The Marq

Pro: Its a good place to meet up people or go with a group. Drinks are good and service fast. Door people are nice. Smoking area in the front has a bar.
Con: Can be dead but like I said its a good place to meet up people or if your with a group.

Wasn’t a huge fan of this place. I don’t like how the air conditioner vents drip water everywhere. There should’ve been better preparation for that. The bartenders were quick to serve us, the drinks were pretty good. I know there was more liquor that normal. That was pretty awesome. I liked how there was a little smoking area inside so you don’t have to step out of the club.
Hated the DJ. We went out on a Saturday night and the DJ was singing along on the mic to every song and he can’t sing. He kept messing up the words and it was a mess, we ended up leaving because of that.

I’ve only been to this place on the weekend, so I’ve not seen it on an off night, when I hear it can be pretty rad.
But, on the weekends, its like a 5 on a scale of 1 – 10. I don’t know why, but I can never pick out any certain thing I like about this bar, or hate about it for that matter. Its just kind of… there. It doesn’t upset me to be there, but it doesn’t please me much either.
Actually, I guess I do like occassionally like shaking that thang to some hip-​hop errry now and then.

It’s really difficult to judge a bar/​night club because essentially, they’re all the same. Especially if you’re in Austin and it’s the weekend, there’s bound to be tons of bar hoppers and you can’t properly discern the place by the crowd.
So I’ll tell you about my experiences on an off-​night. It was a lonely Tuesday evening when me and one of my girlfriends decided to go to 4^th street for some drinks. After trekking up the stairs of Lanai next door and finding it absolutely dead, we decided to head to The Marq, which had a better ambiance (and a closer walk to the exit). Circa 11 p.m. it was still pretty quiet, but the bar was lined up with strangers who seemed like they were having a good time. The bartender we had was extremely friendly, and took a round of shots with us on the house because she sympathized with a break-​up story I had. I think they had drink specials for $ 3, which definitely is not bad either.
By about 1 a.m., the place was surprisingly full — especially on a Tuesday. The music was good too, to boot, but few actually dance on the weekdays. Why is that?
So if you had to pick one bar to hang out at during the weekday, I’d highly recommend The Marq.

This place was fun and I dug the atmosphere. I liked the more private tables and I found the crowd to be pretty cool and a lot of fun. Yes, as other reviewers have mentioned, there were some rather inappropriately dressed females, but it wasn’t the bulk of the clientele. The music was good and the crowd was fun. Sounds great to me!

I’m not sure when the remodel occurred and I have mixed feelings about it. Is that a smoke room directly on your left as you enter? Kinda tacky if you ask me. It looks very lodge-​y, masculine now. More TV screens too.
Also, maybe I’m just getting old and grouchy, but the music was LOUD. Yeah yeah, I know it’s a bar, but it was beyond what I’m used to. Just stand away from the speakers I guess.

So I had heard my friend talking this place up… and when we got there I had high expectations. It appears as though it’s trying to be an «upscale» type of place, but… not so much. The second I walked in this place, I knew what it was all about.
1. Girls in super short dresses in 27 degree weather and ALL the girls look the same-​but to each their own.
2. All the guys in the same boring looking sports jacket-​standing around.
3. 1 person on the dance floor-​wasted-​tearing it up.
4. The DJ was… eh…so so.
5. Expensive (for Austin) drinks-​that weren’t good and kinda rude bartenders.
6. Just plain boring. Everyone just stands around… awkward.
I’ve gone to this place one other time since, and… I don’t get it. Not somewhere I’d recommend spending a Sat. night… or any other night– there are much more interesting places to go in the immediate area — like 5 steps away.

Why I had a good time at the Marq last Friday night:
1) Sweet tea vodka… oh yes please!
2) While «dropping it like it was hot», I did actually drop it (my ass) on my guy friend behind me and fell to the floor. Like I always say «If you don’t get messy or injured, you’re not having fun!»
3) Saw my fave liquor store guy («Hey King Liquor Dude!») on the dance floor and he bought me and my friend a shot (mmm tuaca… oh yes please!) cause he said I spend alot of money in his store. Funny, King Liquor Dude.
Other than supplying the booze and the dance floor, I guess the Marq had nothing to do with my good time, yet I always have fun there. Good, clean, embarrassing fun! Guess I like the Marq cause they keep letting me in :)

A nice place to have drinks and dance with friends! Lots of standing and dancing room and the bartenders were very competent! Overall loads of fun and silly memories during our time in Austin at the Marq.

Having a friend that is friends with the bar manager = a very drunk Jinra. The drunk indication factor? I spotted someone wearing a tacky light-​up t-​shirt that made me LOL so hard on the inside. A few drinks later, and I’m pretty sure I made out with him. From the first few sober minutes that I can remember of the place, it reminded me of a smaller hip Las Vegas-​style club, only no one is packed in like sardines. Actual room to move and dance in, what a concept! Smaller only because it’s in… Austin. I don’t think I need to explain how great the drinks were.
Mr. Bar Manager at The Marq, I can’t remember your name, but thanks for contributing to such a great Texas vacation! (And drunk plane ride home to California.)

After the diasaster at six lounge, this place was great. The drinks were reasonable, the bartenders were fast, and the space was really great for both lounging and dancing. The crowd was eclectic and everybody was having a great time. Finally, guys that want to dance! Compared to the DJ at the last bar I was at, this guy was great! He played a great mix that got people excited and in the mood to dance. At around 1:30, a little dance-​off broke out of the dance floor and everybody gathered around. And when the DJ played, «Play That Funky Music,» the dance group led everybody in the electric slide. Random, but fun! Very impressive!

My experience at Marq wasn’t too shabby. The restroom set up is kind of weird with 3 urinals for the guys and the 5 or so stalls for the ladies. I am willing to give this place another chance on a different night.

I may be a little biased here, because my bf’s cousin is the DJ here, but that aside… this is a pretty cool place to dance.
I’ve been here a few times and I’ve always had a blast. The crowd looks questionable (über trendy and all), but its not as you would imagine. Coming from the Houston scene, trendy equals pretentious and annoying. This crowd was a pleasant surprise, what with the trendy co-​mingling with casual and all.
The staff is also very nice. Our waitress was very attentive and friendly and was even invited to join our party (but I’m sure it was more for her appearance, rather than her personality).
My fav part about this place… the music! DJ Abel rocks the house with a compilation of genres… hip-​hop, pop, and (my fav) house. He’ll keep you on the dance floor, screaming «That’s my JAM!» all night long!
All in all, I think I’d like this place even if I didn’t have the hook up… you should go check it out and see for yourself!

The Marq is one of my places that I like that are in the more upscale-​ish mood, but still lots of fun. It’s certainly a classier crowd than 6^th Street, but people are still getting their drink and sloppy-​ass-​drunk dance on. Which is fun.
I like to stop by here a little later when it’s really going, and haven’t really been here much before midnight-12:30, so I’m not sure, but it’s reliably going strong later every night Thu-​Sat (perhaps I’ll look into it for the Sun-​Wed crew, though.

This place is exactly the same as Glass, the place that used to be located there. The male/​female bathroom thing is a little strange, it *might” make the best use of space but creates a big crowd for the bathroom.
The place was doing well on Saturday night, but for me it was just too crowded and there was a lot of randoms there. The drinks were only 4.50 though so I’ll kick this place up to a 3 star experience.

I really liked this place — it was upbeat but not pretentious, and not too packed. The dance floor had plenty of light but still a great glow that made everyone look a little more beautiful. The DJ was playing all my favorites. The bar area was crowded, but I didn’t have to wait long for service. The people were friendly and the guys played along with our bachelorette party shenanigans without being too crass.

For a place called the Marq, you’d expect it to be a little more classy, but the impression I got was a place that’s trendy in a sophomoric way, trying to be industrial and uptown at the same time. I’m tempted to call it loungy, but it could use a bit more seating and corners for people to actually lounge and not have to yell over the music. But I have to admit, they play catchy music here, and I did have fun dancing to it. Other than that, I’ve learned i’ve gotten picky about clubs and probably wouldn’t come back here unless I had to… all in all it was an ok time.

UPDATE: I had to add to this review and change my stars from 4 to 5 from my last experience here. This is now, my favorite place in Austin.
Saturday, Feb. 9^th, 2008 I celebrated my 30^th… ugh…birthday here. To say the staff was outstanding would be a gross understatement. They went above and beyond the call of duty this night.
After dinner my friends (some out of towners and some locals) headed over to the Marq around 10:30 or so for the capstone of my weekend long birthday celebration. We had reserved a table (which by the way they will do for just one «order» of bottle service regardless of the table or the size of the party). When we got there, the table that I had thought was reserved was not the one we were seated at. I was a little disappointed to say the least. I thought we were at the table to the left of the dance floor on the open stage and instead we were seated in the tucked away table to the right. I even had it on the invites that way and many of my friends who weren’t at dinner were a bit confused, but seemed to find there way regardless. When I mentioned it to our fabulous waitress (don’t remember her name but she had short blond hair and a tattoo that we all kept trying to figure out what it said across her back ;) brought over Dylan (sorry if I misspelled her name). Who said, «I’m so sorry I have you down for this table.» When I explained that I wanted the open table because we had a big group who wanted to dance and the option to sit without being hidden away from the rest of the party she was very apologetic and offered us a bottle of champagne. I was like fine, it’s not that big of a deal and was going to continue to have a happy birthday.
I think the waitress overheard me bitching a little to my friend that I was pissed I didn’t come in earlier to make sure and miscommunication happen and maybe it was my fault but non the less I was disappointed because next thing I knew she said she had just talked to her manager and wanted to get the first round of whatever shot we wanted. Wow, there was around 12 or 15 of us there at the time so I was pretty impressed already. They also brought over a few more little round stools to accommodate our group. So now I’m extremely happy and a bit drunk, everyone was having a great time even if the table was only being utilized for coats and purses and not sitting.
Then the icing on the cake. Within only an hour of being there Dylan came over and said, «you know what, I’m going to go ahead and move you to the other table and when those people come I will sit them here.» Something she didn’t have to do because I was pretty happy already. But I have to say, that made the night. As our group grew to around 30 the stage table was full, there were always places to sit when we got a bit tired and didn’t feel like we were hiding away in a cave (which btw, there are times I would prefer those table, just not tonight).
It was, hands down, the most accommodating thing that has ever happened to me with regard to the service industry.
They did things they truly didn’t have to do. But everyone in my party remarked at how well everything was handled.
I will not host a party from this day forward at any other club than the Marq be it my own, business clients, or my friends… Period. I’m now looking for reasons to host something soon.
So to the fabulous ladies at the Marq. You made it perfect, thank you thank you thank you!
PS…DJ was GREAT that night. An amazing grouping of music, and very quick to put on requests, and nice easy mixing.
Updated 2÷12÷2008
Nice place, looks the same for the most part as when it was Glass. But I love the bathrooms… although some hate them.
The music was great that night but I would have like a little more of each song to be played… it was if the turn tables had ADD and couldn’t play a song for more than 20 – 30 seconds. However, that being said, I was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected and adventurous mix of music that was being played. It’s rare to have that in a bar/​lounge without having to go to a club where the DJ is the main attraction.
The table service area seemed crowed and too tight. I much preferred the «open» area on the north side of the bar.
The bartenders were busy busy and very good. Which is expected of a downtown bartender in Austin.
We even got a little excitement when a crazy drunk coed tried to shove someone in our party around which resulted in a drink being promptly tossed on her. Smartly, the staff drug her out kicking and screaming and we went back to having a good time.
We kept running into people we knew. It seemed like a great place to meet up with friends and catch up with some chance meeting of old friends, though not great to meet new people. SO if you’re on the prowl probably not the best spot.
Overall great bar… will be back.

Those of you who have read my other reviews of Austin bars (I promise, I do more than just go to bars… okay, not really) know that I don’t tolerate pretentiousness in my bars (if you want me to shake it like a Polaroid picture, I sure as hell better not feel as if I’m surrounded by Stepford wives).
The thing I like about The Marq is that all of the pretentious a-​holes tend to store themselves in the bottle service booths, which is completely fine with me. This leaves the rest of the crowd to pretty much do as they please and essentially makes me feel as though there’s really no one there judging you.
The music is hella loud (yes, this is the bar your mom warned you about when she was shoving a pair of earplugs in your hand… wait, was that just me?) but also really good. The DJ that’s there most of the time does a great job of playing some new songs but keeping the older ones coming as well. When was the last time you heard Let’s Get It On played at 2 AM?
If you can find the place (there’s a sign now, but its more likely you’ll see the throngs of people outside first), and if you can get in, you’ll like it. And once you get inside, you’ll see why I equate the new Kanye West/​Daft Punk song with The Marq’s overall impression: harder, better, faster, stronger.

The Marq is a classy well designed upscale bar from the team that brought you Chuggin Monkey, Dizzy Rooster and Uncle Flirty’s (Soon to be the Thirsty Nickel).
The Marq is open Wednesday through Sunday and features DJ’s on the weekends and a great playlist during the week. The staff is beautiful, friendly and quick. Drink prices are much more reasonable than other choices in the immediate vicinity and the drinks are even better.
There are nice VIP booths available for reservation and the staff is very easy to get along with and willing to do what it takes to ensure that you have a great time. I was a guest here for the Grand Opening events and I had a great time and I was very impressed with the level of service and attention the staff delivers.
This place is usually full of very attractive people, both male and female and you might not want to wear just a T-​shirt and jeans, spruce it up a little.
As a previous reviewer mentioned there is no visible sign out front but that just adds to the cool vibe. It is on the corner of 5^th and Congress in Downtown Austin so it’s not that hard to find.
Check it out if you are looking for a great place to mingle and something a little more sophisticated than wood floors and blaring Motley Crue songs.