Arlene’s Grocery

good bar. good crowd. good
music. always a good time. whether you wanna dance or just people watch, you’ll be glad you went.

Arlene’s Grocery
NY: Manhattan: LES
11pm Saturday 20^th February 2016
Four Stars
It’s more upscale than Iggy’s but just barely. I enjoyed an $ 11 Marker’s Mark. The crowd was diverse to say the least. They had a sticker machine but no quarters at the bar. The sticker machine didn’t work. It was overall pretty fun place to drink.

We went there to watch a friend play downstairs, Only had drinks but we had a great time listening to all the performers.

I don’t think you can call yourself a real New Yorker if you haven’t heard a no name (fuckin rad) rock band play here before… And stumbled in or stumbled out… But stumbled one way or another. It’s an ode to the LES I fell in love with. An era long gone. I would only call it a dive bar affectionately. I have many good memories in this place, and other nights I just don’t remember. It’s beat up, a bit run down, but there’s history in this place and it’s a staple in the neighborhood. The bartenders are awesome, it’s dark, there’s always music playing, live music, always a good crowd. I always include this place in my bar hop list when I’m in the area.

Such an amazing place! Fantastic band and karaōke host, with an awesome atmosphere. Caught a cool live band and had a few beers before the karaōke started, picked a song, waited my turn and sang my heart out with a live band to a totally rockin’ crowd. Amazing experience and would recommend it to anyone who loves to rock.

Arlene’s Grocery Karaōke is a staple of New York City and Cassie is the best! I really appreciate the «hold the mic like an ice cream cone» tip. because if you hold it by the head (that sounds dirty, lol)…it will feed back in the audience! No one wants that. She and the band will also help you out if you are lost in the song. Seasoned pro or singing for fun. they are there to support and make your experience like none other. There is a reason it is called «World Famous»…people come from all over the world to sing… as word spread that it is the best party in town. Highly recommend!

Live band karaōke at Arlene’s is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, and participating in it was part of what made me want to move to NY in the first place. Host Cassie J Sneider is a true jukebox hero

Cheap drinks and the friendliest bartenders in the Lower East Side. (Eddie and Coco are awesome!) I went for karaōke, and the band was totally solid. The host had me deeply laughing throughout the night, and there were so many terrific performers. Great place to take out-​of-​towners.

I love karaōke. So I went to Arlene’s Grocery alone to sing. I didn’t know anyone, but it took about 5 minutes to make friends with other lone singers. It was a fantastic night. The most enthusiastic karaōke audience ever. Some of the singers came in costume. If you haven’t checked out karaōke at Arlene’s Grocery yet, you should… it’s one of the weirdest, funnest, most authentic New York experience I’ve had.

Was here to host my friends performance. This venue wasnt too bad. Its very small & cozy. The drink prices arent too bad. I had a dark & stormy ($ 8) nice & strong. I love the outside of the bar. Very cute & old school. Cant say too much because i was hostin the show

Cheap drinks and good bartenders. Bartender with the hat and glasses is the best, go here on a Sunday.

LES needs more dive bars and this place is a classic!
They have music and monthly art shows. Arlene’s is a great place to meet people or grab a cheap drink.

Great spot when I’m in the city. Upstairs and downstairs have two different energies, both great. Wide-​ranging music catalog, decent drinks. Positive vibes every time I’m here. I’d definitely recommend.

Too bad the female host of Arlene’s live R&R karaōke on Monday nights has a terrible attitude.
First experience, I was schooled several times like a 5-​year-​old to ‘hold the mic like an ice cream cone’ right as I was about to sing. It was degrading to say the least. I’ve been singing for years and am pretty familiar with handling a microphone.
The second experience, I was there for a friend’s birthday and she skipped my song and never addressed it until after I politely asked why my song wasn’t played after patiently waiting 2 hrs. I was given the excuse that the band didn’t play it anymore (which was a lie bc it was on their website at the time but has since been taken down) and that it was a downer song. Funny, whenever I sing Purple Rain, everyone gets involved and sings along. It’s Prince! I thought that was the point of live karaōke?! I was then kicked out for telling this ‘gracious’ host I thought it was wrong not to have even given me a chance to pick something else. No vulgarity was used on my part. Even the bouncers felt bad asking me to leave but I was told this was ‘her’ show. That’s hilarious since the show revolves around patrons getting up on stage and singing to the rest of crowd while the house band backs them up. They’re not there to hear her imaginary original songs off her imaginary original album.
So words of advice, if you want to sing, you’ll have to first get her approval of you and the song since she is such an ‘accomplished rockstar’ and the rest of us are just amateurs.

Best place to go on a Monday night if you want to be a rockstar for the night!
Get there early-​around 950 to wait on the line to put your name on the list, as that list gets packed by names that want to sing.
Very fun experience and the karaōke is free!

Good dive bar with reasonably priced drinks and good music. I came on a Thursday night to see a friend’s band play and the place was moderately full. Beers are $ 4 – 6 (inexpensive for NY). The bartender was quick in filling our order. There are high tables to sit at and also standing room if you’re seeing a band and want to be a little closer to the stage. I’m not much into the dive bar scene so I would only come back if a band I wanted to see was playing here again. However, for what it is I thought it wa a great value.

It’s a great dive bar located on the lower east side. It’s a cozy spot to grab a quick drink, chill on a hot afternoon, and hear musicians play. The bartender was just lovely and the prices are not bad at all.

This place is great if you want to stop for a quick beer — but even though they pour heavy shots, I think they might be filling the bottles with cheaper booze. Asked for Jameson — was charged for Jameson — drank something else that was poured from the Jameson bottle.
There are a ton of seats in the back and usually plenty of space. Bartenders are always nice and attentive.
Stick with the beer.
Haven’t been for live music yet.

After moving here from Seattle I was at a loss for a good dive bar until I found Arlene’s. This place is excellent for HH and/​or staying all night if you are in the mood. It has a bit of a community feel as I witnessed the hosts recognizing people and friends running into friends.
Most importantly their pizza is basically the cure to all of life’s ailments. Sooo delicious. I recommend keeping an eye out for their occasional Pizza Parties.
Cheers!

Great atmosphere！
A great spot to get a few drinks, grab and enjoy great live music.
I will certainly come back when I’m in NYC again.

Very interesting place that gathers all different types of people.
This is definitely the go to spot to start the night off. I can always count on their $ 6 fire ball shots or $ 6 rum punch which has a great taste to it since there is pineapple juice in it. Drinks with pineapple juice are my kind of thing! Also you can enjoy the view of the band that plays downstairs on the tv in the back of the bar. Cover to go downstairs to hear them play. The bar area has a fireplace and many places to sit.

We happened upon Arlene’s by chance on our way to Local 138 for some post brunch drinks last Saturday. Having spent enough time at Hair of the Dog, I was familiar with the name but had never made my way inside. Huge mistake. If only I had known that one of my future favorite bars was waiting for me behind the simple red façade I would have gone running years ago; but c’est la vie, like star-​crossed lovers unassumingly walking by one another on the street, we just never had the chance to say hello.
Honestly, to think of how much time I have spent in the Lower East Side over the years and of all the bars that I have walked/​stumbled/​crawled/​into down there, the fact that Arlene’s had somehow managed to evade me seems almost impossible. This area along with Alphabet City are my go to’s for dive bar drinking, which if you know me is far and away my favorite kind of drinking (…OK I love all kinds of drinking almost equally, but what Unilocaler doesn’t?). I am not really sure how or why we ended up here this particular night, but I am sure glad we did. Walking in we found what at first glance seems like the quintessential LES dive; high ceilings, old wood floors framed the rooms — a back room with simple bench style seating, and a small bar in the front with locals who all seemed to know one another set the tone. The cheap drinks good music and cool ambiance would have been enough for a solid review, but there was more. A bunch of little things that this place did so well that I knew this would end up being more than just another stop on the drinking train that is the LES; it would end up as my go to place in the neighborhood.
Let me explain.
It started when we ordered up our first round, a reasonably priced tallboy/​shot special, and asked to close out (we had no idea we would be spending the rest of the night here). Making our way to the back, we found of all things a TV playing skate videos. Now I don’t know if you grew up with skateboards, playing Tony Hawk, but I did and found this both nostalgic and entertaining. The tables themselves were super comfortable, and we quickly found ourselves in need of another round. I should probably preface that this night out was for my birthday so various people wanted to buy a round or two. The fact that the bartender didn’t get annoyed when different people bought a round and closed out was super cool — most places get annoyed after a while, but not here. The next thing I noticed was the local crowd. Everyone seemed to know one another, and were super friendly; it’s cool walking into a bar as an outsider and being treated so nicely (almost weird by NYC standards). The mood of this place was more akin to a party at your friend’s house than a bar in a hugely popular drinking part of town. Combine all this with the cool downstairs bar, super reasonable prices, and the neon painted basement/​bathrooms, and you have an awesome dive bar that is friendly and fun. I honestly can’t wait to stop by and see a show!
This place is a blast — if you are looking for a solid NYC dive bar, this is the place to go.

I came here last night with a group of people to watch our friends performance. Upon our arrival, the bouncers, hostess, the woman in the coat check was very hospitable. The laid back décor, with an artsy twist was aesthetically pleasing. The prices of beverages and tickets were affordable.
Now, to the reason why a four star review turned into a two star:
The blonde bartender on Saturday evening at 7pm was extremely rude and unprofessional. I ordered a Bud Light on tap (I never do this but the beer selection was limited). My glass was dirty, and my beer was skunked (something incredibly wrong with the tap — I asked for three opinions. One person almost became very sick upon tasting this American delight).
When I wanted to send back the beer, I was trying to be understanding, and approached the bartender in a very kind way (she was not very busy because she texted on her cell phone afterwards). She said. «OK OK JUST WHAT DO YOU WANT» snapping and interrupting the customer. Although she gave me a new bottle of beer, I was taken back. I thanked her kindly (after the abrupt response), and she walked away.
Five minutes later, a gentleman ordered a drink. He did not tip the bartender. She demanded for a tip. He explained that he tips at the end because he was going to be at the venue for the entire show. She wouldn’t allow him walk away without a tip. He was probably humiliated in front of other customers. She actually shouted after him.
The bands were great. Like the cozy atmosphere. I left to go somewhere else for drinks just because of the service. Needless to say, I would have loved to watch the rest of the show that I paid for. I would have been an excellent customer (as well as the six other people I was with that would have spent a lot of means).
Excellent customer service is EVERYTHING.

This might be the best club to catch live music in NY since the demise of my old stomping grounds, CBGB. There’s always a line up of fresh and established talent, karaōke with a live band, and cool happenings at this bodega-​morphed-​into-​gig-​space. Divey in the best possible way, not at all dicey :) The sound is fantastic, what you would expect at a large, fancy venue, they take pride in it and it shows. Howard is an audio wizard.
Drinks are inexpensive with generous pours and the Doucheometer rarely pings here. Sure there’s the occasional tragically hip poseur, but we can overlook a minor negative when surrounded by so much awesome, riiigghht?! Sure we can.
The venue really supports the bands that play here, it was a great time watching Jolly before they left for a European tour. On Karaōke nights you’ll hear some stellar pipes accompanying the house band. You can check their website to see who is playing and purchase tickets in advance, but you can buy at the door. Just a great place to hang out.

Eine sehr gemütliche Kneipe mit durchschnittlichen Bier und Cocktail Preisen. Das Beste daran ist der Konzertraum direkt neben an wo Bands live spielen. Am besten man geht dort an einem Montagabend hin, da spielen dann live Bands und die Leute dazu Karaōke singen. Sehr zu empfehlen.

Ok so when I was told I was coming here I was like uh? Where? Considering I wasn’t familiar w the place the name threw me way off lol.
I was here on 8÷19÷13 to see my cousin play w his band, Thornes.
At first glance I was wondering where the heck they gonna play? So didn’t realize the side area!
Bar area when you come in is small nothing crazy, u have the bar & some seating.
While we waited I had a few drinks, everyone stuck to beer I had some Stella on tap always a good choice.
Once it was show time we all headed to the side area where the bands play.
Another small area but decent enough for the bands to play. Dimly lit, u have the stage & another bar.
The band played a good set once they were done we all decided to stick around for a bit & watch some of the bands.
I had a good time here small venue but great for show casing bands.