Elite Event: The Folly

This was my first Unilocal elite event and I was a little disappointed. It’s hard to knock a place for giving you free drinks, but in an effort to be honest I didn’t love the atmosphere and their kitchen had an issue earlier that day so none of the small bites were passed around as expected. As some other Elites have said, it’s hard to give a full review of the place for that reason.
That being said, I’ve since been to two more AWESOME Unilocal events. Shout out to Ruggy for dealing with an unfortunate and impossible to foresee situation!

I always enjoy me a good Unilocal Elite event, but I do think this one could have been better with some minor adjustments.
Upon entering, my plus one and I were told that the kitchen has a malfunction and that there wouldn’t be food, so we could order food in for ourselves. I was of course stricken with grief, being the foodie that I am, but my plus one pointed out that they should have taken the liberty of ordering delivery for the Eliters, given that it was their mistake and they made a promise. I must say that I agree.
The frozen drinks took forever to get ready. Couldn’t leave until we tried them. Not sure why they didn’t prepare them earlier so they’d be ready on time. Once we did have them (at 8:15pm), I thought they were too watered down, but still, I enjoyed one. In the meantime, we got rum and cokes, sponsored by Starr; since I wasn’t eating, the drinks hit me too hard and it was trying for me to walk around in a straight line, let alone take the spiraled stairs all the way up to the bathroom. I was expecting some sort of Starr special, but alas, there was none.
Last, service was weird. The bartenders were kind of aloof and somewhat rude. I felt like they didn’t want us there and like I was annoying them when asking for drinks.
My friend and I did thoroughly enjoy all the freebies (frisbees, chapsticks, sunglasses), and I loved meeting some new Unilocalers. But we had to leave within a couple of hours to grab some grub.
Thank you Ruggy and Starr for this Monday night gathering! Looking forward to others.

This beautiful basement bar offers a very romantic and fun ambience that would be great to go to on a date. And I would recommend this to my friends for a drinks spot.
The Rum flowing free all night was a nice touch with great bar tenders serving them.
It was rather unfortunate though that the kitchen broke down and so did the speciality drinks machine. Due to this it makes it difficult to give a complete review.
I look forward to checking out this place in the future and thanks ruggy for putting on the event I look forward to more.

Was coming to The Folly a folly?
I’m starving and am excitedly awaiting to fill my stomach with samples of seafood when Ruggy drops the disappointing news.
«Their kitchen ran into some issues and so they can’t make any food,» he says.
«Oh no! My poor, deprived stomach,» I think to myself. Sigh… well these things happen, so what can you do? So I proceed to check out the place and see what else they have to offer. Interestingly enough, with none of the usual food distractions — including the competition to get a bite of the samples among Unilocalers — I’ve had the chance to appreciate the venue and service a bit more.
— — — Venue/​Service:
Located somewhat sub-​terrain, The Folly creates an experience of being submerged as you climb down the stairs into a low-​lit area. You’ll see the bar on the left and some partitioned seating to your right. With each compartment being divided by ropes and comprising of a circular mirror that mimic portholes of a ship, The Folly emulates a laid-​back, nautical theme, fitting for a lounge that serves seafood. For those who don’t like the dim-​lighting, there’s a room in the back that has glass ceilings to let the sunlight in. Move further back and you’ll find stairs that go up to a small room that overlooks the entire lounge. We mostly ended up hanging out by the bar and making the best of our complimentary rum drinks (these were A-​Okay tasting…). The bartenders, however, were sweet and quick to provide drinks.
— — — Conclusion:
All in all, as much as we all would’ve love to get our sampling of dishes, it’s hard to stay disappointed with the lack of seafood when you find yourself surrounded in a chill environment with good company and somehow discussing a myriad of topics ranging from a somewhat serious tone when debating over whether to have kids or not to hearing humorous stories about how relationships foster even though someone lies to you about their age and name and finally ending with topics that make us all Unilocalers when we share our love for fried chicken and all the different ways to make them.
To Ruggy and some of my favorite Unilocalers — thanks for throwing this event and always a pleasure to meet and hang with all of you =). Till next time. As always, pics below!

I was one of the first Unilocalers to get here with my plus one so I took the time to give myself the full tour while my fellow Unilocalers slowly began to trickle in. I really loved the décor of the place and the open area with natural sun light while it was still day time.
There was no food which was a disappointment but I really enjoyed meeting a bunch of new Unilocalers while drinking my rum and cokes and rum and ginger ales. The frozen drinks were also delicious. I really liked The Folly and wouldn’t mind coming back, sitting in a booth, having a drink or two and getting to try the menu.

I can’t bring myself to give a low rating to a free event with free alcohol, but I do have to echo the sentiments of other Unilocalers here, The Folly didn’t bring their A-​game that night.
I was excited to check out this bar because I love the sister restaurant Hill & Dale, plus the pirate theme sounded pretty cool. So it was a bit of a bummer that they had a breakdown in the kitchen and couldn’t serve any food. But things happen and you gotta roll with the punches.
However I was disappointed that they didn’t make up for it in terms of drinks. No specialty cocktails, no juices, no frozen drinks. It seems that there were making drinks with juice mixers earlier, but by the time I asked for one, they had stopped making them. The bartender (who was very nice and apologetic) told me she couldn’t make a mojito, even though the mint was right there on the bar.
But despite all that, I loved the space and décor of the place and enjoyed chatting with fellow Unilocalers. Thanks Ruggy for organizing this event, I learned about a new place and look forward to checking it out again sometime.

I was disappointed that the kitchen was out of order. The pleasant staff saved the evening by making strong drinks. The frozen rum drinks were not ready until well after 7pm, but were good. We left a bit early since we were drinking on empty tummies since there were no lite bites to provide some buffering. The place is nice, the staff cool and the restrooms clean.

This was one of those rare events where you wake up out of bed, you show up to class, and «OH my GOD, I totally forgot there was a huge test today!» Yes, Folly forgot there was an event. Horrible analogy (I hated school) but accurate. There was no working kitchen which was initially a bummer because some of their menu sounds awesome. Especially Ruggy’s photo of mac and cheese. Drinks? Okay, why not. It was all Starr African Rum which I’m not wild about but if it were mixed right, I could see it being tasty. The rum was available with coke, diet sodas, and ginger ale for the most part. I asked if I could mix juice or some kind of pineapple juice and the bartender looked nervous and quietly said «We were at first doing that, but we can’t let you have that. Sorry.» Interesting. The frozen drinks weren’t ready allegedly until 8:15pm so I guess I’m glad I bounced at 6:45 to go play trivia. However, despite the fail of the event I’m glad I got to check out a new place. Interesting rustic antiquated décor with numerous levels and a nice little sitting area on the top floor. I also noticed they like Shakespeare and mermaids.

First, you would never expect the inside to look as nice as it is from the outside. The front of the venue is very low key but as you enter down the steps, you would see it is a very nice cozy place. Seems great to link up with friends after work and have a few drinks. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to try the food due to a unforeseen problem in the kitchen, the drinks made up for it though. The mojito’s were good along with the rum specials they had. My boyfriend tried the rum and soda in which he said it was pretty good. The bartender was very friendly and attentive with drink orders and got them out as fast as she could. If I’m around the area, I wouldn’t mind dropping in again to try out the food. I would like to give this place another shot since I wasn’t able to experience its full potential.

Ok so like others have said, I hate being the person to be a harsh critic for a Unilocal free event. Because Unilocal events are awesome! And Ruggy (and team) do a great job to put on these events for us to enjoy.
But that being said, I was a tad disappointed with The Folly. There were a string of follies that occurred that night. And although we all are prone to making mistakes, it seemed a one too many.
1 — Kitchen malfunction: As we entered we were informed about the kitchen malfunction. As an alternative, they were nice enough to let us bring snacks/​food from other places and to even let other places deliver directly to The Folly.
2 — Frozen drink machine malfunction: the frozen drinks were not available and as others mentioned, the bartenders kept telling us to wait for it to be fixed. Unfortunately it was not fixed before our open bar cutoff.
3 — No juice mixers: since the frozen drink machine was broken, we were offered Starr Island rum with any well mixer (juice, soda, etc). My first drink was with grapefruit juice. Then halfway through I was told that they were no longer allowed to serve us drinks with juice.
BUT there were positives and I don’t want to dwell on the downsides of that one particular night.
1 — Décor: they had a really cool theme and awesome seats to embellish on their sailor/​nautical theme. And best of all there was a crow’s nest, accessible by a ladder like stairway.
2 — Easy to access the bartenders/​wait staff
3 — Non-​gender specific bathrooms because as a girl I hate having to wait in a long line for the Women’s bathroom when the guy’s restroom is oftentimes empty.
Despite everything said above, I would return just to see how it is on a normal day. The place has great potential and I was really excited about the tropical island/​ship theme.

Thanks to Ruggy for organizing this event.
Since we were not able to sample The Folly’s specialities of seafood and frozen drinks, it felt to me like a happy hour at any ordinary downtown Manhattan bar.
That being said, I really enjoyed chatting with Unilocalers I had not met before and my compliments to the female bartender (closest to the door) who was very efficient and worked so hard to meet everyone’s drink requests.
There’s another thing: If I were Folly management I would have gone into crisis mode and done everything in my power to try to save the event since it was being attended by discerning Manhattan Unilocalers. For example, perhaps The Folly could have ordered appetizers from elsewhere as well as provided extra special drinks. Maybe this kind of effort would have gone a long way towards impressing the Unilocalers there.

The Folly took the pirate theme a little too seriously for this event: all rum and no food. (through no fault of their own, the kitchen broke down)
They did have limes though to make sure no one got scurvy but other than that the plundering and pillaging was not to be had.
You will always remember this as the day you almost tasted the food at The Folly.

Honestly, I can’t gripe about a FREE event, however, there were a few missteps here that could’ve been avoided…
Um, so the kitchen was like MIA or something, so basically no food at all. So be prepared to get drunk fast…
Drink choices were limited to Africa Starr rum and a slushy mix of some kind. Not much to say about this really.
Aron, the guy in charge, was nice to chat but it might’ve been nice if he tried to rectify the kitchen situation as I saw him on his laptop the whole time the event was happening. Sigh, I guess we all have priorities.
But on the bright side, here is where Folly and the event did win on:
A sweet, overworked bartendress trying to crank out drinks as fast as she could and with a smile.
Folly is in a great space, down in the dungeon, with an upstairs area in the back that has a sun roof (which would be great for parties).
Great Unilocalers making the best of it. And, I got to meet some Unilocalers I have never met in person before…
And of course, Ruggy, who stayed the whole time, chatting everyone up, being pleasant and funny as always and really making the best of a mess. Thanks Folly and Unilocal team for a pretty darn good Monday night.

So upon walking in I was absolutely in love with their understated nautical theme. The Folly is decorated with an old-​school crafty feel that seems to be inspired by vintage items of yore and plenty of fun nautical things here and there. At one point I mentioned to Ingrid S. that the walk to their atrium (and their atrium) reminded me of Hill & Dale — this happened without me knowing there was any relation between the two.
I was saddened to learn that there was an issue with the kitchen and apparently this meant there would be no food. As I sat at the bar sipping my Starr Rum cocktail, some folks came over to the bartender asking for a menu — clearly they did not know that there was a kitchen malfunction — and to be honest, they didn’t look like they were even Unilocalers. This was really early on in the very beginning of the event… the response they got from the staff was pretty rude and they left not very happy… yep, they definitely weren’t Unilocal folks.
Their efforts seemed a but lackluster given that they could not find any solutions to the food issue — maybe purchase some bread and/​or crackers and meats? Create an awesome and memorable cocktail member featuring the sponsored rum of the hour? Vouchers so that we can come back another time and try some of their delectable eats? Just a few solutions-​oriented ideas that I might have had if I were in The Folly’s situation.
In the meantime it was Rum & Coke or Rum & Ginger ale. A few Unilocalers commented that the rum with pineapple juice was actually pretty good — when I inquired about ordering one I was told that they couldn’t whip anymore up because they weren’t supposed to be using their pineapple juice and were told not to by their manager. The energy levels and willingness to want to provide a good Monday night just seemed… low. Lackluster.
Their were supposed to be 2 frozen drinks on hand, but the machine wasn’t freezing them. They tried emptying some liquid out and hoping that with less liquid in the machines it would then freeze faster. I gave it an hour. Still nothing. At this point I was hungry and remembered there was bar trivia at the bar near my apartment which has a working kitchen and all night happy hour specials.
Thank you Ruggy for putting this together as I’m sure that coordinating/​executing Unilocal events can often be challenging. Thank you to Starr Rum for being the sponsored booze and providing Unilocalers with some much appreciated complimentary libations on a hot & humid Monday. Thanks The Folly for keeping their door open and mixing us drinks courtesy of Starr.

Ambience: Place is small, dark and chill. The have an area that is lighted by the natural sunlight which I liked. They have a semi private upstairs area which would be great for private events. They had a DJ turntables but no DJ; it would be interesting to see what kind of music they play. They were playing alternative rock while we were there. The bathrooms are upstairs and the pathway can be a little dark; I could see myself falling down the stairs after having one too many drinks.
Food: Unfortunately the kitchen broke so we did not get to taste any of the goodies. What I thought was weird is that many of the things on the menu did not require a stove (like the cold seafood) so I wonder if everything, including the fridge broke down. They did give us the option to bring outside food but my friend and I decided it was best to wait till after the event.
Drinks: I had the rum with pineapple juice and it was quite good although based on other reviews, it looks like they eventually stopped giving juice for drinks and were only permitting soda. Like others, we were waiting for the frozen drinks. One of the staff told us that it would be ready in 10 minutes, when I went back, she told me she had given out drinks to everyone and would now have to make a second batch which would take an additional 15 minutes. Well 45 minutes later, we finally got to taste them and although the alcohol amount was to perfection, the texture was like baby food/​purée as opposed to frozen drink. With that said, it was free, so I have to take what I can get.
Service: The bartender was extra friendly and polite. The waitress was nice and apologetic about the frozen drink issue.
The Unilocal planners were great and I loved that we got free goodies (sunglasses, chap sticks and freezebees). I got to meet some new people and looking forward to meeting more in future events.

I can confirm that there was an event here and that I attended.
I can confirm that there was Starr African Rum that we were allowed to get mixed with our choice of soda gun beverages.
I can confirm that the space was nautical themed and beautiful, with tons of seating and a cozy upstairs area.
I can confirm I left early to get some food due to all-​day kitchen problems at the restaurant.
I can confirm I love Hill & Dale and are willing to give The Folly a second chance at some point.
I can confirm that I voluntarily drank for free and have no reason to complain.

Besides the overall volume of the bar, I would say it was a pretty good event! This was my first Unilocal Elite event, and I really enjoyed meeting other Unilocal Elites, but it was a bit difficult to do so while the music was blaring. It would be nice to have an event in a more quiet setting if drinking is the only source of entertainment. Otherwise, I think the attendees would only talk to the guests they brought. The drinks were not too shabby and the service was great. Downside was that their kitchen was out of service, so no finger food. The frozen rum drink machine couldn’t keep up with the demand, so that was kind of a bummer. All in all, it was a good first event and I’m looking forward to attending more events!

This is my first Unilocal Elite event, and while I was disappointed that the kitchen wasn’t working, I know these things happen, so I’m giving four stars for what I can rate.
The atmosphere was great. The music was a tad loud, but I loved the décor of the place, including the skylight and the wood paneling.
The drinks with rum were great. I’ve had my fair share of rum, and it’s never tasted so good with coke, sprite, or whatever they mixed into the frozen drinks. All of those were wonderful, and one of the bartenders was very nice and attentive (she even brought me a drink after I asked for one but the machine was taking some time to freeze the mixture).
Overall, a great welcome to NYC, and I look forward to more Unilocal events and to coming back to The Folly to try the food.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. If it is broke, eh what can ya do?
It’s like the old saying don’t cry over spilled bourbon.
The elite event at The Folly, took its shares of follies but still came out alright. Yes, there ended up being no food. Yes, the frozen drinks didn’t come through. Despite all that the event was a wonderful time.
Two hours of rum, great décor, and friendly conversation, made for a great evening.
The bartenders were on their game and fielding drink requests left and right. I went with rum and diets the entire night. Their service was accompanied with a smile.
As I mentioned there was no food, but they did let us BYOF, and I got some delicious Mexican food from around the corner. I parked myself by a table and devoured a torta in seconds. We recommended the place to several people and sure enough they all went later.
The place was dark, intimate, and had a beautiful setting. It made for a great way to meet some people and start up some chit chat. I loved the multiple levels and the furniture.
We were invited to a party, and while it didn’t deliver as advertised, I think everyone still had an excellent time. Thank you to the staff at the Folly. My plus one and I had a blast. Thank you to Ruggy for scheduling and great Monday night event. It makes getting through Monday that much easier.

I hate to knock a free Unilocal Elite event, but The Folly sorta dropped the ball on what could have been a really great night.
Upon arrival, we learned of an entire kitchen malfunction. Sure, it’s probably a freak occurrence beyond their control, and if that were the only thing wrong with tonight, I’d let it slide. Unfortunately, there were more odd things to follow, namely the lack of any preparation for their well-​known frozen drinks, and no real «specialty» cocktails showing off their nautical vibe and the Starr African rum they had on hand.
Our drink option for the night was an unenthusiastic «Starr with a mixer» (coke, ginger ale, etc). I asked a couple of times (over the course of an hour) for a frozen piña colada or white zombie — whichever was frozen enough to drink — and was told each time that the drinks weren’t «ready yet.» At 8:15, I was told that they were finally ready to serve, but that since the Unilocal event was over, it was now a cash bar.
I appreciate The Folly and their great staff for hosting us, and Ruggy for rallying everyone on a Monday night, but just wished we could have been able to get a taste of what The Folly really has to offer.