Blend Lounge offers a pretty good experience overall. One of my best friends decided to celebrate…read moreher birthday @ BlendLounge on Dec 10th. I'm not sure how easy or hard it was to book a table as she did that on her own. We showed upon a little before 11:30pm and got in with no issues. It was about 5 of us and we all RSVP'd using their eventbrite link, which states all ladies free before 11:30pm. The establishment is quite modern - colored lights, a garden wall photo-op, and plush seating. Although its a large room, it was there were tables and section in almost every area, I didn't see the dance floor. We were immediately catered too upon arrival, but we received a terrible section. We were seated by the bar, right next to the bathroom and a speaker, which was behind a short wall/section. It looked like our section was an afterthought to take advantage of the empty space. We didn't complain but I wish they had given us a heads up that the entire section wasn't for us, we were technically only offered half the section. This became inconvenient when they split the section and offered it to another group. The couch seating only allowed 3 people to sit comfortably, if separating the tables. It was 5 people in my group, including me. 4 of us squished up on the couch, while I grabbed a stool/partition to sit on. One of the staff asked me to get up off the small stool so they could partition the tables. I simply responded "Well, where am I going to sit?" and she walked away with no response. Another staff ended up bringing a new partition. The group came over and it was so packed and uncomfortable. I guess the staff realized this and gave the group some options but eventually, they were moved. Another group ended up coming towards the end and it worked better since the party was in full swing and many of us were not sitting anymore. In addition to spacing, location was an issue. We were sitting next to the bathroom. Aside from the constant door opening, there was a line eventually and people would come over and boldly sit in our section, as if we weren't there and paid for our section. Very annoying. They need to work on that.
Moving alone, the atmosphere was pretty good. The DJ played a great mix of hip-hop, R&B (including some 90s classics), dancehall, and soca. We were up and moving for most of the night. The crowd is a mix of maybe mid-20s all the way up to late 30s, so a nice variety. Dress code doesn't seem to be enforced, so I would take it lightly. I saw girls in winter boots and body suits, so take that as a guide lol. Staff are nice for the most part. They came over to our table with lights and sparklers to wish my friend a happy birthday; a very great touch for the occasion. We did not order from the bar as we had a bottle package - 2 bottles of alcohol, 1 bottle of champagne, and an appetizer. The 2 bottles of alcohol are specific to options they provide, anything not listed is an upcharge. We ended up paying the upcharge as the option we wanted wasn't available. The appetizers feature basic bar food. We opted for buffalo wings. I don't think they prepare them on the premises. They were kind of cold, but tasted alright. We also ordered hookah but I did not try it.
Now, I just wanted to circle back to the layout of this place. Again, its a large room with multiple sections. My friend wanted to get on a dance floor and mingle a bit. When we walked thru the crowd trying to find the dance floor we realized, there was no dance floor. It's just tables and sections all around. People were hugging the wall, some empty space by the bar, and the walkway/area between the entrance and the section area, but there really isn't a place to dance. You're confined to dancing in your section or the empty space by the bar. Now I get that it's a lounge, but it gave more of a club vibe, so I was surprised that there wasn't an actual open dance floor. It seemed that perhaps what is or what has been the dance floor was the space where the free standing bar tables were. I'm guessing that's a way to get people to purchase sections (?)
Overall, we had a good time. If I could give 3.5 stars I would. The highlights were the music and lively crowd, but the seating and location issues were unappealing. I'd return but I would not book a section. Not worth it at all.