Chanticleer

Chanticleer Bar is one of the oldest bars in Ithaca, New York. Everybody goes
to this bar. Right in Downtown Ithaca. Right next door to State Street Theatre!
GO! And when you are feeling good, go eat some pizza at the Nines in College
Town. Enjoy the great neon sign with the Chicken on it.

Stopped in before a show at the State Theatre which is right next door. The neon lights were calling us…
Upon entering you see a pool table, rooster décor everywhere, pinball (yay!) and a smaller bar with a not too friendly bartender but I suppose that’s added to the divey charm.
It was okay. I mean, the service was just not good. I feel like if they put a little more energy in they could get something really great going but for now it’s just a place to get a beer before a show.

The neon outside of this establishment is attractive. The service is not. Yes I know that this is a dive bar. I love dive bars. After reading several reviews about the Chanticleer, I am happy to hear that I’m not the only patron who was disappointed with the service. It was my first time going out in Ithaca and I had high expectations about the nightlife. Perhaps it’s cool and tolerable in the owners’ mind to be passive-​aggressive and unfriendly towards customers? I don’t know, maybe that is in the staff training manual. Perhaps they don’t want good tips. My boyfriend and I sat down at the sticky bar top and were greeted by a surly bartender who did not know how to give us advice about the local beer selection when we asked him which one he would recommend. A few things were decent about the bar besides the crappy service. The crowd was pretty cool — an older, grad school and academic crowd playing pool. The music was good. The décor is nice. All was going ok two beers in until two immature, wasted early twenty-​somethings (if that) walked in. They were very rambunctious and rowdy and clearly were disturbing the peace. One of them (a heavy set girl) bumped into my boyfriend and was practically sitting on him instead of having her friend move the chair down towards her. She was too intoxicated to stand up straight. Then she freaked out in her drunken outrage accusing us of calling her fat because my boyfriend was startled by being practically sat on by a stranger, and moved his chair closer to me and more away from her. She briefly stepped outside returned minutes later with her posse and came up directly to me and my boyfriend and started hassling us, accusing us that she was being made fun of. The management should have noticed the first time that there was a disturbance occurring in their establishment. Did they? No, they ignored it. And then by the second time they finally stepped out of their «office» (just behind the bar) and barely made a demand for these young wasted individuals to leave the establishment. My boyfriend and I were extremely disturbed by this incident and we would have perhaps considered staying ordering a third drink but after these rowdy college-​aged children ruined the environment, we decided to leave. We think that we deserve to pay for better service and a friendlier, less hostile environment when we go out to treat ourselves on a vacation. I loved all that Ithaca has to offer in terms of its natural beauty, but we were appalled by the gross company that we encountered at this bar and even more so the way in which the management decided to handle it (not very well). Also — be careful when trying to pay with a credit or debit card. Just a tip — there is a $ 10 minimum for cards.

The other reviews are on target about the service: teddy bears do not work behind the bar. But an amazing neon sign out front, a memorable name and a bare-​bones interior sort of make up for the passive-​aggressive attitude. Laugh it off and you’ll be fine.

Probably the least friendly bartender I’ve ever experienced. I understand being in a college town and having to deal with a bunch of obnoxious students and fake ids. But that doesn’t mean you treat every person under the age of 40 with contempt.
We had two hours to kill before meeting my sister and her friends out. We entered the bar, I ordered a drink and my id was demanded. Fine ok… but then the second our drinks were put on the counter she demanded, «$ 8.50»… We were parked up on the bar stools, coats off, clearly not going anywhere, or in a rush to skip out on our tab. Not a great way to keep someone drinking at your relatively empty establishment.
We paid our tab, sat far away from the bartender so I could enjoy my beer and left. We went down the street and spent $ 50 elsewhere.

Best bar in Ithaca! Okay, I haven’t been to too many Ithaca bars but it was mellow and friendly on a Friday night and there’s pinball and good music. Also they have a NEON ROOSTER outside, how can you go wrong with that? Not sure what other peoples’ issue with this place is but I give it a thumbs-​up.

A favorite bar down the hill from all the college kids. We were looking for pinball without the 21 year old vibe and we found it. Great local bar with awesome décor. I would go back if in the area. Cheap pinball and awesome wallpaper.

Is SURLY a requirement to work here? I have been here numerous times, more than I care to admit and each and every time the bar keep is the MOST MISERABLE bartender ever! Dude, if you hate your job that much do yourself a favor and find a new fucking job!

Least friendly bartender I’ve ever experienced in my life. She acted as though we were putting her out every time that we wanted to order a drink.
While we were there some college student tried to use a fake ID. Now obviously I’m not in favor of under aged drinking, and I know the fines that can come with serving a minor, but the way she handled this situation was so bizarre and over the top that we ultimately left soon after. When the student gave her the fake ID she immediately started screaming, «What the F*** is this», and «Who the F*** do you think you are». The profanities continued until he walked out… and then we walked out.

Spent a rainy afternoon here sipping whiskey, playing pinball, and listening to the jukebox. This is a class A, 5 star dive bar folks. As good as it gets.

Great bar. Good prices, very friendly bar keep, lots of roosters, pretty clean… What more can you want?
We stumbled in after seeing a huge crowd at Ithaca Ale House and were glad we did. Would definitely return next time I’m in the area.

If I lived in Ithica, I could see this place becoming «my spot». As mentioned in other reviews, A Typical dive bar. Somewhat leary of strangers, but I can appreciate that. Don’t be an ass out of turn and you will be fine. Very reasonable drink prices from what I had seen in the surrounding establishments.