Cafe 169

Day drinking on a Saturday for my 40^th birthday… This is our second stop.
It could not be a better experience! The bartender is super attentive; the drinks are strong; it’s busy, but we got a seat at the bar. If you want a dive, it’s the real deal. There are people older and younger then us and, yes, there is a leopard print pool table.
They are playing really old-​school Van Morrison (not Brown Eyed Girl) and James Bond theme songs. My husband could not be happier. There are buckets of Colt 45. There are also red wine floaters in some drinks… A bit horrifying, but respectful for that fact.
Come and enjoy. Also, don’t write reviews if you don’t realize you’re coming to a true local dive bar.

Dive bar that is a totally fun experience. Crowded, lively and run down in the right way. Suprised, but the oysters were very fresh and priced well. The drinks are good pours and the beer is beyond what you expect for a little ‘shack’ of a place from the outside.
Lower East Side’s trendy place that is not at all pretentious, nor expensive, nor disappointing! Very enjoyable, and the texting your order from your table for food, drink and waitress service is efficient and fun.

Divey bar my friends and I stumbled into after the bar we first went to down the street randomly closed at 1:22AM. They were playing 60s and 70s disco/​funk complete with rainbow lights, a disco ball, and a stage.
Pros: music was pretty good (if you’re into retro stuff) and our party of 6 was able to get a table. I also appreciate that they continued to serve food after hours and we were able to order a mac and cheese and some vietnamese vegetable rolls. The clientele/​crowd weren’t total douches. No wait/​line to get in and we didn’t have to pay cover.
Cons: The food was terrible. And not the normal «oh this is a dive bar, don’t expect much» terrible. The mac and cheese was probably the worst I have ever had, including frozen TV dinner mac and cheese. No point in continuing to serve food late into the night when it’s absolutely disgusting.
Also, they had a stage in the middle of the bar, but my friends were randomly told to get off when they tried to dance on it after spending a lot of money on liquid courage at the bar in order to do so. I don’t know what the bouncer’s problem was. Other people had been dancing on it all night long. It’s not like my friends and I are particularly unattractive. I didn’t get it.
And for the cherry on top, the bathroom was pretty standard for a NYC dive bar, as in, you worry you might contract an STD from just breathing the air. So there’s that.

It’s a great bar and a lot of fun but the bouncers are exceptionally zealous and rude about making sure customers don’t wait under their awnings for a cab while it’s raining. As a paying customer I don’t appreciate being treated like that, won’t be going back.

Was having a party for an hour until a bartender came over and told me I had to leave because tables were reserved, his excuse was there was an «overhead» and they forgot to put the signage out. Not my fault. To be rudely interrupted and then on top of that he called me an asshole for not agreeing with him. Just a true turn off because at one point this place was a good spot to hang out at. Thanks for ruining my girls birthday. Never again. Bet he wouldn’t call me an asshole if the bouncer wasn’t there!

I came here with 2 other friends for happy and hour and to eat dinner since it was close by my friends house. I’d say it’s a pretty cool place to have happy hour to drink and have some oysters but not really to eat. I ordered a shrimp phở boy sandwich and it as pretty small. I mean it wasn’t all that great and it was nothing special. My friend ordered the golden roast chicken and it was very dried and a small portion. It’s a nice place to pregame with their happy hour special; the 3 dollar beer and shot. The oysters are not bad tho. They have daily specials with oysters too. They also make you order by texting them your order for food.

This place is so funky. There’s a leopard print radical dude pool table out back. Something out of the disco era. Real trippy décor. Definitely one of my new down lows…

Cool and cute little bar that reminded me of hippies and disco Era. The drinks were awesome especially they garnished with homemade pickles. Love the oyster po boys. Do not like the grilled butterfly shrimp. Too oily and is a ripped off. However, the price of the food and drink overall are very reasonable. love the charger station though.
Overall: 2.1

The bouncer just cant deal with people. He got mad because our group of 7 didnt form a perfect line starting exactly where he pointed (even when there was nobody else outside but us!). After only 2min he was so rude we had to give up and go find another place.

My friends and I have been coming to this bar for years. We sat by the window that clearly opens. It was very hot inside as more people entered the bar. Around 6:00pm (the beginning of the bouncer’s shift?), he slammed it closed, offering no explanation. We opened the window again, as we do not want a heat stroke. Again, he slammed it closed and gave us this disgusted, angry look through the window. Finally, a friend tried to get his attention and asked him politely if we could keep the window open because it was extremely warm inside. The result? A window slammed in her face.
The bouncer proceeds to come inside to tell us that we can leave the premises if we are going to speak in a certain way about the window. Guess freedom if speech is not something he is familiar with. He proceeds to yell at us (no exaggeration), in an attempt to assert his «authority.» I told him that his tone was unacceptable and he told us to leave because «he wasn’t going to fight with us.» — his words. As a result, we left.
Managers– this is not the first review written about a poor experience due to your rude staff. It is unneccessary and a wonderful way to keep customers away from your establishment. No one should be spoken to (or yelled at) the way your bouncer did. You need to look into his ability to communicate with human beings.
We will not be returning after 10 years of patronage. Thank the guy with the beard.

I was there today with bunch of my teacher friends who were there to celebrate their last day of school. We were sitting by the windows and opened it when the place got really hot. When the bouncer started his shift, he slammed the windows shut without any explanation. My friends opened the windows again and asked the bouncer if we could keep the windows open. He slammed the windows shut in her face, again without any explanation. A few of my friends got upset and told one of the servers about it, in which the server agreed that the bouncer was being extremely rude. After a few moment, the bouncer came into the bar and started yelling and threatened to kick us out because we were «being immature». When we tried to talk to him, he started yelling and told our whole table to «just get out».
I have never been to a bar where the bouncer is allowed to treat customers this way. We have all been going to this bar for many years, but if they continue to employ this bouncer, none of us will be returning.

I usually love coming here for happy hour but the last time I went, upon sitting on two open seats at the bar, the bouncer stated that he was saving those two seats to check id’s. Only to find out that he was saving them for his girlfriend (who did not order anything) so that they could eat their pizza together. I’ve never been to an establishment where the bouncer was allowed to sit at the bar, reserve seats for their friends and eat outside food. After I got off the stool I was told I need to move and order from the other side of the bar. I’m so disappointed that my friend and I were treated so disrespectfully upon arriving to one of my favorite bars. I’m seriously considering not coming anymore.

Divey joint with surprisingly good microwaved dumplings that’s open late.

Went here on Saturday for some cocktails with friends and I would have given it more stars except for the grumpy bartender with the dark brown beard. I get that it’s busy but ur job is to deal with people and provide them with a enjoyable drinking experience. There is a nice way to talk to you customers and he just couldn’t do it. He needs to rethink his profession.

$ 3 PBR with a shot of house tequila for the win. Sangria is bomb, food is bomb and cheap.

Why isn’t there a review for this place?