Viewers Rate NYC Bars
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Comments - Lots of guys. This is one of the only places in the city where they not only serve Milwaukee's Best (a.k.a. "The Beast") but in a can no less. They have those photo booths there, which is fun - I guess it helps you remember a drunken evening as it has become immortalized on film. - R.A.

Cheap booze...Jukebox is king here. Killer selection. Hot brunette bartender had a little dog named Football that sat on the bar. One of the best places I went to. - P.C.
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Comments - Great mix of hip hop and reggae, especially on Fridays.  Also home of one of the top bartenders in all NYC.  Remember, big tippers get strong drinks. - J.D.
This dark East Village bar/lounge obviously was once something other than a bar. It seems to draw a twentysomething clientele. It features cocktail tables, couches, a low ceiling, and a DJ in a back room. The prices are reasonable. The beer selection is somewhat limited and getting the bartenders' attention can be a challenge. The unisex bathroom is one-at-a-time. - T.K.
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Comments - This is a small place located on the second floor. The bartenders are friendly and efficient. The prices are reasonable. The bathroom is adequate. - T.K.

The atmosphere is OK, but the drinks are among the worst I've had.  Cough syrup tastes better than their margaritas. - K.C.
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Comments - Popular with tourists, theatergoers and after work crowd. Frequented by NY Post reporters. (Steve Dunleavy looks much older in person). Interesting pictures on the walls. Good buffet. Reasonable prices. - T.K.

A surprisingly good place for lunch or dinner in the Theater District, with enough elbow room at the bar and at table. Reasonably priced food that is reasonably good and generously portioned. Definitely worth a stop. - G.L.

During a trip from Wales and Dublin we dropped in here and it became our local. Great service and good prices, staff were fab, especially Niall & John. They had our drinks ready as soon as we walked in the door, extra special treatment to the Celts. Cool place. We recommend it to everyone and we'll be calling in again when in NYC. - L&J

This is the place for the best lunch burger. A tasty burger fully loaded with with all of your favorite toppings for a mere $9.95 at the bar. The barmen are a panic - well versed in sports, current events and whatever else you fancy talking about. If you go back more than once they will remember you and your drink. Truly a comfortable environment with a rock solid crowd (no hooligans or tough guys). Enjoy. - D.J.
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Comments - The sketchy ally entrance gives way to the classiest restaurant and lounge on the Lower East Side. The food is pricey, but worth it. Don't miss the Lansky salad or the Sea Bass Wellington. The atmosphere is sophisticated, but relaxed. Their only downfall is that the B&T crowd is starting to find it on the weekends. Oh well, it is tough to keep a good secret like Lansky's quiet. P.S. the giant $10 martinis are amazing - S.G.

I thought the bar was really nice, inside that is. The walk into the bar was absolutely terrifying and the attacking RATS, yes, real live rats, were disgusting and definitely not what you need leaving a bar at 2:00 am. The waitress and manager were not the nicest people in the world either.- I.G.

Decor is outstanding. Weekends are getting busy. Don't let the alley-way keep you away.

This place is the hot spot! It is always bumpin', and there are many girls, nice Jewish American Princesses. - E.S.

Bar was fun - drinks great - service was sooo slooooowwww. Nice place to go with out-of-towners. - M.M.
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Comments - It's located off the lobby of the New Yorker Hotel. It serves as a starting point for hotel guests and as another Madison Square Garden pre & post event bar. The prices are reasonable and the service is good. The bathrooms are good but located in the hotel concourse. - T.K.
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Comments - This Moroccan decor converted warehouse draws a good, after-work clientele. Well-lit, it features a VERY HIGH ceiling and cocktail/dining tables inside and outside. The beer selection is primarily imports. The prices are somewhat expensive. The service is decent. The bathrooms, located in the basement, are one-at-a-time. - T.K.
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Comments - This place is a nice get-away if you can't get a ticket to Paris. I've never found the service to be elitist, though it can be a little airheaded. Wine list is fantastic, and food is pretty good too. Bathroom is tiny but clean and well-kept. - V.T.

This is a very small French bar/restaurant. The beer selection is limited (wines are the specialty). There is very little room at the bar. The staff and clientele seem to have an elitist attitude.  The prices are expensive. The unisex bathrooms (they're called 'les toilettes') are one-at-a-time. -T.K.
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Comments - This place is a combination bar/restaurant. The restaurant seems to be more active than the bar area. The prices are reasonable. The bartenders are friendly and efficient. The bathroom is adequate. - T.K.
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Comments - Low-key bar attached to the Casablanca Hotel. The clientele is a mixture of after-work, tourists and theatergoers. Reasonable prices. Friendly and efficient service. Bathrooms are decent. - T.K.
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Comments - In the summer this is a really fun place. You can sit in the front which is open, unlike other bars which are closed in and get stuffy. - S.A.
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Comments - Located in the lobby of the Gramercy Park Hotel, another stuffy, boring, overpriced hotel bar. The hotel bathrooms are decent. - T.K.
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Comments - This SoHo French bistro seems to draw a mixed (all ages) clientele. It features a high ceiling with fans, a metallic top bar, low playing music and dining/cocktail tables inside and outside. The beer selection is somewhat limited. The prices area little steep. The service is decent. The bathrooms are one-at-a-time. - T.K.
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Comments - Nice, upscale place, but has its faults.  Went on a Thursday night and it was packed. Yuppie crowd.  The decor and layout is really cool. it was pretty easy to get a drink at the bar, but the waitresses weren't very friendly and were a hassle trying to deal with.  They were slow and unhelpful.  The bathroom was nice, but I hate having to tip someone for handing me a paper towel.   Overall an OK experience. - K.P.

The way to get stellar service at this place is you look like you are slumming. (A tough thing to do at an upscale place like this). But if you can pull it off, the otherwise indifferent wait staff will be duly impressed and jump to your beck and call. -K.B.

Visited Light June, 2001 for a corporate get-together (10 people from work, paid for by the company, on a Tuesday evening, 7:00 - 11:00 pm). The theme here is that the name of the bar is "Light" but it is very dimly lit. Had to let our eyes adjust before we could walk down the stairs to bar level, otherwise would have fallen flat on our faces before even drinking a drop. Decor is simple and seating is comfortable. Not crowded (even for a Tuesday, it was quite empty). Generic recorded music was at just the right volume for my taste, only had to raise your voice a little to have a conversation. As you would expect, prices are too high, but this was an expense account junket, so who cares? This is a good place for that sort of thing, or perhaps for a discrete rendezvous. - R.K.

Had to wait outside in a line for 15 minutes to find out there was no one in the bar....the crowd was filled with a bunch of had-beens 40 years ago. - J.B.

Simply the worst service I've ever experienced. Waitresses were rude and incompetent, spill a whole glass of drink on my friend (the guest of honor) and didn't bother to apologize. Will never visit or recommend this place again! - B.A.
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Comments - Low-Key bar located in the Roger Smith hotel. Serves as a starting point for hotel guests. Apparently did well as an overflow when Denim & Diamonds was next door. - T.K.
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Comments - This Irish pub seems to draw a mixed (all ages) after-work clientele. Well lit, it features a TV, a good jukebox (not played too loud), high ceilings, and a dining area in a mezzanine. The prices are reasonable. The Irish bartenders are friendly and efficient. The bathrooms are adequate. - T.K.
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Comments - This has the feel of a neighborhood bar. Drinks are affordable, $15 all you can drink of Coors & Bud Light on NFL Sundays and subdued crowd makes it an enjoyable place to watch a game without the loud-mouthed drunks. TV's could be a bit bigger and they could use a big screen. Staff is friendly and waitresses are very cute, almost Britney-like. Bathrooms are okay, nothing special. - A.S.

This place is awesome! A mixture of people from grad students to young professionals, to neighborhood people to tourists to late night shift people on their dinner break. I always meet the most interesting people there. The best part might be the staff. Always friendly, great for conversation. The dudes rock and roll & the chicks kick ass. Check it out...Great happy hour too! $2 pints of Coors and Bud, well drinks and wine $4 pizza, wings and Nachos. - K.H.

A low-key, split-level Irish pub, this is where the revitalized Hell's Kitchen meets West 57 Street. Watch your step on the way in (step down). Numerous TV's, 1980's music. Friendly and efficient Irish bartenders. Partially exposed brick wall. Reasonable prices. Unisex bathroom is one-at-a-time. T.K.
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Comments - At last, a REAL bar has come to Morningside Heights. Unlike it's neighboring establishments, this place is clean, cheap and not excessively crowd with underage college kids. I've lived uptown for almost two decades and for the last five years have found myself traveling downtown for a drink. The guys at Lion's Head have answered my prayers. The drinks are dirt cheap! Where can you get a pint of Guinness for $2?? The food is simple, but good (and the kitchen is open till 2am). The bartenders are young veterans and still believe in buybacks. The decor could use come serious work, most of the walls are bare, but the atmosphere is real casual. they have two bathrooms which ( I think) are unisex, I've never asked. Never the less, this is a great stop to relax after work or meet up with some friends. - R.X.

Fairly new on the scene -- a nice, straightforward pub/bar hybrid. Good service, good jukebox, Guinness on tap and excellent prices ($2 happy hour 5-8 every week day). No frat types (yet). There are three TV's but they are not in your face, and mostly show the History Channel. This has become our regular bar in the Morningside Heights area. - G.R.

An up and coming bar in an otherwise stagnant neighborhood. Good bar food, decent service and great prices. What more do you want? Oh yeah, there is an abundance of young hot chicks. Nice perk. - G.J.H.
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Comments - It may have been a swanky place, but it was so dark, I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. That, plus $7 drinks, makes me think I won't go back... -S.A.

This is a great place for ladies on Friday! - R.F.
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Comments - This small Tribeca bar was obviously a liquor store in its previous life. It seems to draw a fun, lively, twentysomething and thirtysomething clientele. It features no TV nor music, a low ceiling, cocktail tables inside and outside. The prices are reasonable and the service is so-so. The unisex bathroom is one-at-a-time. -T.K.
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Comments - East side secret - cool loungy bar that feels like a cozy basement from the 70s. Cheap drinks, chill DJs, pretentious hipsters are too busy talking on their phones to notice this 2nd Ave gem. The new nod and wink bar for cool people like us. - L.R.

Oh my, how I hate this place. The door staff is rude, the crowd is worse. If you're not tatooed up one side and down the other, and even if you are, the regulars here will go out of their way to make you feel as uncomfortable as possible. This place is not cozy, relaxing, or fun. The only thing it has going for it is the occasional Adam Ant song... but you're better off just staying home with your own copy of Antics in the Forbidden Zone. - N.J.

Liked it. - J.R.
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Comments - The place gets rockin' with a good crowd. Quite a few traders from CS First Boston make their way over there after a tough day on the market. A mid 20's, early 30's crowd. Serves as a restaurant/bar in the early hours of the night, but the bar takes over towards 11pm. There aren't set nights of rowdiness. I've seen it rockin' everyday of the week, but when its dull, it can get boring. Not too big, either. They also have a raw clam, mussel and oyster bar in the middle of the joint. Strange, but good if you like that sort of thing. Hint: chicks don't like raw bars - so stay away if you want some play! - J.W.

This place has a little bit of everything. This applies to both the decor and the patrons. It has a Southern flavor with some old (not old enough to be classic) worn out decor. They had not yet taken down the Christmas lights (in March). It features several TVs, a jukebox (not played too loud), high-top luncheonette tables, and other odds and ends (include several live humans). While the beer selection is somewhat limited, they serve drinks with names like Mississippi Breeze, Redneck Martini, Huckleberry Freeze, and Oyster Shooter. I was not bold enough to try any of them. The food counter resembles a flea market vendor's operation. Don't misunderstand, it was very entertaining. The prices are somewhat expensive. The bartenders are far from professionals. The bathrooms are adequate. - T.K.

It's over.  You could throw rocks down Live Bait's bar on a Friday night without hitting anyone. When even the die hard regulars are talking about "the bar it used to be" as they moan about the higher than average prices and non existent buyback policy, it's no wonder Live Bait is dead. - R.K.
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Comments - Nice, cozy place. A little small to spend the whole night in there. Very nice staff and good service. - J.M.

Small but comfortable Irish bar on the Lower East Side. Dark, candle-lit interior with tile floors. Decent beer selection that does NOT include Bud or Coors Light. Get there early if you want to sit in the 'snug', a small private enclave in the front. - S.M.

Nice dark little bar, pub-themed, can always count on seeing the same people there. Not as crowded as other places on the weekend, fun to sit in the private rooms in the front corners. - T.W.

Nice atmospheric cozy Irish joint that doesn't stick the Blarney in your face.  Bartenders were great on the Saturday night we were there, with good, prompt, not overzealous service. Looking forward to going back for an excellent pint of Guinness. - M.B.
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Comments - Great bar on the increasingly "hip" Fifth Avenue in the north end of Park Slope. The place is huge, but doesn't feel empty even with an intimate crowd. The front has a nice long bar, big French doors looking out to the street, and two good size TVs. The middle has the pool table, an eclectic juke box, and good bathrooms. In the back there are at least a half-dozen couches with coffee tables and draperies that kind of separates this end from the rest of the bar. The service is usually excellent, but I have to say that the women bartenders must be here mostly for decoration, because they aren't really stealing the show with service. All the males make up for it, though, with good service, a quick wit, and professionalism.
The crowd is mixed during the day and early hours. Weekends and late-night is a decidedly younger and good-looking crowd in general. A little SoHo/Tibeca/Village thing going on, but with a good dose of Brooklyn down-to-earth style to keep everything from getting pretentious. Really, one of the better places in this part of Brooklyn, and the city. - L.S.
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Comments - Non-stop partying at this Flatiron hot spot. Once you walk into the place, you are immediately switched into party mode by a live band that kicks ass on weekend nights. Hip crowd over-powers the restaurant when the band is playing. This place rocks! Here is an ominous sign, however: During a recent set by the band, the guitarist quizzed the audience: "Is Manhattan in the house? Brooklyn in the house?….etc." The largest shout came when he asked "New Jersey in the house?". No offense, Jersey-ites, but this is a sign that the bar has lost its edge. Bathroom would score higher if there was an attendant since it is a nice facility but it gets sloppy on crowded nights. - S.M.
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Comments - awesome. - J.J.

Comments - This place is cozy. A little small due to low ceilings but nice if there aren't too many people. It's a basement lounge with a pool table. Mostly candle lit. Good music and lower east side crowd. Neighborhood is convenient for bar hopping.- K.F.

Drunk people partying. - D.L.
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Comments - Nice upper east side local bar & grill, with checkered table cloths in the dining area. Gets an attractive crowd of upper-eastsiders for cocktails or late night socializing. Almost have to go through the kitchen to get to the bathroom, which can get dangerous when the restaurant is busy. Sidewalk seating in nice weather. - S.M.

Good eats at reasonable prices in a relaxed atmosphere. Mostly an early 30s crowd. Very friendly bartenders. Outdoor seating available. The restroom is past the pickup window, so beware the busy waiters. - K.F.
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Comments - Lower East Side bar with a back room for live music & the famous cutting edge comedy night, "Eating It".  One of the few places to play foosball in the neighborhood.- S.M.

Nice decor. - D.L.
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Comments - Why the hell is it so expensive? Gave it a 9 for Decor because you're OUTSIDE. - J.D.

Truly one of the best outdoor spots in the city. But everyone thinks so, so it's too damn crowded. - S.A.

There is a lot to be said for outdoor drinking, especially if you are insulated from the city traffic, like at Luna Park. L.P. is Union Square Park's answer to the Bryant Park Cafe. Gets very crowded after work, so the staff can be less than attentive. But on a beautiful day, with beautiful people, this can be a great spot. - S.M.
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Comments - This is the new Manhattan sibling of the Brooklyn tradition. It has two floors. The ground floor has a bar room, the second floor is a restaurant. The prices are somewhat expensive and the service is good. It features several TVs, high-top bar tables, a high ceiling, pictures, munchies on the bar, and old fashioned street lamps hanging from the ceiling. It draws the usual area mix of local office workers, tourists, and theatergoers. Overall, it's rather boring. The bathrooms, with attendants (on the second floor) are more than adequate. - T.K.
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Comments: Behind a plain gray door hides a nicely decorated TriBeCa lounge with a long bar, spacious high ceilings, and a long velvet banquet running the length of the bar room. There is also a private lounge in the rear. Be sure to check out the circular lounge room, which will make you feel like you are inside Barbara Eden's bottle from "I Dream of Jeannie". - S.M.
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