After dinner we headed out to Soul Train Vintage Music Lounge at 54-4 Itaewon-ro 27ga-gil. It wasn’t what we were expecting which was a relaxed lounge with music and an opportunity to dance or sit and talk. Instead we found a small crowded space with limited seating and more people dancing drunkenly to the point of hitting us with enough disregard to knock us over.
So first we made our way to the bar and managed to snag a seat as soon as someone left, then we piled all our stuff onto it and eventually I ended up sitting there while everyone else danced. Behind the bar is just a massive amount of CD’s and the permanent spot of the owner, Jess Kim who DJ’s. There are cards to put requests on for soul and r&b music. As the night progressed it turned into more club style music but if you put enough requests in you can probably get more classics, which is what we kept putting in.
I’m not really a club or bar type of person. I like places where I can sit and talk with people and hear them without having to strain my voice. But I liked the basic atmosphere and that there were regulars, dressed in fashion I don’t see too often, with fun hats, and white suits. At one point the seat next to me had a reserved sign on it and the guy who eventually showed up and settled into it was given his own bottles of alcohol and chest of ice to mix his own drinks. Plenty of regulars also made their way to the bar to do unique handshakes with the owner or some of the workers. I assume on non-weekend party nights that the place has a nice chill atmosphere like a lounge that plays more classics and less party club music. It was however difficult to get out when I did try to leave later, pinned by the close space of the chairs on either side of me and the huge crowd behind me all vying for drinks or dancing. If you want to snag a seat maybe try getting there when it opens which is Monday-Saturday at 7pm. It closes at 3am.
