Onyx Lounge

Onyx started out a little rough when it first opened. They had an obnoxious security detail that would pat you down unnecessarily, and the staff was also very disorganized to the point of not being able to function. However, in recent times it’s turned a new leaf. Hookah is priced at a super competitive price of around 10 bucks and the food is pretty good and cheap as well — the hummus platter is definitely something to try! The staff is also amazing — onyx most definitely weeded out most of the lack-​luster employees and kept the diamonds which I think will help the business in time as well. Overall, if you want a fun place to chill and smoke hookah at a super cheap price I recommend you give Onyx a try!

I have found Onyx’s staff to be totally rude and unhelpful. My friend and I were not provided with a menu to choose a shisha flavor nor were we given a food menu. Instead, we were provided with the waiter’s «recommendations,» without prices. These recommendations ended up costing us upwards of $ 35. I cannot believe that a bar/​restaurant trying to establish itself on the Corner would fail to provide customers with even a basic menu. I am calling the establishment tomorrow to dispute the amount they charged my credit card as I was never shown an actual itemized menu or receipt. In fact, my roommate was gruffly asked to sign a receipt as I had to leave before we were finished due to a cold that I was suffering from. Nobody at Onyx provided an itemized receipt and she was forced to approve the charge before the staff would return my credit card or drivers’ license since I was not present.

While Onyx Lounge is not the best hookah lounge in all the land, it’ll certainly suffice for the Corner, the land of mediocre bars and undiscerning students. Let’s all understand what Onyx is – a place for people to drink without getting wasted and also a place for the wasted to hang out after the bars have kicked them out.
As to the bouncers, I don’t mind their presence. Given that it operates as a late-​late-​night establishment and that it is somewhat small (and may have strict fire code limits), the lounge is probably right to employ a few bouncers. This is especially true given the gunshots fired on the Corner a few days before spring break. However, I did see the bouncers kick some people out and even arrest what appeared to be a student (it was not clear if the private security guards were also off-​duty police officers). I couldn’t tell if there was any cause for their actions, so I’ll reserve further judgment.
The lounge is certainly more of an urban lounge rather than a traditional lounge given the décor and the music, but it makes some sense given its location on the Corner and its clientele.
As for the shisha, as one who doesn’t own his own hookah and thus hasn’t had the need to buy his own shisha, I don’t have a great sense of the quality and potency of the flavors for each brand. I will say the strawberry in the «Fruit» section was ordinary and somewhat light on flavor. But I know that, even within brands, the strength of flavor and smoothness of smoke will vary in addition to any variation caused by how the bowl is packed and the heat of the coal.
Basically, if you don’t have your own hookah or want something to do after bars close, Onyx isn’t a bad choice (and, on the Corner, is the only choice).

Congratulations, Onyx Lounge. I bestow my first one-​star review upon your business. The idea of a hookah lounge in Charlottesville is a good one and since it’s currently the only one around grounds, it seems to attract a lot of people, but the execution is terrible.
Here are my main gripes with Onyx:
1. There are large «bouncers» outside that pat down all the guys going in. We’re in Charlottesville, people, the land of rainbows and butterflies and where the Honor code reigns above all. I’ve literally never felt safer anywhere else on planet Earth, so these precautions seem a bit excessive.
2. When you get inside, the space itself is fairly nice but the staff was rude and had a number of rules about what we were allowed to order. One hookah per 3 people or otherwise, you have to order food or drinks or something? Very wishy washy. But we were told flat out we had to order more because we were taking up their space.
3. Don’t tout yourself as being a lounge if you’re going to bring in a DJ that plays far too loud EDM and hip-​hop.
4. The hookah itself (while relatively cheap) is terrible. No flavor whatsoever.