(212) 406-0400

9 Doyers St
New York, NY 10013 40.714072 -73.997634

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Neighborhoods: Chinatown, Downtown

apothekenyc.com

Hours:

Mon-Sat 630pm-2am

Sun 8pm-2pm

Last updated 10.17.11

Category:

Lounges

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, MasterCard

Bar & Club Special Features:

Specialty Cocktails, Late-Night Scene, Romantic Nightlife

What People Are Saying About Apotheke

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

In Short – Find Doyers Street (an alley off the Bowery), and look for some hipsters mulling around outside a red "Gold Flower Restaurant" sign, and you'll know you're in the right spot. While this area used to be grounds for gang wars, Apotheke, a one-time opium den, feels more like an upscale Victorian brothel. Inside the candlelit lounge, a gigantic marble bar--lined with mortars and pestles, herbs and elixirs, all marinating in century-old glass jars--serves up an extensive variety of specialty cocktails. You really can't go wrong, no matter what you choose. – – Hits:…

Editor's Tips

What to Drink:
Try the Five Points, a delicious blend of house-made elixirs, hibiscus and Italian bitters, and named after the notoriously bloody neighborhood.
Fun Fact:
Secret underground mob tunnels run underneath the bar, and VIPs get a secret key to the hidden side entrance.
The Extras:
If you order the absinthe, Apotheke's owner Albert Trummer just might give a flame-throwing cocktail demonstration right on the spot.
ambiance
83.33000183105469% positive
  1. great location, great everything.
  2. Amazing Drinks, Amazing atmosphere, Great Scene
  3. The decor was nice.
  4. would not recommend this place under any circumstances, other than the decor, as they have no appreciation for their patrons and basic human respect.
  5. James we go to Apotheke to enjoy the music, drinks and atmosphere with our friends.
  6. good drinks, fun atmosphere
  7. Here, I was immediately comfortable, and had the most amazing experiences going out in NYC.
  8. In my opiniona great location for a good good evening.
  9. It could be a great spot to swing by for one drink, but it is definitely not a place to plan a whole night around (which you would have to do, based on the location, reservationist and long line) Oh, and if you go, make sure not to wear nice shoes, as und
dessert
0.0% positive
  1. Have been to some real horrible places with real d.o.u.c.h.e bouncers but this guy takes the cake.
drinks
82.5% positive
  1. The drinks are quite creative and I dig the vibe inside.
  2. Our waitress was wonderful and quick to make recommendations and kept the drinks coming quickly.
  3. It could be a great spot to swing by for one drink, but it is definitely not a place to plan a whole night around (which you would have to do, based on the location, reservationist and long line) Oh, and if you go, make sure not to wear nice shoes, as und
  4. Imaginative drinks and cool space
  5. Some of their soft opening menu cocktails do taste good, although I think perhaps they need to hang out at Little Branch for a few nights and take some notes!
  6. Write-ups by NyMag will lead you to believe it's a cocktail bar with a menu consisting of over 150 unique cocktails.
  7. I've never had an issue getting into bars/lounges before and typically not when it's 3 attractive professional women looking to enjoy some cocktails together.
  8. The taste is so bad all it makes you want to do is drink a beer to get rid of it.
  9. James we go to Apotheke to enjoy the music, drinks and atmosphere with our friends.
  10. The "cocktails", if you could call them that, are terrible.
  11. good drinks, fun atmosphere
  12. Cheesy crowd, lame drinks, overall waste of
  13. with great drinks to get you through.
  14. the drinks were good.
  15. The service was amazing and from the 2 gentlemen at the door (James and Juan I believe), to the explanation of mixology and what exactly egg white could add to a drink, I am sold!
  16. decent cocktails, cool space, idiot at the door
  17. Uh, actually why not try to have a decent bar.
  18. saying things like the drinks are amazing, great vibe, beautiful inside, etc.
  19. The "Hemingway" themed drink would have made Big Papa angry and violent.
  20. This isn't for the bud light drinking crowd, but if you like to enjoy some new drinks, run over there now.
food quality
100.0% positive
  1. Drinks are decent, but anything will be "yummy" if you muddle some strawberries in it.
  2. The service was amazing and from the 2 gentlemen at the door (James and Juan I believe), to the explanation of mixology and what exactly egg white could add to a drink, I am sold!
menu variety
66.66999816894531% positive
  1. Write-ups by NyMag will lead you to believe it's a cocktail bar with a menu consisting of over 150 unique cocktails.
  2. Tried to order some stuff off the menu, and got some vodka, random fruit juice and weird bitters, which is pretty much the formula that most of the bartenders like to follow unfortunately.
  3. Some of their soft opening menu cocktails do taste good, although I think perhaps they need to hang out at Little Branch for a few nights and take some notes!
overall
75.0% positive
  1. It could be a great spot to swing by for one drink, but it is definitely not a place to plan a whole night around (which you would have to do, based on the location, reservationist and long line) Oh, and if you go, make sure not to wear nice shoes, as und
  2. Decor was nice, but the place was not that large at all.
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. However, if you have just come back from your semester abroad in Australia, if you are under 26 or if you want to celebrate your first promotion with Merrill, come on over.
service
55.0% positive
  1. He said rude comments and announced to everyone on line that were not allowed in, plus purposely allowed a group behind us in!
  2. horrible service.
  3. The bartender Jack is very pleasant and seems to be the only guy in there who knows what he is doing.
  4. The Owner (that I met), friendly and helpful.
  5. Our waitress was wonderful and quick to make recommendations and kept the drinks coming quickly.
  6. The service was amazing and from the 2 gentlemen at the door (James and Juan I believe), to the explanation of mixology and what exactly egg white could add to a drink, I am sold!
  7. Tried to order some stuff off the menu, and got some vodka, random fruit juice and weird bitters, which is pretty much the formula that most of the bartenders like to follow unfortunately.
  8. There was a british bouncer who was incredibly rude, asking us if we had reservations.
  9. Drinks are overpriced, staff is not responsive and it looks like they are making you a big favor by serving you.
  10. suggest: i new door policy: let the nice people in; let the beautiful people in; let the cool in.
value
25.0% positive
  1. HOWEVER they are REALLY pricey, but this IS new york.
  2. Drinks are overpriced, staff is not responsive and it looks like they are making you a big favor by serving you.
wait time
37.5% positive
  1. However, as long as you want to be around loud women who think they are the realization of satc (gag), and a bunch of douchbag men, then this place fails.
  2. It is a terribly managed place as our experiences are clearly not unique and have been going on a long time without management doing anything to improve the situation.
  3. Our waitress was wonderful and quick to make recommendations and kept the drinks coming quickly.
  4. It could be a great spot to swing by for one drink, but it is definitely not a place to plan a whole night around (which you would have to do, based on the location, reservationist and long line) Oh, and if you go, make sure not to wear nice shoes, as und
4 Star Rating: Recommended

03/06/12

Interesting place. Expensive mixed drinks, cool Speakeasy.

by ARodomus the Poet

After some time at another bar we decided to meet some friends here and check this place out. I'm glad we did.

This place was rather interesting. First and foremost, if you don't literally guide me here, I'd have no idea this place neither existed or was open. It's literally in as inconspicuous a location as a place can be. You won't be wandering the streets, see the place and say "oh let's check out this lounge". You need to know that you are going there, and seek it out. Otherwise you'll walk right past it, we did.

Tonight there was a gentleman playing popular music on the guitar and singing, he also played the saxophone and took his hand at making a few jokes with us. The live music was a nice touch.

A point to note for you beer drinkers, they only have draft beer at this

place. Their focus seems more on mixing up creative and interesting random cocktails. They were broken down by section such as, Therapeutic enhancers, mood enhancers and other cool creative names.

If you simply want some soda you are also out of luck, they only have coke on the menu. I wanted to try something, but I didn't want alcohol, so I asked for a mixed juice drink. They mixed me up a juice concoction and it was still a fancy classy style drink. Tasted pretty good too. The folks behind the bar wore chef shirts and were rocking it making the drinks. The specialty here is definitely mixed cocktails of all sorts.

The interesting decor is something that will completely get your attention. Nice couches and white curtains throughout. The ambiance was dimly lit all over and gave me a chill mellow feeling. They have a rather interesting sink by the restroom that I had to play with. The bathroom itself had lit candles, was also dimly lit and smelled quite nice for a bathroom.

This is a very nice place. Myself and my fellow friends enjoyed it thoroughly.

2 Star Rating: Below Average

05/19/11

not for the cocktails

by erikdrums

Went there monday 5/16.

3 stars for the cocktails. 3 out of 4 where good. 1 was mediocre at best .

1 star for service and the vibe.

Don't go if you mostly go for the cocktails. It isn't worth the hassle of a way to crowded room, ridiculously long waits 30+ mins, mixed up orders (maybe because the live music was very loud ) 10+ mins. to get the final drink. 5 mins to pay.

We went because we are cocktail-lovers, probably if you're more about a sweaty hang on a monday, you'll enjoy better

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

12/08/10

Amazing!

by temas

This place is amazing! I discovered it a little while ago and have experienced both the weekends and the weekdays. Definitely recommend going during the week unless you're more into the hype and scene. Weekdays are just no fuss.

Love the drinks. Love the fact they'll customize a drink for you as well. The staff is generally really friendly and helpful. Definitely one of my top 5 bars of the city.

1 Star Rating: Poor

11/22/10

bunch of charlatans

by urbanit3

Went last Saturday, it was my first time at Apotheke. I have never agreed with long lines at bars but have socially succumbed but Apotheke was outrageous. First, all the reviews I read about the place were about the bouncer rather than the place itself. Apparently this is what this place wants to get identified... with a door man that lacks manners and has plenty of poor attitude and low intellect, what a pitty for a place that claim to have the European attitude. Drinks were ok, "nothing out of this world", fancy names doesn't really make good drinks , ambiance was nice and crowd very eccentric. What else to say, service was poor, the only part that lives to its claims were the barista's. Everything else was a stupid show of attitude. I'm truly sorry to have see the European name associated with a bunch of charlatans.

4 Star Rating: Recommended

11/15/10

Things at the door sure have changed!

by STudor

I started going to Apotheke from the very beginning about two years ago but stopped after i realized the douche at the door james was letting in a crowd that was less downtown cool and more money-slipping-lame. he had an attitude - big time. I went last weekend with a few freinds who had never been and own hotels in LA. To my delight and surprise James had been replaced by a beautiful, diplomatic and seriously stylish girl named Hadley (not sure about that spelling) We waited a few minutes but i guess she saw that we "get it" and let us in as soon as she could. it was everything it once was; killer crowd, wonderful energy, amazing cocktails. . . insane night all around. My only regret was not trying to get the door girls number.. .

The Details on Apotheke

Place Categories:

  • good new drinks
  • really love this place
  • bad experience
  • unique cocktails
  • nice decor
  • not recommend place
  • enjoy fun atmosphere
  • rather pleasant interior
  • great vibe
  • beautiful people
  • cool space
  • annoying doorman
  • helpful owner
  • good taste
  • good evening
  • beautiful wait
  • amazing service
  • great location
  • overpriced drinks
  • beautiful space inside
  • wonderful waitress
  • incredibly rude british bouncer
  • big papa
  • very pleasant bartender jack
  • great spot

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