Union Stage — Restaurant in Washington

This new venue is owned by the same people that own Jammin Java in Vienna, Virginia. They do not have a phone number to call if you have questions but you can call Jammin Java and ask staff there questions which they may be able to answer for you. When you first enter the venue you will be carded to show your age. They will let you bring in a backpack but they just have you throw them all in a pile behind the entrance, nobody checking who places or takes what, so don't leave valuables or electronics in your backpack. Upon entry you'll be in a small room with a bar and a few tables. You can order their thin crust pizza here which was actually served quickly in about 10 minutes after ordering despite the bar being quite busy as people arrived for the concert. Beer list won't wow you but they have a fairly typical selection of local craft beer. The concert venue is actually down a set of stairs and a line formed all the way up the stairs into the bar area. Only one person checking tickets downstairs before entry to the venue itself was an unfortunate bottleneck and will frustrate fans stuck in line who can hear a band playing that they thought they would be in time for. Merch booths are in the main venue area. This room is quite large, perhaps about as wide as the upstairs of the Black Cat (now the only concert room at the Black Cat really) though probably less deep. There is a massive pole you will not want to stand behind but most people should be able to avoid it. They did have free water at the end of the bar that you can serve yourself. There is no proper photo pit for professional photographers with photo passes, though there is a small aisle along the left wall they were shooting from. I'm sure this is less than ideal. The stage lighting was decent but the worst thing is that the bands were just not very loud, especially on the bass side of the spectrum. This probably won't matter for some bands but if you're going to see metal bands or other either bass heavy or just loud bands, you're going to be a bit disappointed. I found out this is because the venue has been getting noise complaints from the Irish bar directly upstairs so they have instituted a decibel limit. Unfortunately this makes some bands sound neutered. The most bizarre thing to me was the VIP section, which is several tabled seats with waiter service. They upcharge for access to this section and it was completely behind the general admission standing room section. In other words if you pay up for this you'll be in the back of the room sitting behind hundreds of people standing. What a dumb idea and I cannot see any value in this unless you are someone with mobility issues or trouble standing as these were the only seats in the main concert room. I'm always glad to check out new venues in DC but until they work something out with the neighbors about volume levels I'm not sure I'll be going back much considering the kinds of bands I like and how...

-For a small venue I overall enjoyed the place. The Staff/employees was very friendly and talked to me even in a non business route which is needed. -Not many tables for premiere plus there first come first serve so if you want one better go early. They don’t check or have enough staff to do so, so honestly I feel anyone could walk over -As for the reasons I rated this place lower is because of other reasons. As for security you can easily sneak any type of weapon in. No metal detectors or anything to check. The Venue is held downstairs kinda like a basement. Nowadays I feel this is needed to keep every venue safe. Not anyone’s fault it’s just sadly what the world come too. Needs higher security for people like me to be safe -I’ve never been a person to ever be in a pit. Always been to big arenas with seats but the only way to get a good view was to go in the pit. Luckily it wasn’t to wild but I’m 21 and sadly 5’9 so it’s harder for me to see. If you’re short this venue ain’t for you. It’s for anyone 6 foot or taller. I had fun but to see was a little challenge. I believe the venue can make the stage just even a small foot or 2 taller & I believe it will help a better view for people like me and for others in the back. Maybe also add a small elevated platform in the very back or very right side beside the bar. besides that everything else you should find fine there. The Security, Viewing & Stage is all that needs work. It is a small venue that seems to only hold around 400-500 people though so I’ll give them props. Always room for improvements. Enjoyed the experience though just would rather give this info to someone that needs it. Enjoy yourself is...

The venue itself was nice and the bartenders/staff were very friendly and pleasant. The food looked really good, though I didn't eat anything that night. Great beer selection.

The only issue I have, which is sadly a BIG one, is accessibility/parking. Union Stage's website refers to 'the Wharf' site for parking recommendations. They have three garages, all of which were full on the night I was attending a show here. After this, the Wharf recommends two backup garages which are at a minimum a 15 minute walk from the venue. The clearance on both backup garages were too low of clearance for my vehicle to fit. As a result, I lost 45 minutes driving around between the five different garages and eventually looking for street parking, which I found over a mile away from the venue which I then had to walk.

I get it, it's DC and you're "encouraging people to walk" but when you're driving over an hour away for a show, that's not an option. Practically, we don't live in a society where that is an option for everyone yet. It's a great ideal, but just not our reality. Until then, I don't think it's reasonable to expect people to look for parking for 45 minutes and then still walk two miles just to visit the Wharf and this venue in particular.

If nothing can be done to change the parking situation, for people unfamiliar with the area, a warning message on your website would have been welcomed so that I could have planned to spend that time on parking. Sadly, I missed the entire opening act as a result of this. There needs to be more information/better communication regarding the parking situation for those who are not...