I liked the layout in terms of having space for your group and lighting.
What irked me though was the service. Though the drinks come fast you need to shout to get attention especially when you
are sitting in a bit far off area where there are no service staff.
On a particular day we went there were only 2 tables to serve ,one being us.
All the staff grouped at one place and were chatting to glory like any other average bar.
The drinks arent cheap so I expect better service.

And D is for dangerous ...

The wait staff and bouncers became very agitated with my friends and I (girls!) for resting a drink on the arm of a chair. So agitated that I thought they were going to take out a knife and slice an ear off. We quickly left before things got out of hand.

I am a member of private clubs in London and NYC and know a good bar when I find one. D-Lounge is not comparable. Its like a man in a posh new suit but with a Seiko watch and dirty fingernails.

Lots more smart bars in Beijing with a good attitude. Give D-Lounge a miss.

Retarded bar for retarded pretentious snobs who wouldnt know a good mojito if Fidel gave it to them. The mint leaves taste like they were in the freezer for ages, the lime juice was bottled not fresh as the way its supposed to be made, and adding cane sugar without it fully dissolving is just plain bad bartending.

Mojitos are supposed to be made with cane juice or simple sugar syrup and fresh lime juice. Not the bottled bootleg China made crap that has no taste or flavor except for processing.

The drinks are weak, the music puts you to sleep. If you want a place to go and fall asleep with the geriatric crowd then this is the place to go to.

How about changing the music lineup, mixing it up some. Stop playing the same old acid trip music day in day out over and over again.

This place is indicative of the locals, poor taste in food, poor taste in drinks, even worst taste in music.

Beautiful people my arse! I could count all the hotties on one hand the two times I was there.

Beautiful place? I think not! Did they go shopping at the Goodwill and Salvation Army thrift store for the tacky retro 70's style furniture? Or did someone raid the set of Clockwork Orange?

Beautiful Drinks? Puhleese, if you cant manage something basic like a mojito or a long island iced tea without screwing it up, you shouldnt claim that ur drinks are da bomb.

One last thing to add, the wine list is insulting to the senses.

D. is a spacious place to relax and pre-game with my favorite kiwi strawberry cocktail. Sometimes you will also find fashion shows and modern paintings in this place. A quite artistic lounge if you ask me.

The inconvenient part is that it was pretty hidden, so sometimes I find it hard to give directions to friends. Also you might not be allowed to get in if there are way too many people say on a Friday night.

I've only been to this place once, and can honestly say that I had a very good first impression. I will agree with everyone else that it does have a little Manhattan-wannabe-flair to it, but compared to the flashy-in-your-face lights that seem to be rampant in clubs/lounges in Beijing, I don't have much of a complaint about the decor here. Drinks were strong which was nice, the only thing I found annoying was trying to get to this place.

i agree with most of the other negative reviews here

the bouncer concept is ridiculous, the drinks are so-so, the waiters are jackasses, and the management is horrible

avoid this place

D-lounge has become my favourite place for 9 to 1 drinks in Beijing. The place looks great and the drinks are really good and definitely well-priced compared to other lounges around town.
I'm looking forward to see how the place will develop now that they are finally opening their new lounge area. Also I hope it will continue to delight me when I go for my after work Negroni!
I have no idea what the fuss is about the cute girl that welcomes people at the entrance. I have a hard time imagining her pissing anybody off, quite the opposite actually :)

The closeness to Nanjie geographically and the distance culturally is also a really fun aspect of this place!

I think the ripping on D lounge is totally out of proportion.

So far it has been critizised for having a "fatal" electrical outlet and a bouncer! I mean who the hell gives a damn seriously.

The fact that D lounge has decent prices for its cocktails even though the Decor and services reminds you of places like Xiu and Centro is a huge plus for me and the reason why i go there instead of other nearby places like Q bar, Fubar or Kokomo. If you take Sanlitun as an isolated area there is nowhere that beats D lounge if you want good music, service and cocktails at a decent price. I think its great that we finally get a place like that up here instead of having to go further downtown and mingle with stuffy middle aged suits looking for the nights gold digger.
Although surprising at first, the concepts of bouncers in Beijing is long overdue and im glad to see that there is finally a place willing to sacrifice quantity for quality.
Keep it up guys!

I think the D must stand for "douchey," because that's what this pretentious, self-important, Manhattan wannabe has turned into.

I love it when I go to a bar and the bouncer/hostess look at me blank-faced, and then ask "may I help you?"

Yeah. You're a bar. Serve me a drink, jackass.

They claim to be having private parties or be at capacity or whathaveyou, but half the times I've been, the place has soju-scented tumbleweeds rolling through it.

The irony is, I've never actually been turned away, but I've seen it happen a few times now to other people, and its made me realize that this isn't the kind of establishment I'll be frequenting. Crapping on your clientele may get you flavor-of-the-month favor with the tourons and poseurs, but a year from now when the buzz has died down and you need to rely on regulars, you'll see you have none.

Its really a shame, because its killer space, and the bar staff are really good. The first few times I went I fell in love with the place... Unfortunately, its being brought down by weak management that equates a line at the door with success. Hey, here's a thought for ya, Warren - people in your club = people buying drinks = revenue. If the club's half empty and you have a line of non-patrons outside wanting to get that gosh-darned-special feeling of belonging, too, its meaningless, because they aren't paying anything.

I heard someone describe dLounge as being the next China Doll in a complimentary way, shortly after it opened. They may be right, as dLounge will probably follow China Doll right down the toilet...

------
UPDATE with a reply to Warren:

On a mission? I wrote a customer review of your club here and cross-posted it to CW. You'll notice yours isn't the first bar or restaurant I've written about (be it positively or negatively) and it won't be the last. You give yourself, and your bar, far too much importance to think that my taking time to review you means I gave what I wrote - or your bar - much thought afterwards until I received the autonotice with your reply.

If your policies are working our for you, than great. As a former customer, I can tell you they don't work for me... and from the number of people that have Direct Messaged me on this site and CW commenting negatively on dLounge, I can assure you that you have plenty of folks that aren't fans.

Regardless, I'm flattered that you cared enough to try to somehow challenge me or defend your policy that's clearly turning off customers. I'll probably never be cool enough to get attention from your doorgirl, or apparently get into a club in Tokyo, but I got me some personal lovin' from Warren himself, so I do feel special...

(((((HUGS)))))

Wow, you are on a mission.

Here it is again.

Quite the essay you have there mr zippy.

Let me break it down for you and everyone else.

1. We have the door policy because:

a. We usually get quite busy on weekends and we have to make sure that the people who actually reserve in advance get the proper service and attention they expect... and more.
That and I save space for frequent guests so even if it seems empty at 9pm, I have to turn people away. If not, pretty much everyone can come and have a drink. I believe the crowd will choose itself in the end, not me.

b: Our capacity is 250 pax. Anymore and its gets uncomfortable and people wait a long time for drinks = guests not happy = warren not happy.

c: Someone has to be at the door to avoid drunk kids carrying qingdaos and prostitutes.

d. You make it seem like its unheard of, that and its not even that strict at d.lounge. Try getting into a place in tokyo. If you think about it, its really common sense.
Many reservations + limited capacity + service standards = not everyone can come in.

2. Does the quantity of people always = revenue?

Not always the case. Especially in nightlife. Everybody knows this.

3. Will d.lounge die in 6 months?

Sorry mate, doesn't look like it.