Qua

In the middle of the bar is a see through floor with sharks/sting-rays swimming around. Where else can you go and dance on sharks and sting...

Iwould never give money to this establishment again! My friends and i had a really bad experiemce with rude bartenders and pathetic drinks.... i have never met a bigger loser than the manager of this place. Definitely go somewhere else for a good time in Austin...

I merely repeat what others have stated. Both of my attempts to enter - denied. First due to open toed shoes. Second on a Saturday night - I was dressed and was told there was a private party, while watching others go in, not being asked to show and reflect proof of knowing anything about a private party. It is not normal for a club to have private parties for the whole club on a Friday night. Business wise does not make sense, as to all the money they would be losing. Will NEVER attempt to enter again!!! DISCRIMINATION IS NOT AUSTIN BEHAVIOR.

My husband and I went to Qua recently and after a few hours of drinking we received our bill and found that we had been charged for more drinks than we ordered. This is the second time this has happened to us at Qua the first time the waitress took off nearly half our bill and was much more accomodating than this second experience. Not only were we charged for drinks we did not order but the drinks were over priced and watered down; we were charged for "tall glass drinks" that we never asked for, and the tip was already included..and way more than we would have left considering the attitude of the waitress. We tried to speak with the manager and he became argumentative when we discussed the matter with him. He then directed us to our waitress who we argued with us for about 1/2 hour before she agreed to take off one drink. I would not recommend this place and I see after reading some reviews that others have had similar experiences.

Not to mention that they're in the completely wrong market for trying to be high end it's how inconsistent they are in enforcing everything is what makes a lot of people angry. Some people aren't allowed in with flip flops on, some aren't allowed in with jeans on, and on the other hand some are. If you buy a bottle marked up several hundred percent of what they're worth then you're treated differently. They don't care about reservations, they don't care about customer service. I know this because I had a reservation and it didn't matter. I had true religions on but they're jeans so I guess it wasn't good enough. But some random guy in flip flops AND jeans got in because well I guess he was better than me. Thanks but no thanks. Terrible customer service. The place is more hype than it delivers.

This place is lame and pretentious for no apparent reason. I understand if you want to maintain certain standards or code of operation because you're wanting to maintain a particular client base. But they're so absolutely inconsistent with all their rules on who gets in or not that it make a lot of people angry. I think that every single one of my friends hate this place.

First of all, this was my anniversary weekend as well as my b'day and my brother(who lives in Austin) told me about this place and wanted us to go there to celebrate and said it was a good place to take nice pictures. Well once we get to the entrance, the guys working the door(on Sept. 18, 2009) immediately tells my husband that he couldn't come in because he had on sneakers but at the same time we seen a guy leaving out who also had on sneakers(Chuck Taylor's) to be exact. So we asked why was that guy allowed to enter but not my husband. The guy stated that the other guy bought a bottle. Well we were never asked did we have reservations or anything to begin with before being turned away. So while we're standing there arguing with one of the guys at the door, the other guy let a dude go in who had on flip flops......WTF.....but this place SUPPOSEDLY has a business attire dress code. So after we point that out to them, the guy tells my husband that his pants were baggy in which they wer... Read more

I was there Saturday night. I got there around 11 p.m. and couldn't wait to leave. It was a mess. The DJ played some decent music, but the place is so crowded with drunk people. It was so HOT in the club. The bouncers think they are God's gift to women and will ignore you. The place will RIP you off!! They will charge you for more than what you had. Buy one drink at a time. DO NOT start a tab!!! UGH!!! I will NEVER go back!

First off, the name is completely stupid. Second, the bouncers are total cheese d*cks. Denying people entrance because of their appearance or dress was absolutely laughable for a bar in Austin, TX. Third, the sharks. Whaaat the f? Completely disgusting to have animals trapped underneath a cheesy plexiglass (totally scuffed, i might add) dance floor. Fourth, $20 minimum for credit card tabs. That is sort of easy to do when your Miller Lites are 5 dollars and you have to get so loaded out of your mind to forget where you are. You are wasting your time and money if you go here. Not to mention, you will leave feeling bad about yourself that you stood in line and paid money to drink at such a stupid place.

The DJ was awesome Saturday night but the bartenders were horrible. Not to mention the ditsy cocktail waitress that could not get the tabs right. They add gratuity on everything! I liked the atmosphere but would probably not come back due to overpriced drinks and rude staff.

We went with two different crowds on a Thursday and on a Saturday. We had a great time and all our friends enjoyed the nice atmosphere. The DJ is great at keeping the flow of music going and we danced all night long. I think all the bad reviews stemmed from their early opening days. They are settling more into an Austin friendly environment. If you like a nice clean club with great music and no gangster looking wannabe's you'll appreciate the classiness.

I thought this place was supposed to be "hip". I visited this establishment about 8 months ago when they were requiring a dress code on the weekends. Even saw them turn away customers because of their dress. Also, the bartender I dealt with on this first occassion was great. So attending a friend's 40th birthday at this location had me dressing up more so than I normally do. When I got there I was suprised to see so many people in jeans and flip flops. The DJ was good. He/She kept a good flow of good music. The only problem I had was with the bartender. I have a common last name. So I make sure to always tell them my first name (which is uncommon) when getting the tab. I had intended to pay in cash, but couldn't find my cash in my purse when I went to pay (threw it in from parking), therefore I put my 1 beer on an open tab on my card. By the end of the night, I still had had only one beer, so I searched through my purse and found the extra money I threw in. I got up to the bar to p... Read more

This is by far the stupidest place Austin has to offer. I went in with some friends this weekend (NOT MY IDEA) and was flabbergasted to see this kind of a scene here in our city. These people think they're in posh NYC and I felt like I was being punked. What a waste of money. And to top it all off, they're mean! They have beautiful, wild sharks under this tank in the floor. It was one of the worst attention getters I've ever seen. Don't go here, unless you want to waste your money, your time and feel like a lowlife for supporting a business that uses animals as props.

My coworker and I recently visited Qua the atmosphere was great the bartendar was quite friendly the drinks were on and poppin (but too expensive) and not enough seating. Other than that we had a good time.

Qua has to be one of Austin's most fabulous nightclubs, point blank. The atmosphere is very upscale and trendy, the have sharks in the dance-floor, and the bar is great. Dress code is strictly enforced, you must look super chic, otherwise you will be turned away. Oh yeah, expect to have the AmEx ready, their bottles/drinks aren't cheap to say the least.

I went to Qua several months ago on a Thursday night. I had a blast! We left the club to go find something else to do. We meandered around downtown checking out other clubs and finally decided that we were having such a blast at Qua we shouldn?t have ever left, so we went back and closed ?er down. I loved the ambiance and the DJ played every song I requested! The bartender was making the best Mojitos I?d ever had and we danced our booties off all night long. I?m defiantly going back!

ha ha its kind of funny seeing the bad reviews on such a beautiful night club. The only thing that I don't like is the loud music. It would be nice to be able to listen to nice lounge music and, carry on a conversation without yelling . Over all I do like the set up we need more nice upscale spots in austin. I give qua a thumbs up

I'm not sure why everyone is judging this place based on "who is there" and/or "what they're wearing". I went with a group of friends and we had the best time. The music was awesome - we danced all night long. The D.J. was "spinning" great music. The service was outstanding. With every drink or shot we ordered, the bartender gave us a "free" full bottle of water, unlike most clubs in Austin where it is so hard to get anyone to bring you water and if they do, it is a short glass mostly filled with ice. I found this to be very responsible of them, not just trying to make a buck off of drinks regardless of how many an individual has had. Very un-pretentious if you ask me. My girlfriends and I go dancing all over Austin, and we always seem to have a great time where ever we are. So, I guess the saying is true, it doesnt matter where you are, it is who you are with! This was a great club, with great music, and great service. Oh, and very clean too. We will definitely go back!

A few friends and I wandered past Qua this past weekend and we'd heard all the hype so decided to try it out for ourselves. A word of advice: Don't bother. The space was small and although it was crowded it was not full of the "head-turners" that it advertises. The entire ambience desperately screamed "I'm trying too hard!" and so did the mess of people inside. A high-class bar should stay true to its identity as such, and on the night that we were there (a SATURDAY night) the status of the space and those within it was largely unremarkable. The whole concept and execution is just silly and unnecessary in a city with so many truly great after-dark hotspots. Also, I don't know what the deal is with the minimum age being 25, nobody in our group was over 24 and the guys at the door didn't say a word about it. The drinks were good though.

The title says it all. I'm disappointed that such a snooty place is helping to shape the personality of the downtown area.

To the people that doubt the crowd. I don't have shitloads of money nor do I act like I do. I just go cause that is where I want to go. I make 35,000 a yr but I will splurge ot have the atmosphere and enjoy a few drinks and then go somewhere else. If you don't like it go somewhere else and find somewhere that suits you. Don't talk SH#% to the people that want to have a good time.......

I've lived in Austin for 4 years but went to UCLA for undergrad. I regularly go back to visit my friends and we go to all the hard to get into places when we can as well as chill places in LA, so I like a mix of the two. QUA is LAME. Why? Because of the crowd and the bouncers. It is so annoying to see people inside that act like they are important and that QUA is THE happening place and they are THE happening people. They aren't attractive, definitely not young and could never, ever get into places in NY and LA. They act like they are all deserving and the best thing to happen to Austin (the bouncers do too). Why don't they get that they just don't belong in Austin? I know it's been mentioned in other reviews but seriously, if you don't know what Austin is about then you need to GTFO or just keep blowing your fake money at QUA and feel important to pad your ego til it hopefully shuts down.

I just had to write a review concerning the other reviews. It seems the majority of reviewers haven't even been inside the joint. So you form an opinion based on you shoddy clogs, dirty thrift store t-shirts, incredible ability to feel what the marine life does and inability to pay for a $6.00 crown n coke. Go to the nearest HEB, pick up a sixer of lonestar, a bottle of Tito's, some beans and weanies. Then drive back to your doublewide or 300 sqft SoCo loft and shut the **** up.

I recently went down to Austin for a Bachelorette Party, and one place I wanted to check out was Qua. It was beyond my expectations, the entire atmosphere is amazing. The music was great and songs we love to dance to. This place was something I've never seen before. I would definitely recommend checking this place out.

I was walking across the street to Saba for Happy Hour 2 weeks ago at 5 or 6pm and outside of QUA, I saw two bouncers dressed in suits, with a velvet rope up, with their stupid headsets in! Are you kidding me??? Forget the time, it was just nuts to see big burly bouncers with a velvet rope and headsets! Are they in the wrong city? Who allowed this to be built in Austin and what kind of lame people does it attract? It is a given that you will find these types of places in NY or LA - I used to live in NY for 5 years and it was understood that certain places would be pretentious and hard to get into....especially when Jay-Z and Lindsay Lohan are hanging out there. I'm not against nice places in Austin but the pretentiousness by power hungry bouncers and staff + wannabes that don't belong in Austin in the first place.....need to GET OUT and move to NY and get rejected there. HAHA.

Lame. Attempting to take meat markets to the next level but even failing at that, Qua would be appropriate for only the most insipid patrons. I've lived in Austin for 15 years, San Francisco for many, and NYC, and I cannot wait for this to shut down. It's a blight on our fair city. I feel like Russian gangsters are going to start shooting at any second. Or I'm in an episode of Miami Vice. Break out your white pants, pink blazer, and overwhelming desire to get a social disease. I'm sure if I looked hard enough I could see some keys of coke being passed under the table somewhere. Go back to Scary Land from whence you came creepy Guidos! This place actually insults Creep Guidos. In fact, if I went in and there were a bunch of cigar chomping old NYC gangstas - that would be kinda cool. Nay, I tell you, these guys aren't even remotely that authentic and charming.

Imagine being in a tank under a dance floor with blinding lights and loud vibrations. sound like fun? now imagine yourself a shark. i cant believe how un-Austin this place is and how people can support a place that thinks animal cruelty is hip. who cares about the drink prices?!

My friends wanted to enter this place two weeks ago so we stepped in line. While in line, a doorman rudely pointed to my shoes and barked we don't allow tennis shoes inside. I was actually wearing fashionable Vans along with jeans and a black, casual sweater. The fact that that wasn't dressy enough for that place told me a lot about it already. I just looked at him like whatever and felt like I was back on Sunset Blvd at Roxbury or Miyagis. There is a reason I moved to Austin and it was to get away from those pretentious places. Most places in Austin have cool doormen who you can relate to. The meatheads in front of this place are there to intimidate and they throw off a bad vibe. It really did remind me of OC or LA but not in a good way.

For those of you that say Austin is changing or there are finally upscale places in Austin, you really haven't been here long enough or are just plain stupid. QUA is lame because Austin is not pretentious - most of you couldn't get into the real places in LA and NY so getting into replicas in Austin makes you feel like a somebody. Austin is about casual fun, no attitude, and going out without having to worry about getting in. Don't get me wrong, upscale celeb ridden places are fun...in LA or NY! I have been to Les Deux and Tenjune etc, etc......but if you support those types of places in Austin, get out of our beautiful gem of a city ASAP you wannabes.

I went in to see the hype. I had to inform one of the bouncers to check the bathroom... I've never seen so much coke in my life... on every counter and every stall. The bouncers were rude, maybe from Pangea, I'm not sure. The bar is very pleasing to the eye though. I will say the decor was pretty cool, I just wish there were fountains throughout the place. I felt so sorry for the Sharks and such. I don't care what kind of NASA material they used in construction. You can bet your sweet base note that the Sharks feel it. And I don't care if Jacques Cousteau is watching them. He would only be watching them die a slow, sad death. I just saw where 3 of the sharks have died already and a fourth is sick. That's a shame. Truly. Don't wast your money or time.

I did not care for this place. Checked it out with some friends to see what the hype was all about and unfortunately was disappointed. The fountains were nice but I was expecting alot more. This place isn't any different than any other bar except for overpriced drinks and staff that aren't very friendly.

Most of the time you're just confused about why there are animals there that you're dancing on/around. What the....? I mean they're sharks...let them be. Very un-Austin. It was sick. There's this barely 2 ft tank with 100s of banging stillettos...and it was full of posers trying to get into the 4th street scene. Ew.

OK! OK! so you say this is the night club of the century huh! Well now let me explain why I was not impressed it just stuck me funny that the drinks at the bar was not even as good and the barteeders seem interested in making money or tips. The place looked really cool but they have these see through tanks underneath the dance floor that fish you can actually see swimming under your feet. THE MOST DIFFICULT PART WAS THE SHARKS AND STINGRAYS THEY CAN FEEL THE VIBRATION OF THE POUNDING ON THE DANCE FLOOR.. Let's say you a sadist this would be a great club to visit. You can actually watch these poor creatures suffering. I would not return for the reason of such brass cruelity.SORRY NOT FOR ME.

Or," What?!" It gets 1 star only because negative ratings are not an option. A perfect place for the leering old geezers and their skanky "escorts" whom we saw on our one and only descent into this pseudo-club. The interior, decor, the pathetic posers and visiting convention-goer types peppered throughout parallel the scariest dream sequences of Twin Peaks or any other David Lynch film for that matter. The staff range from inept to total dweeb. This place would do itself a service to relocate to some other part of the city, like Northwest Austin. Hey, maybe inside Lakeline Mall!

Me and my girlfriends love to come here on the weekends. The bar staff is very informative and all of them look straight out of a GQ or Vogue magazine. I ordered something that wasn't available and they gave me something else complimentary. All of the cocktails were very delectable and my favorite was one of their specialty cocktails from the menu called the sea cucumber that consisted of gin, sour, muddled up cucumber and chives. It was so good! This place is also fun for after-work, I've gone here a few times for happy hour and it was catered by Mars and all the drinks were half-price. The interior of this place is amazing though, people hype it up because of the sharks but if you have paid any attention to the news they have a marine biologist on hand at all times and the sharks are in no harm. I find my favorite part the fountains outside. Anyway, whether you are looking to relax while having a drink after dinner or to mingle and dance, I find this place to always be a lot ... Read more

I'm undecided whether to hate this place altogether or am just indifferent. On 1 hand, I like the effort, albeit, it is too snooty for me - 1st star goes to effort and the 2nd star goes to the pretty fountains. On the other hand, I don't like the PRETENTIOUS clientele + OVERPRICED drinks. GAWD was it overpriced!!!! The cheapest cocktail is $8. The drink menu has bottles for $255 and up to $1000 (yes, 3 zeros)!!!! WHATEVER! *AS IF* Yes it is indeed 25+ years to enter, HOWEVER, straight from the horse's mouth (our cocktail waitress) is that if you are HOT + under 25, they ignore your ID, as long as you "have the look," - just don't look like a stripper or a s*ank! They like their women "classy." Guys, sorry - if you are under 25, even if you're hot, no dice. As I sat there in my corner observing the night revelers, it dawned on my that most of the men there are unattractive, in their late 30s/40s and over it seems. No hot dudes....so my single friend was a bit bummed by all... Read more

It's hard for me to believe that in Austin, a city conscientiously aware and progressive, that a nightclub proprietor would conceive a place like "Qua Bottle Lounge" would succeed. But it's here. Marine biologists have found that these Elasmobranch fish do not survive in captivity - they endure immense suffering and slow deaths. They are intelligent and complex in their behavior and their natural environment is constantly changing and challenging, stimulating them neurologically. Even the best man-made habitats cannot replicate their world. The artificial confinement and limited swimming space are so restrictive that their metabolism shuts down. They refuse to eat and starve to death. Or, they cease their swimming and subsequently suffercate. Close your eyes, imagine yourself held captive inside four walls. If that isn't torturous enough, imagine bright lights and loud noise, bass drones surrounding you. Imagine being trapped inside these four walls until you die of suffocation,... Read more

Not only do they have sharks on display in a restaurant/bar! Like decorations or accessories. The staff have attitudes to boot. The drinks are too expensive and the scene is just dumb. Avoid this establishment, who thinks it's cool to come into a town like Austin and ruin it with their exhibit gimmick that is to anyone with half a brain and any semblance of human decency an outright sham, denying sharks the chance to even swim in a friggin straight line! That and their all around bad taste will have me NEVER RETURNING to Qua.

In Short Despite its Warehouse District location, QUA could set a new global standard in hip volcanic island lairs. The enclosed front patio, featuring a babbling brook amidst subdued natural hues, conceals the sunken bar's true colors. Inside, vivid red, burnished gold and pitch-black tones mingle with lush textures and designs. A DJ booth is perched above the transparent dance floor, which reveals frenetic reef sharks and stingrays swimming in the 19,000-gallon pool below the dancing divas.

From the moment we walked in, I felt it - a lame attempt to "out gimmick" every other gimmicky bar around 4th street. The fountains were nice - (there's one in front of 219, so nothing special there) the fish were interesting for 15 minutes if you're buzzed, maybe 30 minutes if you're high - after that, the whole effect is just like Cuba Libra - the layout of the bar and the general feel. It's all been done before - and it's nothing new. The staff seemed self-important, as if charging exorbanent prices for mediocre drinks made the oxygen they breathed a little more special. Maybe they were upset that on a Friday night, they couldn't do any better than maybe 50 unimpressed-looking clients trying to finish their drinks and get the hell outta there. The cherry on the sundae was when some disheveled completely blitzed 21 year old college girl tripped over the air in front of her feet (while swaying in place,) and fell backwards into my leg. So much for the 25 and over crowd... I p... Read more

it just SUX, It could be great....If it was an aqaurium, and the staff never spoke.......idiots!!!!

The 25 and over rule is pretty lame and the drink prices are just as bad. I went there just to check out the sharks (in the tank), but even they looked bored. If you're looking for a cougar, though, this is the place to go.

Qua goes against everything Austin stands for...or atleast everything Austin used to stand for. If we continue trying to bulldoze bars like the Mean Eyed Cat and put up ones like Qua, this city will just become cheap copy of places like Dallas, that I and many other Austinites are trying to avoid. Qua is a terrible bar, there are terrible people there, and what other place in Austin, TX can get away serving $6 Budweisers....on a week night nonetheless! I will never, ever go to this place again, and I hope you don't either. Qua is such a bad bar, that I don't even have to bring up the fact that they cruelly house sharks in a tiny tank in the middle. The treatment of these sharks makes me sick to my stomach. Maybe if they add some caged monkeys they will get some more attention.

OK Boys and Girls, this is the cheeeeeeziest place in Austin. Yes they spent lots of money on the finish but there is no substance - similar to the California shopping mall mentality that it apparently sprung from. Qua tries WAY too hard to be cool and is totally out of place in Austin. The floor and water features are very "Miami Vice meets Vegas Gold Nugget Ring Wearing Cheezball". Hideous. The velvet rope made me laugh. We were invited, and although there were only a handful of people inside, the guy at the door (playing Madonna with his headset) was a dweeb and made us stand around while he gave us attitude. Drinks were fine but overpriced, bartenders were slow and gave attitude, the crowd was yuppie cheeze and techie lame but ok dressed. We had fun because we are fabulous-- but I won't be going back. Ever.

It's a silly and lame attempt at being "Vegas" and comes up "Dallas." The product is pretty, but the delivery falls short. Take for example the selective age screening to get in: 25 and over. Well, if you are a pretty girl, you're in. (If it is like Vicci or their other clubs, being under 21 for pretty and willing girls won't be a problem either.) The 25 and over is to keep out the college boys (frat boys etc...) That will be okay with many people not particularly fond of frat boys, but it is not Austin. Austin is a college town. When our little group of professionals, presumably the demographics they are targeting, came up to the velvet rope, the place was empty. Perhaps there were 30 people inside. The door man touched his ear piece like a secret service agent and radioed someone of our presence, saying "I have five wanting to come in." Then he told us to wait for minute. About thirty seconds later he touches his ear piece and gets the ok. WTF?! So we go in and look for a place to si... Read more

What and awesome and unique club with enough bars to provide quick and excellent service! Love the atmosphere, the lay out and the drinks!