(212) 226-4944

281 Lafayette St (nr. Prince St.)
New York, NY 10012 40.724 -73.9959

Get Map & Directions »

Neighborhoods: NoLita, Downtown

pravdany.com/home.php

Hours:

Mon-Wed 5pm-1am

Thu 5pm-2am

Fri-Sat 5pm-3am

Sun 6pm-1am

Last updated 8.06.11

Category:

Restaurants, Bars & Pubs, Nightclubs, Lounges

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, MasterCard

Bar & Pub Special Features:

Martinis

Bar & Club Special Features:

Specialty Cocktails, Romantic Nightlife

What People Are Saying About Pravda

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

Having fallen from its place on the hot list serves this clandestine underground lounge and its imported-vodka devotees well. Without pressure to impress, its dramatic interior casts a much warmer glow. Moscow mementos and Cyrillic scrawlings are just a stylistic footnote to well-loved leather club chairs, tiny tables and a golden ceiling that arches low. The patrons are no longer model-slammin' gorgeous, but fans and friends still flock. They go to sample Russian vodkas as well as those from Poland, the Ukraine and more than 10 other countries. Here the liquor mixes smoothly with caviar, fat…

ambiance
84.61999893188477% positive
  1. “Classsy, upscale decor without the pretentious attitude.”
  2. “The decor and the ambiance of the place is not too bad, kinda russian feeling w low lights and reddish paint job on the walls.”
  3. “The atmosphere is very comfortable.”
  4. “Pravda has a great ambiance and serves some good specialty cocktails, though they're a bit expensive.”
  5. “posh, leather chairs invite you to sip a cocktail and enjoy conversation with your date, as well as people-watch in a dimly-lit, cavern-like atmosphere.”
  6. “Pravda has a great atmosphere as well.”
  7. “Blasting bad music while serving overpriced and disappointingly tasteless drinks is not atmosphere.”
  8. “Fantastic location.”
  9. “Nice chill place, the decor is very retro.”
  10. “Overall the place wins with ambience and a good looking clientele.”
  11. “The drinks are great, and expense reflects the location.”
  12. “It is a complete shame because the place is cozy, they have tons of interesting flavored vodkas and the bartenders were friendly.”
  13. “This bar has a nice ambience, 2 levels, better for a small group unless you get a table.”
dessert
80.0% positive
  1. “we left Pravda to go elsewhere for dinner, but then came back for the thirty year tawny and a warm chocolate cake.”
  2. “Its unique experience, have a tea, and a chocolate cake with a friend and see some of the Expressionist Horror movies.”
  3. “It also has some good appetizers (caviar eggs, ham croquettes) and a surprisingly great warm chocolate cake with sour cherry compote ($8).”
  4. “The price was expensive ($10 per drink and for most desserts, and a lot for caviar), but I will keep coming back.”
  5. “The desserts are delicious.”
drinks
68.17999839782715% positive
  1. “Great drinks, bad attitudes”
  2. “Pravda has a great ambiance and serves some good specialty cocktails, though they're a bit expensive.”
  3. “It's a great place to chill out with friends during the week with a good strong drink.”
  4. “Its unique experience, have a tea, and a chocolate cake with a friend and see some of the Expressionist Horror movies.”
  5. “Great martinis and other mixed drinks”
  6. “It's nicely dark, the drinks are great, and it just feels like a private spot for you and your friends.”
  7. “Other than the pricey drinks, 2 thumbs up.”
  8. “The drinks were delicious, but I'm not sure if $20 a cocktail was worth it.”
  9. “Such a great spot , great drinks, great staff.”
  10. “The Leninade was to die for- it tasted like candy :) Service was great- we had a group of 17 and no one was ever without a drink.”
  11. “The drinks are amazing and their selection of vodkas is outstanding.”
  12. “The drinks are great, and expense reflects the location.”
  13. “There were 15 of us ordering a ton of expensive drinks and caviar.”
  14. “By far, Pravda makes some of the best drinks in the city.”
  15. “The bar got very crowded, which made it difficult to order a drink when I wasn't sitting at the table.”
  16. “You can not stand anywhere, but at the bar and if you even slightly move into any seating area in the place, this beastly women comes out and completely flips out that you have to stand at the bar!”
  17. “The price was expensive ($10 per drink and for most desserts, and a lot for caviar), but I will keep coming back.”
  18. “This bar has a nice ambience, 2 levels, better for a small group unless you get a table.”
  19. “When we got the bill we were surprised that the cocktails were much more expensive than the menu had listed, but regarless we enjoyed ourselves.”
  20. “Blasting bad music while serving overpriced and disappointingly tasteless drinks is not atmosphere.”
  21. “Old mirrors with peeling silver great cocktails and vodkas.”
  22. “This was a great place to go with friends and have some different and delicious drinks.”
food quality
96.14999771118164% positive
  1. “It also has some good appetizers (caviar eggs, ham croquettes) and a surprisingly great warm chocolate cake with sour cherry compote ($8).”
  2. “The drinks were delicious, but I'm not sure if $20 a cocktail was worth it.”
  3. “For $12 I felt the rush of vodka flavored with a huge yummy slice of fresh ginger.”
  4. “Martinis are delicious.”
  5. “The desserts are delicious.”
  6. “Unfortunately, the delicious martinis are secondary when I think about the host, who left me with a sour taste in my mouth.”
  7. “If you want an authentic Russian experience, look elsewhere, but this is certainly a place to go to if you want to have a good time.”
  8. “The martinis are tasty and strong.”
  9. “My friends and I frequent Pravda for their huge selection of delicious martinis and great apetizers.”
  10. “Also, the mini burgers and fries are pretty good as well.”
  11. “The food is great too.”
  12. “This was a great place to go with friends and have some different and delicious drinks.”
  13. “What I really loved was their infused vodka shots, the fig is really yummy!”
menu variety
75.0% positive
  1. “When we got the bill we were surprised that the cocktails were much more expensive than the menu had listed, but regarless we enjoyed ourselves.”
  2. “My friends and I frequent Pravda for their huge selection of delicious martinis and great apetizers.”
  3. “The drinks are amazing and their selection of vodkas is outstanding.”
  4. “great vodka selection, excellent oyster appetizer.”
overall
83.33000183105469% positive
  1. “It's a great place to chill out with friends during the week with a good strong drink.”
  2. “This is a great place to start the night.”
  3. “What a nice little place!”
  4. “Was here this past sat9 and its a pretty good place.”
  5. “Not a great place to have to stand around with a vodka martini.”
  6. “This was a great place to go with friends and have some different and delicious drinks.”
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. “a cool place and I would def go back at least to try all the other flavored shots!”
service
59.089999198913574% positive
  1. “Amazing martinis, lousy staff attitude”
  2. “tuesday. We had a bill well over $1000 but couldnt eat our cupcake thanks to the hostess and rude waitress, each of whome were real see you next tuesdays.”
  3. “It is a complete shame because the place is cozy, they have tons of interesting flavored vodkas and the bartenders were friendly.”
  4. “In the end of an uncomfortable experience (7 people around a booth made for 4 - even though other tables were available) they OVERBILLED US $50.00!”
  5. “Waited around for atleast 15 minutes before I able to get the dirty blonde waitress's attention.”
  6. “Service has always been friendly and competent.”
  7. “posh, leather chairs invite you to sip a cocktail and enjoy conversation with your date, as well as people-watch in a dimly-lit, cavern-like atmosphere.”
  8. “love this place and keep going back even though the bartenders and staff aren't the friendliest because I love the martinis.”
  9. “the staff recognized us on re-entry, and treated us with a pleasant familiarity, seating us immediately.”
  10. “Such a great spot , great drinks, great staff.”
  11. “The waitresses were rude, slow and un-accommodating.”
value
45.0% positive
  1. “Other than the pricey drinks, 2 thumbs up.”
  2. “One of the best deals in the city for a plain old vodka martini.”
  3. “Pravda has a great ambiance and serves some good specialty cocktails, though they're a bit expensive.”
  4. “When we got the bill we were surprised that the cocktails were much more expensive than the menu had listed, but regarless we enjoyed ourselves.”
  5. “For $12 I felt the rush of vodka flavored with a huge yummy slice of fresh ginger.”
  6. “My friends and I frequent Pravda for their huge selection of delicious martinis and great apetizers.”
  7. “The drinks were delicious, but I'm not sure if $20 a cocktail was worth it.”
  8. “There were 15 of us ordering a ton of expensive drinks and caviar.”
  9. “Blasting bad music while serving overpriced and disappointingly tasteless drinks is not atmosphere.”
  10. “The price was expensive ($10 per drink and for most desserts, and a lot for caviar), but I will keep coming back.”
wait time
0.0% positive
  1. “Waited around for atleast 15 minutes before I able to get the dirty blonde waitress's attention.”
  2. “The waitresses were rude, slow and un-accommodating.”
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

12/09/11

NYC Nightlife

by arielamir

NYC NIGHT LIFE

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5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

03/24/10

Sunday movies night!

by Devushka Mala

Wow !

New York scene is getting much needed education.

Pravda's Silent Movies on Sunday nights .

Its unique experience, have a tea, and a chocolate cake with a friend and see some of the Expressionist Horror movies. I saw The Hunted Castle and Faust ...

amazing experience... highly recommended!!

I was with my girlfriend and we had a treat!

Dosvidania !

  • Pros: Russian Tea, Chocolate Cake, Cocktails, Vodka
  • Cons: Monday :(
4 Star Rating: Recommended

07/06/09

Birthday Dinner

by Tajami

My friends and I made reservations at Pravda for my best friends 21st Birthday Party. We had a group of about 15 people. The waiter was very patient with us as some people arrived late and she was very attentive. The drinks were delicious, but I'm not sure if $20 a cocktail was worth it. When we got the bill we were surprised that the cocktails were much more expensive than the menu had listed, but regarless we enjoyed ourselves.

They allowed us to put our friends birhtday cake in their kitcken and after they brought it out and let her blow-out the candles, they then took it back and brought us each a piece.

Other than the pricey drinks, 2 thumbs up.

  • Pros: Interior, Food, Cocktails
  • Cons: Expensive
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

02/25/09

Great Cocktails at Pravda

by Panski

Perfect classy place to go for cocktails. Different drinks with the finest vodka. Great bartenders that server up the right mix to perfection. Fantastic location. Classsy, upscale decor without the pretentious attitude.

  • Pros: Example: best croissants in town
  • Cons: What are the drawbacks?
1 Star Rating: Poor

01/27/09

Great drinks, bad attitudes

by Colicia

I had heard so much about Pravda from friends and how great the drinks were, so I was excited to go. I had never been before. I can not stress enough how absolutely rude every hostess was in there. After being booted out of TWO tables (for "VIP"s), we decided to leave. The hostess, who was giving us the stink eye all night, and circling our table like an ugly vulture, actually made us want to leave- even though we weren't even done with our drinks. We were five very nice paying customers.. I just couldn't believe it!

So when we were literally WALKING OUT THE DOOR, she pushed me to the wall and said "you need to let people through"... there was no where for me to go! My friend did not have kind words, needless to say. I hope that the owner reconsiders his choices in his help. It's a recession, and I am sure there are other out of work actresses that are prettier and nicer.

  • Pros: Great drinks
  • Cons: Terrible bathrooms, dreadful service

The Details on Pravda

Place Categories:

  • delicious martinis
  • great chill place
  • great other mixed drinks
  • rude waitresses
  • never bad russian experience
  • warm chocolate cake
  • great caviar
  • bad staff attitude
  • great service
  • liked pravda
  • great mangoinfused vodka
  • nice decor
  • very comfortable atmosphere
  • great ambiance
  • great weekday spot
  • great food
  • not great place
  • great apetizers
  • bad exit
  • enjoy conversation
  • bad experience mcc
  • fantastic location
  • expensive price
  • overpriced drinks
  • great specialty cocktails

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