Mason Lounge — Restaurant in Madison

Went here for the first time on Saturday night. Drinks are affordable, and the decor is super cute, BUT the bartender is not friendly, nor is the restroom clean. He’s very friendly toward white folks tho, as he is a white man with some basic clothes-shorts, t-shirt, hat, and beard-and less than inviting attitude to BIPOC. This place would be fantastic if the bartender were more welcoming to BIPOC locals, but, from my observation of more than three different white customers, he’s very preferential to white people. They may be regulars, but he was just very cold and short to me on two separate occasions. It doesn’t seem like he was trying to grow the bar’s clientele or providing good service either way. The men’s bathroom also is problematic. It smells of urine, and the low vent is blackened by what may be mold. I was trying to hold my breath. The bar...

Olivia the bartender rocks. So hard. By far the nicest bartender EVER. Great conversationalist when she's not busily slinging drinks. Always willing to answer a question or help you out. Unpretentious. Mason is a dive bar by choice, not necessity. It's a great, dank, woody, comfortable, intimate joint to have a few drinks with friends and talk about the Cosmos. And they serve cosmos too. As well as a vast and rotating selection of craft beers on tap, and wine, and whiskey, and whatnot. In good weather, the enclosed beer garden, albeit small, is a great place to hang. Be sure to catch the weekly jazz night on Tuesdays from 9 pm to midnight. Free admission. Take an Uber or have a DD though, because you'll want to sample all the varieties of...

The Mason Lounge is one of my favorite spots in Madison. It just has a very unique atmosphere unlike any other bar in town. I love their tap list. It has a ton of unique beers you don't often see on tap, but they tend to stay away from the super expensive big barrel aged beers that tend to be 10 or more bucks a pop. I appreciate that given plenty of bars in Madison already offer those beers. Mason also has a weekly live jazz night on Tuesdays as well as a couple other music acts every month. Those nights can be a little crowded, but I'd highly recommend...