Lounge 31 — Restaurant in Highland Park

Lounge 31 used to be a gem in Highland Park -- upscale, social, and worth the occasional splurge. Sadly, those days are gone. It's devolved into a shallow scene pandering to sugar daddies and self-important "30,000 dollar millionaires" flashing debit cards and borrowed clout. And while that might sound like a joke, our recent experience proves it's now the entire business model.

Let me be clear: I wouldn't recommend Lounge 31 to anyone -- not a friend, not a stranger, not even someone I dislike. It's not just the decline in quality; it's the open disdain for genuine, paying customers.

My fiancée and I arrived early in the evening when the place was noticeably slow. Roughly 80% of the tables sat empty -- most with reserved signs, despite a lack of actual guests. When we asked about the wait time, we were told 45 minutes. That was frustrating, but we stayed optimistic and moved to the bar. The only bright spot? The bartenders -- incredibly attentive and professional, a dying breed in a place now overrun by bottle service posturing and bad attitudes.

After enjoying our drinks, we noticed a nearby table that had been sitting empty for several minutes -- no drinks, no reserved sign, no indication of activity. We sat down, and after about five minutes, a waitress approached us and said the table was reserved and that we'd need to speak to a manager if we wanted to sit there. Her excuse? "We didn't get a chance to put a reserved sign on it yet." That's your system? Tables without signage, left empty, are still off-limits -- based on what, exactly?

Meanwhile, another group -- two couples -- had seated themselves at a similarly unmarked, empty table and were left alone. When we pointed this out, the waitress shrugged and said, "I'll speak to them too." Unsurprisingly, she never did.

At that point, we asked to speak with a manager -- and were met with Issac. Smug, dismissive, and dripping with condescension, he acted less like a hospitality professional and more like a bouncer with a superiority complex. I calmly explained the situation, only for him to interrupt and say, "Do you know that for a fact?" Yes, Issac -- I saw it with my own eyes. He then smugly added, "I'm the guy who gets you the table. You want a table? You come to me. I decide."

We left immediately after that encounter. The table we had briefly occupied? Still empty. The couples we pointed out? Still seated. Nothing changed -- except our willingness to ever give this place another dollar.

Lounge 31 no longer values fairness, hospitality, or actual paying guests. They chase clout and cater to a shallow crowd, and their management leads with ego instead of service.

To the owners: if you're reading this -- and you should be -- you've lost control of your brand. And to Issac and team: when arrogance replaces hospitality, the downfall is only a matter of time.

There are too many outstanding venues in Dallas that actually respect their guests. Go to one of those. Lounge 31 isn't worth your money, your time, or...

I have to say, I have been to Lounge a handful of times, but I received the worst treatment in my life by staff at this place this weekend than any establishment ever, and this crossed the line. I went to Lounge 31 at night with a few of my girlfriends, and there was a line. Someone I know who was already inside went to the manager Sarah to ask if we could come in because we were with him but had arrived shortly after. I have no idea what exchange occurred between him, Sarah, and staff, but we did not complain a single bit nor try to skip the line. We watched twice as many people leave as those who were let in, and people were cutting the line and getting let in like crazy. We waited for over half an hour, and we finally got to the very front of the line. That was when Sarah came down the stairs and yelled to the bouncer “I am making these girls wait!!” Sarah then glared very rudely to us as she shouted this, and stormed off. My friends and I were appalled and confused because we did not say a word, patiently waited even though watching so many people leave but being held up while watching other skip is quite a poor look to begin with. It was such a scene that even several parties behind us made comments at how rude and messed up that was. My friends and I were EMBARRASSED and HUMILIATED. We all walked away and my friends left. However, I was still unsettled by the sheer unprofessionalism I just experienced. I walked back to speak with the security at the entrance and a friend of mine who works there. The bouncer, who I won’t name here, even apologized on behalf of the situation and agreed that nobody should be treated this way especially when we did absolutely nothing wrong. Sarah has built a negative reputation among others I have spoke with locally, and it’s really going to hurt the brand if something is not changed. She embodies everything opposite of what a successful hospitality establishment represents. I cannot emphasize enough how I would NEVER recommend this place with this...

PSA to anyone with food allergies or sensitivities, do not come here. I have a severe wheat allergy/celiac and specifically asked for my roll gluten free without fried bacon and my roll came with... fried bacon... the server was very sweet and so apologetic and i have no doubt she put the order in as gluten free but my order still came out with a fried item inside and i didn't realize until it was too late. Just really frustrating considering it takes 3 months minimum, if not up to a full year to recover after gluten exposure and this could've been avoided if everyone took it seriously but carelessness on the restaurants end now means 3-12 months until i'll feel normal again and recover. I can't even imagine what would've happened if it was someone with a deathly allergy. Also the security guard was extremely rude. I told him i had a party waiting for me and he dismissed me and said, "im sure you do, we'll get you in later" and quite literally 30 seconds later a guy came up to him and said the same exact thing and his response was "okay whats the name of the party?" Never asked ME what the name of my party was and completely brushed me off and then when i told him the name of my party he said "we don't have that name on the list." I had to have a member of my party come down and physically come get me themselves and mind you probably 10-15 people passed in front of me and got in. The worst experience i've had in any restaurant in Dallas. So disappointing and...