The Empire Cocktail Lounge and Event Center

1205 Washington Ave, Bay City - 48708
24 reviews
Cocktail Bar Italian
(989) 316-9356

Great drinks, service and fun live shows!

We rented out the Empire room for our son's first birthday. There were at least 3 other parties there the same day, but Wesley bent over backwards for us. It was great to be in a building with such rich history, and my neice and nephew had a lot of fun there, too.

Bartenders! Stop out to your tables when it's slow. You'll sell more drinks and rake in more tips.

Wonderful atmosphere and food was excellent. We both had a Delmonico steak cooked perfectly and with salads and a side. Tried an Italian hard soda (Blood Orange) and it was really good. I loved Cafe Crimosi and you see/feel it's the same crew and owners but with a mid-century vibe. Even down to 40s music playing softly in the background. Our waiter was clearly new and had trouble with some of our questions and interacted awkwardly. But he was very nice and didn't detract from the experience. Will go back to try all the delicious choices in fish next

I made a reservation here on valentines day and it was by far one of the worst dinning experiences i have had in a long time. The service was inadequate to say the least. A limited menu offered no variety. My table was one of three tables occupied and it still took an hr to start getting our order. We waited 37 min just for our first drinks. When our entrees did come the food was bland and not cooked to order. I brought my girlfriend here to purpose to her and i couldn't evan get a bottle of champagne. My experience here was appalling to say the least i will not be returning to this establishment anytime in the near future. This is a restaurant that has an over priced menu for the quality of meals they attempt to prepare.

We dined there on Valentine’s Day evening. We had a 7:30 reservation. We expected it to be busy, but it wasn’t. there were 15 tables when we got there and 4 servers. Which seems like a good ratio. Instead the servers seemed confused as to who was serving who. Our server was completely unattentive. We were seated for 2O minutes before he asked us if we wanted drinks. At that time we ordered wine and said we were ready to order our meal he said “I’m not! and the kitchen is backed up at least 20 minutes. That’s when we should have left because the experience only got worse. After another 15-2O minutes he took our order and said he’d bring bread out. 2O minutes later he brought the bread with our salad. I had finished my wine but not once was I asked if I would like another. Another 3O minutes of waiting our server came out and asked if we were ready for dessert? What? We haven’t had our entree yet. By time we got our food I was too frustrated to even enjoy it. Which was unfortunate because the food was good.

Atmosphere and food are amazing. Hidden gem that used to be Cafe Cremosi. Skip Olive Garden, and get fresh and homemade Italian grub, at a decent price.

Great people and great food. I highly recommend this place.

Taste was amazing! Excellent service! What a gem!

This is a hidden gem that needs more attention. The food is delicious and the staff is friendly. Definitely worth it.