Reviewed by Steven Frith

My Ultra Lounge Standard – The Park (Sacramento)

Visited: Saturday Night (2/23/08)
Location: 908 15th St. Sacramento, CA 95814 (map)(link)

The owners of Cabana Nightclub and Ink Eats and Drinks combine to offer a unique and satisfying upscale experience in a space barely large enough for a “hole in the wall” bar.

Deeper Insights:

First of all, I must commend Dream for making good use of the space and never allowing in enough people where it felt over-crowded. That is saying a lot considering the small amount of inhabitable space for the patrons. Actually having elbowroom (huh - I never knew elbowroom was just one word, no dash or anything…anyways) and an opportunity to have a conversation was a breath of fresh air (no pun intended). That combined with the colored lights, couches, art, widescreen HD LCD TVs playing sports highlights, friendly staff, and fireplace somehow combined a quaint “Cheers: everybody knows your name” bar with the plush modern lounges that are so popular today.

A major drawback of Dream (because of its small size) is the fact that there is no dance floor. People seemed to make due with the space that would most mirror a dance floor, but it only marginally worked. It was a shame too because the DJ really seemed to captivate the crowd with a lot of short snippets of popular songs from the 70s to today. The combination of the desire to dance and alcohol led to a lot of people dancing wherever they saw fit, but nearby tables and people standing and talking amongst the dancers seem to be an accident waiting to happen.

Overall, I really enjoyed myself. As one of the newer nightspots in Sacramento, Dream offers a nice change of scenery from the few other “ultra-lounge” spots such as The Park. Although, those looking to get really far away from The Park are out of luck as the clientele and prices are very similar (that and Dream is only 3 blocks away).

Breakdown:

Attire: Normal club wear. Guys: Jeans (not overly baggy), dress shoes, polo shirt/collared shirt, no hats, etc. Girls: Dream is nice enough where you can take advantage of the opportunity to dress up in a dress or at least some kind of nice top with jeans.

Attitude: Since it is brand new, I still think it is trying to develop one. It’s a place that they want you to come to eat after work and enjoy happy hour, but also a place where they want you to come for a night on the town.

Bar/Bartenders: One reversed “L” shaped bar stretched most of the length of this small establishment. There were approximately three bartenders with a bar-back. All of them were friendly and made good drinks – female staff left little to the imagination. Only a minute or two wait on drinks.


Bathrooms: Had to go through the narrow aisle-way all the way to the back to use the restroom. The men’s room contained one closeable stall and one urinal, which actually seemed sufficient considering the size of the bar. At least they plugged speakers in the bathroom so you could still hear the music.

Bathroom Attendant: No (updated 3/14/08): No for men, but unconfirmed reports from two woman say that they think there was one recently on a Friday night.

Bottle Service: Yes, there were VIP booths that could be reserved, couches that could be reserved and a back VIP area. The waitresses were more then happy to assist you in taking out a loan for bottle service.

Cover: I was actually on the guest list for a birthday, but I believe it was $10. (Updated on 3/14/08, Thanks Heather!) If you join Dream's MySpace page, then you can usually be added to the guest list for free entry before 10pm.

Crowd: For the most part, the crowd looked to all be young executives, suburban twenty-somethings and midtowners. The guy to girl ratio was actually fairly even, but this was assisted by two bachelorette parties that were there. BTW – what’s with the crown and penis straws?

Dance Floor: Wherever you wanted it to be…if you could find room. There was no “dance floor” but a lot of people were making the area in front of the DJ booth one anyway. (added 3/14/08, Heather with the scoop for us) - Apparently, a new room is opening in about a month that will include a dance floor.

Décor: Upscale (for Sacramento) lounge with very modern white furniture. Lights that changed hues throughout the night and a fireplace that separated the outdoor area with inside added to the appeal.

Drinks: They were good drinks, but rather pricy. Even the wells were premium I believe. $6-7 a drink.

Food: While I didn’t get there early enough to consume any of the “eats” (I’m not going to say “American Nosh” as Dream’s website states because I had no idea what that was until I googled it) that form the restaurant part of the establishment, I hear they are very good. The unique cuisine includes items such as Lobster Melts, Buffalo Burgers, and Crispy Duck Rolls.

Hours: Restaurant from 4:30 – 10 p.m. where they serve “American Nosh” which from what I can gather is glorified finger-food appetizers. Happy Hour goes from 4:30-7:30. From 10 p.m. to “bar time 2 a.m.” (or 1:15 for your average watch) is lounge hours.



Line: Not too much of a problem. I got there at 9:45 and walked right in. The wait didn’t seem to be any longer then 5-10 minutes until 11:15 or so when Dream reached capacity. At that point, the wait time increased significantly.

Music: The DJ took a trip down a mid-twentysomething’s memory lane. It was 20-30 second clips of choruses from many popular songs from the last 30 years or so mixing into each other. Everything was played from rock, rap, R&B, country, old school, and classic rock.

Parking: No direct lot. Street parking is free after 6 if you can find it, if not there is a nearby garage you can pay to park in. (added 3/14/08, again, thanks Heather) There is also valet parking available on some nights.
TIPS:

1) Keep in mind that Dream is located across the street from the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, so if an event is going on, that could affect your parking.
2) Don’t quote me on this, but from my experiences, if you are going for Happy Hour, the meter maids downtown stop checking at around 4 pm, so you should be okay if you don’t feed the meter. Use this at your own discretion; if you get a ticket, I’m not paying for it.

People Watching: Lots of good-looking people of both genders dressed well for the most part. Some girls were wearing clothes that may have been a tad small for their body type, but nothing overly offensive.

Seating: Three different tiers of VIP’s. We had couches that night which were right next to the makeshift dance floor although seating was very limited even on those. There are also booths and a larger VIP room.

Smoking: This is California, nothing allowed inside, but the patio outside is where smokers seemed to congregate.

Water (free): Yes


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