10/24/09

terrible service, terrible attitude

by vignesh

Over pretentious.. none of them are remotely nice. They treated us like they didnt want us to be there, and ushered us like school kids ..NEVER EVER GOING BACK THERE

• Pros: the drinks
• Cons: everything else

10/01/09

Great place to be ripped off

by Gabesreviews

I live in Tribeca and have been coming to Brandy Library since it opened. I came last night to show friends from Israel, and was appalled by the service I received. I ordered a $11 drink for myself and a $13 drink for my friend's wife. For my friend, I asked for something similar to Jameson, a $9 drink. When the bill came, I found out the waiter brought a $32 replacement for Jameson. If I wanted a $32 drink I would not have asked for something like Jameson. From my understanding, it seemed that the waiter did this to artifically inflate the price of my bill to increase his own tip. I then had to argue with the waiter in front of my friends, something I would never imagine doing. I am disgusted by how I was treated, I will NEVER come back to Brandy Library, and I would not recommend it to anyone.

• Cons: terrible service

07/30/09

Fabulous! (If you’re looking for pretentious and rude)

by Charlottellouise

Let me preface my review by saying that I usually like quiet restaurants and bars and was very much looking forward to having a cocktail at the Brandy Library earlier this month.

I tip-toed in the bar around 11:00pm to see if it might be a nice place to catch up with a few friends who were standing outside. I walked in alone, wearing a simple cocktail dress, but was advised that since “I had been drinking before” the host refused to let me past the foyer of the half-empty bar. Perhaps it was the fact that I had exchanged the heels I was wearing earlier for more simple flats, or maybe he heard people laughing outside—who knows? I stand guilty as charged for having consumed precisely two glasses of wine over the course of a 3 hour dinner previously. I was sober, polite, articulate, and frankly surprised by the accusation.

I’m a 35 year old board certified tax attorney and would never have achieved any degree of professional success were I not somewhat poised, polished, and professional. A friend of mine who actually made it inside one evening later told me that she was scolded for clapping and repeatedly “hushed” in the bar during her one (and only) visit.

03/05/09

Bad Waitstaff & Mediocre drinks

by KayBrus

The drink selection is extensive, maybe a bit excessive even. I tried about 5 different cocktails, neither of which were good. I was hoping that at least the mojito would be good but all I could taste was some gin and lots of lime juice. I think for 13 dollars I should expect nothing less but delicious.

The waitress was rather rude; he became a bit snappy when I told him that I ordered a Mojito and not an Armanito. I believe he actually went to the back bar and remade my drink himself?which seems a bit odd. Maybe that would explain the odd taste. Additionally, the waiter was very annoyed because we wanted to close a half of the bill earlier and the other half later on when the rest of the crew departed.

• Pros: Clean and professional atmosphere
• Cons: Rude Staff and Bad Drinks

02/17/09

Great place but expensive

by Chaimshalom

Great place for a cozy Saturday night drink. We did not experience the service problems others noted. Wonderful selection of scotches. I would recommend skipping the flight, though, because at $40, you get only 6 0.5 oz samples. With some small plates of food (excellent) and a few scotches, you can get to $150 pretty quickly.

02/16/09

Odd & Rude staff

by mattlarga

Brandy Library has a great selection of drinks .it was absolutely a great place but the staff getting more pretentious everyday made this place unbearable. There is nothing good about this place beside wide selection of whiskey and cognacs. I'm not planing on visiting this place again for a long time.

• Pros: Drinks
• Cons: Staff

02/05/09

Dreadful Manager. Stay Away!

by kazzaj

If I could have given this bar zero stars that would have painted a more accurate picture.

If you want to spend a lot of money on overpriced drinks and be treated abysmally, please go and meet the manager of Brandy Library. Quite frankly, seeing him in action is a lesson on the antithesis of good behavior and how to be a good manager. He doesn't like people, so how he landed a job in a service industry is actually mindblowingly outstanding. The staff looked unhappy and frightened. Where is the owner? I am the daughter of a club owner, bars and I feel I would be doing you a disservice by not informing you of the abusive behavior of your staff. It seems that other people have informed you too in these reviews. Sir, do yourself a favor and read the reviews of your customers! I think some of your patrons may have had a good time on the days that this manager had a night off! Are you in Burgandy? a place where I have many friends and I know that people from this region are warm and very hospitable, so why on earth would you have this man representing your business? I would recommend this place to a class of students studying management as a great example on what not to do. Everyone else please don't waste your money, there are lovely people and places in NY who will appreciate your business. Trust me on this one.

02/05/09

Most rude and bizarre staff I have ever experienced in my life

by sylvialangton

My friends and I arranged to meet up in Brandy Library. It was a warm and inviting especially on a wintery evening and I was initially pleased with my friend's choice of venue.

There were 4 of us, all professional women, well-travelled and well-mannered. We enjoyed ourselves, catching up on news, drinking red wine and nibbling on appetizers. The service seemed polite at that stage.

I ordered another bottle of wine and did not get it. Instead we were given a plate of cookies and meringues.; ones that are often served with coffee at the end of a meal. It was odd but we did not question it.

When I asked for the wine again, the server told me that we could have it, but we would have to "tone things down." I was shocked and asked him if anyone had complained about us, to which he responded "no." We were not loud and obnoxious, we were merely enjoying ourselves and perhaps one of our friends laughed slightly loudly once. The room was not busy and the few customers who were there seemed engaged with their group. Nobody was disturbed by us at all. The cookies were a gesture for us to leave! Outrageous!

I told my friend M, who is a sales exec with a high-end fashion brand, what I was told. She became upset and asked for the manager. He came, she talked to him politely and asked for an apology. He refused and instead asked us to leave. We were horrified! None of us have ever been asked to leave any type of establishment before!

Now we were upset and expressed our outrage. The manager then threatened to call the police! The scenario was becoming ridiculous and laughable. So we paid the bill of $381.28 for wine and appetizers and deliberately did not tip. We left and went elsewhere to end the evening on a happier note.

Brandy Library has the potential to be a lovely spot for a drink but the staff are disgustingly rude, socially inept and strange. This venue will not last.

• Pros: Atmosphere, wine and cocktail list, appetizers
• Cons: Staff

11/27/08

rude service, worse experience ever

by newyorker11

Just had worse experience ever, that started with their cold rude hostess, then with their manager Dominick. While the place was half empty, their seated us in least comfortable place in front of the entrance door and refused to accomodate our request for a different table in the most disrespectful offensive way ( there were plenty of tables as we could observed). It was executed in poor English and was especially shameful ugly scene in front of my friends from west cost - something to remember as a "true new york nigh out experience". The way these people deal with their customers is just awful: no smiles, no sorry, no politeness , nothing that could be possibly interpreted they want your business - completely opposite! - they did virtually everything to UNPLEASE you, so you will never go back. Shame!!! Nicely designed place but such RUDE service!

• Pros: nice design
• Cons: bad service, poor food, overpriced

08/20/08

Everything I Expected and Wanted

by TimQMills

After intending to visit the Brandy Library for nearly a year I finally treated myself to a Saturday night there. I arrived without a reservation around 11:30 PM and the host was happy to inform me I could have a seat at the bar. When I sat down I was handed a booklet containing the amazing selection of spirits served therein. The booklet itself was fascinating; broken into separate tabbed sections for whiskeys, rums, wine etc. and a glossary at the back with definitions of alcohol-related terms such as "cask strength and "single malt". When my friend arrived we both ordered a rare Scotch and were delighted to have the extremely knowledgeable bartender, Jason, break down the history of the spirit from the process of how it's made to the town it comes from and how and when it's bottled. He did this for every drink we ordered and made excellent recommendations based on what we liked. Needless to say we ended up sampling some amazing rare Scotch and also learned a lot too. Cheers.

• Pros: Incredible selection, superb atmosphere and great service
• Cons: Can get pricey