Lava Gina

09/19/08

Small cozy place for friends

by wisebrain at Citysearch

This place is really small, but it's a good place to meet friends for a nice chat. Very low key crowd.

02/10/08

World-class welcome for all

by RobertPatricia at Citysearch

Great neighborhood spot where live & dj world music (including Afro/Hindi/Carib beat) connect folks with East Village mix (all welcomed to the heat). Gracious host Chris and talented bartends including Toni, Carolyn & Jo keep it friendly.

• Pros: ambience;sounds both live & spun
• Cons: intimate space (or is this also a pro?)

10/14/07

Great music, great atmosphera

by pabloalejandro at Citysearch

After visiting many places in New York, LavaGina became by far one of my favorites. From the music to the drinks to the crazy screen showing bizarre films all the night... LaVagina is great ! Its atmosphera makes everi night different. I highly recommend it!

10/09/07

World's Best Kept Secret

by ijj623 at Citysearch

Was searching for a place to host a party of approximately 100 Columbia students in commemoration of Nigeria's 47th Independence Day celebration when a friend suggested I take a look at Lava Gina. Had never visited before so I stopped by on a Saturday nite and was completely blown away by the ambiance & service. The lounge was cozy and romantic, the owner extremely welcoming, and the music an expert compilation of some of the most well-known tunes across the globe--a true world music lounge. The owner offered me a complimentary drink and then sat down to discuss potential ideas for my party. It was not his professionalism but his graciousness that made it clear that Lava Gina would be the perfect venue. He spoke of the celebration not as a business transaction but as the extension of an invitation into his home. And that made all the difference.

My friends and I left Lava Gina that night having had much more fun than anticipated and vowing to return with even more friends in the future. The party itself was a great success (my friends are still ranting and raving about it). And in spite of its painfuIly far location (it's located in alphabet city, I live on the upper west side--a serious problem for a girl determined to make the lounge a second haven) l am convinced that Lava Gina will be a favorite of mine for time to come.

• Pros: Charming Ambiance, Solid Service & Excellent Music
• Cons: Deep in the Heart of Alphabet City--a true con for an Upper West Side resident :-(

06/25/07

good music, @$$ of an owner

by keith47 at Citysearch

I live across the street from Lava Gina, and generally write it off as a wannabe hotspot.

Aside from the laughable name and giant V shaped bar, Lava Gina suffers from an @$$ of an owner who I've seen be offensive and dismissive to patrons. That in itself is enough to steer me to better neighborhood bars like Zum Schneider, The Sunburnt Cow, or Dukes (all of which are also between 7th and 9th on C).

• Pros: Good music
• Cons: Sometimes stuffy atmosphere, @$$ of an owner

04/25/07

best live salsa [Tuesday night], not too crowded, cozy, romantic and eclectic

by drpersianversion at Citysearch

Wow...I didn't get the va gina thing until a friend pointed it out...but hard to miss once you walk in...red velvet curtains and lighting....V shaped bar and accent lighting....GREAT live salsa band...great place for a couple to go and practice or show off...good desserts...I will definitely try other nights and go again.

• Pros: cozy, tucked away, LIVE MUSIC!!!, great place to frequent with a lover/dancer
• Cons: none yet [went on Tuesday night]

11/13/06

I TOTALLY recommend this place!

by awlrain at Citysearch

Can I say I love Lava Gina?! This may just be the bar I've been looking for all my life! Danceable tunes w/ worldy beats, inexpensive drinks, exciting decor, laidback vibe, good hospitality & personality (it even has a v-shaped bar)! I love trying out new places & this completely lived up to the previous reviewer's assessment! Chris, the owner, was a doll - really hooked us up, was very accomodating, good followup w/ all our communications too. He also emailed me the next day to wish me a happy bday again and remembered every detail i'd mentioned in our conversation on the day of - impressive. We had no problem getting our reserved space & taking up about half the bar for about 50 people. The lounge is cozy and comfortable, just the right size. The drinks were yummy, well priced, appropriately potent. Music was awesome (highlight was when they spun some salsa & i grabbed my friend the amazing lead ;-) - they played everything from samba to african beats to hindi music. My friends loved the place, and many complimented the venue choice and asked me how i found it. I hope you check it out!

• Pros: atmosphere, hospitality/service, drinks
• Cons: wish it were closer to train station

09/02/06

Amazing 25th Birthday

by MGPaneer at Citysearch

My friend and I celebrated our birthdays together in August. I saw the name of this place and that was probably 50% of why I wanted to have our party there. But once I got there, I really fell in love with this lounge. It's not huge - which was actually great for our party. We had about 40 to 50 people rolling in throughout the night, and we were able to take over about half the lounge comfortably. I arranged things ahead of time with the manager, Chris - he was so helpful and showed us so much love when we were there. No one had to pay cover, the drink prices are great, the music is awesome, and everyone at our party commended me on my choice of venue. Any of my friends that ordered food/hookahs/etc. all told me they loved the service. The manager actually emailed me a couple of days later to make sure we had a good time, and to thank me for having our party there.

I was surfing CitySearch and remembered how awesome my party was, and figured that I just *had* to write a review (which I never do). :) Definitely roll through Lava Gina!

• Pros: Music, Ambience, Manager was extremely helpful

You get the idea: It's hot.

by Karen Hudes at Citysearch

In Short
A red glowing V-shaped bar meets exposed brick walls in this downtown den with the feel of an island nightspot. Despite the owners' iffy wordplay, they've succeeded in attracting one of the most ethnically mixed crowds in the city. French- and Portuguese-speaking guests join longtime East Villagers for sets of vibrant global music--spanning Latin, Turkish and Afro-beat tunes--as well as the warm digs and lively drinks.

11/10/05

Nice Place

by waseem at Citysearch

The picture they show above is about half the bar. To the left their is a small open area (some choose to dance) and the DJ booth (real booth) is in the far left hand corner. Lava Gina is dimlit and and cozy even with the music bumping. Drinks prices are good. The blonde bartender on saturday night, could make a hell of a MOJITO. Though my only disappointment was they had no jagermeister, what a shame. no big deal drank tequila instead.

• Pros: Good Staff
• Cons: No jagermeister