10/21/09

still there!

by slickbryl

hi there, i'm so happy to know that the monster is still there. Italian here and the first time visit a lot of years ago (around 1999) and have my first gay experience in this bar. Yes still remember the guy with have nice night out and was a piano player. I'd like to know if is still there i still remember the name Jeffrey W. a chubby one but so lovely.....help to found him will be appreciated. Thanks Monster you open my street. Greetings from italy Bernardo

• Pros: amazing
• Cons: my first experience

10/05/09

soo dissapointing

by AJay

i was sooo excited to go check this place out, especially after all the good reviews everyone gave it. but as soon as i got there my face dropped to the ground, the place had no facade from the outside, there was a homeless person sitting on a plant pot, and a bunch of random people just standing outside, i entered anyway, hoping that it was going to be a different experience once inside. it turned out to be a piano bar and a dance club in the basement, the people on the first floor where kind of annoying especially with their oldies singing. it sounded like a bunch of drnk old widows singing. the basement music was ok, the ceiling height was too low, and the gogo dancers looked and danced like they were forced to be their. anyway i will never go or recommend this bar to any of my friends...

• Pros: ok music, nice bartenders
• Cons: dated decor, old, kind of expensive,

06/03/09

Great & Friendly Atmosphere

by ScottHawaii

A long Island Firemen gave me his contact information

and I miss placed it. If you see this review please contact me. via Face book or thru the island I work on.

Scott

• Pros: Great Service and staff
• Cons: Lost an important Phone number

01/03/09

Just Average

by hospitalityhost

Im huge on service. Always have been. This bar does not believe in it. Rude, Rude, and did I care to mention rude! and I wasn't to sure why considering that the crowd was a fairly decent one. Different ages, ethnicities, genders/transgenders. All looking for a good night out. I actually visited this place on numerous occasions and found these traits to be consistant each night. The energy on the lower level dance floor is good. Pleasent were the performers, but the overall bar staff is enough to make a person call it a night early.

• Pros: Excellent Crowd, Well known establishment, location
• Cons: less then ok service, a bit on the small side, access in and out

10/14/08

Classic NYC gay bar

by utahtoad

I visit NYC about once a year. I always stop in at the Monster. It's a great, classic NYC gay bar. Piano bar upstairs and dance floor downstairs. It's not too big, and not too small, and you can choose whether your experience is mellow or high energy depending upon where in the bar you spend your time. The crowd is a good mix of ages, ethnicities, locals and tourists most nights. By no means is it the most cutting edge bar (not now anyway) but it's still a good time. My last trip there however (9/08) was marred by an ugly incident. My sister and I were at the piano bar on a slow night. There were two guys singing (and not terribly well) when a group of Australian tourists crowded around the piano. They wanted to sing too, but the pianist refused to play anything they requested. He even went out of his way to play things they wouldn't know, and he got really snotty with them. He was like Bette Davis on a meth binge. I have no idea why he was so rude to them. The group was mostly girls, and perhaps thats why. Not sure. I've been to the Monster too many times to let one bad incident keep me from going back or recommending it to others, but beware of the bald piano player. He's evil. We left early and went to the Duplex nearby. It's better, and friendlier if you are looking specifically for a piano bar, but the Monster is the bigger of the two with the dance floor.

• Pros: Comfortable, fun
• Cons: Nasty piano player

06/06/08

Nice nite spot

by Vison

The boyfriend and I were in NYC and wanted someplace to do some dancing. Some guys in another bar reccommended a few spots that didn't turn out, so we headed back to Christopher Street for some bar hopping and happened into Monsters, which turned out to be exactly what we were hoping to find. The crowd was friendly, the staff was nice, and the music was pumpin'. I'd definately go back!

• Pros: Friendly crowd, nice music
• Cons: on the small side

11/26/07

The most fun I have had in years.

by remy90045

Satrted off the night going to Ty's which was horrible. A patron at Ty's told us to go to Monsters. We got there and were met by a friendly staff working the door to the coat check. The drinks were reasonable on a Saturday evening. The crowd was awesome, everyone was friendly gathered around the big plain windows while others were signing show tunes at the piano bar. We ended up going downstairs to find another full service bar and a disco playing awesome music. The dance floor was packed with great guys looking to have a good time and dance. No attitude at all even observed once at Monsters. I went with my sister and we both had the time of our lives. Hook up's were everywhere with hot cool guys. I am already planning my trip back and would highly say check this place out.

• Pros: The bar, the people, the drinks & the music.
• Cons: Not a single one.

03/15/07

FROZEN MARGARITAS RETRO DISCO BROADWAY BELTERS

by mickjr

You'll have a nice view into the Monster before you reach the doorman thanks to the large windows all around the place. You see everything but the downstairs dance floor. Men crowd around the oval bar and stand at pillars and congregate around the baby grand piano. The place is run in a old fashioned way---it's actually well managed! The youngish bartenders are friendly and efficient. The drinks are great, especially the frozen Margaritas. On weeknights there is usually a beer special and a mixed drink special. If you drink for fun, you'll save some money! There is an odd convergence of types----handsome Latin men going down to dance, more mature men and a few women belting out Broadway tunes at the piano and a diverse throng at the main drinking bar. When this place first opened all those years ago, I never went because there were so many other places to go. Lately, I've taken a shine to the place. People talk to one another here and the music level, upstairs at least, allows conversation. On Tuesday night there is a great retro disco night downstairs and you can trick your knees into thinking it's still 1975 by dancing once again to Donna Summer. So go and have a strawberry Margarita and talk to tourists and neighborhood men and dance! Where else in the West Village can you still dance?

• Pros: GOOD DRINKS DRINK SPECIALS DANCING
• Cons: BELTING AT THE PIANO CAN BE LOUD

12/07/05

Gay Cheers - By no means Homophobic

by geissler

If there were a comparison to the television show this would be the bar for the gay version. The happy hour crowd is filled with regulars who greet you with a friendly hello and welcome new faces to meet and unwind after a hard days work. It does tend to be a mature crowd but is a mix.

If you are into sitting by a piano and requesting show tunes you would have a crowd to sit with and sing along with.

The service is excellent. Most of the bartenders remember what you are drinking after your first drink. The dirty glasses are picked up constantly.

After 10:00 they open the downstairs for the dancer in us. There is a small sitting area, a pretty large dance floor, and another bar. After 10:00 there typically is a $5 to $10 cover charge.

• Pros: make strong drinks, friendly crowd, lots of windows
• Cons: eye candy factor low

10/20/04

A West Village gay scene fixture for piano-bar fans.

by Contributor

In Short
This corner bar on Sheridan Square is famous for its seasoned cabaret crooners. Downstairs the disco ball lights up an eclectic, low-attitude crowd, while mature gents sing about "the man that got away" at the street-level piano bar.