Cleopatra's Needle

11/16/09

Best atmosphere, music, Martinis, value.

by marstodd at Citysearch

Great BeBop at times. The atmosphere is perfect for a NYC village type establishment you might recall from the 1970's. Very relaxing so don't be uptight. If you are prudish or very fussy it might irritate you with it's homey feel. Place is nicely clean and all staff is very friendly. They might try to brush you off if you're mean but they are not servants just restaurant workers in a cozy location. Good selection of Martinis and Wine. Sit in the window and watch the street in the snow. Wonderful experience and nice decor too. I am a sometimes regular customer only.

• Pros: great live music and NYC atmosphere
• Cons: Musicians sometimes are a bit amateur but no problem

08/25/09

Food is ok, live music

by justpassingby123 at Citysearch

The musicians are all over the place. Some are excellent. Some are so-so but try really hard. Some obviously have rich parents behind them and don't impress. Heck you can barely hear any emotion in them. They probably bored Columbia Students doing the musician impression to tell the parents paying the bill they do have a gig.

• Pros: live music
• Cons: some of the musicians have the rich musician syndrome

08/23/09

bad attitude from manger maher

by tigerk at Citysearch

i called to make a reservation for me and my family and had a friend that wanted to try the open mike,

as i ask that idiot MAHER about the open mike and to see if they served all arabic food he says i got go and hangs up the phone in my face.

that was on the phone i wounder how he will treat his customers in person.

maybe the owners want to teach this idiot how to talk to custmoers, before they make a guy that sounds like he does'nt want to be there to become a manger.

• Pros: i did not even have to go there
• Cons: no respect for customers

07/07/09

Good jazz, but that's about it.

by eb118 at Citysearch

I go here to watch my friend play jazz and appreciate that they give space to musicians.

But other than that, it's just an overpriced (i.e. $8 bottled beers) bar with underwhelming service and mediocre middle eastern style food. The service is grumpy and inattentive.

I also don't understand why a jazz venue needs to have a gigantic TV set competing with the live music. On our last visit, the Simpsons was on with the volume off. Come on.

• Pros: live jazz
• Cons: extremely overpriced, lousy service

08/10/08

an... interesting experience

by lucypeanut at Citysearch

Didn't really know what to expect when we went to this place, but I definitely didn't expect the jazz to be so loud an ongoing as it was. I've been to many other jazz dinner shows where sound was controlled better, but I guess since the space is small the acoustics just make the music pound off the walls and create a very loud, booming experience. Anyway, the food was very good, we had a seafood platter special, which we liked. Our waiter was a little weird and bumbling, but that was no big deal. One annoying thing was that we brought our own wine and since the bottle was large than a normal wine bottle (our group was 8 people), the corkage fee was doubled for like $25 to $50. I thought maybe they would up it to 30 or 40 bucks, but $50? We talked the owner/manager down a little since that was unexpected, and I think he charged us like $40 or $45 after all, but it was still a whammy.

• Pros: good seafood special
• Cons: weirdness

04/14/08

Nice place for a couple or with friends or family

by Angelsmessenger at Citysearch

Me and my boyfriend went here yesterday. For some reason i though this place would be bigger, seems small but maybe because it was a little crowded. That didn't matter though, the music is lovely, with great service and a pleasant atmosphere! We had a great time--the food is tasty too.

03/06/08

Managed by Idiots

by Nomeansno at Citysearch

I can not believe that Cleopatra's Needle is so sensitive that they must rant and rave in response to every review. Look at the last review. They had 4 stars and this was still not enough to satisfy them. You have to be a real idiot manager to argue with a 4 star review. After complimenting the music, they insist it was some other pianist. After detailing the prices on their menu, they are upset that the patrons don't all come during happy hour. Do they not know what this site is for? It is for people to get an idea of the experience of the restaurant before going out. Would you really want to go to a place that has such a hostile manager? I, for one, will not be returning to a place where the management behaves like children. There are other jazz clubs in the city, and you can find out about all of them right here on Citysearch.

• Pros: It's not that bad of a place
• Cons: But they clearly don't want your business

02/21/08

Talented Crew at the Open Mic

by noak11 at Citysearch

I visited here last night with my cousins from out of town. We all like Jazz and decided to go uptown to check it out. There is no cover charge and a $10 minimum which is pretty reasonable for entertainment. The drinks are expensive and while the coffee and martini drinks are $10-$12, the beer and wine are $7-$9 meaning you will have to buy more than one to meet the minimum. I also had a $7 slice of cheesecake with my $9 wine. Between 3 of us we had 4 drinks and 2 desserts and spent $56 plus tip. Not bad for a night out in New York, if you take into account the free live music.

Wednesdays are Open Mics for singers. They had Jon Weiss on piano (who has been a fixture on the NY Jazz scene for 30 years) and a drummer and bass player. Each singer sang two songs and they ranged from decent to great. I don't know if there is a screening process or only the talented show up, but it is good. I'd like to go back on a different night and see some pros, but I will probably have some drinks somewhere cheaper before venturing in and only buy my obligatory one or two.

I'm glad I did not read the reviews before I came here. It is shocking that the management will insult patrons who had a bad time at their restaurant. The manager should try to save face and remove the insulting posts, and perhaps offer explanations why someone might have a bad time or what they are doing to improve their club.

• Pros: Great music, No cover,
• Cons: Expensive Drinks

04/27/07

Inhospitable and least friendly

by amaxx1 at Citysearch

I was urged to keep drinking and spend more money as if the management didn't care if I could walk or stagger or crawl out of there. If you are not continually spending, you're subtly urged to leave the restaurant. If you like chaos this place is for you. if you like a mediocre menu, Cleopatra's Needle is for you, If you wanna watch a sporting event on the big screen TV with interruptions from the cacaphonous sounds made by music students and wanna be's, Cleopatra's Needle is for you. Cleopatra's Needle's former glory was derived from the previous owner, who cared about the music. I was not surprised, after reading what other reviewers had to say about Cleopatra's needle. I think more telling is how the management of Cleopatra's Needle responds to dissatisfied customers, you don't flip the bird to customers. That is the feeling I get When I go into Cleo's needle. If the place were to fold tommorow, Cleo's would be sorely missed, by many music students and would be singers and musicians. I for one will not miss it.

• Cons: They fall real short when it come to hospitality

03/26/07

Here is my Answer

by thadman at Citysearch

This is a first for me?for both my visit, and reading reviews where the restaurant comments on the negative feedback. Personally, for those who?ve provided not-the-most positive reviews, I think they do not understand that we all have different tastes in food and music. To readers, please try this place for yourself and be your own judge. I visited on a Sunday evening with a friend from out of town. While I did not care for the classical jazz that played this particular evening (I prefer contemporary), the atmosphere was great. I enjoyed my meal, and didn?t think it was overpriced (especially for NYC!). The place is ever so cozy. The staff that waited on us was especially attentive ? and I will come back again. To the restaurant representative responding to the postings ? just let it go with the ?come backs?. Take the negativity and learn /build from it. I like your establishment and I?d say half the negative respondents sounded more like complainers, versus people honestly giving you constructive input.

Good luck to you.

• Pros: Cozy - Not costly - Good location.
• Cons: Not knowing what type of jazzy is on tap for that evening. No biggy.