Blue Velvet Lounge

In a word: Blue on Blue.

The specs: #00794  
430 W. Gilman St., 53703
Details at
Official web site.

Latest Blue Velvet Lounge news and reviews

JM and Nichole split the coconut shrimp and some Sprecher sodas.
The bill was $15, or $7.50/person, plus tip.
JM gave gave Blue Velvet a D+; Nichole gave Blue Velvet a D (see our grading rubric).

Blue Velvet on Gilman is loungey and almost pretty. It's long and narrow with black-upholstered swivel chairs and a booth running the length of the place. There are a lot of Madison bars that fall into the long, thin rectangle shape and few handle it as well as BVL. The soundtrack fit the surroundings - Nina Simone, Edith Piaf, Sinatra.

JM ordered our bottles at the bar. The bartender asked if he wanted her to pour it, but he demurred. The bottles pictured are exactly as they looked when they were given to him - somewhat lacking in substance.

The coconut shrimp came with bright red sweet and sour and ketchup. Coconut is always a little delicate and the deep frying process here did it few favors.

Nichole left feeling like she did about the movie of the same name - vaguely cheated, upset in the tum-tum, and mistrustful of its fans. And we can still see Blue Velvet Lounge through our tears.

Comments

[Kovalic]

"Nichole left feeling like she did about the movie of the same name - vaguely cheated."

I *love* this line!

[martinime]

Um...it is a martini lounge. So, try the martinis!!! Delicious martinis and half of them are $5 until 10pm everyday. Try the passion fruit martini.

[Jeff]

I understand that this establishment serves food, but as previously indicated, this is a martini lounge and bar. So why judge it on coconut shrimp?

Movie theaters serve food...so do gas stations. Why aren't they rated as well?

[Jen]

The previous commenter asks, "Why judge it on coconut shrimp?" How about this: because this place has it on the menu and charges people money for it. Those are some sad-looking, seriously overcooked shrimp in that photo, and being served partially-full bottles of soda is just weird. It should not have been difficult for Blue Velvet to do these few simple things well.

I never buy the "Oh, you should have ordered X" argument -- if something's on the menu and being brought to the customer, it ought to be decent.

As for why this site reviews the locations it does, that's explained in the "about" section.

[Frank Kronick]

Those look awful. I work down the street and can safely say that I've never even considered eating here, though I've had a few happy hour drinks in the past.

[LindsayC77]

Wait, so she opened the bottles and they were partially full? How weird. Or do they fill bottles from a tap? I don't understand.

I semi-fondly remember The Blue Velvet as the last time I stayed out until bar time (in an actual bar). It was awhile ago. I am an old person.

[Jason]

Anybody remember when this was Jocko's Rocketship back in the 90s? Now that would have made for an interesting review.

[Joe]

Let me guess, you were upset because the sauce wasn't an 'aioli' or the shrimp wasn't fresh-caught that day. What a joke of a review. I frequent the BV and have had the food here plenty of times with friends on the weekends. This review looks and sounds like an inside job. Why judge a place on one visit?! Sure you were not impressed on the first try, but why bomb a place with words that make you sound like a pretentious jackass? If seafood was their specialty then fine, be upset and blog about it. This place is clearly a cocktail bar AKA they serve alcoholic beverages. Next time you go into an establishment looking for soft drinks and fried food, I suggest Chuck E Cheese.

[Marsha K]

"Inside job." By whom?!? "Why judge a place on one visit?! " Because that's how many times an establishment gets to prove itself to customers who expect a certain level of quality and service for their money. How many times do you think Duncan Hines ate at a place before he wrote his review? "Sure you were not impressed on the first try, but why bomb a place with words that make you sound like a pretentious jackass?" What words in the review were pretentious? Coconut? Rectangle? Edith Piaf? (I bet it was that!!)

[Gary]

I mean these two are gourmands, they should know better than to order shrimp at an undergrad bar. Then again, maybe that was the test. They're right that if you're going to pay for your food that it should be edible.