I know I said I wouldn’t go to Haus, but I changed my mind.

Haus, you’ll recall, is the new nightclub in the old Canal Room space at W. Broadway and Canal. The owner promised Community Board 1 that Haus would be a “mixology lounge” and not a nightclub, persuading CB1 to look the other way at the evidence Haus would obviously be a nightclub, presumably because no one lives nearby. The club’s lawyer even called me up, swearing that Haus’s application as a lounge was legit.

I wasn’t about to test-drive the nightclub aspect—my partying years are well behind me—but as soon as Haus opened for after-work business, I put on my fun pants (not to be confused with my very fun pants) and headed over.

It was strange to be in a nightclub during the day—I mean, I may have been in one during daytime hours back in the old Sound Factory days, but that was at the end of a long night, and there were no windows. Haus has big windows on Canal and W. Broadway, and some of the draperies were open, leaving the impression that you had arrived far too early or stayed far too late. It certainly feels like a nightclub: There’s a woman working the door, the dance floor is visible under the movable furniture trotted out for the “lounge” hours, and bottle-service tables are stacked in stadium-style tiers along the back.

I sat at the “golden tiger-eye bar-top,” in the website’s description, “which features semi-precious stone inlaid-marquetry,” and the amiable bartender handed me the specialty cocktail menu (all $15). As the night goes on, I suppose you can read the menu by the red light under the bar, casting your nether regions in an infernal glow. (Haus has a lot of colored lighting.) I asked the bartender’s advice on what to order, and when I told him I lean toward the bitter, the only real candidate was the Paloma (tequila, lemon juice, rosemary syrup, etc.). It was very good, with only hints of rosemary but that was probably for the best. I will say that I’m not a fan of Collins glasses filled with one big column of ice that slams at you and that you can’t swish around with any sort of satisfaction. I like to hear my drink, not just taste it.

I didn’t see the prices for normal cocktails, wine, or beer, but when I was there, Haus was offering two-for-one well drinks from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., with. Depending on the cost of those well drinks—remember, you’re in a nightclub—that could make Haus a handy place for after-work groups. There are several large seating areas and little competition; I’d particularly consider the banquettes along Canal, where you could spend a fun hour mocking watching passersby. And the bartender mentioned that Haus will soon serve food of some sort. The initial application to CB1 included a menu with sliders, flatbreads, and so on, but that may have changed—the cocktails on that menu were far less sophisticated than what’s available now.

Before I left, I visited the restrooms downstairs. You’re faced with a room with many doors, half of which say “no admittance” and half of which aren’t labeled at all. I pity all the patrons who are on drugs.

Haus is at 285 W. Broadway (at Canal), 212-625-4287; haus-nyc.com.

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