Brite Bar

Came here before partying it up @ a nearby club. The place had some people in it but emptied out quick once 12:00 hit, apparently they were all there for the same reason as myself. The décor was nice, seats were comfy, bathrooms clean. In addition…
Crowd: A girl with the biggest Louis bag ever and longest french manicure I’ve ever seen and tannest skin since the oompa loompas got really excited when a song came on, jumped up to the dj booth yelling/​slurring, and fell on her ass. Entertaining? Yes. Good crowd? …
Drinks: Two G&Ts, well gin (yep I’m broke) was $ 20 bucks. That’s the norm for the area though.
Service: The waitress was extremely friendly
Music: On point. I wish the dj followed us to the club after because I loveddd his selection. Some old Jay, Mary, Q-​Tip… I was in heaven.
This area is overrun with a lot of wackness but this place was decent

I am not the demographic for the Meatpacking District, but on a Saturday night with friends, we decided drinks were in order. Enter Brite Bar.
Walked in at a whopping 8:30pm. Of course the place was entirely devoid of patronage, so we angled up to the little bar and spent the next half hour getting to know our very nice bartender and watching the Mets lose.
Over the next two hours, the bar got full. An hour after that, we were reaching maximum capacity. The mixed crowd had your typical clubbers, some truly outrageous drunks and a rather ubiquitous B&T presence. People-​watching opportunities abound in places like this, so I was enjoying myself despite the attitude.
Anyway, we finally called it quits after someone literally stole my friend’s chair while she was in the ladies’ room (and yes, I had my hand on the chair and was protecting it). Overall kind of rough, but for the start of a night, the bartender pours a stiff drink and the space is kind of fun.
Oh! Definitely check out the bathrooms while you’re there. The doors are one-​way mirrors facing out, so you are literally watching people fix their clothes/​makeup/​hair while you’re in the john. Very disconcerting.

Brite Bar used to be owned by a fabulous gay man and had a beautiful interior with trendy bar/​lounge feel, but now that it has a new owner, it is called Bar 297 and they’ve changed the set up inside to make it more of a mini-​club and hiked their drink prices. They have good music and the TVs were playing The Family Guy, which was pretty fun, and the bartender was a sweetheart, but I cannot believe how terrible the set up is inside. They have these wooden screens/​walls which block the glass windows/​views, and not only that, they store their tables behind these screens, so you can see them when walking by it. Ridiculous! The bathrooms are really nice and clean but also creepy because the doors are one-​way glass/​mirrors, so you could be inside while someone is standing outside, admiring themselves in mirror, while you stand their peeing and watching them touch up their face or crotch or whatever. I can’t imagine what a nightmare this place must been on the weekend as it probably harbors the overflow from all the neighboring clubs.

Nothing special about this place except that it’s good if you want somewhere that’s not too crowded. The sterile, metal interior reminded me of Chipotle. Music was way too loud to talk to your friends, but not good enough to dance to. Eh. Anyway, just a stopover to escape from overcrowded bars and plan where you should go to next.

The bar itself was perfectly fine. The bartender seemed to be on meth or coke, but was very nice. The location is great if you are looking to hit clubland and the prices are reasonable.
However, the crowd here was the trashiest I have seen in a long time. An ugly girl that cut the bathroom line and proceeded to scream at me when I asked her to wait in line like the 10 people behind me. The guidos in cheap suits that asked my friend if they could taste her kabob, when she said no, they said they just really wanted her saliva.
A seriously low end crowd here. My clubbing days ended years ago, but I hope this isn’t the new generation.

Monday night… dead…but pleasantly surprised to see the « Unilocal thinks we are cool» sticker on the door. Nice couch, nice music, nice staff, great picture setting for 7 crazy girls…
After the second place we hit… I wished we would have shined longer at the Brite Bar.
Oh yeah… and music was being played by a non working ipod-​not so great when I wanted to hear some «ella ella ella ey ey ey under my umbrella…»

This bar is pretty cool. Besides the couple who was dry humping on the couch nearby… it was a pretty tame place. The drinks were nothing to write home about — but its hard to make a vodka tonic amazing.
The décor is pretty cool inside and they played some decent music.

Was recently here with a friend after a gallery opening. The only place around here that I like getting a drink (except Bungalow, but that’s a different kind of night). It’s mellow, the bartenders are cool, passable dark and stormy… I was happy. Added bonus of no LI douchebags bribing the bouncer to get in.

Loved this bar! I’m from California and some friends brought me here last weekend. The blood orange cosmo is super tasty, the lite brites on the tables are a cute touch, and the DJ was AWESOME! Loved him — it takes a true man to transition from No Doubt to Tony Toni Tone! to Depeche Mode.
I liked that this place wasn’t very scene-​y — people were definitely checking each other out, but I didn’t get the greasy ew vibe I got just walking past whatever that big club was down the street. And yeah, the drinks are expensive, but not horrifically so. A $ 10 cosmo is not exactly earth-​shattering. Go – you’ll love this place!

A refreshing watering hole right before you enter deep into «club-​land» that is west chelsea. Definitely an ideal place to grab a few drinks before hitting Marquee, Pinke Elephant, Cain, Guesthouse, Home, etc etc etc. My friends and I stopped here for a few drinks on a bachelorette party night before going to Marquee. In retrospect, drinks were cheap compared to what was ahead for the night ($ 10 vs $ 14; adds up to alot when you multiply that difference by alot of drinks). Friendly bartender and bouncer (yes, they actually exist at a place like this unlike alot of the other asses at some of the other mentioned clubs) and a decent DJ mixing a fun set of songs. It’s a laid-​back spot and I would be more than happy to give it 4 stars if it weren’t for a few select clientele that we encountered… including a guy who literally volunteered to be of service to us if the bride-​to-​be needed to perform any tasks/​dares for the night. He and his friends were WAY too willing. Yuck. I guess some of the club-​land rejects that may end up here ruin the crowd somewhat.

My friend works at a gallery around the corner, so we popped in for happy hour after she closed shop.
Brite Bar did nice happy hour $ 5 drinks, not bad for the area. The warmly colored, dim room is spacious and mostly filled with very chill art people in their late 20’s. Of course, the Lite Brites on the tables were great touches. We had a relaxed, enjoyable few hours at Brite Bar without too much of the usual neighborhood pretense.
Side note… Waiting for a drink and getting shafted by the gay bartender for a man was not cool! Now I know how guys feel… well, I hope he got his number.

I stopped here a few weeks ago on my way home and it was a great little discovery — friendly staff, great drinks that get the job done (the Fother Mucker is quite the beverage, touting the bar’s energy vodka… I’ll get back to you on the name), great tunes and a nice space. Not to mention that there are Lite Brites on the table! (I had to explain to my New Zealand friend what these were, which after a few hours of beverages can be interesting… I’m still not sure he gets the concept… alas, I digress…) Albeit a little pricey, I’ll definitely stop by this place again soon — FYI they’re 25 and over on the weekends.

I went here last night after going to the Blood Manor haunted house with a group of people. The patrons of the bar were hip and pretty attractive. I personally don’t like going to the area Brite is located because of its proximity to all of the nightclubs frequented by those that might get liquored up and cause trouble. This was evident by the police presence in the area for a weekday night. The bartenders were cool as was the doorman. The interior is classy and inviting. I did not like paying $ 9 for a tiny weak vodka tonic! I will take a strong one at Vlada lounge any day over this! If Brite was located in HK near the other bars in the area I am sure I would be back.

i went here after bungalow 8 wouldn’t let me in. bungalow 8 sucks.
but yeah, its a cute place. not really a place to dance. just a chill lounge…
i’d only go again if the big clubs don’t let me in. but i think that’s pretty much why everyone goes.

Brite Bar gets a bad rap as the «Marquee Reject Bar» seeing as how it’s located across the street from the «club-​of-​the-​moment,» and those denied admission do tend to wander over and drown their sorrows. I was here early this weekend for a birthday party, and got to appreciate the space a bit more. The manager was great to our party — gave the birthday boy free drinks — and the rest of the staff couldn’t have been nicer. Drinks are pricey, but that’s what you expect from the Clubland area. Overall, a great little place — and they have LiteBrites on the tables! I mean, YAY for that alone.

I recently went to Brite with a colleague of mine that lives down the street, and I was pleasantly surprised by the warm atmosphere of the place, the intelligent décor and the great people working there.
The one thing that got me about the place right away was the open space. There’s a LOT of space to work with here. Cute seating arrangements and very warm, masculine tones (lots of rust oranges and browns) are the prevaling thing. The bar extends for most of the righthand side of the space, with every drink imaginable in stock. They don’t serve food, but they do have a smart and unique drink list. My personal favorite: The Caribbean Russian. Stoli Vanilla, Rum, Pineapple Juice and some other exotic goodies! It’s so smooth and tasty, you don’t even realize it’s hitting you — until it does!
Their bathroom is worthwhile to have a look at too. It’s those popular see-​thru bathrooms where you can see out, but they can’t see in. Clean and fresh smelling too.
They do private parties too — actually while I was there, it was a 50^th b-​day party for someone and the people were very cool and wanted us to hang around! The place is gay/​lesbian friendly, so no worries in that corner. Make sure you say hi to the owner, John! He’s a sweetheart. ;)