Bartender John is the rudest person I've ever encountered. Very hostile to the customers. Music was good, but the filthy bar and terrible staff will be the reason I never come back.
Okay full disclosure I'm not a New Yorker and this was my first real exposure to jazz music so take my comments with a grain of salt but look I paid the cover ($12, okay) and then you get inside and there are multiple signs on the wall '2 drink per set minimum.' Uh, I already paid a cover, that should cover my presence in the place, that's why it's called a cover, right? I don't drink alcohol, so I ordered a ginger ale, which was $5. Maybe I just don't understand the cost of doing business but it seemed excessive. (The ginger ale was flat, too.) I didn't buy any more drinks after that and stayed for 2 sets though and no one said anything. The owner did tell a few people to be quiet as mentioned by others; I kind of get that because people want to enjoy the band and there is some threshold where the ambient noise drowns them out; on the other hand it's unrealistic for people not to talk in a bar when they go out with friends. Some of the guys in the back seemed to know the singer and they were calling out requests for pop songs that she was obviously not going to perform; it was a joke, the singer seemed to think it was funny, I thought it was funny, and the owner shut them up in an irritable way.
The musicians playing at this bar were excellent. We left however because the bar staff were incredibly rude. They wanted us to not talk to each other....at a bar....which I don't think i have mistakenly thought of as a social outing. Maybe call yourself a theatre if you want patrons to behave differently.
The 55BAR offers a real NYC experience. It's a dive. It's cheap. It's in the west village and you can hear the best live jazz, blues and funk music found in NYC. I have enjoyed singing with my band at the 55BAR since 2001. !st Saturday of each month, I am wailing my lungs out singing blues, jazz and funk. This photo was taken by me on Thanksgiving. Scott, the owner of the 55BR invited me to his Thanksgiving at the bar. The best part of the evening was to watch Scott's 11 year old son fiddle with these plastic cups and within minutes create these whimsical sculptures.
I've been there more than ten times, my overall experience is 3.5
The waiters can be more polite for sure, I understand that they have to survive, and they can't do it without money, but they can still smile. When I read bad ratings about the bar in the summer I felt bad about it, but now I understand that they have some solid problems need to be solved.
55 Bar is a US Bar based in Manhattan New York, New York. 55 Bar is located at 55 Christopher St, New York, NY 10014, USA.
Please contact with 55 Bar using information above: Address, Phone number, Fax, Postal code, Website address, E-mail, Facebook. Find 55 Bar opening hours and driving directions or map. Find real customer reviews and ratings or write your own review.
Find Bar in Manhattan New York