My friend and I went here and he's black... which shouldn't matter. On arrival a man called at my friend and called him Drake. My friend was then charged double what I was charged for a single vodka Redbull. To top it off we overheard a woman beside us making racial remarks asking "why there were so many black women here tonight." Not a friendly place for people of color AT ALL. So many different karaoke bars with a better environment for everyone. read more

Uncomfortable setting and unwelcoming crowd! I would recommend trying out other bars if you want to have a good time. Drinks also seem priced oddly so wouldn't recommend that either. read more

I would ignore most of the negative reviews you see on here. This is a fun bar and a very fun karaoke bar setting. The food is classic bar food to soak up the drinks. The bartenders were all great and there were plenty of staff for when it gets packed. The one complaint is that the DJ/Owner is pretty picky on what songs you can sing. "No slow or sad songs" was stretched to No Country, essentially. Unless you are a regular it seems. Not a huge deal but something that I would probably not do if I was them. I mean there were people singing punk rock very poorly at the top of their longs, would some Tyler Childers really kill that vibe? Should we start moshing? But highly recommend coming for a team building type thing or a group night out. Personal shoutout to Javier who was there solo and killed it read more

Friend's Karaoke Pub - Group karaoke - Friends in Low Places - Bars Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

I just left there and I will never go back. I truly hope other people consider not giving this establishment their money. Tonight the DJ got extremely angry and yelled he would kick out the out the person who was singing because she swung the microphone (which several people had done). I have to mention she was a person of color and during this episode with the DJ, I see an employee (the tall bald man) walking to the front towards the stage and he says to one of the bartenders (a small blonde woman) "yeah it's a bunch of n******." Mind you this woman who just got up and sang was the most entertaining one of the night and got everyone up out of their seats. But then the vibes were off immediately after that and rightfully so. My group got up and left immediately. I truly regret not saying something to the man in the moment, but I was in such shock I just got up and left, I did say something to one of the other bartenders when she asked if everything was ok and a person in our group also told the person working security. I did ask if he was the owner to one of the worker and she stated he was, I'm not sure of the accuracy because on here it looks to be a woman. However I know for a fact it was one of their employees who seemed to think he called the shots of this establishment. read more

They are forced to gatekeep the song requests for karaoke. No "slow or sad" songs, so unless you want to sing 90s hip hop or pop songs, go to hour house, Edit to add: bartender was amazing, karaoke host was amazing, but the pressure from ownership to please himself and make it a club scene makes me not want to come back. read more

Have you ever been denied a glass of water? Has anyone ever gone to a local Missouri bar thinking that they were supporting local businesses? Has anyone ever gone to France and been charged for a glass of water?! Well I have. When I came back to America, I was proud to say that we would give a cold glass of water to our own citizens. Well who would have known that you would have gotten kicked out of a local business simply for expressing outrage of this supposed American right? My friends and I sure didn't. We gathered on a cool, September evening just thinking we would enjoy each other's company when in fact, when I got a small case of the hiccups and asked for a glass of tap water, I would not only be shut down, but also insulted for simply asking for one. First, the staff ignored my simple request for water, even though I had already paid for a drink, and gave them my credit card to hold onto. Then upon asking why any kind of water would cost money, they called over their manager, Aaron. Then I got slightly upset and raised my voice in volume, which is a lot considering I was in a bar, and the bouncer came and stood beside us. Once again, I apologized to the gentleman with my card and the one that could have simply given me a glass of water because I was having trouble breathing and talking because I had the hiccups. The young, blonde lady Olivia had no reservations telling me to get out after I had stated that it was almost like we were living in a communist state where even midwestern Americans couldn't get a free glass of tap water, after which mentioning, Olivia told me "I could get a free drink of water out of the toilet." I state names, only because I felt so offended by my simple requests, and even after I apologized personally to Aaron, the young man with a beard, explaining to him that all I had wanted was a drink of water to stop my hiccups, that I had only gotten from drinking beer at the bar I had visited. I have certainly learned my lesson in the future, and will not assume I can ask simple questions, no matter the volume at which I speak, nor assume I can have a drink of tap water at any bar, despite being able to receive free tap water at most restaurants around Springfield, Missouri. I am simply appalled, and will be encouraging anyone and everyone not to visit this establishment ever again. read more

Nice friendly atmosphere, no cover charge and drinks are affordable. Mix crowd from all walks of life, great social mix. Music is always great selection and lots of fun hearing people sing. If you are hungry this is not the spot, if they would expand their food selection this would be a perfect spot. I would give them a 4 out of 5. Still a great place to hangout, very safe and security is always watching. read more

Loved the $1 shots. Good music. Karaoke was mostly country but the others was lit! When it time to go. Just go cause there are a lot of crazy people waiting on the parking lot. Ladies be very careful. read more

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Love friends, the DJ is so good everyone is so friendly! I love the vibe! KATIE AND JESS are amazing I love them. The service is so good they always had another drink ready for me when I was about to need another. read more

Bartender tried charging almost $3 for tap water. Made up some lie about the amount of people moving here from California or something. If you charge for water then leave it at that don't make up some crap that's obviously a lie. ITS WATER read more

Cool place to hangout but the wait for drinks this past Friday was shit. 3 bartenders behind the bar and a bar back but I didn't get any service. I waited PATIENTLY to purchase a single shot of Jameson. The bartender went down the row of customer and fucken skipped me. I know for sure the bar back knew how fucken long I was standing there and didn't say shit. He's a bartender too and I know there are assigned roles but dude it was busy. HELP! After 25 minutes I finally got a drink but it was not from the bartender I was waiting on. My friends were at the other end of the bar trying to get service as well. They were able to get their drinks and saw I was till waiting and order my shot for me! We did not stay long after this. read more

While the concerns expressed by other reviewers are valid and the level of class at this establishment could use an upgrade, Friends still gets high marks from this karaoke veteran due to the sheer enthusiasm and energy level of the crowd. My one experience at Friends occurred last year, when a handful of friends who had never seen me perform demanded I do so immediately after learning of my fondness for karaoke bars. The place was absolutely jam-packed, so I expected a long wait, but one of my friends grew impatient and paid the DJ $50 to let me cut in line. Obviously, I'm not a regular, but my read on this place going in was that the musical tastes of the crowd probably leaned more toward Hank Sr. than Immortal Technique - in other words, the exact opposite of yours truly. Faced with such seemingly insurmountable odds, I did what any self-respecting karaoke wizard would do: picked a song universally loved across all genre preferences. In other words, I performed Baby Got Back. Needless to say, they loved it. People danced. Women sang the female backup vocals when I pointed the mic at them. Men cheered, "Hell yeah," when I asked them if their girlfriends had the butt. It was glorious, as were the slack-jawed expressions on my friends' faces when it was done. read more

Ok, it might not be the classiest place around, but the karaoke here is great and the drinks are cheap! DJ Ross is AWESOME. We come here every time we're in town and have a blast! read more

Friend's Karaoke Pub - Bars Near Me - Springfield, Missouri

Fun place to be Friday and Saturday night. If you are bored and want to be entertained this is the best place for you!!! Dj and the owner are great of keep the songs rolling. Cheap deal on beer pitcher and shots. There are some regular that will sing the same song every week but they are fun and would keep you entertained. If you are not into karaoke, there are tons to pool tables available. Smoking spaces outside for you. read more

While I normally have a good time, I watched their bouncers body slam a middle aged woman last night to the ground and also heard another guy tell a bouncer "choke him til he's out" and they weren't even the ones cAusing the problem inside. So be careful if you go there. Their security is not professional and use their job to fight customers. On a good note, they have had every song I ever wanted to sing and Ross makes sure everyone has a good time. May need to send his security staff to training though. read more

The DJ would not let me sing. I requested 3 different songs and he played all women's songs. He is a sexist and would not recommend this place to anybody! read more

I LOVE FRIENDS! DJ Ross is very personable and a whole lot of fun! Don't ask for a slow song on the weekends because he wants to keep the party alive! I second that motion, come on! My friend and I have been a couple times now and will keep going back! Our first time, DJ Ross welcomed us within 20 min of arriving. My friend doesn't sing main stream, but Ross searched around for a while until he found his song. He remembered us the following week and took time to come over to our table twice. He had the singers on a rotation.. Noone got special treatment. The birthday girl got a shot of Tequila on the house. . That's the way a pub should take care of their FRIENDS. . am I right!? Thanks to the staff for great service and especially to DJ Ross!! Go check it out for yourself! read more

I'll be honest...someone I know has a parent who owns the place, but I haven't seen any of the complaints that other reviews have discussed on my first time here. Seems to be a good atmosphere, with a good crowd of friendly people. I did not have any food so I can't speak to that. read more

We were charged $30.00 more on our credit card than our receipt shows. We have been trying to get a hold of Mark or Caleb for over a week to get this resolved. We have left multiple messages and every time we call they tell us that neither of them are in. This could be a simple misunderstanding but the fact that they are ignoring us makes me wonder if it was intentional. read more

First time there, very impressed. Friendly staff and great entertainment. We don't sing, but enjoyed the singers and atmosphere. We will definitely be back! The crowd was very diverse, all ages, and friendly. We don't get out much and never had the feeling we ended up in the wrong place. Just a little hidden, if you're not familiar, but worth looking for. read more

Cheep drinks but expensive food. Its really fun for a group of friends who want to sing or even just watch other people sing. They had 3 pool tables and a very large drink selection. They also ran deals all night like dollar shots and things like that. It was pretty fun. read more

DO NOT GO HERE! The owner of this place is a total asshole. If you're going to a bar to sing karaoke don't bother unless you're willing to pay him or wait 3 hours. I went to this bar with my friend who is in the military and only had a few days in the country and asked if he could sing. The owner said and I quote "it will never happen." All the people that had bribed him he advertised out loud and those people sang every third song. You shouldn't have to bribe the dj to sing at a karaoke bar. We waited many hours. My friend never got to sing and shipped out to Japan three days later. I saw the same four people sing every hour and we waited 3+ hours for my military friend to sing and it never happened. This guy does not care about business or about you. If you're willing to pay him $20 to sing your song at karaoke then please go. Otherwise, steer clear and check out Bugsy Malone's, who actually lets you sing the songs in the order they are received. Friends is not a good place, and springfield has many other great places to visit that are worth your time. This place is despicable. DO NOT GO HERE! It is not worth your money! read more

We used to be regulars and go there all the time. The staff used to be cool. This last time we went, the staff had attitudes and were more interested in their social lives than taking care of customers. However, I will admit that the karaoke is pretty awesome, especially on the weekends and the atmosphere otherwise is pretty chill. NO problems in this bar. read more

I've read the other 2 reviews and I'm going in the middle. The good. He tends to run a fast show. I usually sing at least twice sometimes 3 times in an evening. They do karaoke 7 nights a week which is a big plus. Ross does it 4 nights. He has 2 others that do. Sunday thru Tuesday. Our server is the best because we are regulars. Now the bad part. Yes, Ross can and does get on people's last nerve. Yes he does play favorites and money talks and that's ok but when it Jack's with other people, I tend to not like that. Bars are not about free liquor so I fervently disagree with the person that gave the 5 stars. Food is average. The pizza is ok. Nothing to write hone to mother about. Drinks are reasonable. They have nightly shot specials as well as dollar test tube shots. Unfortunately I won't be going back any time soon. You can't piss in someone's playground and expect them not return the favor. Until the BS stops, these regulars can find other places to spend their money. read more