Trio Lounge — Restaurant in Portland

My best friend had his birthday party here this last Friday. He had previously come to the club to check it out and see if it would work for his party. He text me the next day saying that the drinks and food were so great and he couldn't wait to celebrate there. He had talked with the owner to set up when the party would be and what not. When we arrived my best friend told the two women outside who he was and that there is a room waiting for us. These two woman had no idea who we were and didn't have a name written down. The guy that stamps your wrist came over and asked what was wrong and if we had paid the cover yet. He treated us like we were scum. One of the girls finally went and got the owner. Then she came back and told us to go a head inside. We took over a room closest to the door and waited for our the waitresses that had said they would be helping us. It took 30 minutes to get someone to help us. Finally my friend went out and ordered from the bartender who, he said, had been very helpful and friendly the last time he was there and was this time as well. He started a tab out with the bartender and we got some drinks. About 10 minutes after that 2 waitresses came in to help us. We were then told that one waitress was brand new and the other waitress would be helping us as well. Not a good start when you have a party of 30 people coming. We finally got to order after asking a couple different people to come in and take our order as other guest started to arrive. The food took about an hour to get out to us and it tasted horrible. One of my friend got chicken alfredo and she said the pasta was completely cold. The rest of us got burgers that tasted funny. My best friend said the food was so much better last time. After that people started drinking and having a good time. Around 1am we decided to leave. We started paying our tabs. The waitress came in and told me that sense we had brought in a cake that there was a $15 charge for it. I told her we tried to pay that in the beginning but no one wanted to take it; plus after all the crap in the beginning of the evening I thought she should take it off the tab. She just shrugged at me. So I asked her to put it on my tab so my best friend didn't have to pay for it. I didn't want him more upset with how this night was going. He then got his tab but they didn't bring in his ID and debit card that he had left with the bartender. He asked the waitress to go out and pick it up for him when she brought back his tab. We got our tab's paid for and left. The next morning my best friend can't find his ID or debit card. The waitress didn't bring it over to him. I was so disappointed with this place. I can't believe the level of service that we got....

Trio Lounge review

There was no line at the Trio Lounge on New Years Eve and only a $10 cover, which was impressive compared to other venues. My friends and I pay our cover, and then… wander through a hastily cobbled maze of chain link fences crudely covered in butcher paper. It had a strong resemblance to the temporary haunted houses that pop up around Halloween. We soon find ourselves guided through the kitchen and onto a secluded dance floor gated off from the main portion of the club. The music was astonishingly loud, and with only a single room to be in, there was no place to talk. There were only two other features in this room other than the dance floor - the line to the bathroom, and a couple classy decanters of water in the corner. Unfortunately I have to use the bathroom. Eventually I got through the line and was greeted by what appeared to be the hardest working toilet in Portland. It’s a sight. Its porcelain skin drenched in equal parts urine and condensation.

At some point a truly overworked server walks along the perimeter of the dance floor. Dim light and loudness make it difficult to communicate, but she is amazingly good at interpreting. Pure professionalism. Twenty minutes pass and we wonder if she actually worked there. She shows balancing a tray of drinks but the lack of a table, or perhaps the darkness, or maybe the proximity to dancing bodies, it comes tumbling down. Our poor server is near tears, describing how that is the second time that has happened tonight. The floor becomes just a little more sticky, and we leave.

“It’s pretty bad in there,” we tried to let the security guard know as we left. “I’ve heard,” he replies, in the bland exhausted tone one learns when confronted with a dissatisfied public.

Honestly it was pretty eerie, there was virtually no one on staff to interact with. You pay $10 and you go into a loud dark hole. It also felt a bit like robbery, since as we were leaving we were told that we would get refunds on the drinks that fell but I was still charged.

My heart goes out to the security guards, bartenders, servers, and all the staff at Trio Lounge, that whole setup was a catastrophe. I can only imagine how stressful that night was...

Time and time again, I'll be at some of the usual bars in Portland's own Burnside strip. Romtoms with its great outdoor area, Plan-B with its grunge, and Doug Fir with its firepit and amazing music stage. Down the street I see this giant purple & pink blob that just never sat right.

One day we all decided we were going to finally check this monster out, and boy were we absolutely on spot with our assumptions.

Our friend knew the KJ and said we could probably work something out to get in for free and avoid the $10 cover. We waited outside in the rain, all huddled under the one mini-tent they had for what seemed like 30 minutes. There was nobody in line, and and the place was not that crowded. What was the deal? It turns out while the KJ was aware of our group arriving, the door person was not allowing it without all of us paying their steep cover. Screw it, we all agreed! Halfway down the street one of the promoters came out and offered us to get in. He knew that our business was appreciated and respected that we were here to have a good time, not to start a gang war or to come in and dry hump all of the ladies, we had a pretty even ratio. After a nice pat down, ID check, and photo taken of us (what is this for?) we were all in.

The place is right out of Vegas. Bright, flashy screens playing random MilkDrop-esque patterns, heavy bass that prevents you with conversing with anyone, high fashion and dress codes. I went to the bar. I had a few drinks already but wanted a few more to get my Karaoke-level buzz going. A Modelo I ask for... $5.75. Okay this is high scale pricing... I get it. My second beer, a little cheaper this time... $5.25. What did I order? A Bud Lite. $5.25 for a Bud Light bottle. I stopped my drinking right there.

We retreated into the karaoke room which, actually was not too bad. The KJs were on spot and we all got a turn to sing through the night. If you could somehow manage to direct-feed me into the karaoke room here and avoid the entire "Vegas Club" experience, I...