Review Key: [1] - My love of alcohol. [2] - My hatred of people. [3] - My wife's love of dancing to 90s jams. [4] - My love of moose heads. So there are a lot of bars in the East Village. Many of them are shitholes that handily appeal to [1] and [2] (meaning that nobody wants to be in them, and I can sit down to drink and not want to murder anyone for bumping into me repeatedly). Some of them may even rival Bedlam as a place that fulfills [1], [2], and [3], although I have yet to find another spot that you can show up to around 8 pm on a Saturday (it doesn't really get going until 10:30 or 11 pm, at which point [2] is out the window) and have the whole bar and dance floor available for you and your friends. But I am absolutely, 100% sure that Bedlam is the only place in the neighborhood (perhaps the country) that can possibly realize my lifelong dream of combining [1], [2], [3] AND [4] in the same fantastic establishment. Moose heads FTW. read more

Went for Dixie's Tupperware Party and had a fantastic night! Staff was super friendly, they had reasonable drink prices, and a clean (but small) bathroom. I'd definitely go back to check out their weekend scene. read more

Hey everyone this is a fun place you could come to and have a good time and have a good drink. I love it and I will be coming back I was there on a Sunday and it was great a where you could be your self Oh and there is live performances read more

Bedlam - Me and my girls - Dance Clubs Near Me - New York, New York

I've been here for when they had Memento Mori nights with Goth Djs. The decor is amazingly creepy. The booths are torn but cozy. The bartender was friendly and the drinks were good. I will hopefully come back in the future, just for old times sake. read more

Not that I'm a connoisseur, but this seemed like a pretty decent gay dance club. Came here on a late-night invitation from a regular. There were some good looking ladies and it was easy striking up a convo (albeit difficult to maintain one due to the pulsing club music). This is definitely one of those places girls come to let loose and get down on the dance floor without necessarily getting grinded by bros on the hunt. If you're a gay dude, you'll probably have tons of fun here. read more

How can you not like a place with a moose head? I have lived in this city for YEARS and I have never heard (or seen) of this place. That said, I feel like I must have walked pass this place many times, since Ave C has been a integral part of many bar crawls. Anywho, I came for an "private" event on an early Friday evening and I was very surprised (in a good way) with the bar. One, the bar had a 2-4-1 special, very rare for a Friday night. I do not know if this special is a normal thing for Friday nights or if it was specific for our event. Two, the bartender was really nice and knew how to make a strong drink. Actually, he was quite funny and really interacted with the bar patrons. The space has the appearance like a simple dive bar; but, word on the street that the bar has quite a bit of dancing during the weekend. Bedlam seems like a place where people of all sexual orientations (and their friends) can come and have a few drinks. Based on my visit, Bedlam appears to be a place where one (or a group) would go to get a few drinks before going to another place in the area. Of course this statement has to be validated with another visit to Bedlam. read more

A couple of girlfriends and I were looking for a good night out and we stumble upon this gay bar in the LES. It looked promising at first with 5 dollars beer even around midnight, but need to get 20 dollars to close a tap. We got 4 glass for three girls and did I say the beer was room temp... Not okay. The place hangs of moose heads and the sorts. Not my ideal decor. This one was pretty lame. We left with 3 glasses of full beer. read more

Bedlam - a moose head mounted on a wall - Dance Clubs Near Me - New York, New York

You come to this bar if: - You're a lady with your gay best friend - You are the gay best friend - You are the gay best friend out with "bros" - You are the straight guy out with the gay best friend's lady - You like good music - 20 something - You heard it was a new bar on LES - Your friends from out of town said "TAKE US SOMEWHERE WE CAN DANCEEEE" - You don't wanna wait in line - You don't wanna pay a cover Try it. It's fun. read more

I'm writing this review a touch hung-over. I don't know what they put in the drinks there. I went because my friend booked a table for her birthday, but got there right after they'd finished the bottle. I didn't really know what to expect from the place, but was totally surprised. This place was so Stephon! Weird old-timey scientific charts? Check. Black clad anorectic fashion types? Check. A table of guys in expensive suits? Check. Sullen hipsters drinking bud? Check. Giant off-duty body-guards/personal trainers? Check. Enormous severed moose head? Check. Everybody, I mean each and every person there, dancing and having the best-time ever? Check. Seriously, I've never seen so many different types having fun together at once. I was dancing with my friends, then I was dancing with three gay guys, then I was dancing with a guy in a suit, then my friends again, then with Julia Roitfeld, then with some of the DJs. And it wasn't really clubby. The drinks were bar-priced, not $20 or anything. I didn't have any trouble getting in, but I got there about 1130. Later on there was a pretty major line outside. Amazing. This is why I moved to New York. read more

small bar w/ GREAT MUSIC FOR DANCING (mixing EDM w/ throwback old school) but it just got WAY TOO CROWDED BY THE BAR!! they definitely allowed over capacity.... it was less crowded by the tiny dance floor (deeper into the bar) but it's kind of weird that the bathroom doors open to the dance floor the area around this bar is kind of shady, so get a cab and get outta there at the end of the night! read more

A star for the crowd. I shared a cigarette outside with very funny strangers. A star for the music. We were loving the throwbacks. A star because I'm not an infant and I get that bars get crowded. It's a mediocre place. Is it painfully breaking-fire-code crowded? Yes. The bartenders get busy so they're nothing special. The bouncer is a big black guy who is doing his job. I will come here again if I'm "just-wanna-dance" trashed. read more

I came on a Saturday night around 11pm and the party was just getting started! Come here for the: - Awesome mix of top 40 jams - Anatomy and moose head decor - Ample dance floor (for the East Village) - Not shitty people read more

3.5 stars, but its Sunday morning and I'm tired/grumpy so I'm rounding down to 3. Bedlam is a cool spot waaaaaaaaaay out on Ave C. Its swanky, dark, with generous booths and interesting decor (including old gears and plenty o' taxodermy). It's only been open a few months so the door sitch can be tight on a Saturday night. Usually I would think that's lame and criticize a place for being pretentious, but in this case Bedlam really does get packed to the gills. In fact, too packed. As in, the dance floor is no longer a dance floor because everyone's just standing around. And the DJ?! I love her haircut--super chic--but ambient music on a Saturday night? People want to DANCE! Serious downer there. Other than that Bedlam is your typical NYC bar, with typical NYC drink prices and all the rest. A great option, sure, but I'm undecided whether it's worth the schlep. read more

Came here for a friend's birthday, and immediately found this place quirky. Perhaps it was the giant moose head(fake) mounted on the wall. But I knew I'd like it. Nice mix of gay couples, straight couples, and groups of friends dancing in circles. Given that this place is not-so-secretly gay friendly, the music was pretty good! By 1am, the open space near the bar was filled with people dancing to pop hits old and new. My friends and I were planning on bar hopping, but this place was do good that we ended up sticking around, and loving it! read more

I read this review below me prior to visiting Bedlam and their review was dead on! The interior design is pretty out there... lots of human anatomy and dead animals haha strange, but it works for them. The music was all over the place and I loooved it! From "Shout" to Britney and Journey to a whole lotta Nicki Minaj! It was awesome, one great big 'ol dance party. LOTS and I mean LOTSSS gorgeous people, so many trendy/hipsters if you will, all very very nice on the eye! There's some "VIP"ish area in the back... buncha people just chillin on a couch, odd but whatever floats their boat. Minus 1 for the bathroom locations... sucks having them right off the dance floor not to mention trying to form a line doesn't work, more like a free for all trying to get in. Other than that, I had a blast and would definitely go back, just wish it wasn't so out of the way :( read more

This bar runs about 60-70% gay and that's why it's fantastic. Come here with your gays, your straight girl/guy friends, and anyone in between. I usually come here once per quarter and I think this frequency is just right for a bar like Bedlam seeing as it sometimes borders on being a tad out of control. Pros: Fantastic music (DJ is usually on point) and drinks are strong and not super expensive! Also, huge-ass moose head mounted on the wall is...interesting. Con: It's deep in Alphabet city (Ave C) and it can sometimes turn into a bit of a hot mess on the dance floor (I've definitely contributed to this notion). $20-25 credit card minimum. read more

Unique decor and trendy crowd. The bartenders were not the friendliest but they got the job done. The drinks were not very strong despite what I read in other reviews-- I had 3 vodka sodas which would normally knock me down, but I was just fine. I really liked the music and people started dancing later in the night. It's spacious enough that you're not stepping on top of anyone. And I appreciated the lack of obnoxious frat-boys. (woo hoo!) I wouldn't go out of my way to come back, but if the opportunity arose I'm not opposed. read more

Bedlam is one of the best places I have been to for dance parties. The music is slamming and the events attract a great mix of people to enjoy dancing and some good conversation too! The bartenders are friendly and well mannered. The cocktails are well mixed. Overall, it is a great place to dance and enjoy music with people who take most and culture seriously while seriously enjoying it. read more

Heading to Bedlam tonight actually which made me think of the 2x I have been there. Really dig the place - great crowd - big enough dance floor - great vibe. Normally a place this out of the way ....... Avenue C no less ........ would be off limits but NO Mixed crowd where everyone gets along and dancing with strangers is a likely occurrence enjoy read more

Here's how our drinks went: French martinis: I realize there are occasionally differing opinions about how to make these, but typically I'm asked if there's confusion. I've never had a place make me one without including Chambord. After figuring out what was missing, we asked him to add something similar (since we learned that they were out of Chambord and didn't mention it) and it was disgusting. I gave mine to my friend and ordered a different drink. Friend ordered a ginger ale and got a seltzer. One ingredient, and it was wrong. Blueberry Stoli and Sprite: Sprite was flat. Blueberry Stoli and Sprite take two: ran out of Blueberry Stoli, replaced with Raspberry. That drink was okay. With about 40+ people in the place it takes over 15 minutes to get a drink. If I ever go here again I wouldn't risk ordering anything that isn't a beer. We were told that this bar makes fancy drinks, but there was no evidence of that whatsoever. Usually muddling or using the proper tools is involved whenever someone says "fancy", so I think we had different definitions. I went here for an event and I really loved the decor and location. If they had better bartenders and kept better stock I'd go back. read more

Oh hot damn, this is my jam ... Ok, sorry .. this place posses: 1. great space, funky decor 2. gorgeous people 3. glitterati vibe, without pretentious line 4. fun, friendly bouncer and staff speaking of which, the only downside is that it seems to be a bit understaffed ... had to wait 10-15 minutes for a drink and Ben Maisani himself was scrambling to collect empty glasses ... other than that minor flaw, i have high hopes this was be my new go-to bar! read more

some people don't appreciate the taxidermy. I definitely do. they've nailed that dark victorian vibe. awesome crowd. bartenders are quick *once you've grabbed one* the bar is usually mobbed, so be prepared to wait.. but the music is awesome & there are ample opportunites to mix & mingle. read more

A few friends of m and running. ine invited me for dinner to their East Village apartment and afterwards they were excited to show me Bedlam, their new neighborhood bar. We were greeted by a pleasant door man and a computer-printed paper sign indicating we had indeed made it to Bedlam. Turns out they haven't even officially opened yet, so things are still getting up and running. Even so, we walked in and were completely pleased with the decor, and a DJ spinning great music. The entire place is pitch perfect, covered in great antiques, taxidermy, anatomy text books and the bathroom is wallpapered in old stock certificates. Brilliant! I asked the bartender what they specialized in, and he basically said "nothing" which was a bit of a letdown. I had a well bourbon (jim beam at the time of this writing) for 7 bucks. 4 stars for decor and atmosphere, which were top notch. Minus a star for no exciting cocktails and a boring unhelpful bartender. Bottom line: Go if you're in Alphabet city read more

Been here a few times in the past year and have always thought it was a good drinking place with decent music however this last time I was there it seemed to turn into just another average bar. The drinks I noticed were pricier and they only had 2 bartenders with a packed house, 20 minutes to get a drink is not worth it and it's bad business. Bad news too is that no one was dancing even though the DJ was playing some good tunes. Just people standing around it seemed. If you would have asked me 3 months ago I would have said its a definite good time but now i would probably say it might not be worth a trip. Unless of course someone else is buying the rounds. read more

FUN bar with dancing, no cover and no attitude... It's perfect! Only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Cheap drinks, great decor and good DJs playing mostly pop with some retro tracks added in. Gay friendly scene with a relaxed mix of people. It's a late night crowd and has been jumping big around 1-2am. Love this place. read more

I've stopped by this place many times and always ended up leaving. This past Saturday night visit reminded me why I never stay here long. The DJ was god awful. He played tired songs from early 2000s mixed awfully that the crowd constantly had to stop, adjust, listen and dance to completely a song with a completely different BPM Han the previous song. I'm tired of hearing Shakira and Ja Rule. No, Enrique Iglesias followed by X-Tina won't make me want to dance. There was no drink menu so everyone resorted to well drinks: gin and tonics, whiskey and cokes. The dance floor was pack, which would have been a positive trait had the DJ actually took some liberty in making an attempt at mixing songs together for the pleasure of dancing. Instead, the dance floor was just another place for people to check their dating apps and get in some last minute shopping. This place is a bore and doesn't offer anything special. read more

Lesson to anyone planning a birthday party: visit the venue first. Two of my straight guy friends had a party here last night and it took us three hours to realize that it was a gay bar. Seriously. That's not to say we didn't have a good time. Music was fun (although you'd think we would have noticed they were all 90s gay anthems), lots of dance space, cool vintage scenery, and drinks were cheap and very, very strong. It didn't pick up in here until after 1am. By 2, it was a madhouse and it got a little trashy. There were quite a few straight guys in here and they were obnoxious and gropey. I guess they thought they could pass as gay and grab my friends' asses. Not on my watch. Other than that, it was fun though! read more

The place looks super cool. Full of weird stuff and some taxidermy. The only thing I would change is the bathroom walls would be covered in death certificates. I tried to go to these goth nights they have...and the bar staff was nice. The goths weren't. I wish they were open longer hours and more days. Like happy hour. Last time I went was on the weekend for one of Deryck Todds Bedlam nights and it was PACKED!!! Never had a bad time here. read more

Love this place! It's a super fun gay dance bar. No cover, you don't have to check your coat, and the vodka sodas are $8 - not too terrible. The music is awesome and just what you would expect it to be: Katy Perry, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Kesha, more top 40, sprinkled in with some memorable 90s tunes from Janet Jackson, Spice Girls, etc. Everyone is there to dance and have a good time. It is a later night bar, and when I left around 3 am it was totally packed, and relatively empty when I got there at around 12:15. Oh, and there is a $20 minimum on credit cards, which is kind of annoying because it's over 2 drinks. read more

I came here for a friend of a friend's birthday party. Everyone was very nice and I made a lot of new friends. For the most part it seemed like a gay bar which, for me, are always a blast to attend! It's quite small (max capacity of about 75 -as per the sign on the wall). Yet it still managed to have a (small) dance floor - which when I was there was somewhat used for room for the bathroom line, as no one was really dancing. There was a private room in the back which when I peaked in looked nice. The decorations on the walls are unique as it's based on a London Psychiatric Facility. Now on to the important stuff- drinks! The drinks were fairly priced for what you got. I'm from Philly so I'm used to having specials from 9-11, not the case here. But I ordered my drink anyway (simple- vodka, water, splash of cran) and to my surprise I got absolute vodka (in Philly I would have gotten some rubbing alcohol for not specifying which vodka I wanted) in about a 12oz glass. $9. Then I tasted it... WOAH! Mucho strong, which I wasn't complaining about, my friend's and I compared it to paying $9 for 2 drinks basically. The bartenders were fair with how they got to each of their customers, going down the line and not showing favorites to anyone. Though not too personal, they did a sufficient job at getting drinks/shots as we needed them in a timely matter (it was really busy and I'm sure if it wasn't as loud/busy they would have been more personable). All in all, if you want a bar with good music (defined as throwback 90s hip-hop), fun crowd, and fast bartenders go here. If you want a bar you can sit down and have conversations at on a Friday, this is not the place. It gets fairly packed and loud. However there is about 3 or 4 booths to sit at along the wall if you can get them and if you want to sit down. I got there around 10:30 and there was no line and we left around midnight and there was no line to get in. read more

Dead Critters Abound. It Takes a bit for Dancing to start so come post pre-party. read more

The music is good, but the drinks are weak. The decor is not really my thing, but who goes to places on the Lower East Side for decor anyways? I don't have a problem with places and dancefloors getting crowded, but it really sucks when there are two bartenders at peak time on Saturday night, and it takes so long to get a drink that you give up. This isn't good for business, and it's not good for getting customers to come back either. So why do bars continue to do this? Just get an extra bartender or two for the 10pm - 4am slot on Saturday, will ya? read more

I was brought to Bedlam by some friends while I was visiting NYC for a weekend. Let me break it down for you: The Scene on the Particular Friday: Everyone you would see in any other trendy but not TOO trendy bar. Quite possibly a few displaced Portland folks. The Music: Lady Gaga meets Jack White and they produce a weirdly lackluster top 40 album. The Decor: WHAT?! Anatomy with a touch of...giant moose head. Okay, okay, I did pet the moose head. The Drinks: All I had was a beer and the price was average for any other NYC bar, so it didn't seem terribly over priced. The Staff: Friendly enough. Not at all rude and pretty quick. Overall, I can see why people like the bar. I'd recommend it, if for nothing else than to get a gander of that moose head. read more

My friends like this place, and I'm not sure why. Apparently the bar has some image they like to protect so they always hire crappy DJs. My friend asked them to play a song and the DJ said that's not bedlam so naturally he didn't play it... Well you might wanna reconsider because none of the music you can really dance to, and he plays a lot of early 2000s songs that were mediocre. Drinks are not cheap for what the place is and there's a 24$ card minimum which is just annoying. Just don't go... ever... read more

Granted, I'm probably biased because I live around the block and the mere convenience of Bedlam's location gives it a couple of stars for me...but still Bedlam ROCKS. Amazing music, cheap drinks, and what I love the most, people ACTUALLY DANCING!!! I thought that died in the 90's and got replaced by creepy male promoters surrounded by stone-faced models checking their iPhones. Little did I know there is a little bar/club owned by Anderson Cooper's beau on Avenue C that still knows what a good dance party is! Also, I know it's a gay bar but I've been hit on numerous times here by straight men. Why? Because people like to dance and feel free and gay bars seem to be the last vestige of hope for such activities in NYC. Pretentious clubs, take notes! read more

I was disturbed. There was a seriously messed up girl here who was getting naked on the dance floor with multiple dudes touching her in appropriately. I tried to help her by telling someone who worked there and they told me she is a regular and that this is her normal behavior and there is nothing they can do. She was not in her right mind and I was scared for her life. Sketchy place. read more

With a name like Bedlam, you're probably in for trouble. An indication of the trouble to come, my friend actually asked if her Patron cocktail could be diluted, strong as it was. Me like. The decor is a la Freeman's, envision moose heads and dark red booths. The music was 80s and festive. The crowd, well my heterosexual male friends complained, was too gay leaning for their tastes. I thought it was a perfect balance, 50%/50%. I would post my pictures but they don't do the spot justice. Check out instead NYMag's slideshow: http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2010/09/bedlam.html read more

This place is always a blast because they play great music. But it also always smells like butt. STOP FARTING ON THE DANCEFLOOR. Thanks. read more

The place and crowd is fun, music is great to dance to if you're into top-40s. HOWEVER, the service is abysmal. The experience I had with the woman bartender was the worst I've ever had! I understand the bar was busy and seriously understaffed... But that doesn't give you the right to be rude to customers. First of all, the woman bartender with the boy hair-cut snapped at my friend for "taking too long to sign her receipt" after she tried to snatch the receipt twice in under a minute even though my friend made it clear that she wasn't done... Bartender's response: as you can see I'm very busy and don't have the time aka hurry up. Obviously we tipped her very little... To which she said, "don't order from me again." Later on that night... We wanted to order more drinks but she was the only one available so we had no choice but to order from her again. She listened to our order, looked us straight in the eye and said "No." In our group of 20, everyone agreed that she had an attitude and was plain rude. As long as she is working here, definitely not coming back. read more

I basically had one of the worst nights of my LIFE here, I don't even want to go into detail, but I will give it a try, for Yelp's sake:-X So I heard this place is inspired by a London psychiatric hospital...I would have much rather visited said psych hospital. SOME of the music was good, & that's the only good thing I have to say:-X Stupid long-ass line outside with idiots trying to cut in line (if we knew ahead of time that this place sucked so bad, we would have gladly let them cut) & trying to talk their way in (for what??!!), coat check was full, the people suck, the decor sucks, I don't know if the drinks suck cause I never got the chance to order one, there were some issues with the bathroom & an extremely rude drunk person "on line" being physically & verbally abusive...almost needed to call security for reals. HATE is a strong ass word, but I'm using it here:-O read more