Lil Charlie’s

After working a private event via the company I work for, Host Committee, I found I enjoyed this place very much. A little difficult to find (it’s in the downstairs area of Ken&Cooks) but it’s awesome. Small capacity, full bar, good dj space. Nice seating and dancing area. Staff is phenomenal. Coat check is available. Graffiti in bathrooms is entertaining.

***UPDATE***
Lil’ Charlie’s is nowadays only open for private events…
My review is basically about how it used to be here, not about how it is now.
Monday night = THE BEST here. Sickk deep house. Place is packed. Good vibe, good crowd, good music… As good as it gets in NY on a Monday, my friends…
It might get a bit steamy in the room around 2 AM, as the airconditioner system might not be up to par with having a roughly 400 sq foot room packed from wall to wall with beautiful people having fun, drinking, dancing and indeed smoking.
As Martha D already described me in her review, I’m one of those skinny, beautiful bitches that visits Lil’ Charlie’s. I actually do pay my own bills. With my own bank account. From money that I worked for. Contrary to your stereotypical beliefs, I don’t hang off of an investment banker’s arm. I’m a happy single girl. I don’t mind flashing my high heels, that are indeed designer shoes and I love bringing out my designer bags, that will never show the name in big letters by the way, and neither do my shoes. They are works of art to me. I should be able to spend money that I work for as I damn please, thank you very much. My outfit altogether is not something I wear to make you hate me. Oh, and I know you think my outfits are expensive, but generally I spend an average of tops 50 bucks on them, since I can only be seen in the same outfit up to 3 times, so I don’t see the point in wearing expensive clothes to a place where I know people will be pouring drinks over me. I don’t mind that I am skinny and I don’t mind any weight you might have, whether you are skinny, normal weight or overweight. You have to carry that weight, not me. You should do with your body and life whatever you want. I don’t mind that my self esteem is up to par with my looks, and I am sad for you that yours is so low, that all you can do is talk negative about beautiful women, that out of respect to the venue and simply because they might just feel like it ‘dress the part’, when they walk in, actually might walk right past you, while you are indeed getting issues for the fact that you decided not to wear heels. You don’t go to work in pajamas either, do you? If you are a woman, then simply own the part, and just dress like one. Especially if you go to what is momentarily considered to be one of NYC’s coolest clubs. It’s completely acceptable and okay to have a strict dress code. Leave wearing combat boots etcetera to Wilhelmina models. They get away with it, and you don’t. Is that fair? No, not really. But guess what, little lady: LIFE ISN’T FAIR. Deal with it.
Anyway, back to my review…
Bottomline: Mondays. After midnight. Deep House. Cool crowd. F.U.N.

Came here for a friend’s gig on a friday. The ambience was trendy_​City vibe with a good party crowd, who stumbled in, in the middle of my friend’s showcase and turned it into a party. Good times.
The couches were comfy, nice spacious area to party, and there was a huge bar.
Cons: the prices at the bar-​I felt like it was Prohibition times because prices seemed unreasonable. However, the bartender did make my drinks strong.
–The bartenders looked like they were regular servers from the upstairs restaurant, and looked very inexperience with mixology – however like I said drinks were strong.
I would probably not come back unless I was coming for a gig/​special event. But not really to party.

Before I give my rant, let me acknowledge that this place is for some folks. I’m not one of those folks. It seems to be for beautiful hyper skinny women who love to flash how much they spent on their fabulous heels, bags and whatnot while hanging off of their investment banker-​type boyfriends. And they’re more into being part of a scene like that versus dance music. It’s also for dudes who like hitting on women who like wearing very expensive outfits that make them look cheap.
Pluses:
+ Great décor with awesome quotes from old skool hip hop
+ Good location
+ Decent sound system
+ Good for «beautiful people»
+ Gives people I don’t want to see at Output or a warehouse party a place to be
+ Might be a cool venue to totally take over with just your own friends, maybe
+ Nice bouncer who loves people who aren’t lame and wasted
Minuses:
— EXPENSIVE!!! Like $ 400 bar tab promise for 3 people expensive
— No one in the club understands the old skool hip hop quotes
— Horrible dancers with no rhythm
— Douche factor set to 11
— No real appreciation of actual dance music culture
— Horrible floor layout, you’re constantly getting pushed by bar staff
— Dress code (Sorry, not into looking like a high paid prostitute)
— Aggressive men in the crowd with attitudes
— HORRIBLE DJs who train wreck left and right with BAD records
— RUDE security inside (but having seen the others in line, I understood why)
If you’re into serious dance music, AVOID.
If you’re more down to Earth, AVOID.
If you hate wearing heels when you get down, AVOID.
If you LOVE the Meat Packing District (outside of Cielo that is), GO. (and please don’t come to clubs I do like, blech)

Went here last night (a Friday night) for The Knocks’ DJ set.
We arrived a little after 11 which was early but whatever. Place was pretty quiet until about 12:15. It was kinda nice though because for that first hour everyone (including us) who wanted to sit, could.
Sidenote: although there is no cover, drinks are ABSURDLY expensive. I ordered a whiskey sour and it was $ 19.20 (God knows what whiskey they even gave me). That’s after tax and their mandatory 20% tip.
So after just chilling for an hour, Ben (one of the members of The Knocks) sits down by himself at a table next to us. Being the huge nerdy fan I am, I start chatting with him. 5 or so minutes into our conversation a crowd of 15 kids came in (yes kids, there was no way they were 21 or owned a credit card that didn’t have daddy’s name on it). Their ringleader came up to my friend, Ben and I and was like «EXCUUUUUUSE me, you are at our table.» And then him and his posse crowded us and sat down before we could even wish Ben luck with his set.
The Knocks are no Deadmau5 or Avicii, I’ll give you that, but anyone who knows a little bit about the «New York» DJ/​dance scene probably have heard of The Knocks. They toured with Alex Clare, played at Osheaga, Firefly, etc etc. I don’t think one of their members (who were «headliners» that night, mind you) deserved to be treated like sh*t by some entitled intern. I don’t know whose fault that is — the bouncers, the crowd that frequents the place, management, whatever, but it would be nice if Lil Charlies showed a little class towards the guy who is bringing in business to their sorry excuse for a club/​music venue/​bar.
Glad I got to talk to Ben, but I was so disgusted by the experience we left right after that before they even started their set.

Yah. Not cool when you overbook the space, make people wait outside for an hour for the second event, and then tell them they can’t come in because of some made-​up dress code (that was never publicized and not uniformly enforced) when the place is literally half empty inside and it’s a random weekday night. The folks on the inside are quite nice but you really gotta do something about that doorman.

Unless you are in meatpacking, I don’t understand the no flats rule. You’re in Nolita for goodness sake. And judging from the fact you only mentioned my flats AFTER I mentioned what guestlist I was on. Also not my fault they apparently overbooked the venue, so they had an upset birthday girl. Get your act together.

Event: Birthday for 10 (with promoter) Friday
Pros:
–No line
–Giant disco ball
–Big dance floor (but quite small generally)
–The night really picks up as it gets later
–No pretentious club atmosphere
Cons:
–Early music was 80s cheese
–Girl to guy ratio (far more girls)
–Mandatory coat check
Can’t comment on prices as we were with promoter
Sum: If you’ve got some patience and can’t commit to the uptown clubbing experience– huge win

Lil Charlies is tiny, intimate, and sexy. The crowd and music make this place. I went there on a Sunday night recently and I wasn’t too impressed, the music was weird and the place was pretty empty. Our hostess was really awesome and personable though so it was cool chatting with her.
I went back on the following Monday and was really blown away! The place was packed, the music was great and the crowd was a lot of fun. Bottle service prices are reasonable. They’ve got a cool hidden back area with a place you can lay down (whaddup) and a stripper pole. It seems like different hosts throw parties on different nights so you just have to know what you’re in for and go to one you like. Big props to Karim, a great host and all around nice guy.

The décor is nice… very upscale, classy, and I love the champagne colored mirrors. They give what would otherwise be a very cramped space lots of depth. Sometimes you even catch yourself wondering if that’s another room, or just reflections you see. The tunes are good here, but not much to dance to despite the generous dance floor. Lots of people were just mingling, chatting, and having a good time. My girlfriend and I came here to start our night off, and althought we arrived around 1230, at around 130, it started getting packed as the line grew. As a place that fits 75 people max, I am sure the door becomes a bitch very soon. I would have enjoyed myself more if A– the drinks didn’t come with an automatic 20% gratuity on already overpriced drinks, and B– if this girl didn’t whip out a cigarette and start lighting up in the middle of the 400sq ft room. It’s been a while since I’ve gone out and comeback smelling like an ashtray, and I kind of enjoy leaving those nights behind! My girlfriend and I downed our pricey weak drinks and hightailed outta there soon after that happened. It’s a shame, I would have liked to see where the night was heading in this classy little space as it started to liven up. Maybe next time, Lil Charlies…