Antik

Antik is a great spot for a chill drink or two on a Friday or Saturday night. Very reasonably priced and great bartenders.

My BFF held her birthday party at this spot. She had the upstairs space. It included a small bar with waitress service. She was able to bring in her own Dj which was super cool. The staff were very attentive and the space was sexy. We really enjoyed ourselves at this spot. The best thing is always when the staff is great… it makes your life easier. Besides you want to focus on the party not the logistics!

One of my friends had her birthday party here… and it was SO PACKED. No joke we could barely get from one end of the bar to the other. Total fire hazard. It’s underground and has a very narrow layout. There are tables in the back and a DJ booth and a small open area in the back, so if you escape back there, it’s slightly better. But this venue really is not made for too many parties at once.

Its really just a room. A small room. With dark lighting. Doesn’t get much of a crowd. Drinks aren’t cheap or special. Water is only bottled and is $ 5. F that.

Honestly, not my kind of nightclub. The DJ plays a variety of tunes, which I condone (given the crowd). Average drink prices at around $ 12, but hey it’s Manhattan, right!!! A smaller lounge, below average service.

chances are if you’re going here, especially on a Monday night, you already know a lot of the club/​bar industry people and are there to party with them. I’d say thats the best night. it’s not filled with annoying seemingly underage kids.
doesn’t open till about 12, and it’s pretty small. but there are two spaces too it. top floor where most of the dancing goes on. around the tables. and where most of the smoking goes on too. and not just ciggarettes. The owner smokes, so he doesn’t seem to mind. Also it seems at a lof of clubs, if you’re willing to shell out a couple hundred or more, theyll throw in a ciggarette or two free.
downstairs is more of a small college bar feel. little booths to sit in which is nice, if theyre not already crowded. the bartenders can have a bit of an attitude. and seem to inform you about their prices, if they think you are strapped for cash. informing, but kinda degrading. also informing me on tipping them when I paid for an all you can drink keg. which I usually served myself.
I asked for a birthday cake shot on my birthday. The bartender charged me 12 dollars for it. it didn’t even taste like it was supposed to. at all.
a relatively nice place to throw a birthday party. a group of 6 or more 300 bucks isnt too bad for table service and ketel one is a good vodka!
the owner is pretty gracious, almost always there checking on things.
I was there one night when the power went off.
that was a bit stressful and embarassing. especially when you need to navigate the dark staircase to exit because the main exit is locked electronically. and after you spend time and money in a place and have nowhere to go. I feel bad for those who bought tables that night.
all in all its not a bad place to start and meet up with people who can take you other places.

As a spur of the moment decision after a text from a friend, me and three other girls decided to stop by Antik. Bring already drunk, I was in a good mood. After enticing the bouncer to let in the two 19 year old girls who didn’t have fakes, we finally made it in. The downstairs area is more chill with a bar and some booths. There was music playing but most people were talking and relaxing. Upstairs, the décor was a little different, more dim and dark. The music was pretty good but the DJ changed songs every 45 seconds or so and kept using some obnoxious sports horn noise. Other than that, I had a great time dancing and enjoying myself. Drinks weren’t too expensive either, maybe $ 7 which was a pleasant surprise. Also you can smoke inside.

The first time I ever came here I had a great time. It was crowded but not packed, with a crowd that was attractive without being pretentious or over-​dressed. It was nice going to a place where jeans, t-​shirt and sneaks were acceptable dressed as long as all the aforementioned were cool. I’ve come back since and my experience has been more mixed. Some days it has been really fun, some days it has been completely dead. One note, it definitely attracts more than its fair share of LI and NJ kids. Overall, worth a try on a Friday or Saturday, otherwise probably smart to steer clear.

As an event promoter, I would say this space is much too small and expensive for its location and for private parties. Drinks at $ 10+ just don’t cut it any longer, mandatory coat check fees and no convenient parking or valet? No smoking was allowed inside during a recently-​attended event and ante-​room was not well appointed at all.

Alright so I’m not really sure how I feel about this place. While I think the space was nice it was A) way too hot & B) filled with smoke – which made it really uncomfortable to breathe. For this reason I wasn’t really able to get a feel for much else in the space. While the music was good, it wasn’t exceptional – and between that and the smoke, I just wasn’t able to have a good time here.
I think the real probelm with Antik is its lack of an identity. Everything about it came off as generic and if it weren’t for the indoor smoking, I’m not sure I’d remember this place at all.

nice afterhour spot…

For all you smokers out there who think they’ve been banished from Manhattan nightlife forever, fear not! Antik will be there to lead you to salvation! And for all you nonsmokers, there’s something at Antik for you too! A pungent aroma of cigarette smoke that will saturate your clothes and hair for days to come!
All joking aside, the smoke problem is horrible at this place and is the main reason I gave it two stars. It completely ruins the experience. Now just to clarify, I have been to clubs where people disregard the smoking ban and sneak a few cigs. But this place is ultra tiny, with no ventilation.
There are some positives though. Since the place is so small, the door tends to be selective and keep a good crowd (smokers excluded) inside. Antik also has an exclusive feel to it with the retro speakeasy design and discreet entrance. The music has a pretty good mix depending on the dj. I also usually come with a promoter so drinks are free. And some nights are good for after hours, but don’t go out of your way.

Wento to Antik on a Friday night for a friends birthday party. Like many lounges on the Bowery and heading into the LES, Antik was a small skinny long space. From what I can tell, the bouncers did a good job of managing the door, given that my friends had rented out the space for the night. Music was good, but nothing ground-​breaking.
As Harper said below, when the place got a little more crowded, they opened up a second bar in the side room (accessed through a small hallway). All in all, a fun space to throw a birthday party, but not a place I’d run to for a random night out.

I went to a birthday party at Antik last night… we arrived at 10:30 and were the only people in the upstairs lounge area. The waitress asked us what we wanted to drink, but said our hosts were going to be getting bottles shortly. We ordered drinks ($ 12/​vodka soda). The room is quite dark, with pretty red wallpaper and very lounge-​like. Once the place became extremely packed, they opened up the bar on the left side, which I didn’t even know existed and the waitress was no longer serving individual drinks – only bottles. I went into that room with a friend to get a drink, and it had a completely different vibe. Bright lights and completely out of place compared to the rest of the place. Apparently people were having a hard time getting in, standing in line, unless they knew whose birthday party it was. By the end of the night, it was extremely packed, and a big fight broke out.
I’m not the biggest fan of this place – I thik it’s trying a bit too hard to be scene-​y but isn’t really working in my opinion.

After a long hiatus… I’ve made my trimphant return to the best place in NYC… and I’ve concluded that if I could give this place 6 stars out of 5, i would give it 7! Antik rules my face… nuff said…

I don’t quite know if I should write a review for Antik, even though I have been there a multitude of times. The problem is that I have never started an evening there. It is far enough of a walk away from my home that, if it is my destination, I end up at a couple of other bars along the way. That being said, I have never been sober enough to really take in the atmosphere, et al. As far as I can remember, it’s a dark and lounge-​y upstairs/​downstairs affair with chandeliers, lots of people and stuffed seating (all of this may be part of an alcoholic hallucination, though). I’m sure it’s lovely, as all my friends seem to enjoy it, but I also think it may fall under that homogenous Beatrice Inn/​Santos/​Lit category which may be kitschy and scene-​y but lacks any real individuality or spunk (yes I said spunk). I recently read an article about former nightlife empress Suzanne Barscht and felt sick with envy that I wasn’t here, nor legal (not like it mattered), for a time when the NYC club scene embraced individuality and originality as well as democratized fun. Alas, maybe I will find my perfect watering hole one of these days.

If you haven’t noticed, I like small lounge/​clubs with Djs and interesting people (a la Country Club, Gallery Bar, Bijoux, Upstairs). I liked this place just fine, it was a funny crowd more than a cool crowd, eclectic, and I like the red walls and lighting. Didn’t have any drinks here cuz it was super late nite (around 3 am) and I was over it, so I was just there to check out the scene and dance. It is small, but like Angela says, I did not feel cramped. If you are in the Bowery, LES area, definitely come late night and enjoy yourself your last calorie burning dance sesh before bed!

cute ambiance. small, but not so small that you feel like your in a can. great spot for after hours.

Speakeasy where there’s no bar, chill atmosphere and only waitresses that emerge from velvet curtains.