The Second Floor Bar

this is an awesome space. too bad the neighbors forbid outside noise after 8pm. they close and lock the outside after that time. we had a few drinks inside and it was pretty nice. calm, quiet, friendly

The Second Floor Bar is such a cool place. The perch is a perfect spot to have a reserved section of the bar — it’s upscale yet keeps it real with the floor to ceiling glass window views of the bowery. The waiters were super-​attentive. Christine — the events manager is also completely awesome so def a must consider for private events! The outdoor patio looks great for a cool summer cocktail as well — though I believe that closes at 8pm due to neighborhood constraints.

Great place to have a drink and talk, not too loud. The martini was smooth, but they don’t have too many varieties of vodka (no stoli, only kettel one)
Nice touch on the bill tray

great room. best on non weekend nights

love it.

This is a review for the upstairs bar (when you walk into the hotel, choose the entrance on the right and then up the stairs to the elevator: 2^nd floor) My friend D and I decided to grab a quick drink because we were already at the hotel booking a room for her parents and as Mary J Blige would say, «it was just one of dem days.»
The upstairs was perfect for our purposes because it wasn’t poppin like downstairs, and had plenty of seats at the bar and cozy tables and chairs. It’s probably in all 600 sq/​ft so much better for an intimate cocktail instead of people watching. It also has access to the infamous roofdeck patio that their East Village neighbors revolted against (which is still noticeable through the dirty undies strung up outside)
Anyhow, D ordered a martini and I ordered a very tasty scotch and campari cocktail (I think it was a San Remo) off the list. After that, the bartender left us alone, which is fine. But fast forward to Round II when D managed to flag her down after a few tries (mind you: we are the only ones at the bar and sitting in front of her. It still proved difficult) D ordered another dirty martini and as we sat talking, I watched in horror as she refilled D’s (not finished) glass with a new martini, also leaving her olive pits from the previous one.
Tacky! I don’t think I’ve even been to a dive bar that’s done that.
While it might not prevent me coming to CSH again, I’d prefer to splurge on $ 14 cocktails at a place that also provides the service. I’m funny like that.

hokay, so. here is the cooper. jus chillin’. daaamn! that is a sweet bar you might say.
well, it is – if you want someone to FIRE ZE MISSILES at you!
seriously. let us count the ways this place blows, shall we?
1) if you open a tab at the bar, you have to close it at the bar. what’s the problem with this? well, if you later get table «service», this means you have two bills to settle – yourself. have fun waiting 15 minutes to flag down each «server”/ bartender. wtf, mate?!
2) those sons of beetches CHARGED AND GAVE ME THE WRONG CREDIT CARD. aahhhh motherland!!! luckily, i noticed this on my way out as i was putting mr michael zeligman’s credit card into my wallet (this is way funnier if you know that my name is stephanie [insert very chinese last name here]). unluckily, when i finally tracked my «server» down again and very nicely told her the error, she ripped the card out of my hand flipped around and proceeded to charge me for my drink. no apology, not even an acknowledgment. well, that’s not true – when i looked at her funny, she spitted out this gem: «what do you WANT from me?!» ahhh, to be young and obnoxious.
ugh, i could go on but i’m sorry, this place makes me le tired.
the end.

I’m a fan because this bar has the coolest architecture and design.
Not a fan of the drink prices though (somewhere around $ 20 – 30 per drink).
It’s a really chill and trendy place to hang out with a group of friends, but the service is somewhat lacking.

Space looks good. That’s about all I can say.
Bartender appeared to be making hot toddy’s so I asked if that ‘s what she was making (yes!) and decided to order one as well to keep things simple. 10 – 15 minutes later, my hot toddy was nowhere to be found. As this was the blustery night of December’s first big snow, you can imagine the urgency of a hot toddy.
When i inquired about said toddy, the bartender replied that she was warming the whiskey in hot water. what now?! perhaps there is another recipe i have not heard of but doesn’t one normally put the whiskey IN the hot water? this drink should take 30 seconds to make. note, we were not waiting for the water to boil.
when i asked to mix the whiskey into the water, the bartender replied that she could certainly do that. um, what was she intending to do otherwise?! another 5 – 10 minutes go by before toddy is achieved. the bar was NOT crowded at all.
we were at a party in the second floor «perch», a glass box which juts out over the street a la VIP yankees box. the snow was whirling about outside and apparently inside as well. it seems, the seams of this glass perch were lacking in insulation/​weatherproofing.

I swore to myself when this hideously sexy building was made that I wouldn’t go in it.
Nope, no sir, I’m not supporting the tres over-​modern glass tower the ruined the neighborhood. Nope not me.
Over the months I’d stare at it wistfully from across the square and grew fond of it. After all, the opposite of love is not hate but indifference.
My friend waved an adorable baby to tempt me into this sleek, modern den of luxurious sin.
We were in a… library? All by ourselves… and the baby. Yes, a baby in a bar, but it’s not actually a bar? (Hotels like babies, right?) It’s a private room with modern couches and a plush leather coffee table. A smartly dressed server promptly handed us drink menus— 14 bucks a cocktail.
Totally worth it, we had an entire living room to ourselves.
Maybe it was because I was tipsy, but I found the whole place overwhelmingly sexy. I could see people eating dinner through a tinted pane of glass as I walked down the selectively lit stairs to the washrooms. Everyone was dressed like they were going to be in a magazine… or the sexyback music video.
An overall surreal, Hollywood-​New York experience. The cocktails were perfect, not too sweet and filled to the top.

For the math & science nerds, I have an exercise for you!
1) Find the derivative of the function g (x) = 5x — 2
2) Divide by the smallest prime number known to man
3) Then take the square root
4) Add the essence of a milky young yak
5) Bind it with red twine
6) Drop it in the Hudson
= What is the answer in Spanish?
illogical? perplexing? irrelevant to this review?
sort of. but it IS easier solving the above than finding the bathroom at Cooper Sq Hotel Bar. Observe a la Map Quest.
1*
2*
3*
4. walk past first set of sofas (2 feet, 3 sec)
5. walk past human blockade hovering bar (8 feet, 2.5 min)
6. turn right
7. walk toward wall to wall windows b/​c the glowing light of the outside patio is terribly entrancing. realize you’re standing right in front of a table of diners who are now looking at you funny because you are not their waiter. (30 feet, 3.5 min)
8. retreat! back away slowly, smiling politely heh heh (20 feet, 2 min)
9. spot unmarked mystery door where you observe two people emerging. guesstimate this is the bathroom and enter chamber. (5 feet, 45 sec)
10. you are now in a hallway with elevators. oh no, this is the hotel. turn to exit… when you spot another set of stairs leading down to…(25 feet, 1.5 min)
11. the basement? no. the 6 train? no! it’s the ladies bathroom b/​c you see your friend washing her hands! (35 feet, 2 min)
12. but then you see dudes. it’s unisex. (6 min… b/​c they look interesting. ly european ok?)
13. realize your 2 drinks are pounding the bladder so you hurriedly wave farewell to friend. (2 sec)
14. enter hallway of 10 unmarked booths of toilets, doors all closed but no line means they are likely vacant? but which door! the lady or the tiger?! (20 feet, 3 min)
15. shake door 1. locked (10 sec)
16. shake door 2. locked (20 sec… arm getting tired)
17. shake door 3 when you discover tiny red LCD light means = occupied! so smart, celebrate brilliance! (34 sec)
18. see GREEN LCD = door 5! shake and… it’s LOCKED! What the… I am dumbz? (a sad 22 sec)
19. miracle door 7 OPENS. oh sweet relief. (4.5 min)
20. retrace steps 1 – 14 to make my way back to civilization. (2 min… i’m a fast learner)
TOTAL DISTANCE & TIME: too long, too time consuming to be spent in the Labyrinth**, with not even David Bowie to guide your way.
*if you need an explanation of how i got out of my driveway/​barstool, you need some serious help man!
**reminder to netflix that genius
other:
— cooper sq bar is like the W
— and gansevoort
— and the standard hotel
— minus the nekked people
— waitress was definitely a model b/​c i came up to her waist
— drinks were fairly tasty but girlied up by simple sugar
— priced $ 14 per cocktail… or $ 18 with tax/​tip which is awfully close to $ 20 which is like 10 two buck chucks!
— cleo predicts the cast of the hills or the city would love this place

Can’t believe there’s only two reviews for this bar which is always happening… the space is gorgeous with slanted black ceramic ceilings, and very interesting layouts. Downstairs and upstairs bars and nice plush couches to sit on… a bit W hotel vibe to it with more of a European twist perhaps… the outside area is great to have drinks in and supercomfy although the outside closes at 8 but it’s great for those of us who get started in the afternoon…
The bathroom is a bit tricky to find but they are clean and spacious AND there is an attendant who serves you a glass of champagne as you walk out. Initially I thought it was only during the opening but they’ve kept it up throughout my visits.
At first there was no cocktail menu but now there is… the Basil 8 is a great summer drink with vodka, white grapes, mint, and ginger ale (I prefer substituting ginger ale for sprite or juice), The Cooper Spritzer is refreshing but tastes boring (wine, grapefruit juice, elderflower I think).
The staff is really sweet but SLOW. Once when it was not busy I waited over 45 minutes the bartender later told me a customer had harassed a waitress and the staff was being questioned… yesterday I waited half an hour and the bartemder apologized and said she simply forgot to get my our drinks… she did comp one though and gave us free shots throughout the night so that was sweet. And Thurs/​Fri nights it gets packed and there’s only one or two bartenders…
This is a great all around bar whether it’s a date, event, corporate, friends…

I have reservations about hotel bars usually, but this one blew me away.
After a long day of interviewing, I needed to unwind and drink, A LOT. my friend and I came here, and at first I was slightly hesitant. Sandals and casual wear don’t usually mix well with hotel bars. However, the staff was friendly and completely unpretentious. We were lucky to grab a sofa seat, which i immediately sank into to enjoy my cocktail. Despite a wednesday night, there was a good crowd all the way until 1am.
I love how there’s a bar scene, yet its also a great place to catch up with your friend and enjoy good drinks.
There was also an extensive wine list– and very good price range.

I added this bar as a separate business for two reasons… I really liked Table 8. The service was exquisite and the food was good, so I’d have a hard time believing that they would run a shit show like this bar. But if they do, my bad and theirs too. And two… I didn’t want to bring the hotel’s ratings down because of their bar.
I’ve been to this bar 3 times. I went the first time to try it. I went the second time because it was the closest place to go when a rainstorm popped up. And I went the third time because I had a hard time believing it would still be as much of a mess as it was the first two times.
I was wrong.
Let’s start with the good stuff. The design is pretty cool. Overly done… another glass building among many in NYC. The second floor bar is beautiful and the outside space, is lovely.
But though it is fun to look at the scenery in a bar, in general you go to a bar to… have a drink. (Call me Captain Obvious) Good luck getting one here. Their first floor bar has a long bar and several tables. The first time I went, two of the three bartenders did not appear to want to serve said drinks. Luckily one of the bartenders was great and on top of her game, and we got served. The next two times they had one bartender running service bar and one running the whole bar. There is no sense of order, service, or hospitality. I’m no math genius but one bartender for a three deep bar = enough time to grow a second liver. It is a drink mill at its best (that’s if you get one) and once you hand over your $ 30 for two drinks you do feel a bit as if you got done up the wallet.
I don’t blame the bartenders. It is a tough job. I’ve never seen a bar manager and it seems that is what they need. There is a guy in a suit who regularly walks behind the bar and helps himself to drinks, but that is all he helps out with. My second liver and I will be staying away for a while.