Brandy Library Lounge
(212) 226-5545
25 N Moore St
New York,
NY
10013
40.72
-74.0073
Neighborhoods: Tribeca, Downtown
Reviews & Ratings for Brandy Library Lounge
30 reviews
What users are saying:
Showing 1-10 of 30 reviews
Bad Waitstaff & Mediocre drinks
by KayBrus
March 05, 2009
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
Great place but expensive
by Chaimshalom
February 17, 2009
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.
Odd & Rude staff
by mattlarga
February 16, 2009
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
Dreadful Manager. Stay Away!
by kazzaj
February 05, 2009
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.
Most rude and bizarre staff I have ever experienced in my life
by sylvialangton
February 05, 2009
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
rude service, worse experience ever
by newyorker11
November 27, 2008
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
Everything I Expected and Wanted
by TimQMills
August 20, 2008
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
Rude and Unaccomodating Manager and Staff
by jadf7980
August 04, 2008
I recently had the worst experience at Brandy Library, and although I have been several times in the past, I will never go back. I booked a table for a birthday party sat. night for 7 people, and was promised a table downstairs, and was told the bar would be accomodating with regards to how many people showed up. When we arrived, they instead seated us upstairs at a table that barely fit 4 people, saying that they had booked a private party downstairs. We never received any call from them informing us of this change. When our friends started showing up, we turned out to have a party of 9, since some people had brought friends, unexpectedly. We were immediately told that we had "exceeded our numbers" and that this was a problem. The manager was extremely rude and unaccomodating and basically asked our party to leave. I have never experienced such nasty and unacommodating behavior at any bar in NYC. I would not recommend this place to anyone.
Nasty host, no customer service
by djlathomas
July 13, 2008
I've been going to the Brandy library many times and did like the place. This time I made a reservation for 6 people on a Saturday 7/12/08 to take my co-workers out after work. We came a little early and the person at the door informed us in a rude way that their was no room for us. He also mentioned that one of our co-workers, who is African American could not be admitted because he was wearing a tank top (a nice one in the middle of the summer). Now there was never a dress code before when we came but I guess that now that the place picked up customers, they can be picky.
Well I will never go back. I work near by in another restaurant and did always refer our customers to the Brandy Library. I will stop doing so. The rudeness that we experienced tonight is so typical for places like that. We were good customers as long as the place needed us, now they can pick and choose. Shame on you!!!
- Pros: None anymore
- Cons: Snobby waitstaff
Classy spot
by rt246
April 04, 2008
Brandy Library is wonderful. I went there with a couple of friends on a Wednesday night. The waitress was very nice and incredibly helpful. I ended up getting the single malt scotch tasting menu, and she was great about explaining all of the selections to me. This is a great place to go if you love whiskey or are just trying to learn more about it. Beyond that, it's a very elegant space and is basically the perfect place to get drinks after work. I've heard that the scene can be more intense on Friday and Saturdays, but I'm curious to find out.
