To be honest, I was skeptical about a pre-clubbing lounge. For one, it’s taking the spot of former super-club White. Also, with the prices we’re expected to pay in clubs in Lebanon, paying a similar fee “pre” to the actual clubbing didn’t seem like the smartest thing to do.
However, after trying out Iris, I’ve changed my mind completely. I also believe that the term “pre-clubbing” lounge is not completely accurate. The term insinuates that the venue cannot stand alone, that just going there won’t really complete your night. Iris does superbly in making your night, from dinner to drinks, friends and dates and beautiful lounge music.
The first thing I loved was the complete revamping. The guys completely uprooted everything White-related and started over from scratch. The color-scheme is much less hospital-like, with warm, earthy colors replacing the sterile white. The center-piece of the venue is a grand olive tree, surrounded by tables from all sides. The elevated space encircling the main arena remained, with dining tables on the Southern side and more comfortable lounge couches on the Northern side. In the middle-area, stretches a bar on one side, and dinner tables fill the rest of the space.
The venue is surrounded with plenty of plants and flowers, but one thing that struck me, is the lack of iris flowers… The DJ booth now replaces the old bar location, and adjacent to it is a bar-like counter for smaller groups with no reservations.
The music is sublime, with easy-going lounge and minimal music at just the right volume to make your leg restless, but at the same time be able to have a civilized conversation. Wednesdays and Sundays host bands, for all you vehemently anti-electronic folks.
I can’t really tell you about the cocktails, for I’m not much of a drinker and I only had a glass of rose, but the food is scrumptious. Yara ordered dessert, sweet temptation, which consisted of three shot glasses of different desserts. I had the grilled calamari and zucchini green salad. The calamari dressing was perfect and the zucchini were grilled just right.
The staff were courteous and polite, with bouncers minus the attitude and kind hostesses. I can’t say as much about the waiters, who seem like they’re all first-timers. I guess in time, they’ll improve, but perhaps more seasoned waiters were a better option for the posh lounge.
We come to the part you’re all wondering about: is the pre-clubbing fee a back-breaker? The answer is no, not really. Don’t worry elitist snobs, it’s not exactly cheap, but it is pretty affordable. Dinner for two with wine should cost somewhere between 60 and 80 USD. If you’re there to just have a drink, a glass of wine is for $6 and cocktails are mostly in the $8-12 range.
All in all, the lounge experience at Iris is a superb one. Chill people and atmosphere with laid back music and surroundings, are perfect for that weekday night business or casual dinner, or maybe even lunch with the family.
Verdict: A pleasant addition to the Lebanese nightlife and dining scene
Price: 80 USD should be more than enough for dinner for two with wine
Atmosphere: Laid back, relaxed and perfect for both the drinkers, and the diners, or preferably both!
Music: Chill-Out, Lounge music
Staff: Friendly, but a lot of room for improvement in the waiter section
Location: Annahar Building rooftop
I really Loved Iris. The food was amazing, I had the Argentina Tenderloin Steak. The hostesses were amazing. Your comment about the waiters is correct.
Hello!
You wrote about ALMOST everything. I believe you missed a very important part of Iris: the lighting! How could you not talk about the amazing black steel design fixtures done by the creative lighting design & manufacturing company, .PSLAB, which has designed the likes of MyBar, Burgundy, Al Dente, etc.
Visit http://www.pslab.net for more info + past projects!
Cheers,
Maya M.
THIS IS NOT THE PLACE YOU WANT TO GO. I went to go shoot pool. I was charged a fee. So at first I was like ok cool but then I noticed people bypassing me without paying the fee. So I ask “hey why don’t they have to pay? (Noticing that everyone was a different race than myself) The answer I got ‘OH THEY ARE GOING TO PAY” but they never paid.
Once I got into the lounge I told the owner (he seemed cool at first). Then he said “sorry about that, here you can play pool for free 1 hour on us” Ten minutes later I was approached be the same guy at the door that now says he’s the owner. The other guy that said I could play for free is now supposable the manager not the owner. He tells me “hey get out of my bar”. “I don’t like how you told my assistant manager about me giving you problems.”
So I was told I couldn’t play pool anymore and I had to leave right then and there. I was soooo mad but hey some places don’t conduct business the right way. And this place I would never recommend anyone to attend. Don’t waste your time!!!