Vibe Lounge

We came here for our late Christmas gift exchange — it was dead on Thursday night at 7PM. I realize this is early for most people to be out a «lounge», so I guess I’m not surprised. We were the only patrons in the business for a good hour or more. We had been hearing about how good the hot pot was so we ordered the thai hot pot for the 7 of us, with two orders of wings (vietnamese nuoc mam style and one thai style) and an order of the fried salted calamari. I didn’t try the thai flavor wings, but they said both the wing dishes tasted almost the same. That was my favorite from our meal (nuoc mam wings). The fried calamari was very oily — it just tasted too much like the frying oil rather than calamari. The thai hot pot — the others didn’t mind the flavor, but I prefer more of that spicy, tamarind, pineapple (sweet&sour) thai flavor. Overall — it wasn’t terrible, but I’m sure I wouldn’t be back unless we had a party going on.

Even though the price is steep, I always come here for the for their bo luc lac. My last trip was terrible. I don’t know what happened to their service. It has declined. The waitress takes forever to come back. The place was not even busy when I came. It’ll take a miracle for me to come back. I will add an extra start just because of the food.

Come here mainly for the hotpot. The food items are okay in taste, but rather expensive. I wish they had a bigger menu. Bottles here are pretty expensive when comparing to places like Window, Giau & Genjys. Vibe is just nicer & trendier. Music is definitely wayyyy too loud.

Had the bo Thai Chan — pretty good. Marinate just right. Waitress serve need to be a little more attentive. Love the old new wave music of modern talking and cc catch though. Music could be a little loud at times. Overall, a pretty nice place.

Went from mediocre service to out right terrible.
Wrote in tips on a CC receipt when we tipped in cash. Tried to double charge the party for bottles that were already paid for. And from talking to other people these are not isolated incidents.
So watch your bank statements, and use cash if possible, this is just bad business practice.

Ambiance — perfect for get together, family dinner, and watching the games. First time I saw a place that has great mix of people. The music was not so loud where you are screaming at each other over dinner.
Cleanliness — very well maintain! Booth was clean and restroom is well taken care. I feel comfortable and all tables were well wiped down.
Staff — there was a new girl which is her first day. She was honest and told me she doesn’t know much about the menu. She brought her senior waitress and that girl rocked it! She answered all my questions and recommended the Thai hot pot and coconut snails. It was just the right portion for 2 hungry Dallas folks.
Will definitely be back when I come back to visit Houston, which is like often now that my business is expanding out here. #LEDemerge excuse for dinner

When it comes to reviewing restaurants, I believe reviews should be done based on my experience, but also asking, «Are they good at what they are trying to be good at?» What I mean is, I don’t come to a place like this expecting a quiet steak house, and leave a bad review because it wasn’t quit and they didn’t serve steak.
I was not expecting the type of place this was before I came in. It was a completely different experience from my expectations. Having said that, once I realized this was a lounge with loud music and karaōke that serves authentic vietnamese food, I based my assessment on this place for what it was, not what I was expecting it to be.
Let me say this, we had a GREAT time here. A friend ordered everything for us (9 different dishes). Some I enjoyed more than others, but I thought the presentation of most of the dishes was great. We feasted. The service was really great. They had Sunday night football playing on the big screen. The music selection was awesome, until the karaōke started. I’m not a big fan of karaōke, but on the Unilocal description it clearly says karaōke, so I can’t complain about it.
Would I bring a date here for a romantic dinner? Absolutely not. But if I wanted a fun place for a big party, this is a cool experience for the group.

Really?! The service here sucks and they early don’t care about certain customers. We had a party of six and still out service sucks and they want to charge an automatic 15 or 20 percent. We ordered three dishes and had only one and when we asked for the bill, they still charged us for three dishes and then tried to bring one at the last minute. It’s a great fun party atmosphere. if you’re fucked up and wanna see some eye candy. Otherwise, go somewhere else.

food quality is awesome! Their oysters, fried rice, Thai hotpot, and typical «Asian drinking food» is fantastic. In my opinion prices are extremely in expensive for the quality and quantity of food you’re getting. Drinks are good except I have issues with Asian bar tenders. They tend to make their mixes extra virgin as I would enjoy a stiff slutty mix. Then again, I am at an Asian lounge and I guess most of these fobs prefer henny and heinekens.
Draw backs? Of course! Music sucks and their DJ’s are all people who just use garage band and a few NOW 1 – 15 CD’s (for those of you that grew up in the 90’s). Wait staff are polite as hell but could use some work in the speed department.

I didn’t know how close to the Eck Bakery this was, it was in the same shopping center. Meet my friends here for dinner and she sent me the address to this place. Try to avoid this place at a certain time, before it get crazy. Club music are popping, lights are low, nicely décor with huge Chinese lanterns. But the chairs are old and tore up. Now I know why the lights are dims. I only like their Thai hot pot, it looks cool, and their fried potatoes omelets. I thought I had white sangria, but it has a bunch of fruits in it. I’m not very impress with the drink.

Seriously the worst service even by Asian standards. Who takes more than 40 minute to make a fried rice. We order 6 dishes but only 3 came out and when I got fed up waiting, they only put in the POS 4 entrée. I wanted a meal w my family and they want bar like dishes. Unless you just want booze… This place suck and their food wasn’t worth the wait

This is in response to John T.‘s racist comments of 20 days ago, calling the other customers «fobs» and making fun of their English (how is their ESL class going?). It’s easy and very cowardly to submit such disparaging remarks while hiding behind your computer. If you are a real man, have the nerve to come over to one of the fobs’ tables the next time you are there, and repeat these things to our faces!
I truly feel sorry for you! It must be really sad for your parents to see you turning into such a despicable bigot John T. !
Signed — A Houston fob in his 1^st week of ESL ;)

Bo Tai Chanh = Good
Ca Ri De = Good
Com Chien Ca Mang = Good
Ga Chien Nuoc Mam = Average
Ga Chien Thai = Average
Hao Song & Trung = Average
Lau Cua Dong = Good
Muc Hap Gung = Good
Muc Rang Muoi = Good
Oc Buu Nhoi Thit = Excellent
Tom Hap Bia = Good (but sometimes, it is inconsistent and dry)

I usually dont say much but After reading some of the reviews from some of the FOB, I just could help myself… lol.
How is your ESL class going?
Anyhow is place is ok. Music is terrible and clientele is among the rude/​low class… a perfect fitment for the fob crowd. Music system is of low quality and cranked to the Max while the fobs are trying to scream their lungs out over the music trying to convey their worthless point across to the next fob sitting about two feet away.
Food is decent but nothing to brag about… except for the hiked up prices.
I recommend this place if you are in the mood to come and amuse by how fobs interact. Oh, and if you’re scanning around the place for fine chick, save your time and stop scanning because there isn’t any! Amen!

Totally unexpected to have great food at a lounge. I had little expectation walking in. boy was i wrong! I had the bo luc lac (shaking beef), com chien w/​tobiko (fried rice with little fish eggs), salt n pepper squid, veggie plate, clam w/​basil. All of these dishes were amazing. Its a little pricey but it’s a lot of food. I would definitely come back. Music is loud btw.

Vibe lounge has a great atmosphere; dimmed lighting and rich colors, an aesthetic and easy-​to-​navigate layout, and a mix of table shapes and sizes to accommodate your party. Speaking of which, whenever I’ve gone there seems to be an event where a large group is celebrating. Large curved booths hug the wall, facing towards the rest of the restaurant, which is nice, and a bar backlit in blue is nearby. The music is loud, but I’ve never had an issue with it overpowering conversation — it’s part of the experience. Music videos play on the side wall near the entrance.
The menu has a ‘fancy’ selection of high-​end but interesting options. I stick to simplicity in my own diet, so the ‘upscale’ items weren’t that big of a plus, more of a distraction. And I’d like to state for the record — I am NOT referring to authentic dishes, which are indicative to Vietnamese and Thai culture; I’m talking about dousing mussels with ten ingredients just for the sake of it. [Even when I’m eating with a group and someone else is picking up the tab, all I can think of is, «is «x» worth the price?]
Okay, so moving on, the food is, regardless, pretty good. I almost always get a ginger-​steamed squid type of dish and the broth is incredible. I’ve tried a few other dishes when one person ordered for the entire table, and they were again, pretty good (but not great). I think coming to Vibe is less about the food and more about the ambience, the experience, and socializing with friends. If you’re a guy, you’ll probably enjoy the somewhat scantily clad waitresses, though since it’s almost always busy, it can be quite hard to get their attention. The food comes quickly — or perhaps that’s an illusion, if you’re talking with friends the whole time.
I’ll admit, when I come here, it’s with my Chinese and Vietnamese friends — and I still feel a bit uncomfortable. I tend to get stares and the waitstaff can be a bit curt or impatient with me, even if I’m just giving a simple order. This doesnt reach the level of what I’d call ‘discrimination’ at all — but it is a differentiation that at times makes me feel like I’m not wanted, or that I’m seen as intruding. For all those who will adamantly defend Vibe to the end — just remember, everyone’s experiences are different, and this is mine, based on several visits.

LOVEEEE this place! The music is a little loud but the atmosphere is nice and chill, the waitresses are all very nice and beautiful, and the food is delicious! My friends and I love going here every time we hit up Houston because we crave the raw oysters with tobiko and ponzu sauce… not the cheapest thing on the menu but it’s worth every penny! I could sit there and eat it all day! Another item on the menu I love is the bo tai chanh– raw meat with a lot of greens. Pretty healthy dish that tastes just as good as the ones that are really bad for you! Citrusy with slightly raw beef on a bed of leafy greens. I wou. d also recommend the sangria. it washes down everything really well!

Very azn crowd. I don’t have a problem with it, but it may make some people uncomfortable if they are not azn or do not understand that lifestyle.
The food is good! but very pricy & drinks are pricy too.
compared to other bar food — its amazing. what’s the point of $$ if you don’t spend it on good things?
fried calamari-​seasoned very well with salt & pepper plus onions, jalepenos
thai wings-​also seasoned well with some kick to it
It’s very loud here & can get crowded on game days.

I was invited to Vibe on a Tuesday night by a friend so I decided to go check it out.
By the time I arrived, my friend and her friends had ordered a crap load of food and drinks. Lots of oysters, shrimp, raw beef salad, ciroc, mixed drinks, whatever. I also ordered some Vietnames beef chunks (Bo Luc Lac) and some drinks through out the night.
Let’s just say that the Bo Luc Lac had a big plate with a lot of lettuce, and onions on it. However, there weren’t that many actual beef chunks on the plate. For $ 16, I just didn’t think it was worth it. I could have gone to Mai’s or some other Vietnamese restaurant and paid less for a bigger portion. Oh, it didn’t come with rice either. And the food taste was just eh. Wasn’t anything special.
The drinks are waaaaaay watered down. One of my friends bough me a vodka/​red bull and I swear all I could taste was water from the ice and red bull. I didn’t taste any vodka at all. Also, since I only drink Crown on the rocks (you can’t go wrong with real man’s drink), you can’t really water it down, right? WRONG!!! I got a glass, full of ice, and only half of it is crown. Was that a one second pour for my $ 7 Crown? Yeah, the price for my Crown was very reasonable, if it had been a full glass.
Our waitresses weren’t too shabby, but they weren’t great at all either. They weren’t too attentive, but they weren’t ignoring us completely either. Just average.
Anyway, at the end of the night, our tab came to about $ 700! Holy WHAT?! WHAT!!! SEVEN HUNDRED RIDICULOUS DOLLARS! Yeah, there were about 10 of us, but still. That’s just a lot! Yeah, I know their food prices are kind of expensive (They had a grilled chicken dish for $ 18 and this ain’t even a prime steakhouse, y’all) but that was ridic! Some of the people didn’t even drink!
I’m not sure if I’m going to be back here on my own accord. If I’m invited by friends to hang out, then sure. Otherwise, I think I’ll drive to the other side of Wilcrest and hang out at Three Sheets bar!

I’ll start with the bad…
The food here is hit-​and-​miss.
Even on the same weeknight, if you order fried rice 1 hour apart, you’ll get completely different quality of food.
Their all-​day happy hour is on Tuesday, and we ordered at 7 and 8pm. The first batch was horrible, flavorless, and quite bad. The 2^nd batch was better. Neither batch compared to my excellent experience several months ago.
Salt-​toasted calimari was pretty good, though again, it was hit and miss. (First batch was bad so-​so, but order it again later in the evening and the light batter was done to perfection).
Salt-​toasted shrimp wasn’t any good though. It wasn’t fried enough, so you’ll find it hard to eat whole: shell-​and-​all. We didn’t give it a 2^nd chance.
The garlic oysters were nasty. I don’t even see why it’s a menu option!
On the other hand, you should spring for the caviar oysters! It’s a hit every time our group comes here!
I can’t say enough about the music. A good variety, some of which included seldom-​played hits from new wave to 80’s 90’s. ‘Def. brought back childhood memories for us.
As with the food, the waitstaff can be fickle. Obviously, their service quality depends on how busy they are, but they should staff accordingly. We had a great time and thought service and attitude were enjoyable on a weeknight, but I also recall them being cold and unattentive my first visit (much larger group and on a weekend)