One of the best dive nightclubs in DC! For sure check it out just bring some toilet paper for yourself!

Its the dive that started my concert photography career and for that I love it. Other than that its everything you would expect from a dive venue.

This dark grungy bar/venue offers local artists a solid platform to kickoff. While I really respect the velvet lounge for that, their bar is a bit lacking and for some ungodly reason there is no bar upstairs by the stage. The bartender downstairs didnt know their beers and had trouble locating the beer I picked. To make matters even worse, the selection of drinks was questionable at best. I feel like its a travesty that the dance floor features no bar what so ever upstairs. As a request to the owner, add a bar upstairs and I would be comfortable providing a higher review.

***** Musicians BEWARE *****First, to be fair, its a really nice venue to play. Very small upstairs, but pair with that the excellent acoustics and sound system, it makes for a good sounding and personal audience experience.Unfortunately, its not worth it if your a musician. We were told we were playing for a portion of the bar tab. We drove an hour and a half, hauled all our equipment thru DC, stayed from 7 to nearly 11:30, and when we went to collect our pay were told very nonchalantly dont worry about it.Dont worry about it? Yeah dont worry about it.... if you were a touring band we would have thrown you $20...you were given free drinks thats more than enough, be thankful. Yeah, given 2 of the cheapest beers in the house per band member....wonderful.Take heart musicians, I can tell you from experience that there still are bars and venues that value entertainment and understand the benefits of creating a mutually beneficial relationship with bands. This unfortunately is not one of them. I strongly suggest refusing to play at this one.

Decent beer selection (and cheap!) downstairs, while the shows Ive seen upstairs have been good. Great acoustics. I havent been involved with booking, but as an audience member, Id go back there for a show.

Sounds like these people have never been to a bar before. Its definitely a dive bar but thats my favorite kind. Great music all night and the bartenders were quick.

Terrible! They charge a cover, but theres no entertainment and the place is empty. Dont pay. Walk away. Dodge City next door is way better.

Velvet Lounge has been around for as long as I can remember and though it doesnt have the best atmosphere, it is what it is... a great little dive bar. The bar is somewhat limited, but very inexpensive. Some nights you can catch a DJ spinning tunes in the front window and that is always a treat, or a live band in the upstairs room.

Really different blends of original live music, DJs for years. can walk in one night to metal. another to DIY. another to older and recent hip-hop. another to minimal and house. dark dive bar with colorful staff, cheap drinks. sick and one-of-a-kind spot. especially in this city.

Didnt get in because it was so crowded but it looked like it was jumpin! Sought it out because of their extended service hours.

Fast and attentive bartenders, starts to get pretty crowded later in the evening. The crowd is really nice & the DJ was good too.

I like the outside portion of this place; it is a really cool atmosphere. For the music, I would give it 2 stars. The music is usually pretty bad. Everything is usually bearable when I go... Except for the last time. I went to go and get a drink upstairs and the male Asian bartender kept serving EVERYONE else around me, except for me. I hate to excuse anyone of being racist, however, I had been standing there for at least 15 minutes and he would serve someone who was white (who was there for 10 seconds) and kept ACTING like he was going to get to me later. And this was even AFTER he frustratingly acknowledged that I had been standing there. That was pretty annoying.

They wanted to charge me when I wanted to re-enter, even though I told them my friends are inside and I can call them to the door. Get some stamp or something. This is ridiculous.

If I could rate this place with less than one star, I would. I came here to see a friend play and was overwhelmed the entire night with the most dense cloud of piss smell I have ever had the displeasure of encountering. It was something akin to the smell 87 alcoholic cats would bestow upon one poor, defenseless litterbox, one already overrun with never-scooped urinal-cake-scented cat litter. The one, lonely star here belongs solely to the friendly staff (for whom I feel awful, since they have to spend God knows how many hours on shift here), as well as the decent sound setup upstaira. Ive seen dives--this truly takes the urinal cake. Youd probably have to pay me to experience this again.

Its a cool place to hang out, but use the bathroom at home!

Cool venue for live music. Decent bar too.

Came for a show which was in a very cramped underground area. Would be cool if it had more seating.

Great location to turn all the way UP! DJ kept the crowd moving till he kick us out >.

Bartender downstairs needs to work on his people skills

Cozy bar that occasionally has live bands.

Unfortunately there is not many places to dance inside DC so bad places are popular

Great sound, awesome bands, love this place

My band just played here. Rude staff, absentee bartenders, and an overall nasty experience. Will not be back as a performer, an audience member, or customer.

Fun in the cur spot on u street

Bar smelled like vomit . Played music, pay was very low. Def go somewhere else