Arthur’s Tavern

I visit here EVERY time I’m in the city, but THIS time, THE WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE. Rude staff, rude patrons, shitty «music» which we were told not to speak over. I always hope this place is still bumping when I return, but now, I will NEVER return. EVER. Waitress rudely informed us «2 drink min» like we were miscreants. You are a DAMN FOOL IDIOT because our bill is always high, and the staff who serve us are always more than well taken care of before we go.
DO NOT spend your money here.

On the real, if you don’t get down with Valerie, you don’t have a pulse. Music is bomb. Drinks are bomb. This place f-​ing rocks. DO IT

MAN, Arthur’s Tavern wins the award for absolutely WORST bar I’ve ever been to in NYC — out of all 5 boroughs. I was born and bred in NYC and I’ve been to some really awful establishments… thankfully not so much now in my post-​21 years, but man. This is a really crappy bar with a disgusting waitress who needs to attend charm school badly. I have a friend who’s dog benefited greatly from charm school — I should find out if they take humans because the waitress on staff here on Saturday night, May 7^th might be half pit.
So a friend of mine was celebrating her birthday — the big 30 — and we were looking for a bar to have a few drinks at before we went elsewhere for an 11pm reservation she had made. Originally we were going to check out Marie’s Crisis Café next door but it was packed to capacity (probably by people who knew better than to go to Arthur’s) but it was pretty empty in comparison so a group of about 9 – 10 of us popped in and found some seats. We realized there was a 2 drink minimum there during live music — of which there was none, but regardless we were all pretty much in for at least 2.
The beer selection here is crap and so are the prices. They charge sexy wine bar prices but are a watered down, wannabe looking dive that prides themselves on soooooooo much history. Even Doc Holiday’s and Coyote Ugly have more class than this piss poor excuse for a bar.
So most of us in our group waited for a waitress because there was a lady running around looking like she was doing her job. After she walked by a lot of us repeatedly some folks in my group walked up to the bar to buy drinks and essentially, spend money — the waitress yelled at one of my friends for taking too long with a menu, she yelled at the couple in my group for buying drinks from the bar because then she doesn’t get tips (HERE’S A TIP LADY, BE FRIENDLY/​WELCOMING WHEN PEOPLE ENTER AND POLITELY LET THEM KNOW YOU CAN TAKE THEIR ORDER AND THEN PEOPLE WON’T GO TO THE BAR), as I stood up to get her attention she pushed me. She literally PUT HER HANDS ON ME FOR NO REASON and my response was, «Excuse me?!» hoping it had been a mistake but she got in my face and yelled at me with, «WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING HERE?!». MAN.
When is was clear that this waitress is an animal, a friend of mine declared he was saving his money for elsewhere. This waitress also grabbed the drinks already purchased by members in our party AND THREW THEM OUT. How dare she be allowed to do that and NOT give them back a refund for at least $ 20 – 25 worth of drinks. How I wish I would have had anything — a glass of water even — to pour all over her so she could chill the hell out.
I can’t even remember the last time I felt so disrespected. Her pushing me and yelling in my face was borderline assault and she’s lucky I’m not the type of person to waste my time pressing charges or something — she’s also lucky I was sober or I would have defended myself and had several witnesses that night who could have vouched that I was threatened and it was in self-​defense.
Looking through other reviews here it’s abundantly clear that there is a common theme and it’s this stupid woman. Feel free to see photos of this lumbering ox of a waitress. You don’t push customers, you don’t take away customer’s cocktails and not refund them, you don’t act like you’re the manager when someone asks you to speak to your boss and you don’t treat people like animals when you get paid low hourly wages and the rest of your supplementary income comes from customers like us.
How this woman still had a job is beyond me, but I’ll never return to this glorified crap hole or recommend it to anyone. Waaaaaaay too many better places in this neighborhood, don’t do it to yourself.

Do NOT go here. Rude ass staff no matter if you order a drink or not. To the chick that said if you follow the rules they won’t harass you– first of all that is not true they are rude anyway and why is it ok for you to get harassed regardless? Especially if you treat the staff kindly. The waitress literally shoved a few of us on our way out and we were nothing but polite.
In addition– this place is dingy and gross. Drinks are wayyyy overpriced. $ 14 cocktails shouldn’t be ²⁄₃ ingredient drinks you can make at home. There are so many better places around the area– don’t waste 2 seconds of your time in this shitty establishment.

That waitress, what a crazy angry bitch. We were two and she didn’t want to seat us at a table although plenty were free and 10 min later did seat two other people. We asked why she was doing that and answered extemely rude ‘she didnt have time for this’ Last time I was there same waitress — same angry show. I won’t come back — there’s enough awesome live music places nearby to waste your time with a sociopath like her. Not worth it!

Drinks are too expensive, a beer 9 bucks. Service is extremely slow and as if they are doing you a favor with not even a trace of smile. The music is ok but the sound system is awful, no acoustics. I drank two beers and I was enjoying the music still, the guys were trying, then the waitress came, she asked if I want to drink, I said no thanks, and she said if you don’t drink you need to go, then, she literally pulled the chair under me, no kidding. It is like truck red neck place you would want to go the least. Pity it is in the best area, West village. I would sue this place if I cared about it enough. Now I am enjoying my drink in Employees Only, oooo I love this place! Right close by, you shouldn’t miss Employees only

I don’t care if this a New York classic and gem of a find for old school jazz music. This place needs a lesson on manners desperately or to have one waitress in particular fired. They are rude and pretty much thieves for paying customers. I had come in here not really by choice on Saturday night this weekend. It was my friend’s birthday and she had initially planned to go to a club nearby and had a reservation there but it got pushed to later in the night, so at the last second we had to find a bar after dinner to kill time in. Marie’s Crisis next door was full at capacity and someone exclaimed this place could be cool because they have live music and people seemed to be enjoying themselves inside. There were about ten of us in total and understood it was difficult to accommodate that many people in one area but we managed to have two tables placed together. There’s really no standing allowed here.. .. at all.
The waitress warned us that there was a two drink minimum policy for the show. She said it was fine if we only ordered one if we were going to be gone by 11:30 — 11:45 and we said that’s more than reasonable. We will probably be gone before 11. Mind you, the live music hadn’t even started yet or at any period that we were in the bar. The waitress came over and asked for our orders tersely and I asked if I could see a drink menu because I had no idea what was on tap, cocktails, prices, etc. She seemed incredibly annoyed by this request with rolling her eyes and huffing and stormed off to get one. I mused over the menu quickly — mostly $ 8 – 9 minimum for anything, Sam Adams and Guinness being their most unique beers, a few fruity cocktails. I was thinking at this point of just being a plane jane and going with vodka and something. Suddenly things got weird and a few of my friends started to leave. One said that the waitress refused to give him a glass of water unless he ordered a cocktail first and he wasn’t about to deal with her attitude.
I went outside to wait for the rest of my friends. A slow trickle of people came out. At least three of my friends got deliberately pushed and physically assaulted by the same waitress. Not to mention screamed at. A couple that I barely knew that were friends of the birthday girl had ordered both vodka tonics and paid for them and the waitress snatched their drinks and threw them out. She then yelled and pushed them, screaming «LEAVE!». She actually got more aggressive even after they asked to speak with her manager. I’m still completely shocked and flabbergasted at how anyone could get away with this behavior in the service industry. It’s absolutely disgusting.
What’s even more disgusting though is noticing how EVERY OTHER REVIEW on Unilocal mentions the same chunky insanely rude waitress and no one from management has done shit about rectifying this problem for what appears to be well over a year. You are losing business by hiring staff that is incapable of serving its customers.

This bar gets one star because the music is great there! Everything else is horrible. The bartender especially. I went in on a Friday night around 12, the female bartender was extremely rude and unpleasant. Why are you a bartender if you hate people? We all left very nice tips regardless, yet she continued to be extremely rude and nasty. The place has signs everywhere saying two drink minimum which is certainly tacky, but whatever I get it. We all ordered more than two drinks. What I don’t understand is how that bartender got a job there being so unpleasant and rude. I will not be back, ever.

I don’t have much to add to the other negative reviews here. Let’s just say it’s a total tourist trap. They have a two-​drink minimum and drinks are overpriced for what they are. There is a barmaid from Macedonia who plays favorites, chatting up some patrons while roundly ignoring or even putting down others, who knows why. Music is good but I couldn’t hear anything at the bar. Patrons seem to be a combination of tourists and local bros who think of jazz as ambience. Avoid.

Common misconception about this place is that the staff are mean. They’re not, really. They only get mean and grumpy if you don’t follow the rules. Now, if you wanna have a great time and a great night listening to good music without being harassed by the staff, you have to follow the rules.
The rules are: each person has to order a minimum of 2 drinks. if you’re going to tag along with friends and you don’t plan on drinking, well, you have to be prepared to buy two drinks. The rules are stated in the middle of the bar and can be easily missed. That’s why a lot of people get shocked when they find out about it from the waitress.
now the prices of the beer range from 7 dollars to 9 dollars depending on what kind. I bought a stella which costs 9 dollars while my bf bought Heineken which costs 8 dollars. Harder drinks go higher than 10 dollars. Sodas are expensive as well and they cost like 6 dollars.
I suggest that once you enter, you read all the rules and signs that hang from the walls and just comply with them. if you do, you won’t get into arguments and you’ll have a great time.

I came home after visiting Arthur’s last night feeling so icky. Because I truly could not believe there was an establishment in the whole of New York who treated their customers like sh*t. Please believe every single review on this page, this bar is horrendous.
First of all, as someone who works in jazz radio, no the music is not that awesome. And the musicians walk around with tip jars and it made me and my friends really uncomfortable. I get that there is no cover charge, but that was pretty gauche in my opinion.
Second of all, the drinks are severely overpriced. When my friends and I tried to move from one end of the bar to the other, some pissed off waitress just screamed ‘Oh no no no no no no’, because I suppose that was reserved for larger parties and they did not want a group of three sitting at the tables. Super stupid, and a super rude way of telling a patron. And I told her this, which she replied «I’ll talk to you however the f*ck I want’. Literally spoke to the manager when the waitress came over to be like ‘Ugh is she really still talking?». And I guess management doesn’t care, because judging by the reviews nothing is done to change the atmosphere.
Don’t waste your dollars on this place. These are the most miserable human beings I have ever met. They need to find new jobs, because they are not cut out for service. And there are better musicians in the city.

Extremely poor service at 8:30 on a Friday night. Came in and there was no space at the bar so asked to sit at a table. The waitress was NOT helpful at all in finding us seating so we basically had to wander around and ended up standing when there were plenty of seats available (and even when said we were only staying for 20 minutes).
Only pro– drinks were strong. Left after one drink.

This place has GREAT MUSIC! and I recommend if you want to hear some amazing music, do come here, but be warned of the following:
–it’s a cash-​only establishment, with NO ATM inside the place.
–a hidden rule that its a 2-​drink minimum per set per person? (i didn’t see any of this written down… just the Bitchy waitress enforcing it)
–be sure to check your bill-​the handwritten numbers on a paper
–I went there tonight before it got filled up with NYU frat bros. I was sitting in the front, near the band. The place filled up soon, around 10pm (Friday Night). Then people started standing behind me, totally blocking us from getting out of our seats when it was time to leave.
–the bitchy waitress said that there is a 2drink min per person per set. I told her that I wanted some water, and said she would have to charge me $ 8 for water. I said, fine give me the beer.
–I can’t stress how much of a BITCH the waitress was.
I recommend this place for music. And please tip the musicians!
the end of the night my date and I were charged $ 50. I had 3 Guinness’s at $ 8/​each and my date had 2 Stellas @ $ 8/​each. tax? tip-​hell no!
IF IT WEREN’T FOR THE MUSIC, THIS PLACE WOULD BE THE EQUIVALENT OF A GARBAGE CAN

The waitress was a complete b***. Just a fat angry gremlin storming around the place looking for someone to yell at. Like everyone else commenting, the prices are ridiculous. $ 9 Stella’s and $ 14 Sambucha’s. And the waitress told us in order to sit longer we had to order another round. It had been 15 minutes since we got our first round and I hadn’t even finished it yet. The music was nice but I can find music anywhere. I won’t go back.

There are many parts of me that want to give this place five stars. Arthur’s is the place for a fun throw down if you want a great live band and anthem music, but recently it’s taken a turn for the worst. It’s catered to the bro audience and $ 8 non alcoholic beverage. «We have overhead.» «The band needs to get paid.» … But I paid/​tipped the band separately? My friend struggles with alcohol — but these people feel like a cranberry juice equals a Stella in cost and are all too confrontational with threats to throw you out for questioning tabs.
I’m fine with paying $ 7 a beer and paying for the seats, but when you start shaming people for buying a drink for the bathroom attendant or $ 28+ $ 11 gratuity for 3 sprites, it begins to be too much. I wanted to treat my friends with a fun night round NYC, but it’s become exclusive to another class.
Arthur’s, it sucks. You were the place I used to bring to my family/​friends to introduce to the city. But the aggressive wait staff and the price increases have put me over. It was a great run, but I will not be coming back any time soon based on the treatment of me and my friends who all came to this club quite often.
Keep playing guys. I really love the music and the style. Maybe some other time.
Just another tourist trap jazz bar.
A

Well now I get to cross off my bucket list to go to a place where you have live jazz music.
Arthur’s tavern provided us with damn strong long island iced teas and some good beers. I found it when the fiancée wanted another round of drinks when 14^th st bars didn’t satisfy her thirst for booze. Oh great it is a cash only bar and two drink minimum with no food! Not cool and if you only pay with cards ATM is nowhere to be found in the bar so go to a deli or a chase bank for a nearest ATM.
The music was pretty good and you will be asked to tip the performers. Hope they enjoy seeing a $ 20 bill in the tip bucket.
Would I go back? Maybe because the service was on point and the music was enjoyable but I didn’t like the size of the venue (think small, very small)

Like other reviews, this place is great apart from the waitress. If you want to meet the bitchiest waitress in town and being treated like sh*t you should definitely go here.
A few of my friends and I was sat down at the table by this waitress and then she disappeared. We had to go to the bar and get our drinks, when we were about to leave that same waitress reappear, she then came to yell at us for not ordering from her or leaving her any tip. I was pretty sure then that she was mentally challenged as she was asking us to tip her for doing absolutely nothing.
I felt a little bad for her, so I told her that I would leave her some money, she then stormed out of the place and went to smoke outside.
I have no idea why they hire such uneducated and uncivilized human being as their staff. Honestly she shouldn’t be allowed to talk to people let alone working in a service industry…
I suggest you sit at the bar, the bartender was really nice, definitely great music and ambience. Just ignore the waitress and you’ll have a great time.

This West Village bar is nothing special to look at inside and out. We entered without paying a cover charge. There is table seating available and some bar seating as well. More interestingly was the seating around the stage placing you in front of the band and literally in front of the band. The instruments and musicians are right in your face. It reminded me of sitting at the sushi bar to watch the chef create your meal. Here you got to see the artist build your atmosphere.
The bar selections are pretty average at best. You don’t have mixologists creating masterpiece elixirs in this joint. You will have your standard beer selections and cocktails. I don’t recall seeing a food menu. The service staff hustles to keep your glasses full but it is a small staff so drinks can lag a little when the bar fills up. You can leave your credit cards at home because it’s cash only and there is no ATM in the place!
I was there on a Saturday night relatively early for NYC standards before 10 PM. I nice 4 piece ensemble with a lead saxophonist played jazz standards while we settled in for some entertainment. We then learned that the mellow jazz feel would be kicked up a notch with a funk band after ten. And that’s exactly what happened when this crew of bluesy, funk-​laden cast of characters opened their set with the Commodores classic «Brick House» to set the stage. The band relies on tips so expect to have a tip jar passed in front of you at some point.
There is a small dance floor that fills up almost immediately when the funk gets going. The crowd was diverse as expected in NYC but all were there for good music and dancing, fun crowd on this night.
The band, crowd, and atmosphere made this a place worth visiting again.
My only suggestion to the bar would be to have an ATM available for those that rely on plastic.

Un bar ou écouter du bon jazz. Bien situé (Grennwich), sans droit d’entrée mais avec une exigence de 2 consommations par personne et par set, et qui ferme à 2PM en semaine, c’est plutôt bien dans le quartier.
En revanche, le service est détestable, avec une serveuse en salle particulièrement mal-​aimable.
Je recommande pour qui veut écouter de la bonne musique live sans prétention et sans vouloir nouer des contacts.

Cash Only!
The band was awesome. We were there this past Friday night and they were great. Jamming out and really getting the audience participation in. They were the best part of the night.
The waitress we had was nice but she seemed pretty miserable. I felt bad actually. They don’t have a drink menu you get to hold onto, the waitress has it on her at all times.
Sign said 2 drinks minimum per person per set. However, the waitress didn’t enforce it thankfully when we were there.
Bathrooms are downstairs and SUPER tiny. SUPER SUPER tiny. Best of luck getting in and out of the stall and I’m not a big girl.
It did get super crowded in there, thankfully we got there early enough to grab a seat otherwise it’s standing room only.

New York jazz musicians at Arthur’s are so talented. There’s no cover charge, the crowd is so into the whole experience and the music is great. Dixieland style jazz really was upbeat and energizing.
The Grove Street Stompers on Monday night all are individual successful musicians. Together they play hours of incredible music. Thursday, Friday and Saturday Eri Yamamoto will wow you. All this and The drinks are reasonably priced!
Please note: The bathrooms are downstairs and a bit gross but the music more than makes up for this small inconvenience. Experience it!