Alphabet Lounge

Please read this whole story: Our night at this seemingly subtle, local, alphabet city spot initially held some good potential. The coat check lady was pleasant, scene seemed passive enough. It did not take long though to realize the scene had a number of ultra smug, conceited patrons, and employment. A lesser annoyance occurred when being ousted from the bathroom line because a group of preppy color poppers proclaimed the area was for a "private party". Yeah, enjoy the smell of fecal matter coming out the the bathrooms, elitist simpletons (ironic description, I know, you had to be there). The more pressing annoyance occurred when I decided my time in the place was well over. I wanted to leave with enough time to recover the night for myself and the party I was with. As we stepped out, I noticed a five spot on the sidewalk. I casually picked it up handed it to a friend I was with, "here you go, gift from the city of new york" I said, as i handed it to her with a smile. The 6'6" obese bouncer saw this, and with a smirk said, "Hey can I see?". She held it up, because well, a five spot on the ground is one of those little things that makes someone feel a little better. He quickly snatched it from her, and stuck it in his pocket! When I asked if he was joking, he smugly responded "What? I saw it also." With a condescending smirk like he won something. I obviously chastised him, saying he was a low life for stealing from someone that much smaller then he, along with other insults fueled by my sheer disgust of this guy, and a few drinks in my system. i was calmed down by my friends, and convinced to walk away. His demeanor, actions, and reactions were enough for me to write this, quite angry (three days later) review of this place. I hope a management individual reads this and berates this lesser human being, and ensures he learns decency, manners, and some respect. more

I live around the corner from this place. The first time I went with a small group & it was a blast, drinks were kinda pricey & it was a little high-brow but there was good dancing to be had. The next three, THREE! times I've gone the place has been overrun by nothing but herds of douchey, & I mean it folks, douchey frat h*m*s. Predictably, the only thing they do well is get as wasted as possible so they can excuse their homosexual encounters with each other the following morning, while high-fiving & giggling stupidly to each other as they try to pinch your girlfriend's ass when you're not looking. Avoid like the butt herp they all share. A real shame - it could be chill. more

Alphabet Lounge definitely works to recreate a a lively environment for a above average night out. It always seems like there are a few birthday or bachelorette parties using this as their prime spot for the night. The DJ's play mostly 80's, hiphop, and late at night clubby music. Your bar tab can add up pretty quickly, but I find myself receiving complimentary drinks from the bartenders after a few big rounds. While some of the reviews complain about the crowds, it wouldnt call it over-crowded, just approaching capacity. The cover-charge does always nag at me a little, but they waive it for birthdays and every now and then they'll help you out. Pros: Good for groups, Go to dance Cons: Not Cheap, Cover Charge more

This place was hyped up on citysearch to be a place to go for a great time out. But it's not--it's full of hipsters with no soul: no one was dancing except a couple that should have been a private room, not the dance floor. And the music consisted of one painfully overplayed 80s song after another. Yawn. Pros: No cover, bartenders Cons: Everything else, patrons, music more

I went there as part of a bachelorette night with about fifteen girls! The place was awesome! The service was amazing and we even got a free round of shots and bottle of champagne for the bachelorette!! All in all, the atmosphere and dance music made for a great place to party! Pros: great music, crowd, and overall fun for a night out! more

If you are looking for a fun time in a relaxed atmosphere Alphabet Lounge is a great place to go. On the weekends they have 80's night with some 90's music...if my friends & I want to ensure a good time we always go to Alphabet. I recently celebrated a b-day there in Oct. and the staff & owner were very welcoming and made sure everyone was having a good time. Thanks Babu! more

Have been there twice now and both times there have been discrepancies with my bil (over charging). The first time they corrected the amount before I signed the tab, but the last time this happened they refused to do give me my credit card and id before I signed the bill. Luckily I was able to resolve the matter with my bank and they were able to credit the over charged amount back. In addition to this, a drunken girl threw up over someone in our party (which is disgusting enough as is) and not one member of staff even tried to clean up the mess nor did they throw the girl out. Do yourselves a favor and go elsewhere. There are so many better places in the EV that don't charge you $10 to get in. With a bit of luck, they too will become a ?victim? of this recession. Cons: Where do I start? The list is long and distinguished. more

Any time my friends and I are out and not having a good time, we will go to Alphabet Lounge since we know we will have fun there. Pros: Great 80's music more

I hosted a bachelorette party here in May and it was perfect. We had a cute table for four which was really inexpensive. Drinks were reasonable and we had a free bottle of champagne and two shots free with the table. The music was 80s and 90s - really fun to dance to. I was worried because I had read some of the negative reviews but the night was perfect and we had a great time! I highly recommend. Pros: Inexpensive, great music for dancing Cons: None more

It's in the heart of Alphabet City. Ave C is what is and will develop for the future. Loisaida Ave. is what will bring the economy up. People are expressing their social and personal lives there. This location is creating a future for many in a away. You meet and make friends, that's all. It's a positive cycle that you are creating. You spend a buck, someone makes a buck. Then it comes back to you. Moreover, this place is full of life. Everything is alive. You can actually feel the streets breathing. Any day, any night, any time. Pros: Improving Cons: Improving more

This hole in the wall has the nerve to charge cover, smell like a toilet and have rude staff. I wouldn't recommend it for anything. Unless you enjoy sweaty people jumping all over you..... Cons: service, prices, cleanliness more

wonderful ambiance and cocktails to enjoy. Classy not not pretentious. good meeting place for friends. Pros: Example: best croissants in town Cons: What are the drawbacks? more

Alphabet Lounge plays excellent music and has a good staff. Even with a crowd, I was able to get my drink in a timely fashion. Met some fun people there and basically had a great night. Would definitely return. Pros: Music, People more

I went to alphabet lounge last nite. My friends drove all the way from California to perform live. They were suppose to go on at 9 pm. I showed up with 10 people paid a $7 dollar cover each, waited for the previous band to finish as they were running late. Finally my friends go on "LATE". They had the freak'n nerve to cut their set to literally 20 mins. So they could put some awful dj on who cant mix or transition and there're apparently was a birthday going on for some random person and they needed to accomodate them. What kind of B.S. is going on here. You dont have live music and cut people short. THEY DROVE FROM CALIFORNIA. Dont ever play their live, the dj is just horrible. The staff seemed okay and apologetic. They got $7 bucks from about 11 of my friends I invited and we saw 20 mins of them if that. This place BOMBS........ Pros: none, horrible place Cons: bathroom location is awful, you have to go on stage while the band is performing to get toit more

I went to Alphabet Lounge for a friends birthday and I was told it would be a really fun time, which it had the potential of being, if the place wasn't so small and crowded. We had a $35 all you can drink package from 11-1 and the bartenders were all rude, and seemed to hate their jobs. While I love me some old school Madonna and Janet, I absolutely don't like 4 hours straight of it. I would go somewhere else before thinking about going there. more

My girlfriends and I love this bar! We go at least twice a month if not more and we drive nearly an hour to get there. The staff is great, the music is always fun and the drinks are priced well. The crowd tends to be pretty diverse - after all, it is NYC - but everyone seems to always be having a great time. I held a party here and the service was exceptional. They honored everything they said they would do and then some. They treated all of my guests as if they were their own which made the entire evening wonderful! I highly recommend this bar to anyone looking for a fun night out! Pros: Ambiance, staff, price, music more

I've been to Alphabet Lounge a couple times and each time was a blast. Great music to listen and dance to. The staff members were really cool and the bartenders did a great job getting us our drinks. I'd definitely go back again. Pros: Tunes, Staff more

Do NOT go to this place despite all of the great things your friends say. I went for a friend's birthday, but they scheduled it on the wrong day, so they wanted us to pay the $5 cover charge. I also remembered the night we were there was college night where they are supposed to give free admission with a college ID until 12 am as advertised on their website. They refused to accept my college ID and claimed the deal was valid only until 11:30pm. If it wasn't my friend's birthday, we would have left. Bud lights are $5. There are only 2 bathrooms for the entire place, so the bathroom lines are at minimum a 15 min wait. The dance floor is in the middle of the main walk way so you are constantly being pushed by people trying to get to the huge bathroom line. The music was good at times but they played a lot of crappy soft rock. The crowd wasn't that hip. Lot's of older people in their 30s. If you look at other reviews, apparently this is not the first time that Alphabet Lounge has not honored its promotions. DO NOT Schedule your birthdays at this place and DO NOT listen to your friends about how cool this place is. They have no respect for their customers. It's not worth venturing out to Ave C. more

Went with a bunch of friends(guys and girls). It was crowded that night but not to the point where we couldn't get to the bar when we wanted a drink. Heard some really good music and basically had a really fun night. Recommended! Pros: Ambiance, Music more

I went through a lot of trouble to plan a birthday party at Alphabet Longe. We had reserved a table which we were assured could fit at least 10 people and arrived just after 10 pm. We were charged a cover even though we'd been told we wouldn't and the place was super crowded and far too small for the 25-30 friends I had coming. (They had about 3 other birthdays and a bachelorette party!). At one point I went outside to get some fresh air and the bouncer wouldn't let me back in for a good 15 minutes because they were over capacity! ON MY BIRTHDAY, even though I'd already paid and had clearly just walked out! The worst part, however, was the table -- the people from the 2 tables next to us were crowded around their tables (picture a bunch of small round tables lined up against the wall with about 5 feet of space between each table and a bench only on one side) so that we couldn't even get in to ours. After politely asking the people at the other tables to make space (to no avail!) I pointed out the situation to our waitress. We could maybe have fit two people sitting on the bench and one person on the other side standing ... the waitress merely noted that the place "gets busy" and asked if we wanted to start a tab to pay for the table. I explained that we wouldn't pay for a table we clearly couldn't use and she snarkily replied "so, what, you're just going to stand?" Well, lady, what does it look like we're doing!! Who pays $250 for a table they can't use? Their website advertises free shots for the birthday person, but none of the bartenders seemed to know this. I was extremely disappointed and would not recommend this place. Pros: Inexpensive cover, decent music Cons: very small and stuffy, tables are miniscule, staff is rude and unhelpful more