Elysium - Live Music Bar — Restaurant in McKinney

Extremely disappointing experience. I visited Elysium for their buffet and was shocked at the rude behavior from the staff—especially one person in a red shirt who was unnecessarily harsh and disrespectful. Despite the fact that gratuity was already added to the bill, the service was nonexistent. No basic courtesy, no attentiveness, and certainly no hospitality you’d expect from a place charging premium prices. It felt like we were bothering them just by being there.

Restaurants thrive on service, and unfortunately, this place failed miserably. I would not recommend this to anyone looking for a welcoming or respectful dining experience.

Very poor service experience — not recommended. I came here for the buffet and was completely disappointed by the staff’s rude and dismissive behavior, especially from one person in a red shirt. There were no napkins on the table, no greetings, no basic courtesy, and absolutely no attention given to the guests.

Also,they automatically charged gratuity — and still made no effort to provide decent service. It felt like they were picking and choosing whom to treat with respect based on race, gender, or even arrival time. I noticed other guests getting more attention while we were ignored entirely.

Whether you’re local or visiting from another region, this kind of biased and unwelcoming behavior leaves a terrible impression. A hospitality business must treat every customer with respect — Elysium failed that completely.

Very disappointing experience – poor service, cold food, and a complete lack of hospitality.

I visited Elysium Dallas for their buffet recently and had one of the most unpleasant dining experiences I’ve ever encountered. From the moment we arrived, the staff was rude and indifferent, especially a male staff member in a red shirt who acted irritated any time we asked for something basic.

The service was shockingly poor: • No napkins provided despite checking on us • No water and forget about refills, no one checking in on the table, and absolutely no sense of basic courtesy. • Despite all this, they automatically added gratuity to the bill — with zero explanation and zero effort to justify it.

The food? • Several items were cold when they were supposed to be hot. • The so-called hot dishes were either sitting out for too long or simply reheated — not fresh, not flavorful, and definitely not worth the price. • Dessert section was almost empty by the time we reached, and no one seemed interested in refilling anything.

What made it worse was a noticeable bias in how guests were treated. Some tables (likely regulars or based on ethnicity, gender, or region) were being served attentively, while others — like us — were completely ignored. This kind of discriminatory attitude is completely unacceptable in any hospitality setting.

Also, their timings online are inaccurate — we arrived well within posted hours, yet parts of the buffet were already being cleared or left untouched.

All in all, this was a waste of time and money. I would strongly advise anyone thinking of visiting to reconsider — there are plenty of better Indian restaurants in the Dallas area that actually understand hospitality and treat customers...

Dear Elisium Team,

First of all, I want to say this comes from a genuine place as a regular customer who really liked your vibe in the past. I hope you’ll take this as constructive feedback.

I’ve been to Elisium around eight times now. My first 4–5 visits were truly impressive—the crowd was great, the DJ was on point, the live music had good energy, and the overall ambience was fantastic. But over my last three visits, I’ve seen a noticeable decline. To be honest, it’s starting to feel like another Alamdir (Addison), which used to have a great Desi vibe but lost it because of similar issues.

Overcrowding and Safety Concerns Initially, you kept the crowd limited so people could actually move and dance. Lately, it feels like anyone is being let in without control, purely for the money. It’s become so packed it’s suffocating—literally hard to move or dance.

Worse, with that oversized crowd come a few badly behaved people. Drunk, disrespectful guys purposely falling on women, touching them, and generally harassing them. I’ve also witnessed fights breaking out multiple times—people shoving or fighting because there’s no room. It honestly looked like street brawls near dhabas or cheap bars back home.

Ventilation and AC Issues For such a huge crowd, your ventilation is just not keeping up. Even with the doors open, it’s stifling inside—especially in summer. Today it was truly unbearable. Once Dil Raju left, it felt like you switched off the AC completely.

Live Music Needs Updating When you started, your live music was excellent and felt fresh. But now it’s the same old setlist every time, same order, same intros. It’s stuck in DJ Tillu-era songs. It really needs new songs—some new melodies, folk numbers, updated Telugu hits. It’s gotten very boring and repetitive.

DJ Needs Improvement and Updating This is the biggest letdown lately. Your DJ didn’t even know songs people were requesting (like “Shaky Shaky,” which we even typed in). Instead, it’s the same recycled stuff: Jai Balayya, DJ Tillu, Mayadari Maisamma, Pushpa 2 at best. Nothing really current or creative in mixing.

A good DJ needs to stay updated, experiment with new hits, and read the crowd. But lately, people are literally leaving when the DJ set starts because it’s so stale and unoriginal.

In Closing This isn’t meant to bash you. I genuinely loved Elisium’s vibe when you first opened. It was a cool, classy, safe space with a great Desi party atmosphere. But now it’s changing fast, and many people are starting to call it “the new Alamdir.”

Please maintain your level. Control the crowd, improve security and the experience, refresh your live music setlist, and push your DJs to really stay current. You’ve built something good—don’t let it slide.

Thanks for reading. I really hope you’ll take this...

Don’t even know where to start , we came here two weeks ago and seated outside in the patio . Food was amazing . Drinks were on time toooo ! We ordered hookah and they took more than 40 mins we keep on asking people for it but they insisted ,we asked to cancel it because the time couldn’t permit even if we get it now , we will only have only some time . But they didn’t cancel and bought us one after long time . And it didn’t work and still then we told them to cancel it . But still they insisted then reema i guess she is the organizer . She came in and helped kinda saved that day !!

And we went Yesterday too ! It’s even horrible this time . We really like the atmosphere and the vibe but management is such a mess . We ordered hookah again and it took 1 hr plus this time , constantly asking about it . Why does it take much time ??They need more people to help maybe . And then they have got one , it’s not wt we ordered . They took it back and gave another one its not working 😂and i asked them u can at-least cancel it now . Then they said they cant cancel items . Then why do they have a menu if they cant serve it properly , !! and then four time they exchanged again with something else ,thats not so good either , at this point i lost all my patience even to speak to them . The serving people are very good and answering very-well . They cant do anything about it either . And here comes the worst part we were dancing and our food plates were taken by one of the person who serves us . When we asked they said they are tissue on the plate . We didn’t touch the food that much we ate only 1-2 pieces there is so-much wind out side maybe a tissue came on top when we didn’t notice . They changed our hookah 4 times this time our food plates are taken away without asking our consent . Then they immediately tried to replace with another one . It was good .

Finally the place is worth it ! But poor maintenance , no sync between people who are working and highest entry fee in all Telugu pubs we have , so please try to correct these things . We will pay what we ordered but if u cant make it good and will take hours to do it at least u can cancel it no one...