Elan Lounge

Elan Lounge
526 Waugh Dr
Houston, TX 77019
Neighborhood: Montrose

In search of another place to get my fill of hip hop without feeling as if I were part of a cattle herd, I avoided the super large scenes again to visit a relatively new place here in Houston. Located on the opposite side of the highway from the normal Washington strip of Drinkery, Brixx and Kung Fu, this new spot is known as Elan Lounge. Located on the second floor of a small shopping outlet adjacent to a number of nice looking homes, it has no signs indicating that it exists. Passing by, I found it difficult to spot, and upon arrival I found out parking may be as high as 20 dollars after ten in the evening. There's parking in the surrounding housing areas as well, and some of the parking lot is apparently free of charge, but I arrived too early to really understand all the details. Just know up front there is a chance you'll have to pay high to park, not to mention have to pay cover at the door unless you RSVP.

It's impossible to spot!

How to describe a place like Elan? Well, let's start with the bad up front. First, their flyers state that they begin opening at nine. I arrived at 9:45, while others had been there at 9:30. The club itself didn't actually open until 10:30, leading to a few patrons leaving. Sadly, it was the women, which clubs and lounges are normally anxious to get inside the door. Once inside, though, there were no problems with confirming my RSVP as some other clubs do.

Although I was staring at this building for half an hour.

So, rough edges to start the night. Hard to spot, and an unexpected wait to get in. Don't get turned off too quickly, though. The staff is incredibly friendly. The front door man is great conversation, and once inside the bartenders are all incredibly friendly. Warm smiles and good conversation in the early part of the evening helped things to get rolling along. In that senses, Elan Lounge really does seem as if it wants to please, and I can't fault their staff for anything more than the late opening. Drinks are all fairly standard fare prices, 4.25 netting you a Bud Light and 8 getting you a Jack and Coke.

The second most important part of an evening.

What else does Elan have going for it? Unlike many lower key lounges in Houston, Elan actually has space. It's the right balance between the much more compact Living Room and the warehouse like Gatsby or Empire. There's a large bar area, with actual chairs and tables for sitting, and for the lower key people hoping to avoid the dance floor and chat, it's the perfect place to spend the evening. It allows you some breathing room, a place to sit and relax.

And it's well stocked.

For all the dancing sort there's more than enough room around the bar, but most people moved their dancing onto the actual dance floor itself, which makes up a whole second half of the bar. So Elan racks up a number of points by being spacious, graciously staffed and providing a good experience for different types of drinkers. This is all helped along by a relatively good DJ, Young Streetz, who party goers might also recognize from Grooves and Sugar Hill. Young Streetz' style is definitely more narrowly tailored to hip hop, though the tracks range from earlier 2000s, such as Amerie's "One Thing", to the typical dance tracks in the clubs now by 2 Chainz, Drake, and others.

The dance floor is practically a second room.

However, the night fell short by a lack of people, which I won't blame on Elan. I've seen the pictures, I know it gets crowded there, which is why I let them know I'd be back in a week or two to see what the scene was like. Houston on Saturday had a number of huge concerts and events going on, and there was a slight expectation that the numbers might be thin that night, which I completely understand. Every place has an off night.

The dance floor from my spot at the bar.

The issue with any spot I visit is the total experience, though, as any follower of my reviews knows. What was the total package? The manager, promoter, door staff and bartenders were all excellent. The place itself, while not the fanciest looking in Houston, has tons of space, a great DJ and a lot of potential, especially judging by the pictures of past nights. However, I also had to wait a lot longer to get in than expected, and once inside there just weren't enough people. This might change between now and my next visit in the next few weeks, at which time I'll post a second review. For now, however, the best thing I can tell Elan is to stick to its time table. You might not be able to get a crowd in every night, but you can at least let people through the door that are there because of the hours you promote, especially on a night when other clubs were opening their new Saturdays beginning at nine o'clock, such as Hughes Hangar. A reputation for timeliness and good service go a long way to putting long life into your establishment. Still, the staff is fantastic, the location is great and the potential is high. I'm provisionally putting it onto my places to go in Houston for hip hop, and am looking forward to coming back again soon too update my rating.

The Final Call:
Facilities: 4/5
Staff: 5/5
Service: 2/5 (For the especially long wait that also pushed clients to leaving.)
Drinks: 5/5
Food: N/A

Overall: 3.75/5