It was just way too formal! And even if there wasn’t an “annual Labor Day weekend Black Party,” the place still feels like it’s more for a formal crowd. Which kinda sucks because the interior of Sutra Lounge holds so much promise.

First of all, Sutra is huge. Very, very spacious. Lots of room to move around in. It reminds me of a former dance club that’s been converted into a high-end restaurant/bar. But there is still space set aside for a roomy dance-floor area….The décor of Sutra is very opulent. Veddy, veddy niiiiice. The lighting is all red. (What’s up with red? Everything is red in these places.) Despite that, the bar area is nicely decorated like a South Beach Miami hang-out. (Pretty much the only thing here that isn’t red.) The entire wall behind the bartenders is a bright, slowly-changing light-show of pastel blue & green colors through the clear liquor bottles, to offset all that red. And there’s a couple of nice plasma-screen TVs bookending the liquor bottles.

As for the employees? Sutra Lounge Management has made absolutely sure that a majority of them are women, and that they are all hot as hell!....The blonde hostess is smokin’ hot, busting out of a tight white dress. All the waitresses are hot, most of them blonde & at least half of them wearing seven-to-ten-inch platform shoes--and they’re all dressed in white….In fact, all the employees (the visible ones anyway) are in white. In honor of “The BLACK party,” I’m sure….(???)….But more than that, all these girls remind me of chicks who are using Sutra Lounge as their “legitimate” side-gig from their regular stripper and go-go dancing jobs. (Hey, ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.)

Okay, so. These are all the good things about Sutra. Which, in effect, is wasted on a place like this. All flash. Lots of style. No substance. And by the way---WHAT’S WITH ALL THE ATTITUDE??? Is this considered the usual Orange County behavior?? Case in point: When I have one or two questions to ask the manager, she is extremely difficult to get ahold of….And this is when Sutra Lounge is practically EMPTY! Which is kinda weird.

Usually when you ask to speak to a manager, he or she shows up right away--or you are brought to the manager….In this case, I am kept waiting close to 20 minutes to even see a manager---in a near-empty establishment! The same blonde stripper-hostess (with whom I made the initial inquiry to speak to a manager) continually passes by me while she’s working, and repeatedly asks: “Have you spoken to our manager yet?” I’m like, “Noooo.” So she finally decides to bring me to her---who has been sitting at the bar the entire time (practically under my nose), determining which tables the various hot waitresses will be waiting on. (The manager’s name is Brittany---or Tiffany---or Kristin. Something like that. One of those Orange County chick names---before they adopt their more recognizable stage-names like Lexus, or Destiny, or S’tarrrr*)….Anyway, even as I’m standing right behind the manager, she still refuses to acknowledge my presence! It’s not until she hears the “click” of my recorder does she turn to face---the hostess---and ask her what do I need.

….Ooookaayyyy….If I need or want that kind of attitude, I’m sure I could find it up in Hollywood---where I don’t have to spend $60 in gas money to get there.