Dolce Vendetta

Dolce is closed right now because of several reasons:
-It is being remodeled for more space.
-Executive management is being changed, we’ll be able to make announcement on this in the next 10 days.
-It is scheduled to be reopened in the next 45 days.
(06/01/09)

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From QuickDFW.com:

Dolce excels at making patrons feel exclusive - assuming they've got money to spend. The new, small downtown lounge is hidden next to Neiman's. Its door policy is guest-list-only.

Inside, bottle service separates the Coolest Kids from the merely VIP. Tables start at $350, which includes one bottle of liquor and mixers. You can't sit down unless you pay. It's frustrating at first, but that changes to envy. After an hour of watching big-spenders frolic in miniature living rooms, you almost want to break out the credit card. Chilled Grey Goose is worth it, right?

Around 11:30 on a recent Friday night, Dolce had no line, but the doorman eyed us warily.

"Are you here for the party?" he asked, implying that the place was closed for a private event.

"No, but we're on the list," I said. Magic words. He found us on a clipboard and unlatched the rope.

Dolce's dark entrance corridor is similar to Suite, another upscale lounge in Knox-Henderson. Black smoked glass covers one wall, which shows patrons' silhouettes on the other side.

The inside feels similarly dark and moody. An exposed brick wall is spotlighted to look gray. Chandeliers hang over squat black couches.

The crowd is well-coiffed and trendy, and diverse in age and ethnicity. Most people we saw preferred scoping out the opposite sex to dancing.

Privacy-seekers can book the $1,400 secluded VIP suite, which has a 50-inch flat screen TV. A live Web cam might have been more interesting.

Dolce: between Obar and Neiman's

What to wear: Ladies - platinum-blond hair, knee-high boots, jeans, conductor cap and big gold earrings; Men - nice jeans and a solid-color button-down shirt, or a designer tee and blazer

What the music is like: Hip-hop and mash-ups. It's loud, so don't count on talking much.

Smoking: Yes

Cover charge: None. Assuming you can get in.

Published in The Dallas Morning News: 11.26.07