Whiskey Blue

Cool atmosphere in the W hotel midtown. I’ve been here possibly over 15 times to meet friends for drinks. I love their mojitos and most recently on Friday night tried their ginger mule cocktail, delicious. Their food is ok, I usually get their platter with hummus and olives. Great spot to hangout with a group or have a glass of wine. They also have a dj sometimes on weekends with good music.

Generally an older crowd and seems to have a ‘singles’ scene. Wait staff is generally nice. Like most hotel bars, it is overpriced and drinks are mediocre. No reason to go in here unless you are staying at the hotel or want to find a cougar.
Recently went in on an empty post-​Christmas Saturday. Found out they won’t give coin change on cash transactions, with the bartender stating, ‘we only deal in dollar bills’. I don’t care for coins too but that was a first.

Decent ambience, but if you’re going to charge $ 16 for a cocktail it at least should be made properly. They shortcut all their cocktails with syrups, no muddling, etc. The difference is evident in the taste.

I stopped in here on Thanksgiving for a quick drink after dinner and it was very nice. We were the only people in there for most of it and the bartender was nice and accommodating. The drinks were a little expensive, we both had liquor but some of the wines seemed more fairly priced. I liked the atmosphere, it was a good spot to grab one or two drinks if you’re dressed up and looking for somewhere quiet.

Good drinks and good atmosphere for a casual drink in midtown east. Friendly bartender and amazing selection of liquors. Don’t know the vibe in evenings or weekends but being the w I’m sure it’s great

Upscale bar with good décor. Went here for a friends bday drinks and wasn’t super impressed. Service wasn’t the best, given that we had a large group and a ton of drink orders coming from multiple people. Drinks were pricy and nothing was special about them.

Really great staff of bartendars and waitresses. All nice and friendly, and if you can come on a night that Michael James is DJ, YOU WONT WANT TO LEAVE! Nonstop dance music, amazing mixes and big variety of music from hip hop, to disco to MJ to 80’s; etc. Really amazing and fun:
And the place has nice plush couches that seemed clean; and the bar was spacious and not too crowded.

Mr. V’s opinion of this place was okay, it wasn’t overcrowded, but that he wouldn’t go back if it was his choice. And I agree. The bathrooms were upstairs in the hotel, and wholly inconvenient. The bartenders were polite, if a little standoff-​ish, but quick.
But even for New York, this was trying way too hard.

Good/​Its ok. The interior is nice, boutique english meets cabaret r&b club. I went yesterday, Saturday night. It was packed, but there isn’t really anyplace to go in the area so this is a cross between after-​work crowd and after parties of the upper east side. We looked for a place to sit, and there was only a reserved table left. We both work in hospitality/​food service as well.
The short blonde sweating her ass off is running around but I ask if there is a table, can we sit in the reserved section, she greets up greatly and sits us immediately.
DJ of the night was horrible. Playing oldies r&b club hits, to make the older crowd scream, which happened a lot. The food and wine is great. I love scotch and they had a wonderful scotch menu. POINTS!!! We decided to go to a less noisy place. He paid with a credit card, I tipped in CASH.
And the next day they over-​charged the credit card!!! from the bill we signed, about $ 30… This has only happened to me once before a 5 Napkin Burger, really, you wanna be compared to 5 Napkin Burger on Midtown East?
So it was high but the a dramatic finish, I dont like surprises on my credit card. Thanks:-)

Service is terrible. They do not have enough waitstaff. Mostly guys in business suits. Drinks and whiskey menu are great but service needs improvement by a large measure.

not a bad spot to go to if you want to class it up for a date. They will sit you on a couch and keep you close, and the service is excellent. People are definitely dressed up here, most men are in jackets.
If you are simply looking for a bar to get some drinks with friends, I would recommend more lively, cheaper bars in the area.

Came here with two girlfriends — we first sat in the lobby bar and had a few drinks and the cheese plate — everything was very good and the bartender was great! He was friendly, courteous, and attentive but didn’t hover.
Then we sat in the lounge off to the left when you walk in (called Whiskey Blues). Good drinks, mediocre food, nice atmosphere. The night would’ve been great if we didn’t have such a rude waitress. Not only did she not smile, but she looked as though it physically pained her to take our orders.
When we were ready to pay, we couldn’t find her for a while so I asked the other waitress if she would mind finding our waitress or bringing our check over — she was gracious and said no problem. Finally our waitress came back, and instead of coming right over to us, proceeded to help the table behind us, which I should add was filled with 3 guys. The best part is she seemed so friendly towards them. When she finally walked over with our check, she had the nerve to say absolutely nothing — no thank you, and of course no smile. I’ve never been so offended by waitstaff. Here’s a tip, it’s not that hard to smile and be professional.

It’s a great place for overpriced drinks. The somewhat-​upscale atmosphere makes for a good post work or dinner drink spot, but the drinks are pricey and the bourbon/​whiskey pours are stingy.

Grad school buddy & I met up for drinks at this hotel bar, which reminds me of old, exclusive social clubs I’ve only heard about… except Whiskey Blue is very much not exclusive; from finance guys to just-​out-​of-​college go-​getters, the clientele here runs the gamut.
I loved sinking into their plush sofas, which comes so naturally after a few grey goose martinis. Such a lovely place to wax philosophical.
Between our $ 20 drinks & a couple bar snacks (olives, kobe burgers), we racked up quite a bill. The most curious part is after dropping a couple bills, we were asked to leave… I don’t remember us being belligerent (but you can’t quote me on that), & how did they know we were done ordering? Bar did become quite crowded, but we were spending, so why cut off paying patrons? It’s a plush venue, but I probably won’t return with hundreds of other manhattan bars just waiting for me to run up my bar tab to my heart’s content.

I came here tonight for bubbles, appetizers, and girly conversation with one of my best friends. I had been to Stone Rose (NY location) before so I am somewhat familiar with Rande Gerber’s lounges. Also, a very cool guy I used to work with met his lovely girlfriend at Whiskey Blue, so I expected that we would be surrounded by an enlightened crowd.
Overall, the place wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t Stone Rose. The service was prompt but Adrienne and I were mystified by why every table (even the few vacant ones) had reserved placards on them, even though we were brought to one of said tables by a waitress when we arrived. Maybe this was an effort to keep the riffraff out and we appeared to be the right demographic? We were immediately brought a bowl of crunchy pretzel nuggets to munch on as we perused the menu. We ordered a glass of prosecco for me, a Grey Goose martini for Adrienne, and a Mediterranean plate to share.
I was satisfied with my prosecco as always but Adrienne was disappointed with the martini, saying that it didn’t seem to be prepared properly. The Mediterranean plate was delicious with a decadent pile of paper-​thin pitas, and sumptuous servings of olives, hummus, and babaganoush.
Overall, Whiskey Blue is a solid venue for post-​work libations and appetizers, with comfortable seating and good ambient music playing. The ladies’ room, however, was on the second floor of the attached W, which was rather annoying. I would not rush back necessarily, even though it certainly is the type of place I like to go to for happy hour and is convenient for my purposes.

Ughhh this place sucked! Was there for my birthday with 3 others and wow what a crapshoot! Drinks are $ 19 each! Yes! For a hole in the wall place inside a hotel which made the most watered down jack and coke I have ever had! It was basically coke with a splash of jack! Waitress was rude and the ditsy dumb airhead type who got our order wrong, and came back with the right watered down order 34 minutes later! Music was awful, and so was the sound system. Extremely crowded place with a bunch of 21 – 25 year olds. I am 32 so maybe thats why that annoying, can’t handle your liquor type crowd is not my cup of tea.
Speaking of crowds, there were at least 3 hookers hanging out in this place, picking up drunks and taking them upstairs. Gross
LADIES: The bathroom is located super far away! you have to go through the crowd, then outside of the bar, then through the hotel lobby, then up a huuuuuge flight of stairs then about a 6 blocks walk long to get to the actual bathroom! I mean seriously?
I only went there because it was closest bar/​lounge to the restaurant where we had dinner and wanted to just hang out and have a few more drinks but I gotta say, hands down, you will have a much better time at one of the few non-​stuffy prissy lounges in meat packing district were you at least get a beautiful space to be in, better music and a bit better cocktail for $ 19, $ 21.
Do yourself a favor and STAY AWAY from this crapshoot. Ughhhh so annoyed with this shithole, excuse my french. UGhhhhh
Katherine

Me like… me like a lot. Close to the Double Tree where we were staying for the weekend. Though the drinks were quite pricey (but strong), this is to be expected in Manhattan.
The vibe is pretty classy (as much as a place that has «whiskey» in its name can get) and the DJ mixes a nice variety of old school tunes with plenty of Usher :)

I should have looked at the other reviews. Slow service, expensive drinks, and the décor is nice but it didn’t have that cool lounge vibe we thought it would, like other Ws I have been to… Primarily as the music was a mix of late eighties early nineties crap.
The bathroom is a pain in the neck to get to, elevator to the second floor.

Great bar… old school, very classy, masculine bar… makes you WANT to have some whiskey even if you’re not a fan.
Great place to catch up with friends and unwind.
Highly recommend!

Pros:
–Classy, upscale atmosphere
–Interesting drinks with decent presentation
–Adequate seating and standing room
Cons:
–Drinks are overpriced
–Bartender seemed to be drunk and kept referring us to a bar down the street
–Nearest bathroom is upstairs
Whiskey Blue seems to be for the 30s and 40s demographic. My friend and I were the youngest in the room in our mid-​20s. We found WB late on a Sunday while we were looking for a place to have drinks in midtown near our hotel. Although the ambiance was what we were looking for, nothing about the place was memorable, except the bartender and the unreasonably priced drinks. To me, WB is a one-​time deal, and probably not the first place I’d recommend to friends.