11 ounce baby Jesus. This may be the best burger I have had in the past 6 months. Please be patient as I breakdown. The bun was perfectly toasted on the inside and out on a flat grill. I’m glad they did this because of the ample tasty toppings. The party was perfectly cooked but juicy and tender to the last bite. They use a higher fat ground beef, which I like. You could really taste the little bits of crusty grill goodness. Two thick slices of fresh tomatoes and a whole slice of onion. Break out the breathmints if you plan on making out later.
Onion Rings 4 stars-​really good. Perfectly fried and golden brown. They have a horseradish dipping sauce upon request.
French Fries 2.5 stars-​worst part of my meal but not a deal breaker. Just needed to be par-​fried beforehand. Probably fresh cut per order so they were just really greasy.
Hospitality 4 stars-​I was waited on by the bartender and she did an awesome job. Kept up with me before, during and after the meal. Great Gal!
Check this out people. You won’t be disappointed.

This use to be a great place for a burger and fries. The burgers now a days leave lots to be desired. So small doesn’t even fill the bun and badly cooked (burned).
The french fries are still good but the onion rings have gone the way of the burgers, bad. Needless to say we won’t be going back.

The Uptown Lounge has been big part of Downtown Anderson since the early 1970‘s. They have great cheeseburgers and do a great lunch business too! They added an outside deck and have live Carolina Beach Music and Oldies acts perform outside. They have pool tables also.