VIP Tables at Velvet Club: What's Included and When It's Worth It

A VIP table is a straightforward trade. You commit to spending a set amount on drinks, and in return the club reserves a table for your group, gives you someone to look after it, and gets you past the queue. Whether that's good value depends on three things: your numbers, the night you're booking and where the table actually sits. Get those right and it's one of the better ways to spend an evening out.

What a VIP table actually includes

Strip away the marketing and a table package is four things: the space, the spend, the service and the entry.

The space

A reserved table, held from the moment you arrive until close, or until the club's table release time. It's yours for the night. Nobody will ask you to move, and you won't spend the evening guarding it while your friends are at the bar — the host keeps an eye.

The spend

A minimum spend isn't a cover charge. It's a credit you spend on drinks. Order against it across the night; anything above it goes on the bill. This is the number that decides whether VIP suits you, so read the next section before you commit.

The service

A host or server assigned to your table. They take orders, bring bottles and mixers, replace glasses and keep the table from turning into a pile of empties by eleven. How many tables each host covers varies by venue and by how busy the night is — ask.

The entry

Priority entry for your group, usually through a shorter queue or a separate door. Check whether it covers everyone in your party, and whether it still applies if some of you arrive late.

Minimum spends, explained without the spin

Three things catch people out.

It's per table, not per head. A minimum spread across eight people is a very different proposition to the same figure across three. Divide before you decide, then compare the per-person number with what you'd realistically spend at the bar. If it's close, the table is effectively free.

Not everything counts. Some venues count bottle service, spirits and champagne towards the minimum but exclude soft drinks, beers or food. Others count the whole drinks list. Ask which applies, and ask before you pay a deposit rather than at 1am.

Unspent minimums still cost you. If you spend less than the agreed figure, you generally pay the difference. That's normal practice, not a penalty, but it means a table for four on a quiet Tuesday can end up costing more per person than the drinks you actually wanted.

One more: service charge. Ask whether it's included within the minimum or added on top. On a large spend, that difference is not small.

Where your table sits — and why it changes the night

Location is the most underrated part of the booking. There's no best table, only the one that suits what your group will actually do.

• Close to the floor: loud, sociable, brilliant if you're up and down all night. Hopeless for conversation.
• Wall booths: you can hear each other, still a short walk from the dancefloor. Usually the best all-rounder for mixed groups.
• Raised areas: good sightlines over the room and a bit of separation, but a longer trip for drinks and a slightly detached feel.
• Near the entrance or bar: passing traffic, less privacy, more bustle.

Tell the team what you want. "Somewhere we can hear each other" and "right in the middle of it" should get you two different tables.

Service, hosts and the details that matter

Good table service should feel invisible. Your host checks in without hovering, glasses get replaced, ice doesn't run out. It's worth asking how many tables your host is covering; on a busy Saturday that number tells you more about the experience than any description of the package.

Ask about the tab as well. Can you run one against the minimum? Are split payments allowed at the end of the night? Many venues limit them. And confirm the cancellation terms and deposit rules when you book, not the day before — plans change, and it's easier to be flexible when you know where you stand.

Group sizes: what works, and what doesn't

• Four or fewer: often better off at the bar, unless it's a proper occasion. The minimum usually outweighs what you'd spend anyway.
• Five to eight: the sweet spot. Enough people to make the spend comfortable, few enough that ordering doesn't turn into a negotiation.
• Nine to twelve: book a larger table, or two adjacent ones. Squeezing twelve people around a table set for eight is the most common mistake we see.
• More than twelve: two tables side by side, with one person owning the booking and the tab.

Be honest about numbers at the time of booking. Tables are set by capacity, and arriving with four extras rarely ends well. If your group is fluid, say so — it's easier to plan for than to fix on the night.

When VIP is worth it — and when it isn't

It tends to be worth it when you're marking something: a birthday, a leaving do, a night that's been in the diary for weeks. It works when your group is mixed and half of them would rather sit, talk and drink properly than be on the floor. It works when you're travelling a distance and don't want to risk being turned away at eleven. Above all, it works when your group drinks at roughly the level the minimum assumes. That's the real test.

It's usually money wasted when there are three of you and the minimum matches a mid-sized table. When your group will spend the whole night dancing. When nobody wants to be the one organising the money. Or when you're booking the quietest night of the week, and could walk in and find a decent spot anyway.

Booking a table that suits your night

Pick the night before you pick the table. A Friday and a Tuesday are different products at the same venue.

Then ask four questions, and get answers before you pay anything:

1. What exactly counts towards the minimum?
2. What happens if we don't reach it?
3. How long is the table held, and from what time?
4. How many people does this table genuinely seat?

After that, nominate one person to hold the booking, the deposit and the tab. Agree a rough budget within the group before the night, because splitting a large bill at 2am is nobody's idea of fun. Arrive together where you can, or at least let the host know who's coming and when.

Do that, and a VIP table stops being a gamble and starts being a decent deal.

Photo: Aviz Media / Pexels