The Boiler Room

It’s not for me. This bar appears to be for those who want to socialize in a crowded, dark room with music in the background. It is definitely not for those who are looking for good music for dancing. I did not buy a drink while here, but I believe they are known for inexpensive beverages. I did use the restroom while there — I noticed that the ceiling was uneven and there was no mirror. Not the classiest experience, but I could get past it had there been good music. One upside was that it was a fairly young crowd. If you’re looking for a night of dancing, I’d recommend checking out Hell’s Kitchen.

The Boiler Room is an institution of a gay bar in East Village, a neighborhood not necessarily known for its gay bars. I have never not had a blast here and have spent many a late night stopping in.
No-​frills, cash only + pool tables and pinball machines and juke boxes. This place has pretty anything you could want to distract yourself in a bar. OK drinks — not the strongest. Cheap though! This place isn’t really for dancing, more of a casual, come as you are vibe, which is part of its charm!

I’ve been coming here the past few weeks on Thursdays during the happy hour. The bartender is friendly, professional and funny. He is usually quick to give refills on drinks.
There is a pool table, a pinball machine, an ATM (cash only) and tv’s in the bar. Since I’m usually here for happy hour (the early part) it is usually not that crowded.

The Boiler Room is not a fancy venue but it has the advantage of having a crowd as unpretentious as it comes in terms of gay bars in New York. Both guys and girls of any type should feel welcome here (even though the bar is more geared towards men).
A juke-​box type machine provides the music, which you can select for a fee on your credit card. The layout is not very conducive to dancing, however.
There is a pool table that is sometimes available for use but that is covered when the place gets busy.
Finally, drinks are very reasonably priced!

I really like the vibe and crowd here. It’s not a dancing venue, but more of a chill bar. The drinks are well priced. People stand around with their friends, so it’s definitely not as cruisy as some of the others, depending on what you’re looking for. The people here on a Friday night were semi-​hipster more masculine types with beards. It’s basically an SF-​like crowd. Perfect place to pre-​game before the dancing…

A fun gay bar, reminiscent of The Joiners Arms in London (for any UK visitors).
We went on a Wed night and although it wasn’t very busy it still had a great vibe.
Well drinks are only $ 4 and best of all the music is provided by a jukebox full of amazing pop music.
Recommended

The Boiler Room is friendly neighborhood bar is a great little spot in the East Village and has the best drink prices in the city: well drinks only $ 4!!! The atmosphere is comfortably divy and the type you could stay at for the entire night. It’s a great place to come to with a group of friends and mingle the crowd to make some new ones. The bartenders offer quick service, which is great because it can get a little busy with prices as low this. There’s a pay per game pool table and ample seating around the bar for large and small groups of people. There’s no wonder it’s been voted «Best Gay Bar» year after year, but I’d vote it one of the best bars I visited on my last trip to New York. The hours are great as they’re open until 4am every day. So whether you’re with friends or rolling solo for the night, if you’re in the area, it’s a must-​see.

Great little place to pre-​game for the rest of your night. DO NOT make the mistake of getting a drink before 10 PM — all drinks are $ 4 after 10. YEP, $ 4! Crazy deal.
The music isn’t that good, but hey, it’s for your pregame, not your actual whole night. Cliente is pretty good, and the bartenders, especially the bearded tatted bald one… MMM.

Friendly bar staff. Sometimes they have pizza during happy hour. Nice crowd, not stuck up. The place to me has a nice cozy pub feel too it. It’s a bit dark. Big bathrooms. Couches. They will charge your phone for a price but they got free wifi and nice music too and movies playing. I think last time I went they had some Star Trek playing!!! The place is one of my favs. I need to go back again.

Before my trip to NYC a good friend made me a huge list of must-​see and must-​go-​to places. On it was The Boiler Room for, and I quote, «CHEAP DRINKS!»
As everyone has mentioned, they do have the $ 4 well drinks after 10pm. NYC is a late-​night city so this is the perfect spot to begin your night out. Get your pre-​drunk game on here while you mingle with some very kind, no frills folks. Bonus points for pool tables and jukebox.
It’s a dark, no frills, casual kind of place. It’s simply a gay dive bar. So if you don’t like cash only, no frills, gay dive bars– you probably won’t like it here.

Guys, they have $ 4 well drinks EVERY NIGHT from 10pm-​4am…
With a deal like that combined with the crowd here, The Boiler Room is becoming my favorite gay bar in the city. The crowd is a big mix of young and old, but predominantly younger. I’m guessing this is because of its proximity to NYU. I’m usually not a dive bar fan, but it doesn’t matter to me as much here because the crowd is always so relaxed and usually quite attractive. Sure the atmosphere and interior is more appealing at places like Therapy in Hells Kitchen, but here there’s no pretentiousness that you get a lot of in Chelsea and HK bars.
They have a modern jukebox for anyone to select what song comes on next, so you don’t have to worry about some horrible DJ with his shirt off playing top 40 hits. A big plus (and one of the main reasons why I come here) is that they have a pool table. I’ve never had to wait more than 10 min or so to play. Among the couple times I’ve been here, it has never been too packed, but crowded enough to make it enjoyable.
Somehow I always disregard the EV gay bars because they are pretty divey, but The Boiler Room stands out among them in my opinion. It’s a convenient 10 – 15 min walk down 2^nd ave from my apartment and you can’t really beat $ 4 drinks.

Me enamoré de este antro y de sus cervezas baratas. Nos pillaba al lado de casa y casi que era la parada obligatoria antes de subirse a planchar la oreja!
El sitio es bastante grande, muy diáfano, con un señor que te pide el carnet si le apetece y que sino te saluda y te invita a pasar. Un billar, y una máquina para que elijas tu la música y atormentes al resto del personal.
El billar a determinada hora lo tapaban y se convertía en mesa, y es que había un momento a partir de media noche que el sitio se llenaba y se animaba un montón.
Todo muy divertido, me encantó. Además, los camareros son majos!

Since this CASH ONLY bar so close to the Narcissa Restaurant we questioned, «Why not?» The drinks seem to be all priced at $ 7 a pop. I’m not a beer dinner so I don’t know how much those would cost. Apparently we sort off got stuck sitting right next to a risky wasted older gentleman with a black baseball cap named Mike who was whispering curses and trying to hug anyone that sits next to him. Thank goodness for Alec the (British?) bartender who manage to lay down the law on him as soon as he annoys the patrons.

Classic! Chicago is playing, and there is even a pinball machine in the room and a pool table.

The first time I went to the Boiler room I felt a bit weird. Maybe because it was my first time in a gay bar. But after a few minutes, that feeling went away.
They have a $ 4 special on all well liquor from 10pm till 4am, every day. That’s amazing! No worries, just because drinks are cheap, doesn’t mean they are weak, actually they are pretty strong.
The bartenders are usually nice and efficient, never waited longer than couple of minutes.
They have a pool table and jukebox. The song selection could be better.
If you are a girl, I recommend using the toilet on the right. Even though they are both unisex, didn’t feel comfortable in the other one.
Don’t forget, this is an cash only establishment!

I really enjoy coming here with my friends — gay or not.
Its got a great old feel vibe that takes you back to what the LES used to be. I grew up in the neighborhood, so it’s nice to see that it hasn’t changed much. Everyone’s really chill and you won’t get bothered here — free to do your own thing with your friends.
I suggest coming in during the week or Friday. You can find a place at a table and enjoy drinking cheap. BUT REMEMBER IT’S CASH ONLY.

On the night before Thanksgiving and all through the Village lied the boiler room and 5 friends a drinking.
The bartender made us our drinks with great speed and gave us a chip for the next one we’ll need.
This chip gave us a drink for free in which we shouted and cheered with great glee!
As time went on and the drinks were poured I realized I was turning into a big drunkard.
The drinks were poured graciously which gave me a buzz — thank goodness I wasn’t with any duds.
Okay. I did my best (don’t judge. haha) Seriously though this place is really cool. The bartender is sweet, the drinks are cheap and it’s awesome
The only thing you need is cash so make sure to bring a lot of it :]
Enjoy!

Don’t use the song selection screen!!!
They fill up the queue so you’ll never hear your song!
This is the cheapest bar in New York City, and you can definitely tell too. It’s usually comfortably crowded. Good for happy hour too. Don’t count on quality drinks, most of them are hard to drink. Some are worse than rubbing alcohol. I will only drink beer when I go.
The crowd is usually very interesting. Mix of young and older, but predominantly 20s-​30s

This place is fantastic. The bartenders are friendly, the drinks are dirt cheap, and the lighting is as dim as everyone would like it to be.
Old School Monday’s are a must if you enjoy disco and freestyle, but if you stop by any day during happy hour, the 2-​for-​1 drinks will have you bobbing your head to anything on the jukebox.

I haven’t been to a lot of gay bars, in fact this was my first one.
It seemed a little seedier than I expected, although to be fair I’m used more lighting in bars and clubs.
The prices were okay and the music they played were really suited to my taste (older 80’s 90’s hits.) I don’t think it’s a spot I’d choose to hit up.

$ 4 well drinks? Even the straight guys can’t resist.
One thing I love about Boiler Room is that instead of a «gay bar,» it feels more like a bar with a bunch of gays, which is so much better in my opinion. Friends are just there to grab a few drinks and catch up. I don’t worry about guys hitting on me or making awkward eye contact with people looking for that person for the night. And with $ 4 well drinks after 10PM every night of the week, it’s one of the best deals in East Village.
Note: Boiler Room is pretty dive-​y. If you need a clean, pristine place to drink, don’t bother stepping in; it can be pretty gross at times. Also, cash only!