Obivia

CLOSED
Formerly, its swank interior, unrushed atmosphere, sophiscated customers, and posh aire made it the SoHo place for rising young professionals. It, however, closed in December 2010. Lair Lounge and Restaurant is in this space now.

You can’t beat the happy hour here (until 8pm), and the sangria is a killer!
I like the relaxed décor, great for a romantic date but also for a group of friends. Comfy seats, trendy tunes, dim lighting, tasty drinks… what else do u need?
Recommended.

This is an obituary for the greatest watering hole on earth.
Obivia has offered much joy through out the years offering high class retro pornography to its patrons as they drink. It is where we found Russ Myers Beyond The Valley of the Dolls. It was either the hairy vag on the TVs or the PINK drink that kept us coming back. You would get to keep the lit up pink cup with the awful guarana liquor mixed with peach schnapps and it came with a surprise, a thong to start conversations elsewhere or to serve as an eye patch. This place just fed conversation starters so everyone had to be friendly by nights end. How obivia can you die on us?
Obivia is survived with Kevin, the man at the door and its replacement Lair.

Closed!

I’ve been to this place quite a few times. two words: love it! Though bartender’s not very consistant w my mojitos, but i can live with it given the fact that there are other things succeed my expections. The service is very friendly, not pretentious at all even tho it’s nearby Tribeca, great happy hours, and the couch is really comfortable! great place for date. oh, on some nights, the plasma TV on the wall plays black and white porns!

I reluctantly came to Obivia to support a friend who was throwing a fundraiser for her company. After walking in, my worries were swept away in sangria and goat cheese bruschetta and I ended up having a great night.
Overall the lounge is pretty narrow but there is great seating lining the walls that provide the perfect place to relax and enjoy your drinks. The sangria was SO tasty but as others said, did not have much alcohol in it. There special drink of the night was a spiked lemonade that slightly resembled a mojito and it was amazing… I didn’t try it until the end of the night and that’s probably a good thing because I would have spent so much money on many more.
The waiters and bartenders were all pleasant and attentive. We had a DJ as well as live opera music to entertain us but I could see this place providing their own great atmosphere on any other night.

Was here last night for a six-​person birthday party in the private area on the Centre St. side. Music was strong, drinks were strong, the space for me to move … not strong.
Overall, a decent venue to host a small gathering, it didn’t play well when too many people got there (say 12:30/1am). Almost impossible to move around or get to the bar. Would also be nice if they had a dance floor, but there was clearly not enough room for that either.

If Unilocal offered Amazon-​like collaborative filtering, I’m guessing we’d see, «People who liked Obivia also liked People Lounge.»
It appears from the reviews that Obivia has many different personalities depending on when you go. I’ve been twice on a Sat night around midnight for bday parties. Both times I found:
–overpriced drinks ($ 12-​$ 15 for generic cocktails)
–weak drinks
–overcrowded requiring you to constantly shift out of people’s way
–ridiculously bad music (note to DJ, 50’s In Da Club came out 6 yrs ago)
–ridiculously loud music (practice your lip reading before arriving and please please please do not bring a date here!)
The only plus, as others have noted, was no attitude from the bouncer or any of the staff. That seems appropriate though, as there is nothing about Obivia for which they should have an attitude.

During this current recession depression, it helps to have places you can get a good cocktail for $ 5 or less. Obivia just happens to be one of those places. I recently went to their happy hour on Friday and I was pleasantly surprised! The $ 5 cocktail special was a blueberry margarita and it was quite delicious. Real blueberries were in our glasses and the drinks were not a stingy size.
We also tried some of their appetizer specials. The loaded fries were basically cheese and bacon bits. They got a little greasy, but over all not too bad. The wings had a nice kick to them and you got 12, instead of the usual 6. The pizza was okay — it had a flatbread pizza taste and we mostly got it to absorb some of the alcohol. The dumplings were pretty tasty as well.
The cocktail special changes on a regular basis — friends raved about the lychee martini that was featured a couple of weeks ago.
In all, we got pretty toasted and with all of the food ordered, we spent $ 24 a person with tip (and that was with one of us ordering a regular priced drink as well). We had great service (if a little over enthusiastic — each time a glass was put down, a waitress appeared out of nowhere to try to claim it) and secured a comfy spot in front of the metal beaded curtain.
I will definitely be adding Obivia to my happy hour rotation.

This is a great spot for casual drinks with friends. I came here on a weeknight and it wasn’t crowded at all. There’s plenty of room for sitting/​standing and they don’t play obnoxiously loud music, so you can chat with your friends easily.
I wouldn’t recommend it as a date spot, or a singles spot. The drinks are pricey, but about on par with other NYC bars.

im writing this review solely of rating this place as a bar and not a restaurant. I’ve only had the bar food during happy hour and it was typical bar food. i don’t expect much.
but the DRINKS during happy hour are so cheap, you could pretty much get drunk under 20 dollars. and the happy hours are until 8pm, i believe monday — friday. thats awesome! where else can you get that in new york? Get drunk and goto La Esquina and grub. skip the food.

I’m not sure if it’s due to the economy or if their happy hour are just awesome… but seriously… food and sangria for 4 people for $ 55? Who can beat that?
And the food was pretty good.
In what is seeming to be an ongoing theme when the ladies get together… business hours say 5pm, but the bar opens late. At least it was only 15 minutes late… and happy hour was happily started once we sat down.
We went on Thursday, with happy hour from 5pm-​8pm. Monday & Tuesday happy hours goes from 5pm to midnight. And quickly ordered a pitcher of Sangria.
The Sangria was pretty good… sweet…but good (I’m not a fan of things too sweet). It involved strawberry purée (nice touch) and a heap of frozen and fresh fruit.
We opted for food off the happy hour menu (yes, not only drinks are part of happy hour, but so is food), and the $ 6 chicken wing plate (baked not fread) was enough for 2 orders at any other lounge. The basket of fries was more like potato wedges with cheese and bacon (I luvd the spicy ketchup that came with it). And the pizza was also pretty good, for a plain cheese pizza.
The one thing I definitely was not a fan of was what was supposed to have been blue cheese for the chicken wings. It didn’t even taste like blue cheese, but luckily, the chicken wings didn’t need it.
Also part of the happy hour was $ 3.5 bar draft, $ 5 specialty cocktail (tonight’s was a Tequila Sunrise) and $ 4 mixed drinks using house alcohol.
My sprite and vodka was perfect.
And to make things even better… starting at 7pm, we partook in free rum tasting provided by some company. It was good, it was shots, it was free.
So far… Obivia is definitely looking like a happy hour spot for the ladies.
Oh yeah, and the music was great, the ambiance good for groups and gal pals, and if you want to carry on a good conversation, come early. Anytime after 7pm, it gets crowded… and loud.

Obivia is a cute, dark, lounge with 60’s porn playing in the background with an equally tasteful choice of music!
I came here on a Wed. and it was completely dead! –two other people in the place other the us (guess there ploy of overcharging on drinks isn’t working if you can’t get the peeps there in the first place)
They do have a great cocktail list– I would love to try 80% of the drinks, they have everything from fruity to chocolaty to real stout! I had a few – need not mention how many here-​BUT they all were Delicious think I really liked one with ginger!
Its a cool, chill place that could be better if they had drink specials and some better marketing! =D

hmmm… the challenge with reviewing this place is where to start. ok, how about walking up to the place.
What the heck is up with that logo? Who did they get to design that, and worse, who said — yep, that’s it, that’s our logo, I love it??? Someone must have, though I can’t imagine why. The looks like some jetsons retro spaceship sign. It’s just painful…
Walking in you are greeted by a hostess who is, yes hot, but self-​important. Is this faux velvet rope supposed to make people feel like they’re hanging at someplace exclusive?
I went here for a birthday party, and the whole back area was booked for them. That was nice, separate DJ, yada yada. Music — nothing memorable. Drinks, waaaay overpriced. $ 12 for a glass of table wine. yum!
What can I say good about this place? I’m trying to think of something. Oh, the girls all looked great. Well the birthday girl has good taste, anyway!

I came here for a friend’s birthday party on a Saturday. I didn’t arrive until 2AM but had a great experience from the moment I arrived at the door. The bouncer was friendly and helpful. Huh, is this the Twilight zone? I’m not used to that. He pointed me in the direction of where my friends were. Obivia is nice, cozy and trendy. I love the exposed brick. You can dance if you want to dance, lounge if you want to lounge, and watch a totally WACK vintage porn movie at the same time. It’s awesome, lol!
From the bouncer to the bartenders to the busboys, the staff was friendly and seemed genuinely nice. I also liked the fact that the place had an amber glow and that it wasn’t totally dark. The music was good too. Good friends + nice staff+ good drinks = good times. Thanks Obivia.
FYI — I’m not very familiar with this part of the city, so I got lost trying to get there. So did other people in our party. It is a little tricky to find it but once you figure it out, it really is a nice place.

Usually I am not a fan of pretentious places. But Obivia is different. The lightings and the ambience of the place makes you swoon. I hung out in the bar area with my friend. The best part was that we were early and it was happy hour time. So within 10 bucks we had a drink. The down side is that they have an expensive coat check. I had to check my bag and coat. I wish they are a bit reasonable in that department.
Bartender is friendly, and they give free popcorns too. Music is not too loud. It is a perfect happy hour place in that area.

The music and vibe here was surprisingly good, until they got rid of D.J. Bammbamm. I used to bring people to this spot to also get their money taken from them to support the place. Now, like the default Unilocal message for one star says «Eek! Methinks not.» That is about right.

I was expecting amazing things when I entered Obivia’s doors. I saw visions of dancing ladies, plush pink couches and fans made of leaves being waved in our direction. I left having experienced none of those things, but really, I was probably pushing my expectations.
I left satisfied, but not in awe of this little SoHo bar.
What lured me over was their AMAZING Happy Hour Deals. I’m always looking for a place that does more than just offer half off beer specials in the area. What if you don’t drink beer, or just want to chill out with a glass of red after work? Obivia offers $ 5 glasses of wine EVERY DAY from 5−8pm. They also have beer specials, $ 4 glasses of sangria and plenty of specialty cocktails for $ 5. They offer bar food, like Mini Burgers or Loaded Steak Fries, for a pretty good price.
The wine was delicious. The Mini Burgers… not so much. Some were under cooked and a bit slimy. Ew.
The service was atrocious, which is why I’d probably give this place a 3.5 rating overall. I had to go up twice to ask for our waitress to come over, just to start us off with drinks. We had been sitting for at least 10 min with no service. It also took her a while to come back for the second round. Maybe she was new. Get with the program girl. It’s Friday night, and we’re thirsty.
Liked the ambiance of the place. Wasn’t blown away by it. I was told there would be 70’s porn on in the background. I saw none of that. The pink plush couches in the pictures… are fairly uncomfortable. It was also a litttttle too dark in there. We could barely see our food.
I’d go back though. Love the Happy Hr Wine!

One of my favorite bars!
Pro: Great drinks, good DJ, service is top-​notch, décor is pretty sexy (the old-​school porn on the flatscreens make for good conversation lol), really cool and hip crowd, and there’s no pretentious attitude inside or at the door — no line no cover. In regards of throwing a party (birthday, hh event, etc), the event staff is very cordial and accommodating. Ask for Claire, the event coordinator — real sweet person and is very helpful in assisting you throw the best party you can have. I must say though, I’m really impressed with the bartenders. Aside from the obvious fact that they are one of the hottest bartenders around (and I try to say that in the least sexist way possible lol), they really know how to make a quality drink, are very drink&alcohol-knowledgeable, and probably one of the friendliest and least pretentious hot bartenders I’ve ever met lol.
Also has a good happy hour — 5 to 8pm, $ 4 mix drinks, $ 12 sangria pitchers, etc.
Con: It seems like more people are finding out about this place, as it’s starting to become a bit more crowded then before. Drink tabs can get pricey, but for the quality drink and good time vibe I always get at Obivia, it’s worth it. Wished there could be more dancing, but once you’re drunk enough, you can dance anywhere lol (just don’t be sloopy about it haha)

What can I say, this is a very cool place. The music is a bit loud but the overall atmosphere is very much what I’d call CHILLAXED. YEAH! This is probably due to the dim light and the nice couches/​chairs.
So if you are after a place to hang out with a couple friends it seems like they always find a spot for you, and if not there is none, there is always the bar!
At this place they have amazingly cute waitresses, and we got a Absolute Vodka drink for free (and I have never seen such a sexy promoter in my entire life).
Aside from the obvious eyecandy (aka personel), I had a very nice red wine — and I didn’t really notice any porn until we left. :)