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At a Glance
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83% ambiance
“The decor is warm and inviting with a New Orleans charm, the music is always perfect for the occasion, with a DJ that is awesome.”
84% drinks
“169 Bar is the most honest and awesome bar I know of, they are very cool to everyone, great vibe!”
100% food quality
“Got some good chinese food right on the corner too.”
100% overall
“It's a good place for after work and way after work, at any hour it's a real good time.”
73% service
“The staff is a bunch of a holes, that don't even like music.”
100% value
“wouldn't mind as much if they had good drink deals but they don't.”
100% wait time
“I've been coming to this bar for years, the new owner has really changed everything, apparently he's a life long muscian from New Orleans and and has really brought that aesthetic and his understanding of music to what was once a dark hole of a bar voted ”
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169 Bar
From The Owner of 169 Bar
Tips for 169 Bar
August 29, 2007
great peanuts! great vibe! great banana rum infusion! sangria and funk!!. really cool "continental" joint, feels kinda like a neighborhood Italian or southern France local bar without trying...huge help-yourself ceramic water tanks on the bar along side sangria glass jars, I counted 10 different infusions, banana rum was my favorite last night but the orange, strawberry and pear vodkas also rocked., the bartender let us try all of them in little shot glasses for free....the music performers were also awesome, i dont think there is a bar in the city that has so many unknown yet really freaking great performers, they must really spend a lot of time going through demo kits picking out the best, one after the other, and it only cost $8...cool DJ after the bands also...they crank up the mirror ball....
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Heart
August 29, 2007
169 Bar is the most honest and awesome bar I know of, they are very cool to everyone, great vibe!!.
I was at the 169 Bar the other night (one of my favorite hangouts) they usually have awesome talent, but there was this horrible supposed "jazz" band playing god knows what...I think the trumpet player was shane endsley, supposedly some big shot jazz muso...man did he s**k!!! there was only like 3 people in the room that looked like they cared but they were like 18 or something...it was more crowded earlier but he drove everyone out...
I talked to the bartender and he said it was some kind of mistake, that the music shane had on his website was way different than what he was palying and that they would never book him or anyone like him again, he was really releived that shane decided not to play another set and i think I can speak for everyone in the room (at least the ones left) we were also VERY HAPPY not to have to listen to the train wreck he apparently thought was music...shane get a real job PLEASE!!! LEAVE THE REST OF US ALONE!!!...cut your loses now, i know you probably spent a fortune on music college but it just is not going to happen...try ITT ...and 169 Bar ...PLEASE do not book him or anyone like again!!!PLEASE?!? ( I know you wont!) peace out!!!
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Heart
August 21, 2007
Editorial Review. One of the oldest bars in New York draws a chic downtown crowd thanks to a friendly door policy, dope DJs, specialty cocktails, daily happy hour and a dance floor.
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Heart
August 11, 2007
Perfect bar, great for hearing live performers.
I've been coming to this bar for ages....it is better than ever...a Pabst & a shot during happy hour for $3!!!...i mean come on! how low can you go!?!?....the place is filled with plants outside and in...and the music they play is really classic groove/funk stuff...kinda New Orleans-ish...its really a relaxed vibe with a mixed crowd of local asians, puerto ricans, afro, hipsters, and gentry...purely accidental...i do not understand some of the negative reviews...it doen't even sound like the same place....
great performers also...if you can catch them; awesome jazz singers....
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Heart
August 06, 2007
fun stuff!. I like it there a lot because it's one of the few live venues that let the musicians showcase their music to everyone in the joint...other places have a room in the back where the musician only plays for their following, which sometimes can be very small...also it gets really trippy and fun as you get buzzed because of the interior design and seriously sometimes, the artists are so talented...it's just awesome...also i was watching flight of the conchords last night, and there was a scene where the two guys are drinking at the bar! that is my favorite show on television right now so i thought that was so cool!
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Heart
August 06, 2007
best sounding small room in the city..... I played the 169 last night and had a great time, theres nothing crappy about a SWR bass head or speaker and the Crate amp worked perfectly fine...the Gretch drum set was brand new and very nice...and how many bars have a 1939 upright piano?....the whole set-up was really perfect for the room. I heard the bands before me and they all sounded really really great?!? i have no idea what the previous reviewer is talking about, it is probably one of the best sounding small rooms in the city...that is if you play at a good volume for the room...its not madison square...i understand that the reason they dont have sound checks, but rather "line checks" is because its a neighborhood bar...and there are regular people sitting at the bar which is in the same room...their not going to shut everything down to sound check a band in the middle of a friday night just to appease some begineer musician who cant get his settings right... plus they only have vocals miked...its not rockett science.....one of the bands where obviousely playing madison square garden in their minds as they were way to loud...this place is for musicans who are having a good time... not for demanding "rock stars" ....after we played we hung out for 2 hours dancing to the DJ music which was classic 70's funk...i have played here before and i will play here again, if i can get booked, because if you check their calendar, their booked up 3 months in advance...
0
Heart
May 18, 2007
unbelievable turnaround.....
I've been coming to this bar for years, the new owner has really changed everything, apparently he's a life long muscian from New Orleans and and has really brought that aesthetic and his understanding of music to what was once a dark hole of a bar voted continualy as "best dive bar" .... it is far from a dive bar now! really cozy, great lighting and laid-back, no more loud, crappy rock bands...jazz, latin, groove... really great music every night... even the music between bands is awsome groovy/jazz stuff that you never hear anywhere esle...Jimmy Smith, Booker T, Meters, Ramsey Lewis...and you gotta come during happy hour for their "Truckers" special; 2 PBR's and 2 shots for $5?!?! in Manhattan you can hardly beat it! i dont think you can even get a better deal in williamsburg....I read the other most recent posts and i can't believe it...they must be on some kinda vendetta...probably some friendless, loud, sucking rock band...
The staff is cool as sh*t...i came to see a friends band and hung out all night, got loads of buy backs, every one got wasted including the bartender we ended up siging Karyoke till ...definitly worth your while...the new dart board and Coney Island bowling machine is the coolest.. best chill nights are mondays, tuesdays & wednesdays...
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Heart
May 18, 2007
Best Bartender Ever!!. The bartender at this place was so awesome. The drinks where amazing. Good stiff drinks. I went in here expectin not much but I just had a blast. I was given the blue windex looking drink called an Adious Mother f*cker and let me tell you I was saying adious to everyone. I think it was something similiar to a Long Island Ice tea but little smoother. After two of these I was gone. There was some random bands playing which was kinda cool bc it gave it an ecletic sound. The bald man on the dj booth was spining some old school music that took me back to the 7th grade. Overall me and my friends had a great time. If you're ever in the area make sure to stop by this historic bar! And if the bartender with the sidebrowns is working you're in for a treat!
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Heart
May 18, 2007
Jazz Dive Bar. I've only been in NY for couple of months but this place is pretty cool. I went on a Wednesday night and there was this awesome Jazz band jaming out. The bassist seemed to love the music more than anything in the world. Drinks were well done and bartenders where cool. Its a jem in the desert. Got some good chinese food right on the corner too. This place is definately a nice spot to get away from the midtown uptown mess. Its a little ways away but definately worth the trip. Cheers!
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Heart
May 04, 2007
I'd rather drink at a garbage dump in New Jersey. If you went to this bar you were probably suckered into seeing a band. Everyone knows that this place or the Pussycat lounge are desperate for music acts. If you're a music act aim high and skip this joint. If your friend is playing there, skip that show. The staff is a bunch of a holes, that don't even like music. They are just trying to screw people into giving them money. Type of place where people pay $10 to see their friends play a bad show and then leave promptly after the show is done.
0
Heart
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