Vandalia Lounge

Vandalia LoungeVandalia Lounge
Vandalia LoungeVandalia Lounge
Bar

212 Hale St
Charleston, West Virginia, 25301-2208
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.96
Reviews:
5
Ratings:
5
pDev:
16.92%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by rabsten:
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Reviewed by rabsten from West Virginia

4.74/5  rDev +19.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5
Vandalia is the upscale, your shirt has to have a collar, no we don't serve Budweiser here bar in Charleston. I really like it. I like upscale, all my shirts have collars (not a t-shirt in the house, honest) and Bud sux. My kind of place.

Theres a long concrete bar in the center of the place that's the right height for leaning up against and drinking beer. If you really want to sit, there are some stools that aren't all that comfortable to me, but that's your choice. The bar allows smoking - Kanawha County hasn't banned it in places that don't serve food. Yet - and upon request will provide you with a box of house matches. Big, meaty spruce matches that burn long enough to light a pipe or cigar. Nice.

The Beer secection (and that's why we're here, right?) is as good as it gets in West Virginia. We operate with the arcahic, prohibition era 6% cap and that limits our options. Nevertheless, Vandalia seeks to do what it can within that straightjacket. Every Rogue that is legal is available in bombers, and they're priced just a wee bit over the package store price. I typically start out by telling the barman to just pick one of those at random, and work my way through the list. Sam Adams is usually abundant in all available varieties, as are Great Lakes and Harpoon, now. There's some crap beers avaialable, like Old Number 33 (Rolling Rock), but that's more for the hipsters. Speaking of those, I've seen a can of PBR there once or twice, but it wouldn't surprise me if it had been smuggled in. The youngsters, they love the Pabst. I've never had anything on tap. Hell, I don't even know if they have a tap system, so I can't comment.

Bottom line: If you're trapped in Charleston and need a real beer, this is your best bet. There are a couple of places with Guiness on tap, or Sam Adams, Newcastle, what have you. But overall, Vandalia has the most respect for beer in the Kanawha Valley. It was even a HQ for our own - failed - pop the cap effort.

EDIT: CLOSED, way back in February of '08. It's replacement, The Vandalia Grille, has just opened up AND DO NOT BE FOOLED INTO GOING HERE!!!. First, it's now a Tapas bar. Bad enough, right? But worse for us, much worse, is Second: no more crafts, only macro-swill. And they're proud of it! The owner gets a glowing near full page article in the Arts section of the paper, talks up the food and wine list, then proudly exclaims that the craft brews the earlier place was known for are gone for "American favorites" like Bud and Coors, because - get this - he wants to "keep it simple."

It's a flat-out 180 from the old place. Avoid it like you'd avoid an open sewer in August.
Mar 16, 2006
More User Ratings:
Photo of 2wheeledpirate
Reviewed by 2wheeledpirate from West Virginia

3.23/5  rDev -18.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3
I am writing this review with intentions of revisiting the Vandalia and possibly re-reviewing later.

A. This is known as a Martini Bar - not a beer bar. That being said their maritini menu is quite impressive!

B. The last time I was there I remeber the choices were some thing like Blue Moon, Michelob Ultra, or Heineken and that's about it. If there was Rogue or Sam Smith's, they must have been hiding it.

C.This place is a little snooty. To me the beer crowd is jeans, ball cap, fleece pullover, hiking boots, not monochromatic shirt and tie sets and $200 Italian leather shoes.

Again, I do intend to go here again and will edit this review if I fell it is appropriate. But as of right now, if I want a good beer selection the Vandalia is not the first place that comes to mind.
Mar 06, 2007
Photo of Deconstructionis
Reviewed by Deconstructionis from West Virginia

3.16/5  rDev -20.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3.5
EDIT: Out of business!

By Charleston standards this is "upscale." It has a dress code to discourage the young and less affluent, but it's probably not necessary as the crowd is dominated by young professionals of the ex-Greek persuasion who would probably repel both the younger, hipper faction and the blue collar crowd in any event. If you are a 25-45 year old lawyer, this is your place and Charleston is crawling with them so it's usually fairly crowded.

It's also considered upscale because it's not a cheap date, but more because it carries expensive brands than because they are overpriced though.

By WV standards the prices are quite reasonable for the offerings. WV is just an expensive beer market because of the monopoly distribution laws --which won't be repealed because the holders of those monopoly rights are lavish with the legislators. (Several of whom you might find in here at any given time).

Vandalia has one of the best selections of beer in town with lots of Rogues in bottles and usually one on tap. The draft selections are nothing remarkable and, because in addition to a monopoly distribution system WV has a 6% legal limit on beer (yet 100 proof whiskey or even grain alcohol is just fine, thank you.), the bottle selection while decent cannot compare with big city bars in places with laws that make sense.

Unless you hate really lawyers this is a good place for beer in Charleston.
Aug 30, 2006
Photo of flood
Reviewed by flood from West Virginia

4/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4
About the only bar in Charleston with a decent beer selection (wide selection of Rogue/Samuel Smith). However, if you put the bar in any other capital city it would probably pale in comparison. Prices are a little high ($4.50 for a pint of Rogue Mossimo - but they do have on tap). If you get 22 oz bottles they are a little more reasonable ($6.50). However, it seems their fruity drinks are what they are known for - not beer.

Bar is a little smokey but good atmosphere (upscale suit and tie is the norm) - it is located in the Charleston lawyer district. Live acoustic music almost every day during happy hour. Free pool table use and some sort of DVD game is the other entertainment - however if you are looking for a sporting event you will be disappointed (they don't have cable) - for this go to the downtown Embassy Suites.

Overall a pretty decent place - but not the end all be all of beer bars. Would love to see some more beers on tap.

Oh and watch out for the $20 minimum with credit/check card - there is only a small sign on the beer taps to warn you.
Apr 07, 2006
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Reviewed by GCBrewingCo from North Carolina

4.66/5  rDev +17.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
I actually spotted the place off Dickinson St...it has entrances on both streets. To drive down Hale you have to navigate quite a few one way streets and work your way back. There is a lot besire the lounge on Dickinson, but it is a pay lot. I found an empty slot on Hale that had my name on it.

When I glanced through the window and saw the brightly lit decor and people in ties I felt underdressed in slacks and a long sleeve shirt. Inside there were a few folks in jeans, but for the most part this is not a college dive bar. Well lit, well appointed and the guy in the corner playing accoustical guitar was outstanding. The place has a brightly lit retro feel, perhaps a throwback to the 50's/60's but more Star Trek then Elvis. The only drawback to the atmosphere is they do allow smoking, but the air handling system seemed to keep it at bay. I did notice a faint smoke aroma on my clothes after I walked out, but it was mild.

The bar only has 4 taps. Tonight they were Blue Moon, Bass, Guinness and Newcastle, nothing too exciting. However they do have 35 bottled beers. The best thing about the selection is no BMC...none...nada. The closest they had was Labatt's Blue. Everything else was micro or imported. Now of course they had Becks and Heiny's and Molson, but not AB products. Hence the high selection score.

There is no food, only beer or wine. I'd unsure if you could bring in food, I don't see why not, but the place feels too upscale for that. The prices for such an upscale joint were somewhat amazing. Most beers are $3.50 with the most expensive beer being a 22 oz bomber of Shakespeare Stout for $5.50. $5.50 isn't that much more than a SS costs in the stores in Charleston.

The one downer was the note at the counter that said that the minimum purchase for a credit card or debit card was $20. For a low on spending cash BA like myself, keeping hold of a few bucks for tolls is important. The staff was very nice and helpful. The quality was top notch.

I'll come back here again...either with more cash, or a friend!
Oct 29, 2004
Vandalia Lounge in Charleston, WV
Place rating: 3.96 out of 5 with 5 ratings