The Bar Downstairs
“Large open space, open kitchen, entertaining mixologists, just quiet enough to be able to have conversations with people.”
“Walk down the stairs and enter at the golden rat for a spot that would more than pass muster as a standalone establishment.”
“Came here tonight for after work drinks with my friend for the first time & loved my experience.”
The Bar Downstairs
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Apple Pay: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Good vibe! Decent cocktails! Great small plates. It's a good spot for after work drinks, especially if you have a reservation. They don't commit to separate tables (specific for you party as they have a large communal table) so if that's a requirement this is not the place for you.
I would say that the food is good, but the drinks are just so so. It took two tastes before I tried a 3rd red wine that I liked. The server was nice enough to let me taste until I found one I really liked then drank a few glasses. All of the appetizers we decent, although on the pricey side. If you check in on Yelp you get a free order of the shishito peppers, which typically are 1/20 are spicy, our whole bowl seemed to be spicy…strange but maybe we had all of the 1/20 peppers that night – haha! It is really loud down there too and hard to have a conversation with the person next to you. I guess its the way the walls/set up are that the sound just travels everywhere. I do really love the open kitchen atmosphere and the vibe. I would come here just for the scene and for a drink but not a good place to catch up with a friend or colleague.
Cocktails were ON POINT. I had a delightful bourbon drink moderately spicy and perfectly balanced. We were in a rush to get to a show and had the empanadas with a chimichurri (needed a little basil) and the croquettes with a mustard based delicious sauce. So perfect. Can't wait to go back.
Staying at this hotel so going back every night. Last night we went back and the guy ("host") was pretty unhelpful and. About of an attitude cause we arrived at 1020p and they close at midnight. And h had a bad attitude when he told us they close at midnight and LAST CALL was at 1120pm (weird but true). We had an amazing waitress on the sofas who had served us the night before and she remembered us and our favorite drinks and she made it Soo worth it.
Honestly, I don't understand the hype for this place. Yes, it looks really cool. It has a hidden entrance and it does have that speakeasy vibe. We had a reservation and from the looks of it it is a must. I've been told walking in is impossible and if you're late to the reservation you're probably not going to get sat. I was impressed at first. The open kitchen and massive bar was a masterpiece for mixologists. We were sat at one of many large "communal" tables as I call them. Their menu has many mixed drink options as well as a nice wine list and alcohol-free concoctions. I actually decided to try an alcohol-free option and I really enjoyed it. I had the "New Habits," which was made with mostly ginger ale, pineapple, simple syrup and another ingredient I can't remember at this moment. Truly delicious and just as classy as a regular drink for $10. The food menu is tapas style, so we tried many different things. This is where it went downhill for me. We ordered the ham croquettes, shishito peppers (check-in offer), paella valenciana, and flank steak with chimichurri sauce. The ham croquettes were my favorite but sadly came in a portion of 4. Shishito peppers were good until I got the golden one and couldn't stop coughing after I ate the spiciest one in the bowl. The flank steak was good but I felt like it was delivered cold to our table. Obviously it can't be cooked too much but I just don't like cold meat unless it ham. The paella was a disaster. The rice was not flavorful at all and the chicken was barely there. It was more seafood than anything. Fine, if you like seafood you're good but I can't seem to get over how bland the rice was. I ended up ordering the beef empanadas because I was still hungry (portions are small) and they were ok. Not the best I've had but at that point it was just to fill me up. Finally we closed up our meal with some churros, which also weren't that great. The churro batter was very light. They practically melted in your mouth so fast you couldn't really enjoy them. After my espresso I was ready to go. Service was good at first but at one point I think our server forgot about us. I recall this because she went missing right around the time I wanted to order the empanadas after not liking the paella. Maybe it was an off night for me, I'm not sure, but can't say I would come back to this place. On to the next.
I had no idea this place existed, but two friends and I were searching for a Friday happy hour spot, and someone picked The Bar Downstairs as it was relatively central to all of our offices.
The ultramodern, subterranean space at TBD reminded me a bit of Biblioteca in Murray Hill/Midtown, but there's more space and more tables, which is nice.
The check-in deal here is listed as something akin to "one shishito pepper". Shishito peppers are small, and the thought of being comped one tiny pepper was comical but kinda awkward, though I still asked for the pepper. As it turned out, it was a sizable bowl of green peppers bathed in oil and salt. Not the best shishito peppers I've had- I prefer the red variety, and they were perhaps a bit too salty – but they were free at a $9 value! This somewhat made up for the $16 price tag of my drink, which is a taaaad on the high side, even for Manhattan.
Speaking of the drink: The menu is sizable, and I had trouble choosing due to the sheer number of choices. I ended up settling on a Sazerac riff called a smoky Sazerac, or something to that effect. It consisted of all the usual Sazerac ingredients, including rye, Demerara syrup, absinthe, Peychaud's bitters, smoked applewood…
(Wait, I thought to myself. Is there bacon in this drink?)
No, there's no bacon in the drink. The bartender actually smokes pieces of applewood in the glass, traps the smoke in there, and then the waitress brings it out to you, sets the smoke free, and pours in the contents of the drink. You then take a sip, which is like taking a campfire to the face, which I think is actually quite enjoyable. Once the smoke dissipates, there's a hint of smoke flavor, but it's mostly just the taste of a regular Sazerac, which was made beautifully.
I've had the pleasure of checking this place our about once or twice back when I used to work close to Bryant Park. Both times were paid for by the company I worked for which is always a pleasant occurrence :). The overall ambience here is classy AF and both their employees and the clientele here reflects that.
Drinks here are super pricey, but very much worth it. This is easily also one of the nicest hotel bars I've ever been to in the city. Less about smoke and mirrors and more about adults being adults and enjoying fancy adult things.
Lots of adulting here which is a welcome change from some hotel bars in Soho, Tribeca or Meatpacking where sometimes swanky hotel bars can be filled with scene people just trying to be seen.
That's not the case here. The Bar Downstairs is just innately chic. If you're looking for a nice bar to impress your lady, man, coworkers, clients or just want to enjoy yourself with mature grownups, this bar is a great start.
My boyfriend is like a young spring chicken. He knows all the good places. One would think is is 43 instead of 44, he's just that hip. He's got that zeal
for finding great women AND restaurants online.
Anyway, we were staying in midtown, so we came here. This place was like a Subaru trailblazing through a New England snowstorm: excellent and reliable. It was a cool underground spot (literally). Kind of hard to find at first, but we love us some buried treasure. With no Somali pirates in sight, how could we resist? The rain tried to stymie our efforts to find food and drink, but nothing could stop us from keeping the promises we made to our livers. They were expecting drinky poos, so we had to deliver. After all, our livers love what they do.
Our waitress, Diana, was a tough cookie, though. She didn't really want us sitting in the corner seat, which she made pretty obvious. However, she ultimately allowed a table change… and the food, drink, and face mashing was on point. My boyfriend likes to taste food from both the plate and my mouth, so this was ideal for us.
There was ample tequila, so I can't say much more. I was happy. My liver was happy. Diana was probably happy (when we left). My boyfriend was probably happy I could still walk. It was an all around win.
Came here to celebrate after finishing an alumni event with a bunch of friends. We had a a party of about 9 people. 3 of us were YELPers. We all checked in and wanted to get the free shisito peppers. Our waiter was a bit rude and kept insisting that it was 1 per party. We actually ended up splitting our bill 3 ways and he wouldn't budge. It was a turn off considering the portions and the prices at this place are no joke. However, we settled for the 1 serving.
I ordered champage and the croquette balls which were small but good. I would think this place is a good date spot or place for client dinners. However, it would have been nice if the service was a little more accommodating.