Zero Degree Karaoke Bar & Club — Restaurant in Chicago

Tl;dr 0 Star Karaoke Bar

Let's start with some positives, and work our way down… I called a week in advance to book a private room reservation for 16 people without much issue ( It was a 4 hour minimum which I was quoted $391). Even with our large party we all fit into the room, which also included a private bathroom. So far so good.

The karaoke controls were a bit challenging as they were all in mandarin, but that was not a major issue since we had people in our party who could read and navigate the controls. The song selection, for the most part, was decent and the sound quality/ microphones were passable as well.

We didn't order any food but did get 1 bottle of grey goose ($150) and 2 bottles of Johnny Walker Black Label ($150 ea), which they claimed they were out of. The waitress offered us Hennessy as a substitute for the same price—Sure. This is where things get weird.

The waitress brought out 2 opened bottles of Hennessy XO. We’re not big cognac drinkers so we’re blissfully unaware that Hennessy XO is not equivalent bottle to Johnny Walker Black Label. In any case, the bottles are open. We start drinking. As someone who is usually in an ambulance after a few shots, the alcohol seemed very watered down, but that’s neither here nor there.

When we go to close out the bill with a tacked on 20% service charge, we notice that we’ve been charged $800 for the 2 bottles of Hennessy instead of the $300 we had agreed on. Clearly, there had been a miscommunication and we tried to explain this to the waitress, and then the owner. Now understanding that Hennessy XO is a pricey bottle, we were very much willing to meet him half way on what we thought we were going to pay, but the owner repeatedly refused and said, “The bottles are drunk. There’s nothing I can do.” Then to appease us, the owner offered a discount on our next visit (why would we come back!?) and $150 cash (very questionable).

When the conversation didn’t go his way, he then began to push the blame onto us for drinking the alcohol that was opened and served to us. He threatened to report us and use security footage—maybe he thought we were underage, so he was trying intimidate or take advantage of us? He then questioned if we understood labor costs, cost of materials, and how a business runs. Pretty condescending stuff to be honest and was still getting us nowhere. Then in an otherwise empty club, the people sitting at the bar, who were obviously the owner’s friends, kept trying to escalate an already weird situation…One "gentlemen" went as far as to threaten to pull out my friends pretty-white-boy hair. Cool dude. Not a good look for the Asian-American community.

In the end we just paid the bill and left. The last thing I want to do is get shanked in Chinatown on my birthday. Overall, I’m just disappointed in how this was handled. I sincerely, hope the owner of the place reads this and learns from the experience. He has a potentially great establishment that is going to develop a shoddy reputation if they don’t treat their customers right. He ended 4 birthdays on a sour note because of his failure to handle a miscommunication, which we were entirely willing to compromise on. I understand having your waitresses's back, but your customer deserves some recourse. Long story short, I will not be returning. 0 stars if I could, 0/10 would...

Our group of five ventured into Zero Degree Karaoke on a Tuesday evening, hoping for a fun night out. What we encountered was far from it. From the moment we walked in, we were met with unwelcoming stares that made us feel like intruders rather than paying customers.

The service was abysmal. It was difficult to get anyone's attention, and when we did, the interactions were curt and unhelpful. Adding insult to injury, the pricing seemed to be a moving target. The amount we were quoted kept shifting, a practice that, upon further review, appears to be a common and shady tactic at this establishment.

As we were walking up to the place one of the workers locked their Tesla several times as if anyone in my party would be at all be in any admiration towards such a poor investment.

To top it all off, we were twice falsely accused of not paying our bill. This was not only frustrating but also deeply insulting. While I can't definitively say it was racially motivated, the entire experience left a very sour taste.

The overall atmosphere was unwelcoming, and the staff we encountered seemed genuinely ignorant and unpleasant. Save your money and your evening – there are undoubtedly better places in town to enjoy karaoke without the hostile environment and questionable business practices. Zero out of five stars. Avoid at all costs.

I recommend green light karaoke in...

This is an awful, profit focused establishment that does not have any benefit to the customer. Unfortunately, I would not recommend anyone to do karaoke here, I’ve done it in many places around the city—customer service is terrible.

I have family visiting the city, and it left such a bad impression that the evening was nearly ruined for those seeking an authentic Chico experience. I’m so disappointed, and wish i would have supported a number of the other nicely run karaoke facilities in Chinatown.

There is no greeting once you walk in the door, employees are sitting and eating noodles, and there is generally no interest in those who decide to patronize this business.

If you read nothing else, understand this: your money will be better spent elsewhere. And you will be communicated with as a paying customer should be.

EDITED TO ADD: This group was 21 with the exception of one guest who is 20. The group was not consuming alcohol at all. The establishment should be up front about their policies (ideally before parties pay a deposit and...