B.B. King Blues Club & Grill

08/15/2008 Posted by WingMich

I love, love the B.B. King. They've got the best grill in all of New York! And if that wasn't enough, they have live jazz. The next time you are on 42nd street stop by the B.B. King.

05/19/2008 Posted by sanusperaquam

The phone representatives are very courteous, as is the security staff, but the wait staff? Everyone else looked like they may have had an attentive waiter - ours was only focused on getting phone numbers from the girls across the room. Also, he had an obnoxious attitude toward us, and we saw equally frustrated faces on other people in his section. On the plus side, the sound in the place is pretty good, so no matter where you sit, you'll hear the band really clearly.The food is costly, but good for the most-part. We ate there because we had a show and didn't feel like standing with the drunken rowdy crowd at the front. Our food was late and arrived at room temperature, which is a little perplexing considering the Mac N' Cheese was in a SKILLET, and he neglected our table and the table ahead of us for most of the night.

Pros: good sound

Cons: lazy waiter service

04/19/2008 Posted by nyc34

I've lived in NYC for 5 years and eat out every single day. I don't understand all the reviews here. The food was awesome! We went last week to see Etta James - unbelievable performance!! Before she came on, all 6 of us decided to order dinner since we did not have time before arriving that night. Everyone kept commenting how good their food was and 2 of us specifically were pleasantly surprised after having read the reviews here. I ordered popcorn shrimp and a few others ordered catfish fingers and salads and we also got the raw oysters, etc for the table. All were outstanding. I followed with the pulled pork sandwich and having lived in the South for the 1st 18 years of my life - it was as good as it gets. Excellent!! Another couple ordered the Porterhouse which was huge and they said it was one of the best steaks they have had in the city. It was kind of expensive but that's NYC for you -- you never get used to it but have to sort of accept it. We had a great night and I definitely will be back.

Pros: Awesome food, awesome music, and a NYC must!

Cons: Tables could be a bit bigger for more room for drink/food

03/31/2008 Posted by oneflyychick

I decided to treat my mother yesterday for her bday...What a dissapointment! While the "Choir" can really sing,(thats why I gave 2 stars instead of one) the food is certainly inedible. They should cut the ticket costs in half, and just have them sing minus the Brunch. How can you mess up breakfast foods? Well the cooks at BB Kings found a way!! Tasteless grits, salty bacon, and GREASY sausage. The Lunch items... runny baked mac n cheese, Catfish that was too breaded.and not seasoned, Collard Greens that were spicy enough to make your eyes water...should I go on?? Im from NY, but both my parents are from the south... so I know how good soul food should taste because WE make it..lol. I felt bad for the out of towners that looked like they've never had soul food before, I kept thinking "My goodness I hope they dont think this is how its suppose to be". I wish I wouldve read the reviews here before i went. I normally do, but i wasnt thinking ..

03/08/2008 Posted by nobodysbusiness

As a BB King (and Blues) fan I was really looking forward to my trip to New York with the prospect of visiting another of B's Clubs (I've also been to the Memphis one). First visit to the club was just to have a drink at Lucilles Bar after a meal somewhere else. The barman was pleasant and friendly and the band were good, the atmosphere was nice and relaxed for a Monday night, my wife and I had a couple of drinks and left planning to return on our last night in NY for a meal. We arrived for dinner and were given the freedom to sit anywhere so we sat at the back as the music was pretty loud up by the bar, now don't get me wrong, I love loud Rock music, but maybe not while I'm out for dinner with my wife, there's a time and place for everything. We had a good time to look over the menu but were suprised by how expensive it all was for what really is nothing more than Fast Food ($7.00 for a side order of fries) but hey, it was our last night in NY before flying back to England so what the hell. I ordered the Pulled Pork sandwhich and my wife had the Cat fish fingers with the side of fries. The meal arrived and the Cat fish fingers looked good but I'm afraid the same can't be said for the Pulled Pork sandwich, it was dreadful, the bun it was served in tasted like it was at least a day old, the meat was warm at best (nowhere near Hot) and the BBQ sauce the meat was nearly coated in had a funny twang to it, I ate some of it but figured it best to leave the rest. When the waiter returned he was apologetic but didn't offer to have it replaced and just brought the bill. The Bill included gratuity which I asked for it to be removed, why should I pay even more for bad bad food, I told him he should take it up with the chef as the Chef had let him down. Overall a really disappointing experience. I feel bad for BB King, this place uses his name and thus reflects on him. I'm sure that he'd be really upset to know how people think.

Pros: Good for a relaxed drink at the bar.

Cons: Terrible food, should have more Blues memorabilia, should play Blues and Jazz Music not heavy Rock or Reggae

02/23/2008 Posted by bc929

I accompanied my mother to see one of her favorite blues performers here and I was EMBARASSED for New York. The food was not only overpriced, but INEDIBLE and on top of that it made me sick later that night. We were so cramped my chair was literally 3/4 in the aisle, and every time the waitress passed she knocked into my shoulder. This was the first time in a year that my mother has come to visit the city and BB King absolutely ruined it. They are the worst venue, the worst restaurant, and the worst tourist trap that I have been to in the world. Don't bother going here.

Pros: Good performer, ok service

Cons: Cramped, overpriced, inedible, and the list goes on...

02/15/2008 Posted by Byscuits

I had the unfortunate experience of attending BB King for an afternoon of inedible food and a performance by the "world famous" Harlem Gospel "Choir." We arrived 10 minutes early for the event, only to wait outdoors in the cold winter air for the next 35 minutes. Once inside, it seemed experience was carefully tailored to ruthlessly remove any possible enjoyment of the experience. We were seated in the most cramped fashion I have experienced at a restaurant (I do wish I were exaggerating). Upon rising from my seat, 7 others had to leave their own to allow me to pass. The gentleman next to me had to ask 9 people to get out of their seats when he desired to use the restroom. Next, we went up to the buffet. The line flowed acceptably, but we had to wait several minutes for plates once we arrived at the front of the line. I took a small amount of each of the foods in front of us, then returned to my seat and my newfound role as a sardine. When I tried the food, I found that several items were inedible, the raw and bloody fried chicken among the most memorable. After the audience chased down their food, the Harlem Gospel "Choir" came to the stage. I use quotation marks, as this group amounted to seven singers and three musicians. Therefore, their sound lacked the fullness of a real gospel choir, as they did not even amount to a double quartet. The show was mildly entertaining, but the experience felt contrived compared to a true gospel choir. Every moment of the lunch led me to believe the experience was carefully engineered to charge as many people as possible, while providing the least in quality imaginable. Whoever manages this establishment should be utterly ashamed of themselves. I would also like to note that while Citysearch bestows this club with 4.5 stars, the user reviews currently average 3.2. Upon reading them, I suspect they could be even lower if users were allowed to give a zero rating.

Pros: None.

Cons: All.

02/14/2008 Posted by foxrocket

We were walking through Time Square and were handed a flyer advertising a comedy show at B.B. King's. We paid $32 a ticket for Jim Brewer and the Korean Kings of Comedy. The show was awesome and worth every penny. I love Jim Brewer, and it was so cool to see him in person. However, the food was terrible and way overpriced. The service was good, the entertainment was great, the decor was cool, but the food was expensive and horrible.

Pros: Great Venue

Cons: Food

02/12/2008 Posted by sairs143

I love Bob Marley and was waiting weeks just to hear some good live Bob songs. Little did I know all I would get was a bunch of stoned high school kids all over the place. The band played two songs and the majority of the night sat back stage getting high. This was the worst venue I have ever been to and I am not picky by any means. The waiter also agreed on the horrible music set so that has to tell you something. And dont think expressing your dissatisfaction to the owner because he brushes you off I guess he makes enough money off suckers like me so he didn't really care about how I felt. Okey enjoy!

Pros: Waiter was very nice.

Cons: Everything

12/08/2007 Posted by jonathan

I knew I wanted to write something because this show was the exact opposite of what I read about the Family Stone performances here in November, but I'm so tired this morning. Luckily, the reviewer for the late show said it all. Ditto for the early show. It was amazing. This concert was incredible for the beginning to the end. The bass and drum combo was the definition of timing. The bass/drum/organ was devastating. The female singer was a perfect. Sly was on stage playing organ and singing for most of the show. Even during the limited amount of time that he was offstage was fine because the band is absolutely incredible. I don't drink, so I can't tell you about the bar. I didn't eat because I was at a concert. I was dancing; and I certainly had plenty of reason to do that. Five stars, unless they allow more.

Pros: No place in the club is far from the stage.

Cons: If there is a fire, everyone will try to run up the one stair. Some should run backstage.