Two and a half stars. About ten of us trickled in here on the last stop of KK4. The blacklight at…read morethe entrance made me want to flagellate myself with a pair of lint rollers, stat. Was equally surprised that no one checked in for even non-alcoholic refreshment purposes, and that's the primary reason for swinging short of 3 stars instead of 4. To be honest I wasn't terribly content with song choice availability; Nicole and I definitely would've been happy dueting Fireflies, but overall I scribbled down codes for maybe a dozen songs after skimming the selection. Yelp discounts are great, considering that all their medium rooms were full. Eventually I'll figure out why the remote never takes my awesome indie song choices. I was relieved to see that there was a nice vent along the wall by one of the benches, making the room a comfortable temperature during our stay. Potential for music volume is enough to satisfy even a metalhead. Most of us chose to sit or stand as we pleased, but there was definitely a raised platform in one corner if we cared to go full-on backup dancer. Fortunately this was "sober up hour" and not "pound more soju hour". Two full sets of songbooks to pass around. Tambourine was less popular than the two mics, but not for a lack of happy tinny chimes. Seconding props to Oscar M. for beatboxing and being an excellent backup singer when my voice was too hoarse.

Our fouth installment of the Korean Krawl brought us here after visiting Gom Tang E and Wara Wara…read more Apparently the word here is that only old men come to Riverside...so I was reluctant to pick this place, but I figured it was worth a shot since they were offering a discount. So there are three businesses separated by levels. 2nd Floor - Riverside Cafe 1st Floor - Riverside Sauna Basement - Riverside Karaoke We only visited the basement level karaoke rooms. It's a rather small place, and if I recall correctly only 3 or 4 rooms. We took the large room ($50/hr) which fit our party of 10 comfortably. After the other two places, the plan was to sober up here...so I told the guy we were here just to sing. I appreciate the fact that there was no pressure to buy food and drinks here as can be the case with other places. I guess you are supposed to go up two levels to the cafe for that. I'd have to disagree with Nicole...it wasn't the volume that was uncomfortably loud, it was some people's singing. **cough cough Mikkela singing lust for life cough** ;) j/k Anyway we should have just used the volume control. So after the end of an hour, which felt longer than it actually was *wink* we wrapped up just before I could sing Go West - Pet Shop Boy. Maybe at the next KK event. I'll need to pair up with a female vocal to sing Dr. Jone - Aqua. I think I've decided to retire Butterfly - Smile.dk. Anyway with the discount it was $40 between 10 people. Totally worth it I thought.

I WANTED to give this place my business and they made it more or less impossible to do so…read more My coworkers and I wanted to do karaoke after work on Friday. Since Annandale has so many karaoke spots, I asked for a recommendation from my cousin, and she said Cafe Chocolate has the better music, etc. She said since there's only 5 karaoke rooms, getting reservations is best, and that the rooms were about $40/hour. I called them about 2 days before, and they said they didn't take reservations and that it was first come first serve. Hm, okay. My cousin thought, well, maybe they recently changed that policy. My coworkers decided then that we'd come right after work to make sure we could get a room. Firstly, we get there and they tell us it's $60/hour, no matter if we get the smaller room or the medium sized room. Why are both rooms the same price? Second, the menu is mostly bar food and no actual food. We just came from work and we were really hungry. Not to mention, the prices were terrible. It was like $9 for a plate of fries. The worst is that even though we were already contemplating trying somewhere else to go, the people explicitly suggested to us "maybe you should go somewhere else." They didn't even want us? Our theory was maybe because we weren't planning to get drunk, that we weren't worth using up a room. Who knows. Also, I told my cousin about all of this, and she was pretty shocked. She also went here last weekend, and they definitely only charged her $40/hour. Now I'm pretty convinced they just didn't want our business for some odd reason or other.

I really liked the omurice! There were a bunch of tiny pieces of diced peppers and ham that made up…read morefor the fact that it took a really long time to get my food. The price was a bit expensive at $14-$15 an omurice The egg skin on top covered the whole rice and was very satisfying! The only complaint I have is it would be nice to eat it without having to inject some second hand smoke but that's probably not able to be changed since this place is a bar where smoking indoors is allowed. In terms of the kareoke experience (I had come for my friends birthday party), I loved it! The song selector was easy to use after we figured out the buttons which were all in Korean (motivation to learn Korean!) and they had a SUPER updated list of songs I love it!! :)

Truly a hidden gem! It's located behind cafe tuah - pretty hidden since it's on the other side of…read morethe building facing the street. I came for karaoke with some friends and the room we were in was huge and had YouTube available as well as the normal karaoke system. I tried some of the food items and the kimbap was delish! The fruits were perf for a refreshing snack while singing. If you're looking for a karaoke spot, check this place out :)

I've been to a lot of dive bars and bars in general in my life, but Pangpang might be one of the…read moreweirdest. I went with a female friend of mine and we both found the place odd right off the bat. They have a limited alcohol selection and NO MENU... and we were given a strange look when we went in... why? Because I'm not sure that they ever have female customers. There were all men there and like 6 female bartenders who sat across the bar from each man, sharing his food and talking. We didnt get this treatment because it kinda felt like us being there just to grab a drink wasnt the expected thing to do at the bar. It felt super shifty. Additionally in both our limited opinions, the place kinda smelled like a strip club. The drinks were ok though...kindof pricey for Annandale. If you're looking for something more than drinks and are a dude, I think you'll find it here. Dont take my word for it... just go. 1 star

3.5 stars. This place is somewhere in between "A-OK" and "I'm a fan!"...so I'll round up…read more This was the last stop of our Korean Crawl through Annandale. I was rather impressed, however it's in a terrible location. If you aren't looking for it, you'll never find it. It's completely surrounded by other buildings, and the only way to get to the place is through a small tiny backalley road. At first glance, the exterior of the place looks rather nice and inviting. When you step inside, you are greeted with an equally nice interior. Our group, a bunch of Asians (not all Korean though) and our token white girl all sit at the bar. Service was average, and as a previous reviewer mentioned, the female bartenders were young and attractive. It was hardly busy especially for a Saturday around midnight. We order a few drinks as we wind down our night. The complimentary popcorn was much appreciated. All in all I had a great time. Hope to be back.

Go to Cafe Sole if you enjoy singing karaoke while choking in smoky rooms with terrible…read moreventilation. Patrons were smoking at the bar and in the adjacent karaoke room and the smoke came through the wall. It's a throwback to the bad old days of leaving a bar with your clothes and person wreaking of cigarettes. Since there are so many other good nearby options for karaoke -- with the same karaoke machine and setup -- there is no reason to go here if you are a non-smoker. Could be a cool place otherwise. Service was decent. UPDATE Wanted to suggest three good karaoke alternatives: Cafe Tu Ah (within walking distance) has a nice bar and karaoke rooms, friendly service, and the same karaoke machines as Cafe Sole with English, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese songs that gets regular updates with the latest hits. Dain Cafe also has this machine but with more sparkly lights to help set off your awesomely bad singing. Cafe Muse serves tasty entrees and has an extremely deep song catalog but it usually takes many months for them to update with recent songs. In-room service is provided at all three of these places and none allow smoking.

Another new up and coming hotspot in Annandale. This two floor building features more of a casual…read moresit down restaurant and bar on the bottom and a more social bar vibe upstairs, meant for but not limited to bigger group hangouts. From my understanding, this place is owned by the former owner of Khan, which was a well respected establishment in the area. I've only hung out upstairs, but it's a calmer vibe than a lot of the other hotspots in Annandale. There's no DJ and it's not super crowded, but the music is good and it truly is a place to just drink and hang out with your friends. The food here is actually phenomenal. From skewers to shareables like the potato pancake to entrées like the spicy creamy pasta, I've been very satisfied with it all. But really, what tops the food is the service. We've had the pleasure of being served by some of the nicest people, Bruce the manager, Scott, Jack, who we now call Jack Jack, and Hayden. Need a place to drink? Chung Dam got you.

Open late, which makes it a convenient spot after pickleball, JMT, or whenever your group needs…read moresomewhere to hang out. The atmosphere is great for socializing, though it can get pretty loud on weekends. Service is fast and friendly. Food is hit or miss. Most of the smaller dishes are decent, but some feel overpriced. We took one for the team and can report that the $9 corn cheese was incredibly mid. The khanpoong chicken is the only main meal worth it to us. A Korean friend also recommended the bossam and skewers, and I'd agree the skewers are worth ordering. Donkatsu was okay, and the kikurage was good but probably only good bc I got the sauce on the side. Overall, a good late-night hangout spot, but not somewhere I'd go out of my way for the food.

The best in live music…read more I've seen may great acts there through the years Love the beer and the lack of pretense

Always great live music, the crowd is fun and friendly, the staff works hard - always a good time…read moreat JVs!

To start with the good, I absolutely love the dance floor. The DJ has great songs going, there are…read morea TON of lights and fx, and there's usually at least a few people dancing. The rest of the experience is mid. I've not had the food here, but the drink selection is just OK. Some standard beers and overly-sweet mixed drinks are the main selection. The staff is often slow and seems disinterested. All in all, it's a decent time. Good tunes and vibes, with OK drinks and service.

Pool! $2 for each game or $5 for 3 games. Obviously we went for the $5 for 3 games. It was nice…read morevibe, you could ask the bartender for a specific genre of music. Our bartender/server was Emily! She was super sweet, and helpful and respectful. If you go ask for her because she really cared about your experience. They also have happy hour Monday-Thursday from 3pm to 7pm. There was another guy who was helping out in an orange shirt and he was very welcoming, but I forgot to get his name(maybe the owner???)He let us know that's pool is free on Wednesdays!

We recently checked out JMT Kitchen & Bar on a Saturday night after hearing great things from…read morefriends -- and we definitely came hungry. We ordered a spread: gyoza with sweet and spicy sauce, kimchi pancakes, fried shrimp, soy garlic wings, takoyaki, LA galbi, and jjampong with noodles... plus way too many drinks. We arrived early and scored prime seats by the bar, which turned out to be perfect, especially once the night shifted into more of a club vibe with a DJ. The energy was great, and most of the food was surprisingly delicious -- everything hit except the jjampong. We were expecting udon noodles, but it came with thin, clear noodles instead, and the flavor was a bit off for us. That said, the staff handled everything perfectly, and it didn't take away from the rest of the experience. Between the food, drinks, and nightlife atmosphere, we had an awesome time and will definitely be back. If you're looking for a spot that delivers on both taste and fun without compromise, this is it.

I really hate leaving negative reviews, but I think people should be aware before visiting…read more JMT has a clean environment and is usually a fun place to watch games. Unfortunately, I have not had a good service experience here. I visited a couple of times during the World Cup because of their advertised drink specials, and both visits ended with us being overcharged. When we questioned it, the staff gave what felt like the same rehearsed explanation each time. Before ordering, we specifically confirmed with our server that they were running the $5 rail drink special. By definition, a rail (or well) drink is made with the house liquor and a standard mixer. At JMT, however, you'll be charged extra for every little addition without anyone telling you beforehand. A splash of cranberry juice or tonic water resulted in additional charges that were never mentioned by either the server or the bartenders. On top of that, a 25% gratuity was automatically added despite our server being largely inattentive. Throughout the night, we repeatedly had to get up and ask for things ourselves, and not everyone at our table even received a cup for water. To make matters worse, both their menu and website clearly state that automatic gratuity applies to parties of 8 or more, yet our party of 6 was automatically charged 25%. When we brought these concerns to our server, he spoke with the manager, whose response was simply, "That's how we do things here." He explained that he wasn't familiar with the drinks because the bartenders determine the charges, and that it would be difficult to void and reprocess the bill. We were also told that they always add 25% gratuity for parties of 6 and that, in their view, a rail is simply a shot rather than a mixed well drink. Those explanations directly contradict both common industry terminology and the information advertised on their own menu and website. I understand that restaurants and bars get busy, and mistakes happen. What was disappointing was being told that they've been operating this way for a long time instead of acknowledging the inconsistencies or updating their advertised policies. That reflects poor management more than an isolated mistake. It doesn't feel good to invite friends somewhere only to have everyone end up paying more than expected because the advertised specials and gratuity policies don't match what is actually charged. I can't say how often this happens, but after experiencing it on multiple visits, I'd strongly recommend reviewing your bill carefully before paying.