Lunar Lounge

I was so excited about visiting Lunar. I’d thought about going several times, but never made it down, then a friend invited me to go for Latin Night.
The good– Lunar has a decent dance floor, and the DJ happened to be great. I don’t know what kinds of tunes are playing on the non-​Latin Nights, but this evening was nice. I also took a look upstairs (which was pretty empty, but it was early) and discovered 2 more bars! That’s pretty cool.
The not-​so-​good– The drinks are on the pricey side. I mean, yeah it’s a bar, and yeah, drinks at any downtown bar are expensive, but they didn’t even seem to be having any specials running, and the bartenders were also not the friendliest. They weren’t rude or mean, they were just kind of cold.
The shady– The bathroom. Oh my geez, the bathroom. It was scary. I didn’t go in, but I stood at the door while my friend was in there (no lock on the ladies room) and when I looked in it was kind of dark and dirty. The WORST thing of the night was that they seemed to be selective on who they charged a cover and who they didn’t. When my friend and I got there, they checked our IDs, and politely showed us to the dance floor. Another friend of mine showed up about 10 min later and was charged cover. But we all observed other people walking in without paying. So that was weird.
I really liked the vibe of Lunar’s Latin Night, but I don’t know if I’ll be back to Lunar on a more trendy night.

Like many of the reviewers, Lunar isn’t really my scene. I’m not sure why most people wrote a review where they had lots of compliments but gave it 2 or 3 stars. Review the venue, and don’t give it fewer stars because it’s not your scene (especially when you acknowledge that). Ok, rant over.
It’s a nightclub. It’s for people who want to dance and make out with strangers in public or people who have to drink a serious amount of alcohol in order to get their Elaine from Seinfeld-​style dancing out of their system every so often.
I was DD so I didn’t drink but my friends didn’t seem mad about their drinks or their prices. It was great people watching (like Kings Island-​level people watching). The downstairs is a nice respite from the vibrating bass of the upstairs. I wasn’t overly impressed with the DJ. He had a great little set when we first arrived, and then he played 3 or 4 songs in a row that left only one drunk middle-​aged couple still bouncing around randomly on the dance floor.
Overall, if I want to go dance somewhere besides a gay bar or my living room, I’ll go to Lunar. I might also check out their Live Band Karaōke (of Northside Tavern fame). Also, the free admission for Unilocal check-​in was awesome and continued my streak of never paying to get in anywhere.

Like headless mannequins? (It’s okay to admit it; I do too.) Then Lunar is the place for you.
I’ve tried to disentangle myself from this mess by trying other clubs like Lux and Mynt (sp?), but I always end up coming back to Lunar.
There are 2 levels. The first floor is really laid back and loungey. The second floor is dancey and NOT loungey, unless you paid for a table. Heads up, the tables are $ 300 each. I don’t get why someone would pay that amount to sit at Lunar. This is not LA, New York City, nor Moscow. I would expect it to be more laid back upstairs, but it’s not. Nonetheless, I love the music upstairs. Bring your friends, because you don’t come here to make friends. You come here to dance.
I come with my friends, and we always (yes, always) have a good time.
Don’t talk to strangers.

I guess this just isn’t the place for me. I thought long and hard about giving it the coveted one star designation.
Maybe it’s that the crowd is too young, or that I know people that have been aggressively cornered and accosted by lascivious men, or that I have seen patrons that have completely lost all control of their kinesthetic faculties that are still being served, or the fact that when I went there last Friday the bathroom sink was flooded up with vomit.
Seriously, vomit. I informed the staff of the situation when I entered the club. One of the guys I was with informed the staff of the situation as we left the club. That was at least an hour later. It’s called a plunger, maybe they don’t have those on the moon, but they need one at Lunar.
The upstairs area has a decent sized dance floor that is flanked by mirrors on either side. I have definitely gone out to shake it on the dance floor a couple times. The DJ spins some good tunes. Every bathroom is an individual stall, though there are many. It also sports a roped off VIP section that offers basically no privacy. We took part in the VIP booths last Friday. We were served champagne, water, cranberry juice, and OJ as a part of a friend’s birthday celebration. Our server was a good sport and very nice.
The downstairs is a bit less egregious with an assortment of casual seating. I’d rather dance down there as it seems a bit more low key. I don’t dance for show, I dance for fun. They also have a hunting arcade game. It had a couple quarters in it so I took part. Couldn’t hit a dang thing, it was like Duck Hunt all over again.
At last call the staff becomes aggressive and pushy as they do in many other bars in the city. I’ll only come back if dragged.

I am trying to write this review without sounding snobby myself (or old lol) but I have been to some nice clubs and some awesome bars in my time … this is not one of them. I went on a Saturday night …
The first floor is mostly bar with seating around it and by the windows which is nice … HOWEVER, the bar tenders are 12 years old or something. How do you not know how to make a long island, midori sour or sex on the beach (sub oj for pineapple juice). This girl was so confused and ended up making me some concoction she said would be «strong» … I thought I was brushing my teeth with it. AND the DJ was terrible … I think he rolled out of bed that morning and said, «I want to be a DJ at a night club.» Terrible at mixing and choosing good music. No one was dancing … not one of the few people who were there at 11:30pm on a Saturday.
The second floor was more themed to space and I can appreciate the paintings and the pretentious VIP sections. The music was a bit better but the dancers on the mini-​stages were weird. They have cell phone booths that cut off all the loud sound around you so that’s cool but again, the bar was blah.
I’ve had better … lol

******Update to my review below. The manager of the club emailed me, and expressed his concern about the things I’d mentioned in my post. He let me know that during the week, they have days where you are welcome to wear your flip flops :) I had to give them another star just for that. If someone cares enough about their business to reach out to an unhappy customer, that says alot to me. While this place still isn’t my type of place during the weekend, I may have to try a game night as he suggested. He assured me that the place was way more low key and a less strict dress code, so also keep that in mind when thinking of this place. Thank you for reaching out Chris, that meant alot!********
First off, take this to heart before you base my review on whether you’d try this place out. I am probably the least cool person EVER. so this place was not for me. If you are cool by any means, you may like it.
For my birthday we decided to go bar hopping downtown. It was the first girls night any of us had been out for in awhile and we were all looking forward to the night. We started at Bartini, a couple of drinks later headed to another bar up the street, and then to Lunar. I’d heard about it before I went and when I drove by I even said this was probably not my kind of place. But, a friend of a friend who’d shown up was adamant on taking us down there. He wanted to get us in for free and show the place off. We appreciated the gesture, but our stay was short lived.
When we walked in I felt like the bouncer was looking us up and down before we even crossed the «too cool for you threshold». I think my non coolness was showing through and that’s not a good feeling on your birthday. We walked in to the lower level and at first I thought. «Ok, this place may be alright.» The music was decent, not too crowded and the drinks seemed reasonably priced.
Mr. Adamant wanted us to see the upstairs because he loved it up there. We walked up, and I’m a lover of all things quirky, so as soon as I saw that staircase and neon purple light my attitude changed. I thought, I would love what I saw upstairs, the stark white staircase, and then when you reached a landing the purple light reflected off the «lunar» moon on the wall. LOVED IT! The design of this second floor was awesome! Crazy mannequins, futuristic dome chairs, white everything. it was like looking into the future, and I thought I could envision birthdays to come here. I’d even buy myself a fancy smancy outfit and do it up right.
Then the novelty wore off and I saw… the people. Yikes. I felt like I walked into an episode of Jersey Shore, except Cincinnati style. I can appreciate what they are trying to do. Really, I can… but I guess I’m just not classy enough for such a pretentious place. I don’t go out to «be seen,» i go out to dance and have FUN. The soles of my shoes have wear and tear because of the miles they’ve seen on a dance floor.
Again I’m not the demographic that this place is looking for either. I am happiest in an old beat up tank top and my flippy floppies. That is not Lunar approved, and I felt like I walked onto the set of a bad movie that just stopped when I arrived. I mean, I know I’m not cool… but they don’t have to rub it in. I’m all for independently owned businesses, but not when they make me want to go home and make myself puke in the bathroom because I’m not a size 0. I’ll pass next time.

Ok, Lunar is not for everyone. It is a club. If you like clubs, this is a good place for you. If you dislike clubs and find them pretentious, this is not a place for you. Now that we’ve figured that out, we can move on.
I like Lunar. It’s not my scene and I’m not into clubbing, but I like that it’s here in Cincinnati. I like that it’s a local independently owned business that’s not part of a chain and is not in other places. This is the only Lunar there is.
Again, yes, it’s a club. It’s mood-​lit, it gets louder as the night goes on, the drinks can be expensive and yes, there are roped off and guarded sections for VIPs. It is a club like the ones you would find in NYC or LA and it’s nice that it’s here. Again, it’s not my scene. If it’s not your scene too, just don’t come.
Lunar is, obviously, space themed. It’s dark, there are silver mannequins, pictures of the moon and cell-​phone space pods you can walk into (these are very cool — they’re sound proof so you can make a call right in the middle of the noisy room and they have chargers so you can charge your phone while doing it.) Again, it doesn’t feel very Cincinnati — and sometimes, that’s a nice change.
Here’s what I really do like about Lunar, though, the staff is actually friendly. You may think they’re too cool for school because of where they work, but chat with them, I’ve always had a nice conversation when I do. They also have a solid Happy Hour with cheap drinks where you can sit in the bottom non-​club section in comfortable couches or right at the bar.
Plus, check in on Unilocal and you get free admission in. Win.
I can’t stress that this isn’t for everyone. But if you enjoy the club night scene, this is a good place to go. Above all, you’ll be supporting local businesses, which is something I’m always for.

As far as dance clubs in the city go, this place is tops… mainly because its kinda the only dance club in the city.
But this is the place… not for the «normal» person. This is the high class sophisticated Paris Hilton party scene. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to see me in a dress that short, and I know I can’t dance in the heels some of these girls are sporting. Had we not gotten there when it was empty (and the upstairs wasn’t even open yet) we probably wouldn’t have gotten in in our jeans and dress tops and ballet flats. I’m pretty sure we were being looked up, down and all around by the people at the door. But lucky for us, they seems pretty happy that we were using our awesome Unilocal check-​in offer of free cover! (only thing worth it really), as I’m pretty sure I’d have been pretty irate after paying cover to just get looked at the whole night like «what are you peons doing in our place» by the «nicer dressed» people.
If you stick to the downstairs, its actually pretty nice. Couches, bar, DJ, a few tables. And you could hear yourselves talking. beers were $ 2.50 and wells $ 3 so not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be for a place like this. The upstairs though, is no seating, or tables, unless you shell out for them or one of the 3 «private» rooms they have upstairs. The themeing is truly amazing i will give them that. Their designer is awesome! I honestly didn’t feel like i was In Cincy! But the attitudes and the looks were a little off putting, and way too snooty. I may go back… and stay downstairs… on a week night when its not so busy… and definitely use my check-​in offers… but unless someone like my preppy sister or a similar friend wants to go, I guess I’m stuck with Newport.

Lunar caters to a specific socialite crowd, and if you’re anything but, you will be made to feel out of place.
The venue is aesthetically advanced and spacious. I really liked the «art museum» feel with unique sofas and rolling chairs. There was an adequate amount of furniture downstairs: enough to seat several groups of friends, and thoughtfully placed as to not to crowd the room. The liquor is reasonably priced: my mixed drink was $ 3.00.
Later, we decided to venture upstairs to the dance floor. That’s when the experience turned from good to awkward. The only seats upstairs are roped off areas with tables that can be reserved for $ 300 or more. My friend spotted the egg-​shaped /​dome chairs in the corner and went to try one out. We had only seen them in the movies and were intrigued. Unfortunately, she was turned away as this was another «pay to sit» area. Soon after, two men showed up to guard the empty section.
As it was a weeknight, my friends and I were pretty much the only ones at Lunar. The techno music was going full swing, so we decided to do some dancing. We were only three moves into our dancing when an employee in a suit asked us to stop. I guess they don’t like jazz hands.
At that point, we decided to leave. A few others patrons were dancing, but they were clad in mini-​dresses and 4-​inch heels (albeit it being 45º). The Suit said nothing to them.
While I like the technological aesthetics in the bar, the environment is not for me. I’ll continue taking my business to Neon’s Unplugged, where it’s more rock n’ roll and less «scene trendy.»

It’s alright, nice change of pace for downtown getting to more of the club scenario. I enjoy the theme mainly because it’s out of the box.
Prices aren’t horrible typical prices, but the cover is a lil high. No bar downtown with a 21+ crowd should charge cover. Pointless

Lunar probably would have been a club I would have liked more when I was in college and into the club scene. It might work out well for some sort of crazy bachelor/​bacherlorette party. It’s really loud and it’s really trendy. I think I like that Cincinnati has a club like Lunar and I hope it does well.
The lounge space downstairs is nice and I love the spacey modern theme, funky furniture, and the hip hop. It’s fairly laid back and there’s plenty of room. Upstairs you’ll find blaring techno, go-​go dancers on little podiums, girls in white dresses toting champagne and sparklers… and a whole lot of craziness that you can only sit down to enjoy if you decide to pay for a table. Yikes. But do pop in the cell phone booth, just for sh**s and giggles.
For the type of bar it is, the drinks were not as expensive as I thought they would be, though not cheap. If you’re into people watching, you will probably find people and outfits of all kinds on a Saturday night. You’ll have to do all this for a $ 5 cover though (and give in to the fact that you have to yell at the top of your lungs to have a conversation), and I still am opposed to cover charges in Cincinnati. HOWEVER, if you, dear Unilocaler, can check-​in on your phone, you get in for free! Booyah!

One of the few clubs left that has a decent dancefloor. I like the layout of the club and decorations (the LED lights are wicked). Most of the people there are on the young side, which is fine and expected since this is the «new hot place». Time will tell if it can last, I hope for the sake of dance clubs in the area, that it does.