Had some beers here one afternoon and thought it was a very cool place. Several friends had the mac and cheese which apparently is a life-changing experience. I had sworn off dairy and starches for the day so unfortunately I couldn't participate. The bartender was friendly to me. Beer selection is small but some good stuff. I like this place. read more

I loved my experience at 169 Bar, but Blake the bouncer really topped it off! It's hard to find a bouncer in Manhattan who is serious about rules and regulations but is also incredibly nice and clearly cares that people have a good time. Blake was seriously the first notably positive interaction I've had with a bouncer in NYC and I will make it a point to come back just because of him! Also, I made a few really great friends here, which I'm sure was as at least partly due to the positive staff they have! I hope the staff here are paid in a way that is reflects their great work, and I hope people tip reflective of that as well! read more

After a long dinner one Thursday night, my friends and I decided we weren't quite ready to go home and walked over to 169 Bar for a nightcap, which turned into nightcap 1 of 3. Maybe I'm just old and lazy now, but I don't understand how New Yorkers bar hop until 3 and 4 in the morning like multiple nights a week. That said, I was happy to hang late on my short visit to the city, and this was a great spot for a drink. It was pretty busy when we walked in a little after 11, but we were able to nab an empty table, tucked into a front pocket of the bar, on the less popular side, right by the entrance. The bar had a distinctly New Orleans vibe without an obnoxious Mardi Gras theme--maybe it was the suggestion of jazz? the occasional gleams of neon? The vibe was comfortably grungy, though from where I was sitting, I could see some crawly things on the walls lit up just outside the door. I didn't look too hard to see what they were, and I'm going to assume they didn't make their way in. I had a whiskey ginger--I had one or two at every stop of the night, and they were all more or less interchangeable. Service was quick, and we had a good time occupying our little table. I don't know that this is a must hit bar when visiting New York, but I liked the place. It was vibrant without being difficult, and it had a lot of character. read more

This is definitely a cheap bar a place where u do a drink or two and keep it moving.. This places it's extremely dated the music SSUCKS and the bartenders are the rudeness.. You been warm.. read more

Let this be an example to all bar managers! My little sister had a bunch of friends meet her here for her 22nd birthday party. They were all excited to use the service where you can text your drink orders in. After she texted in a few drink orders for herself and her friends, she received a slew of disgusting misogynist texts to her phone. We assumed that one of the bartenders was abusing the text message system and was harassing her. She was upset and scared on the night of her birthday, so I mobilized the crew and relocated us all to a different bar nearby. I had her send me the screenshot of the texts and told her that I would take care of it for her, because I wanted her to have a fun night on her birthday. I procrastinated going in and talking to the manager about it. In my experience, men often don't take women's harassment seriously and I was nervous that he wouldn't believe me, even though I had the texts to prove it. I'm a rape survivor myself and I just don't have good experiences regarding this kind of thing, but I wanted to warn the manager so that he could make the bar a safer place for the young women who went there. When I went in a few weeks later, the manager did take it seriously. He looked at the texts and called the number of the guy who'd sent them. It turned out to be some creepy customer who stole her number from the text message service. He promptly banned that creepy customer from returning. This is a shining example of how management should keep their bars safe and I really hope that other managers can learn from David's example. It makes me have great faith in his establishment. 5 stars! read more

I shouldn't expect much strolling into a bar past 2 AM. But I watched my "steamed" dumplings come hot and fresh out of the microwave. #istillatethemdoe #itwasaftertwo. Thanks..? 3 stars for the colourful lights. read more

It's hard to describe 169 accurately. Calling it a dive bar doesn't do justice to the decor, relative cleanliness, cocktails and the fact that they shuck oysters. Sure, there are still divey elements - like sticky tables, broken beer taps, and gaudy signs on the wall. They try really hard to nail the NOLA experience. In terms of beers, they don't charge dive prices ($7 for a Six Point can? Come on, guys...). But they also have a cocktail menu. I couldn't go without trying the "169 Famous Bloody Mary". It was pretty damn good. Never thought pickled okra in a cocktail would make sense, but it does. Ours were missing the rimmed glass though, but can't place too much fault as the bar was pretty full. Get there early if you want a seat. Otherwise, there's awkward standing room only because the area behind the bar stools is pretty tight. Like I mentioned, there's an oyster corner listing the day's specials. Not too bad in terms of prices ($20 for a dozen). Went with the Kumamoto's and the Beau Soleil's. Not the greatest, but miles better than Blue Points. I'm told some wild stuff goes on after hours, but what happens in 169... read more

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Love this place!! A true Taste of New Orleans in New York's Chinatown district. Great drinks,Poboys, Raw Bar. Opens @11:30 am closes @ 4:00am. Happy hour 11:30 am to 7:30 pm. Very funky fun. read more

The bar on most nights : 4 Stars My Most recent experience: -5 stars This is my go to bar. I live in the area, always have a great time here, never any problems. I'll still continue to go to this bar, but will always have a hate for this one bar tender whose shirt was too low and jeans a bit too tight and while that might normally be a good thing, everything you never wanted to see was pretty much in plain sight. Long story short, we got kicked out because a beer spilled on the pool table...a leopard print pool table that is now free and you take the balls through a glass that used to once exist...Granted this was our second offense, but the first time, she came around, snatched the beer like she was saving a baby from a burning building and told us to read the sign. Yes, because I come into bars to read signs. Her comeback, well there are 9 of them. At this point, if I'm coming to a bar, I don't want to be in a state where I can read signs to even if you had them as your wallpaper, I still wouldn't have saw it. Honestly, if you don't want beer on your pool table, don't have a pool table in a bar. I get it, yeah beer on a pool table, it's a no no, but this bar tender had the biggest stick stuck so far up her other end and thought she was saving the world. I have a great respect for bar tenders as their job is no walk in the park, but the attitude, at a bar filled with cool people, not necessary. And seriously, you called a bouncer to kick us out, because a beer spilled on the table. She clearly had a personal issue with us, maybe we were so cool she hated it but seriously, if you don't want beer on your pool table, don't have a pool table. Now that I got that out of my system, moral of the story, 169 is awesome, this bar tender, not so much. read more

What's not to like? There's people here complaining about decor which shows you just don't get it. There's a leopard print pool table. Think about that. I would not get oysters here though. That seems like a terrible terrible idea. read more

Horrible service, I tipped 20% and the bartender withheld my credit card because I didn't give anymore. As a tourist that's unacceptable, he humiliated me and my friends read more

Bar tenders are very rude, they don't give you your beverage even if you already pay it, they expect more than 20%, and if you don't give them that they don't give you your beverage, so the owners are loosing money with those type of bar tenders who treat really bad the clients. read more

I have never tasted a paloma this bad. The grapefruit juice taste like it came out of a monkeys ass. Everything else was 'aight. Mule was pretty good. Paloma ruined the experience for me. read more

What a great place. Off the beaten path down in the bowels of Chinatown/Knickerbocker area. You can't beat $3 for a shot and can of beer. Pleasant bartenders and a great selection of eats. The ode to New Orleans is very charming. They have a delicious array of oysters, either raw or grilled. Both are great. If you are feeling a little more savage, then you can't go wrong with pulled porked topped with a brick of mac & cheese, topped off with what else? bacon. The fact that the owner tells all the cry baby reviewers where to go is delightfully wonderful to boot. 169 Bar - In! read more

What a gem this place is. Absolutely adorable. I would definitely come back. My friends and I were looking for something low key to do on New Year's Eve (low key meaning no astronomical cover charge to get in, a place to sit down, food options, tasty drinks, good music, etc) which in NYC isn't always easy, especially on New Year's Eve! Some friends in the group recommended 169 Bar so we decided to give it a try. It was a little bit of a pain for me to get to from Astoria (as are most things) but once I transferred to the F train it was a breeze. The bar is a short (5 minutes?) walk from the East Broadway subway station, technically on the Lower East Side but right on the edge of Chinatown. I arrived first at around 8:00 PM, went inside and ordered a drink and grabbed a big table for me and my friends. The vibe is super chill and divvy. The decor is a mish-mosh of amazing, disco balls and Christmas lights on the ceiling, an old ship's figurehead adorning one of the walls. Dive bar decor at its finest. Whoever decorated this place has a sense of humor and I love it. The unisex bathrooms are towards the back (look for a sign pointing to the "Toilets"). They do lock but you have to attach a chain to a nail coming out of bathroom door. The nail sometimes has to be twisted in order for you to get the chain on. Just work at it and you'll figure it out. Probably my favorite thing about this place is the "Text To Order" function. Every table has a number (which you can find on a little metal plaque on each tabletop) and a little card with instructions. Basically, text a friendly greeting to the number on the card and you'll get a link to a menu. Choose your drink from the menu (or just mention what you want in the first text) and voilà! When we first got there, service was a little slow but only because there was one server working our section. Not his fault, so while you can order drinks from the server directly, texting your order is fun and actually faster and more reliable than waiting for the server to come to the table. The drinks were good. Beers, cider, wine plus a full bar and an impressive little list of speciality drinks. I had a Margarita (not bad but considering it was $10, not very big) as well as their "famous" Bloody Mary which was BLOODY delicious. Garnished with pickled okra, pickled green beans it was a sight to behold. And so tasty. Very spicy if you're into that sort of thing. I didn't try the food but the Mac & Cheese everyone at my table ordered looked amazing, as did the dumplings, which are served with chopsticks out of a little Chinese takeout box. We rang in the New Year with little mini bottles of champagne, and watched a girl dance (slightly awkwardly) on the little illuminated platform/stage next to our table, disco balls spinning around her. Very festive. The music is just as eclectic as the decor. A mix of Motown, jazz, rock and pop. Kind of perfect. Settling a tab at the end of the can often be stressful, especially if you're with a big party (9 people in our party) but our server made it easy. He allowed us to have one tab (they just need to hold a credit/debit card) and then split it at the end. At the end of the night our server brought out an electronic tablet and everybody paid for their own stuff. Easy peasy. All in all a perfect night. 169 Bar turned out to be a great place to celebrate the New Year (and my birthday!) with friends. read more

169 Bar - Disco Balls. Bright lights. - American Near Me - New York, New York

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I went there to kill some time while waiting to go to Broadway East next door. I sit at the bar and the bartender is incapable of greeting me with a smile. Plus she gave me a harder-than-necessary time about my foreign ID (which was actually accompanied by an official NYC interim ID) and serves me something more expensive than I had ordered (a drink as opposed to a shot). All this led to a very unwelcoming and unfriendly atmosphere. The place itself was nice and there was a band playing, which was cool, but I won't be bothering with this place again. EDIT: I don't mind the id check, really! But I do mind plain rudeness. And yes, a smile goes a long way, in my book at least. read more

169 Bar - American Near Me - New York, New York

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On weekends its too crowded for me but this place is great 4 having cheap drinks and having a bunch of weird decor. As a snack I like the microwave popcorn . i am not brave enuff 2 go for raw oysters. You, too will also like this bar IF you can handle the following: dismissive bartenders a system for texting in your orders from the tables that never quite works. tables that are often reserved (with handwritten signs) but are empty while hoarded of people are standing with their drinks. Gross bathrooms with toilet paper on chains. read more

Oh you never cease to amaze me 169 bar! What a hipster gas station hat wearing/weekend burlesque dancers/Chinatown border meets gentrification/1950s meets 1990s Nick at Night throwback hidden gem! Yes. That was a lot of memories brought back in one place. If Kurt Cobain was still alive he would probably come here. Pretty rad dude! - you can send your order through text (pretty cool considering the slightly hole in the wall type of feel) - there is an abundance of sriracha sauce and soy/vinegar sauce for your $3 locally made dumplings to feed a small village -a great place to bring a funky date, your mom, your roommate or solo monster -overall great old school music and drinks! Thank you for letting me transform into another time warp. read more

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Divey bar my friends and I stumbled into after the bar we first went to down the street randomly closed at 1:22AM. They were playing 60s and 70s disco/funk complete with rainbow lights, a disco ball, and a stage. Pros: music was pretty good (if you're into retro stuff) and our party of 6 was able to get a table. I also appreciate that they continued to serve food after hours and we were able to order a mac and cheese and some vietnamese vegetable rolls. The clientele/crowd weren't total douches. No wait/line to get in and we didn't have to pay cover. Cons: The food was terrible. And not the normal "oh this is a dive bar, don't expect much" terrible. The mac and cheese was probably the worst I have ever had, including frozen TV dinner mac and cheese. No point in continuing to serve food late into the night when it's absolutely disgusting. Also, they had a stage in the middle of the bar, but my friends were randomly told to get off when they tried to dance on it after spending a lot of money on liquid courage at the bar in order to do so. I don't know what the bouncer's problem was. Other people had been dancing on it all night long. It's not like my friends and I are particularly unattractive. I didn't get it. And for the cherry on top, the bathroom was pretty standard for a NYC dive bar, as in, you worry you might contract an STD from just breathing the air. So there's that. read more

169 Bar - Inside action shot - American Near Me - New York, New York

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This place is such a shithole . . . in a good way! Definitely feels like you're in the basement of Delta House. $3 beer and shot special! read more

169 Bar - The High Life indeed. - American Near Me - New York, New York

The place has a unique atmosphere and provides the opportunity for a pick into the local style. One consideration though is that it has a B rating for the kitchen facilities. read more

One of NYC's great dive bars, and an absolute must visit (even during COVID). Cool, weird decor, strong drinks, cool staff - this place is the absolute best. read more

Great people watching and ambiance. Staff is awesome and meticulous with the COVID guidelines read more

169 Bar - Beef empanada $4 with a double Aperol Spritz $15 - American Near Me - New York, New York

This place doesn't get enough credit. It's confusing yet quirky and weird, like your funny misunderstood uncle. Thanks to it's tacky vibrant decor, there's a young crazy dive bar vibe mixed with soul jazz and oysters. I love it on a causal week day or Saturday night. Either expect to chill out for $3 happy hour beer and a shot or expect a crazy night. They have fantastic deals on both food and drink, with happy hour every day. Even provides a number to call the bartender to order you some dumplings next door. Depending on what kind of night your looking for, this place may just have it all. read more

What an interesting spot. I seen all kinda interesting people in here. There's was a Gogo dancer and a um interest decor. I'd love to come back here. Not too bad beer prices too read more

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A local bar with a hint of New Orleans The "clutteredness" and the "hazed-lighting" in this place brought me back to my college days in New Orleans . . . the era before the man bun. 169 seems like a place where many locals from the LES and surrounding neighborhoods come to drink and maybe eat. *I really do not know if I would order raw oysters from here.* It has a chill vibe to it, although I can tell that this is a type of establishment that can get really packed . . . . and annoying with a side of doucheness. But, most of the people with whom I interacted seemed very laid back, so I could be wrong with my previous presumptive comment. The bar has a cool feature where you can text your orders (I wish more places offered this type of service) to the bar. However that feature seemed to be nonfunctional during my visit. I sent a text but my gin never arrived. :( All in all, I would check this place out again if I am in the area but I wouldn't make a long trek here. read more

Decided to swing by here with a friend. There were so many people there that night. Barely any room to move and the place is not big. Not too fond of the location and the bouncer could afford to be a little more friendly as this is not a high end exclusive nightclub. Drinks were not too strong and the bartender was super busy, no time for conversation or more than a brief glance to take your order. We liked the music though, which is a plus. Like the indoor decor too, makes the place unique. read more

A lower east side dive bar that's worth it. The staff is friendly, the crowd is a good mix of people, the decorations are random, cheap drinks (even cheaper happy hour) and the music is random but good. My group of 3 came after happy hour but our bill was still under $30 with tip for 5 drinks. You order through your texting so you're drinks aren't instant and you don't see staff super often but it's good if you're there to hang and enjoy the environment. read more

169 Bar - American Near Me - New York, New York

Rowdy bar, with great mac and cheese and good drinks! The servers were super helpful and friendly. This place gets jam packed though, i would suggest reserving a table as home base to go back to. read more

169 Bar - Bbq mac and cheese - American Near Me - New York, New York

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The bartender / manager was super rude and disrespectful. He kicked my friends and I out of the bar because we didn't tip on a drink (that he made and served with an attitude). He threw the drink on the floor when realizing we didn't tip and cursed us out at the door read more

An awesome traditional New York dive bar. The best thing about this spot is the $3 happy hour shot and a beer special -you can get wasted on a budget here. They also have popcorn or peanuts so you have something to nibble on while you're drinking Also, they're right next door to a good cheap Chinese restaurant if you want something to eat after you're done drinking read more

Shame on this place, did not let me in since I had my NYC ID, mind you I was just looking for some drinks since I was in the area. Extremelyyyy rude doorman with no apparent customer service. He said I couldn't go in, this is the first time It happens to me as I've never had an issue with my I'd. I'm confused with the doorman's behavior, if the service is this bad just at the door I can't imagine how the service is inside. read more

I stopped into 169 for my company's Fat Tuesday party. We were able to reserve a small section in the back of the crowded space, which enabled us to have a designated home base with seating and a pool table, but also kept us a bit too removed from the action, causing people to venture up to the main bar area. The mixed cocktails were served in small glasses with a lot of ice, but given the reasonable prices, they were acceptable. This was definitely a fun, dive-y spot that was the perfect jazzy venue for paying homage to the New Orleans festivities. read more

Tl;dr This is a Paul Ryan bar. By that I mean, Paul Ryan comes here. Every night. Little known fact. If you'd like to meet "el speaker" (#RATM), get here early on Tuesday and go to the back booth where he'll be playing solitaire. read more

This is definitely a "locals" spot and I love it! RA a total dive bar. We stopped by for happy hour and discovered their $3 beer and shot special. *Disclaimer: you don't get fancy options. We asked the bartender what our options were and his response was "shitty beer"! I loved the brutal honesty. Ha. We were in a big group so he just brought out a bunch of different kinds and we each got to try different ones. Cool spot, would definitely return. read more

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I love dive bars so this was definitely my scene. It was packed when I came on a Friday night. But the decor all over was cute. Unfortunately it was a real race to find any seating but we managed to find a big window booth that had recently been vacated. Cheap drinks. Loud music. Lights and lots of people. Classic fun dive bar (not the grungy kind) read more

169 Bar - American Near Me - New York, New York

Fun vibes, great for groups but extremely rude bartenders who don't even look like they want to serve people. Won't be coming back.

4 Stars for the inexpensive drinks but 5 Stars for the bouncer. Not only did he remind me this evening (2/22/18) that my passport was going to expire this year (after stating that my drivers license expired 3 weeks ago) but he also came outside to tell me as I was leaving that my shoe was also untied. Many thanks to this kind and caring bouncer for helping out this hot mess But also this is one of my favorite divey bars to visit in Manhattan, great beer and shot deals and music if you come on the right night. read more

Decided to swing by this Tuesday since this place is in my neighborhood, it's always pretty packed so I was very excited to try this place out. My boyfriend and I handed our ids to the bouncer outside, he saw mine without an issue and when he saw my boyfriends and hesitated, said we couldn't go in-- he said we needed a passport or another I'd. He continued staring at us not very nicely and kept staring at us up and down. I've been to better and more exclusive clubs in Manhattan and never had an issue with a nyc I'd. (No one carries their passport on a night out, and we don't have a nyc license like most people) I've traveled with my nyc id and not even the TSA had an issue. This was a very uncomfortable situation as I'm sure most guests that were inside did not show passports or a license. Shame on the bouncer. read more

Do not go to this bar! Inside the bar had that cheap, kind of unclean, yet hip ambience. However, the staff was horrible. In particular, one of the bouncers (who claimed to be the owner's nephew) was belligerently drunk, slamming doors, and cursing and screaming at patrons. One of the bouncers was sexually harassing my female friend by demanding she show her breasts as a price for admission. I have never encountered such inappropriate behavior by bar staff. The total lack of professionalism, rudeness, and sexual harassment will ensure that I never return to this bar. Stay away! read more