PDT

09/21/09

Disappointed

by laduvet

A friend had call and made reservation to arrive at PDT at 8:30pm, because we wanted so badly to see what the fuss was about. But much to our disappointment upon arrival, the hostess said we weren't on the list and that we didn't call---even after we showed her the call log. We wouldn't have been so upset if she had step up and admitted that she made the mistake, they really need to fire that inefficient employee. That's ridiculous!

• Pros: I wouldn't know
• Cons: incompetent hostess

08/16/09

shhhhh!

by iheartnycbars

PDT (short for Please Don’t Tell) is a snug and small speakeasy style bar, complete with a secret entrance through a yummy hot dog joint called Criff Dogs. (look for a door to your left with an intercom type phone). Fancy cocktails and cute idea. However, a lot of people agree that the climax is the entrance (shhh, PDT). If you want to go, you need to make reservations at 3 pm – when the start taking them. If you wait till 4 you might not get one.

cocktail: Corpse Reviver #2 – Cointreau, Lillet, lemon juice, and absinthe

read more at my bar blog:

iheartnycbars.wordpressdotcom

• Pros: small
• Cons: small

03/13/09

Great cocktails but freeking impossible to get in!!!

by Lovelyogini

Even when you call right at 3PM, it is busy every time you redial for about an hour, until at which point it finally does ring and the girl on the other end informs you they are fully booked for the night!!! What BS!

What point is it having a "secret" bar that everyone knows about??? They shouldn't be listed in places like City Search, and they shouldn't have a website or any other kind of advertizing either. It should be simply word of mouth. They didn't have the internet back in the prohibition years you know!!!!

Basically to get in to this place you have to be ridiculuously lucky, or go in the afternoon during the week. I'm actualy not sure if its worth it.

• Pros: Best cocktails in the city
• Cons: always packed.. its not a secret anymore is it?

01/24/09

Hidden Gem is a great spot.

by CookThis

WOW...this is a fun place. Its great to see your guests faces when they see you enter through the phone booth. Drinks are great if you want to try something you have never seen before. The bacon cheese burger is sooooo good. Make sure to make a reservation and be on time. Dont tell to many people...lets keep this place hidden!

• Pros: Cool hidden theme, great food from crif, and crazy drinks!
• Cons: Must make a reservation

11/14/08

Too Much Attitude

by bdd

Life is too short and this city is way too large for a doorkeep to have as much attitude as this girl did.

No where does this place say you NEED reservations, so my suggestion is that they publish that fact at least somewhere - even on their website. (note on CitySearch - this is the ONLY place that does mention reservations, so thank you) The website says for reservations call...not reservations necessary or even recommended. And I wasn't even there on a weekend night.

I have been in the industry a long time and I get so tired of pretentious people running a door, buying wine, cooking food, etc. There is absolutely no need for that. Food and beverages are supposed to be fun, not exclusive and snooty. As for fabulous cocktails, I will take my business back to Pegu Club or Little Branch. They are much nicer and infinitely less pretentious.

• Cons: Really poor attitude from door woman and servers

10/10/08

Coolest place for cool people

by billysantiques

If your a hyper neurotic spoiled New Yorker then you better not go here because you will be shown the door.Thank god for PDT a real New York place...Biker Billy

09/21/08

Worst place ever!!!

by ktc1

If they were half as cool as they think they are there, this place would be awesome! The host who seated our whole crowd (in two groups as we arrived) then informed us we couldn't speak to each other! Excuse me? There were literally only 2 other couples in the place on the Sunday night that we came. Meanwhile, the host gave us so much attitude that he actually asked one woman in our group to "step outside" and he would explain their policies to her. It was the biggest joke ever. We left and took the money we would have spent elsewhere. I'm pretty sure they didn't break even on their wannabe cute bartenders that night!

• Pros: None at all!
• Cons: They think it's the cutest place in the city----it's not!

08/21/08

VERY COOL.

by alkieholic

Points for the very cool hidden entrance. Again, this is a place you go to CHILL on a first date, or with some close friends. If you have out of town guest, they'll love it. You probably won't talk to other patrons, so don't go alone and don't go to pick up. I ordered a MANHATTEN and it was perfect; Sinatra would have loved it. Another cool aspect is the ICE; its one HUGE perfect cube (specialty made) that perfects the temp of the drink/cocktail. I had a dog too and it was good. If you can't afford a $12 drink, and you want to get 'wasted'...don't bother. Its upscale. The Prohibition/taxidermy decor mixed with the red brick wall & dark ambience was perfect. Check it out and DON'T be late with your reservation.

04/25/08

Great Atmosphere

by Hollaback77

I hate to write about this because I don't want it to get crowded.

But if you really like bourbons, whiskey's, etc, this is a fantastic place. This really isn't a bar. Don't go here to get loaded, it is more like a lounge where you go to taste the smokeyness of the liquor on your tongue and talk, while enjoying the atmosphere.

Drinks are priced as such.

• Pros: No cell phones allowed and no approaching people you don't know allowed!

04/17/08

One of the best bars in New York

by geoffku

Most of the reviewers that have panned PDT are simply looking for something else. What PDT is is that it is a serious bar with serious drinks on the same level as Pegu Club, Death & Co., Milk & Honey and Little Branch (not necessarily ranked in that order). For my money, only Death & Co. and Little Branch are comparable. However, neither accepts reservations and the interior of Little Branch is a little claustrophobic. The drinks at PDT are not inexpensive but at $12 they are also not outrageous, especially if one considers that they are carefully crafted by dedicated and very talented bartenders. The atmosphere is chill and the music never so loud that you have to shout to be heard. The bonus feature -- as many have pointed out -- are the hot dogs/burgers and fries from Crif Dogs, which are passed through a little hole in the wall between them. The speakeasy-esque entrance through the back of a phone booth and the stuffed animals on the wall -- including a mythical jackelope -- add to the overall clubby, cosy ambience.

• Pros: Excellent cocktails, relaxed ambience
• Cons: Long waits (without a reservation)