VUE Bar + Restaurant

This is located on the top floor of the Holiday Inn. I am not normally inclined to try hotel restaurants, but, I heard of the view and the cocktails and well, I wanted to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised!The view is lovely!! There are seats at the bar, high tops, and two and four tops. The view to the west takes in the sunset and the view to the north you can watch the planes. So there is alwys something to see. They also have a fair amount of TVs and some 90s music on. So for ambiance, it's trying to find its way a bit. Sports Bar/fine dining/speak easy. The menu changes seasonally. So keep that in mind. I was super eager to try the French Onion Soup, but behold, a new season. Summer begets the tomato.. I am trying to be more "plant based" in my diet, or at least "less processed". And this definitely for the bill for that. The menu features food that is more local, more fresh and less processed. Which was exactly what I was looking for. For my meal, I was surprisingly ot starving, so I just got some Brussels sprouts. They were prepared with a balsamic reduction, some bacon and a wee bit of cheese on top. They were so good!!! I'd highly recommend them! I was also looking for a lovely cocktail. I saw the images on IG and the like. And in honesty, it was Monday.... So, an Old Fashioned it was. It was prepared perfectly and it was pretty!! I also felt it had a nice pour. For my two items it ran about $30.00. I did dine with my service dog, LongYellowDog. Which didn't bring any issues with the staff. The wait staff (Shannon) was super friendly and honest about the menu and what she thought I'd like, based on my diet, I really appreciated that. She also made sure everything was perfect for me. The hostess was quick and the barkeep was doing a fabulous job too! I'm taking off one star for the lack of identity. Be a sports bar, be a speak easy or be fine dinning or even two of the three. Embrace that you cannot be all things to all people.

It's always iffy when visiting a hotel restaurant, so I was pleased with my experience at VUE. First, the view is fabulous! No matter where you sit, this circular top-floor location is beautiful. The service was friendly. The food was decent. But let's start with the cocktails. I love gin. And Empress is one of my favs, so when I saw a gin cocktail as one of the specials, including grapefruit juice with a salty rim like a spin off a Salty Dog, I bit. But there wasn't much bite to the bark. The beauty of adding citrus to Empress is the color change, but this drink, served in a too-small chimney glass, didn't deliver. Not only on the visual, but the taste. Too much salt on the rim wiped any other flavor out. The good news is, I used some of that salt on my crispy Brussels sprouts appetizer, which made them even better. I ordered the Brussels sprouts as a side--so no bacon or parm as served with the appetizer version, but that's what I wanted. And they were good! Crispy in the outside, tender inside, if not wanting for a bit more sodium. And a bit of parm would have been nice, but I knew it didn't come with that when I ordered them. Next, I had the salmon and pesto risotto with wild mushrooms. It was ok! Salmon was a little overcooked, but still tasty and not-to-dry and it had plenty of sodium. It offered a generous portion of salmon, which I couldn't finish. The risotto has slightly undercooked and a little dry. It had lots of cheese and mushrooms (I think I picked them all out! Love mushrooms!). It was a large portion that I couldn't finish, but I was satisfied. The odd thing to this dish was some sort of sweetness that I couldn't identify. I believe it was a glaze on the salmon, but I seemed to taste it more when eating the risotto. It wasn't bad, just somewhat out of place. I think I would have enjoyed the dish more with less sweetness. Overall, I was pleased with the dinner. I have low expectations when eating at hotel restaurants, but I was pleasantly surprised with my meal and experience at VUE.

We had family visiting and were staying at the Long Beach Holiday Inn, so we decided to dine at the restaurant on the top floor, which offers great city views. It was definitely crowded on a Wednesday evening, but we were seated promptly. Our group of 20 appreciated the separate checks, and it's worth noting that the restaurant is cashless, accepting only credit cards.The bar area had TVs, which was a nice touch for those interested in catching up on sports or news. I ordered the burger wrapped in lettuce with onion rings, and both were good--the onion rings were nice and crispy. My cousin had the Sarasota Shrimp Scampi, while other family members enjoyed dishes like Spaghetti Primavera, Linguine Alla Scampi, Chicken Parmigiana, and Chicken Piccata. Everyone enjoyed their meals.Service was good, and the combination of city views (forgot to take a picture) and delicious food made for a pleasant experience. I will definitely return.

It was a good experience with the food and the penthouse view. I had the salmon, which was cooked just right and made me forget about what else I had . We sat around to the northeast of his cylindrical building to see flights coming in to land at the airport from the southwest. The waiting staff was quite accommodating.It's solid mid-level dining so it's definitely worth it even without a view.

As the name indicates, this place is designed for the view. Ordered a Tanqueray martini and the bartender made it perfectly. I was staying at the Holiday Inn, so it made getting a drink easy and fun.

I was in the area & found a place open past 9 pm.Late night dinnerFast serviceHealthy portionsAnd great views of the cityThis restaurant is on top floor (penthouse level) of a hotel. They have full bar. And believe during the day the view would be spectacular.Bon appetite!

Always looking for places to go after work - and last Friday found myself at the VUE. Finally Penthouse Bar and Restaurant. At the top of the Holiday Inn over near the Long Beach Airport. Can't miss it. Look for the cylindrical shaped hotel near Willow and Lakewood right off the 405. Lots of parking. And free. Just don't park in the employee structure. At least that's what one of the restaurant staff told me. Which goes along with service. Kimberly - newly hired did a great job. Attentive. Friendly. Great personality and fun. There were a few others who stopped by dropping off drinks or food but I didn't catch their namesAs for the food and drink - see pics. Enjoyed the appetizers as I wasn't really there to eat - but to drink. Was in the mood for Old Fashions and asked to have the prepared with Rye. Nice and balanced. Food was good too - felt the shrimp was a little underdone but I'm a fan of Sushi and Sashimi so no worries there. Just hate it when shrimp is overcooked. And I basically inhaled the calamari. Good portions for appetizers. It's close to several of my work facilities so it's a given that I'll be back

Food was great. I got a rib eye which was grilled to perfection. I'm not doing carbs so I asked for extra veggies in place of potatoes, which Miguel happily obliged. My BF got the fettuccine. I thought the plate looked a little small considering it was $24. They could have put more pasta. I wouldn't order that again. Miguel was the best part. We told him there weren't enough planes coming in so he said he would call the airport and order more planes. Sure enough more planes started coming in. Lol. He was super fun. This place has a nice vibe as far as decor and ambiance, however the music they were playing doesn't fit. I love classic rock, but didn't really want to hear The Doors, Hendricks, etc. Not to mention the most irritating part was the commercials. Why not use Spotify or Pandora and pay for ad free content? It was just weird and interfered with the overall vibe. I'm not a jazz lover but I think the place calls for more of a jazzy style music. Or even just some instrumental piano or something. The view is beautiful and worth stopping by for drinks and apps. But overall I thought the food was a bit overpriced.

Would never recommend this place. Waiting forever to get a drink then even pay your bill is even worse food was okay service was terrible theme they don't even take cash glad I'm only visiting this was not a good experience. They want to be fancy but far from it.

Beware of Bar Server Attempting to Double her TipMy co-workers and I were getting together and we were there for a couple of hours after work on a Friday. We had a few tabs open to make the ordering process easier. When the bill came the server game me my card back and the card slips to sign. There was the usual blank space for tip and the total. I asked for the itemized receipt and when she produced it, well, the bill already had her 18% tip included! Well, if i didn't look carefully she would have gotten a 38% tip!! (I usually do tip 20%)My other friend's tab bill came later and the same server tried a different tactic. This time, she gave the receipt, and the 2 slips to sign along with her credit card. This time, the receipt was for $150 (with no tip included in her receipt,) but the credit card slip was already rung up for $180,,, And again! with the tip part blank and the total to be added. Hoping we wouldn't be looking, she was looking for a 38% tip again!! The drinks were good and the food was good. No complaints about the experience until we figured out what she was trying to do with the bill. I couldn't believe how shady this was. Keep your eyes peeled!