Velvet Jones

1 star for the Mac n cheese being pretty good. Other than that, no one is ever here inside so it’s kind of boring and a lot of the staff are disrespectful and rather hostile. I saw a bouncer throw a guy to the ground cause the guy insulted his beard which seemed kind of childish but I usually only go to nicer clubs so maybe that’s normal for these kinds of low tier venues.

I was here to see Cherry Glazerr and during the opening act, Clem the lead singer was watching the band with a beer in hand and a security guard kicked her back stage because she had beer in the no alcohol zone. Then my friend went to get his keys that he left next door at a dinner place the security wouldn’t let him back in, even after we offered to slide them $. What the fuck? Never coming back. Assholes

I loved this venue! And the entertainment was excellent, but the bartender made me so angry. She spoke to me three times before making my drinks… then she made one of them wrong. That was after she made drinks for at least 5 other people. including the man next to me who ordered after me! I have never been so frustrated with a bartender. I didn’t go back all night. I was planning to a lot before she ruined my experience. I’ve been to plenty of busy bars and this was awful.

Interesting bar/​music venue. Upon entering you notice the strange décor. The owner needs to invest in getting this place cleaned up! It’s pretty disgusting. Especially the women’s restroom. Stick to beer if you order drinks. The mixed drinks were not very good. I would come back if they would clean it up. Gets 2 stars because the staff were really friendly.

Expectations were exceeded on all levels. Bought tickets to see Chad Smith’s band on a Friday night. This is a small venue, but it never became insufferably crowded or even stuffy inside. The scents of waffles, mac and cheese, and occasional cigs from outside were noticeable but not unpleasant. The crowd vibe was great… energetic… not problematic.
Both of the opening bands were tight, played for just the right amount of time, and the sound board operator was on top of it. Top notch!
We may not have been the oldest people there… actually we probably were! We chatted with kids half our age and enjoyed ourselves and the music a lot. We did snag a place to sit down early on, knowing the main act was scheduled for 10:30pm. Standing for that long would have been a problem. Wish the place was just a little bit bigger and had more seating.
My only suggestion would be to have the main act scheduled for earlier than 10:30, but I realize I am older than the usual customer here. I only waited for the 10:30 main act because it was Chad Smith… he and his band were amazing! The sound was great for such a small room. I will definitely return!

Saw our first concert here last night and it was awesome! Conveniently located near bars and restaurants. they have a full bar inside with well priced and well made drinks… staff was also super friendly… will definitely return!

Do NOT come here for a show– what kind of place advertises a show starts at 8:00pm and doesn’t start until after 10:00pm on a SUNDAY night– helloooo people– class the next day for students and work for the employed. Way too long and late to wait at a 3^rd rate place that features no-​name groups. This place is a dive, in a horrible disgusting sketchy part of town– drunks, homeless, gangs-​you name it. Save time and money and go somewhere else.

Waited 50 mins for a fucking smores waffle. Bitch as girl in the front kept making excuses telling me it’s about to come out. When it finally came out and I could clearly see my name under the plate, this other guy tries to give it to someone else. I ain’t gonna lie, it was pretty busy but don’t fucking lie to my face about it. Honestly if it’s that busy be more fucking prepared and if you can’t handle making a waffle don’t make it, stick to your fucking Mac & cheese.

I love this place especially cuz I saw Thundercat and I must say the Mac n Cheese was bomb and the owner was sweet. #downtoearth I had a great time. From NY to LA fun. The crowd was mostly white but ey whatevs. They were grooving except some just had to mosh pit at Thundercat that was a little weird lol

Great memories, crazy memories and a few bad but not the bars fault! ha I was there when it was Duffy’s, then at the opening when it became Velvet, saw some great shows, Mad Caddies etc, rapped with KRS-​1 there and was there the night that the SBCC cooking student was gunned down while standing out front (scary) was in I.V. the night that David Attias ran people down with his car incidently and we drove around the block a hundred times to looky-​lew. Then I got arrested and was in jail with him. Grrrr and you guessed it, I was drinking at the Velvet and got a drunk and dissorderly, cause really is there anything better than that other than a wet and wreckless maybe? It’s all good. If you want to have a good time local style and hear great local bands, this is one of the best spots! PS I have thrown up in those shrubs in front of Velvet many times, so if you feel quezzy head on out and do yo thing! All the cool kids do it! Welcome to Santa Barbara!

This review is for the mac and cheese NOT for music and venue place.
This place only serves mac and cheese during late night hours. Perfect after a night of drinking and partying around the area. You order outside at the window. I got the ultimate, which comes with all the topping (bacon, bbq chicken, tator tots, green onions, tomatoes, bread crumbs, jalapenos, etc) s; however, you may chose the regular mac and cheese and choose the toppings to your liking. The ultimate comes in one size and is a bit pricier, the regular mac and cheese comes in 2 sizes. I loved mine! it was cheesy and all the toppings gave it a nice crunchy texture with lots of flavors.
Can’t wait to try this again!

#fail marketing Underage Shows @Velvet Jones​. No disclaimer. NOT allowing underage kids without PAYING $ 5 XTRA 4 soda! My son had a ticket & didn’t get in. Since when did they get so desperate? As a graphic designer who used to promote their shows, it makes me sad.

Honestly, I’m SOO glad my girls and I discovered this place after a wild night of bar hopping.
Four drunk girls, running around town looking for this delicious MAC N CHEESE we heard about. I was expecting some basic Mac n Cheese, maybe sprinkled with a few toppings. BUT MAN. I know we were intoxicated, but I’m sure this would be just as good sober!
After walking a few blocks from the last bar we were at, we found this small, dark dive bar. It was pretty busy, but we were able to find a couple seats outside against the wall. And that’s when we spotted the Mac n Cheese. We ordered one, and we were all amazzzzedddd! This was legit Mac n Cheese– not from out of the box! The toppings were delicious and I wouldn’t have ordered it any other way. The four of us huddled around this plate and devoured it within minutes. We were very happy.
Mac n Cheese, with Jalapeño, tomatoes, bacon, basil, BBQ chicken, and some panko looking bread crumbs sprinkled on top. PERFECTION. We knew it was bomb when we were all talking about it the next morning. And how we would order a few plates. We almost went back after lunch the next day, but we were too full, haha.

This place occasionally has a good performer on stage, however most nights it’s a pass. Semi homeless and less than bikers smoke out front, and the bar is of poor quality…

To be clear, this review is only for the Mac n cheese, not the rest of the venue, which I hear is pretty great!
Firstly, I love Mac n cheese. Secondly, I do have to say that so far, no Mac n cheese that I’ve eaten in Santa Barbara compares to Mac n cheese I’ve eaten in NYC where I used to live. Velvet jones puts up a passable fight though.
I appreciate that it’s sold at a pretty standard price and that it’s a good late night food place you can go to after going out on State Street or in the general area. Would I go back? Probably as I’m obsessed with Mac n cheese. Word to the wise, it can get really crowded on the patio so if you go with a really large group like I did, you’ll be scattered all over the sidewalk, which didn’t really bother me.
Otherwise, enjoy!

I feel like this is a Santa Barbara staple. I love the grunge feel, dive bar. I went to my first concert here 9 years ago, love the up close and personal stage! This is my kind of venue.

This place is known for there Mac n cheese, and I had to try it it was great it was like a casserole of awsomeness. I was there to watch a comedy show «the deathsquad dirty show» the seating was cool the little camping chairs in the front row were funny. The sound was good the bathrooms are dirty but it’s a bar so who cares. I’m Crome Ventura and I would for sure go back there for the Mac n cheese any day and they have great priced drinks. They have a walk up window to get Mac n cheese so you don’t have to go in the Baylor if you don’t want to.

Super cheap! We came here for a metal Monday and Mario Kart/​super smash brothers /​Mortal Kombat and others games! was a great time and the bartender Nick was awesome! I will absolutely be coming back coming back in the future. They had videos playing along with the music to a projection screen in front of the stage that live bands would be playing on if there was a live band for metal Monday/​whatever concert they would have scheduled.
On top of video games they had beer pong flip cup or whatever else you would want.
See you there next week.

Very small so if your going to a show you will be very close to artist.
Crowds are alittle crushing, and people are people, so block and defend.
The real shitty thing is the doors opened at 8 and the show did not start till 9:30…really???
We were also charged $ 5 for our under-​aged son to attend… WTF, not sure why, but it should probably be posted somewhere?

The live shows here have always been a lot if fun to come to :) Even though it isn’t a super big place, it never seems to tiny — so make sure to come early if they are going to have to turn people away!
Nothing super special with the drinks, but the staff tends to be nice :)