Forum

Forum may be long gone, but my memory has not. Too many a time turned into a bad one here, partially due to the nutty crowd, but more over due to the shoddy service we received almost every time. Happy Hour was usually the best time to come as is the case in most bars, but even at its most optimal point, Forum was largely a place I avoided if I could.
In these parts of Union Square, the usual nightlife options were college bars, dive bars, or douchebag ones (#1), Forum was most certainly the latter. The interior was deceivingly spacious, unequivocally dark, strained by the bright lights of the TVs above the bar. Part intimate lounge, part sports bar, an identity not easily discernable to the patron world.
Music was never their strong point, potentially a flawed hire of random DJs who threw in their house music card unless if it was hip hop night, which even then was a bad playlist in the making. Like the music, drinks were also a little on the weak side and the ventilation always left something to be desired.
Service will always vary at any establishment, but that was the sore spot in a place that was already screaming for help. Tipping extra for the limited bartending staff on busy nights never resulted in much favors, let alone attention. It was almost always best to come in the afternoon for their sparse bar menu and leave before the crowd and the staff turned the place into the 9^th Gate.
Now it seems The Royal (
) has spruced the place up and beefed up the menu and amount of TVs. There seems to be some potential here and hopefully it’ll fare better than its predecessor.
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
(#1) Typically synonymous with all of the above.

Forum is now closed and is now The Royal. Personally I like this changeover as everything feels much different. It now ha a more relaxed vibe where you can feel comfortable coming to watch a game or just showing up for happy hot with some friends. The food is pretty awesome too, and prices aren’t very expensive.
I’m excited to have found my new happy hour spot in the village and plan on coming back relatively often.

Stopped by for a few drinks when I was staying nearby during my NYC visit this summer. Meh. It was pretty dead during the week. We sat at the bar, and STILL had trouble getting one of the bartenders to refill us. They were too busy flirting and doing shots together. Nice. I wouldn’t come back if I lived nearby.

No.
Horrible bouncers with nasty attitudes
Stank ass servers who like to scream at people. Nobody cleans up after shattered glass. But they’re so busy at trying to convince people to get bottle service.
Just not a good atmosphere to be in when you wanna have fun.
Fuck yourselves.

There has been no other instance where Unilocal was in dire need of having a zero-​star option that is greater than this. In fact, a negative star option would be preferable when it comes to this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad ‘lounge/​club/​seventh circle of hell’ (please note the reference to a childhood book)
Should I start with the fact that a large group of people came to the entrance expecting to be ushered in due to the fact that a birthday party was scheduled to be hosted here, only to be treated like utter garbage? The birthday girl was included in this party and was nearly reduced to tears as an extremely disrespectful, scrawny man who behaved as if he were overcompensating for things that he lacked (cough), ignored the fact that there was a pre-​planned event here and decided to overcharge many people, including those who were over 21, and forced other guests to turn away. A young woman who was supposed to be our party’s promoter was left arguing with him in the front, as a group of workers were discussing what they were supposed to do about our party that had been detailed and called about in advance. It was rather amusing when she was muttering about how the man should be hit by a train, but it did us no favors as we were finally let in after such an unnecessary hassle, and shorter on cash than we had planned.
The place itself is nothing to rave to your friends about. Standard bar, a somewhat narrow path to a pretty small dance floor. The incident in the beginning COULD have been overlooked had the music been awesome, but of course not-​we were reduced to trying to dance to rap that had been popular when I was about ten (In Da Club? Really?), or irritating pop songs that once you hear, won’t leave your head for about two weeks; note to Forum DJ’s: YOU CANNOT GRIND TO ‘CALL ME MAYBE’
The crowd was awfully diverse age-​wise, and not in a good way-​there were some very young people, and then adults who looked like they were in their 40’s and 50’s. Why they would want to come to a club that is known for being populated with 18 year olds is beyond me. Furthermore, I find it ironic how the younger people in our party were given a hard time about being let in in the first place, presumably for fear of rowdy behavior or whatnot, yet it was the older patrons who were falling all over the place and dropping bottles, yes whole bottles, of alcohol all over the dance floor-​much of which, to my displeasure, ended up in my hair and some of my dress, due to the fact that I unfortunately happened to be dancing next to that particular woman. Oh, and there was absolutely no one to clean up the shards of glass all over the ground. Not one worker, throughout the whole night.
The best part was the inevitable moment where several guys, no doubt drunk out of their minds, started a fight among each other. Picture a huge brawl in the middle of the dance floor, containing no less than around 10 people, all shoving and punching and not caring what innocent bystanders got pushed along the way. One of the guys was pushed so he fell over and knocked down the low tables holding buckets of ice and from what I heard, a $ 300 bottle of alcohol. After that fight was over, another one started right on the other side, by one of the same guys. Either times, there was no security, NONE whatsoever, to break up the fights. They were apparently busy in the front, accusing 25 year old men of being in possession of fake ID’s and fake credit cards.
To conclude, I absolutely recommend this place-​if you’re looking to be abused, upset, and wanting to have a memorable birthday. I’m just sorry that the birthday girl happened to be my best friend, who faced this disaster.

Disclaimer: I have no idea how this place is at night-​time when the doorstaff kicks in. The only times I ever went was to quickly meet up with friends right after work or to catch parts of a game. There is nothing really ‘special’ about this place, but I personally like the atmosphere in here (again, I can onky speak for late afternoon hours here). The drinks are typical — the usual flavors for the usual city prices.
I really enjoy their bartending staff– they are always friendly and accommodating. (Thanks, Johnny and Shane!)
My boyfriend loves the chicken fingers and curly fries here. So maybe give that a try, but don’t come back after me if that’s not the case. This is a 3^rd party opinion that I’m sharing here.

I like what Alice I said in her review… this really is a standard 3-​star bar. If you catch it earlier in the evening, you’ll get to have some comfortable lounge seating, but don’t expect a club. I like to stop by here as it is one of the few places in walking distance of Union Square that never gets too busy, and feels spacious.
The service is really nice, and they have great wings to snack on while you drink the night away. I like the amount of space and seating, in leather. The bathrooms are a bit of an adventure all the way down past some other space that I believe is a club or a restaurant. Whatever the case, the place works.

This could be a good space, but it is lacking in several areas.
I met a couple friends here for drinks after work. Even though every bar seat was full with people watching the NHL playoffs and there was a crowd near the front of bar and other patrons scattered aruond the venue, they only had one bartender and a couple of barbacks. No waitresses, no support behind the bar. The lone bartender was a nice guy and he was clearly doing his best, but one man can only serve so many people well.
The bar food was a little less than mediocre. The beer selection for my friends was decent, I suppose and if you are looking for a place to watch sports in the Union Square area, Forum has enough flat screens around the club to give almost everyone a good view. This is helpful because considering the lack of waitstaff, you might be watching TV a long time before you can get a drink.
Have fun
G

Forum acts cooler than it is. A quick glance at the décor may lead you to think that is a fairly nice establishment. But really, it’s no better (if not worse) than the number of dive bars you’ll find around the East Village /​St. Marks area.
We stopped in on a Saturday night because it was the only place that wasn’t packed. In fact, it was nearly empty. I guess that should have been our clue that this wasn’t the best choice of venue. Oh well. Mediocre service. Mediocre drinks. Meh. I’ve had better.

Don’t trust other reviewers, especially those who can’t spell «disgusting» yet purchase bottles at places, especially places like this.
Let me put it this way: this place is your standard 3-​star bar. I knew of this place because I had time to kill with 2 friends and we stopped here. It was certainly nothing special but was definitely A-​OK. On Friday, a coworker and I went to meet others at a place a few blocks away from here that was way too loud, so we headed here for a few drinks instead. It was satisfactory, as expected.
I suppose I wouldn’t recommend this place for people who are looking to get dressed up and buy bottles, though – it’s just not that kind of a place, no matter if it tries to be or not.

It is an OK lounge with mediocre drinks. It is spacious but barely people here on a Saturday night! I wouldn’t have been here if not for my friend’s birthday!
The DJ was not very good either. I won’t be back unless I am really bored…

This is a Michigan bar and as a good girlfriend that I am, I’m also a fan of watching college football here.
Forum has 2 large flat screen TVs, 2 smaller ones by the bar and a projector. It has a lot of tables and booths and it’s never been too crowded nor does it require reservations ahead of time. Drinks are priced fairly and the bartender allowed us to order pizza for the ray’s nearby because the kitchen was closed.

Sadly this is not the place to be at when you are in the mood to get your freak on. AHEM i mean club /​bar mood.
the place sucks so much, that I walked in here with a couple of new friends and close friends at 11:15pm on a friday night and we were able to snag a table FOR FREE. The beers on tap were horrendous because the beers were relatively LUKE WARM. EPIC FAIL The seats are not only filthy and worn, the DJ was just beyond horrible. The scene was pretty pretentious; a mixed crowd but a lot of posers.
Plus the filthy bathrooms. DOES THIS REMIND YOU OF … YOUR GHETTO HIGH SCHOOL???

Where’s the option for 0 stars?
When my friends told me we had to stop by a birthday party at Forum last night, I begged them to forget about the party and go somewhere else. I’d heard nothing but bad things of this bar (and frankly, the Unilocal reviews scared me). But come 11:00, where do I find myself being dragged? Forum.
Let’s break it down.
The crowd: Approximately 15 – 20 years old. Blacked out drunk. Vomiting everywhere. (Seriously. I went to the bathroom and a girl was getting ready to puke. I went back upstairs and a guy near me projectile vomited. The crowd’s reaction? They continued to dance. IN A PILE OF VOMIT.) I honestly wanted to call some of these girls’ mothers and have them come pick them up, take them home and ground them for life.
The drinks: $ 9 for a well drink. Are you kidding me? I’m in a shitty, underage bar and you’re charging $ 9 for a vodka soda? Crazy.
The music: Typical loud club music. OK, fine.
The scene: Large open room with a few couches/​tables and some random columns that I guess are supposed to look fancy. Looks like someone started to make a club, then gave up.
Needless to say, we did not stay for long. Maybe next time my friends will listen to me when I say OH HELL NO.

Tough to rate this place.
We didn’t have to wait in line even though we were a group of 9. Service was pretty good. I had some beer and a shot. Can’t complain about that.
However, the layout of this place was terrible – long and narrow is not conducive to a crowded bar. People kept getting in each others’ space and it was easy to get between thirsty people and the bar. Other folks made impromptu dance floors wherever, causing a flying fist hazard. Bathrooms were down a steep flight of stairs – never good in my opinion when people are drunk and in heels.
Two other big negatives: The bathrooms were NASTY, like covered in wet toilet paper and completely unkempt. And the crowd was a bunch of 20-​somethings still getting ahold of their booze legs. Katy Perry’s Firework came on and it was immediately obvious that every single girl in the room was very special and unloved and needed to belt out her power anthem with one fist triumphantly in the air. Barf.
So two stars, because while the service was good and the drinks came quickly, I would rather not subject my shoes to more wet toilet paper and my eyes to more post-​teen angst.

1.5 stars — the 0.5 only for the fact that there is no cover charge.
I can only speak for the Saturday evening crowd. Friends and I came here for a birthday celebration, and it was just simply unbearable. People were pushy trying to get to different parts of the bars (ladies had definitely grazed themselves against me a number of time). The place was so jam-​packed that there were simply no room to dance. The music was mainly R&B and hip-​hop mixes, so even that worked against me (nothing against the genres as it was just not my scene).
The immobility (I couldn’t even get to the bartender) and the pushiness of people eventually drove me out of Forum before my friends left.

I’m team Koko with respect to the horrific layout that this place has. You have to put in work if you are at the back and need to head downstairs to the bathroom. The music wasn’t too bad on the night I went and the crowd was so so. a lot of young kind of immature people waiting for an excuse to do their pitiful fist pumps (and these are not the RonRons of America… so put your arm down and take off the Italian Stallion shirt)
The bathrooms weren’t too bad which can be a plus when you think of how jam packed the place can be and the bartenders weren’t jerks.
It really is just the people who come here that make this place kind of unimpressive if you aren’t in college anymore. I walked away from my friend or a brief moment only to come back and find that some drunk dude thought it would be funny to pour beer into her boots while she was on the dance floor. Luckily for my friend she’s from Brooklyn. she’s Scilian and she takes no shit. Unluckily for his girlfriend who thought it was funny. and ended up with beer poured all over her head. And even more unlucky cause her boyfriend (?) didn’t really seem to care and he walked away.
It’s not really a place for the grown and sexy. with emphasis on the grown

I wouldn’t say Forum is the best bar in the East Village, but it was a near-​perfect place to watch the World Cup. There’s plenty of seating and a large projection screen in the back. The sound system was a little weird, but there are plenty of screens to tickle your fancy. Drink deals abound.
What I don’t understand is why it took 40 minutes to make a pizza.
Nonetheless, our waitress was very attentive, especially given that my group had over 10 people in it.

Bad
Music
Overpriced drinks
And atmosphere
As fake as the nonsense columns outside.

I remembered this place when it was Pop. It wasn’t bad. I was shocked when it closed down.
I came here for a friend’s birthday party on a Friday night.
The only way our group of 20+ could get seating (a booth) was to order bottle service. For the price of two bottles, you got one free. One bottle of Ketel One vodka was over $ 100 (I think 175). After two, we received the complimentary bottle of «Level» vodka (see photos). Great! At least these were accompanied by unlimited orange and cranberry juices, tonic water, ice and clean glasses. The service was copasetic, but that’s because we dropped top dollar. Getting served at the bar requires more patience.
The bathroom was a sauna. I felt very sorry for the patron/​attendant. I spent no more than 3 minutes at a time in there and I was sweating.
Around midnight, the place was busy. The party died out in an hour.
Why?
The music blew chunks. In addition, this was the home of the worst dancers. I know I have two left feet, but this was like the American Idol reject episode. There was a lot of Seinfeldian Elaine Benes dancing going on. I was sober (restrained myself to three drinks — and drove my friends home) and witnessed dudes doing some weird sh-​t. Maybe they were drunk. Maybe their family and friends don’t have the heart to tell them they stink… no, «egregious» is the appropriate adjective.
I was not happy to be here, but it was good to see my boys (they were not in the poor dancing pool I was talking about) act the fool and talk to some chicks.
I leave you with a moment of Zen:
Wanna go
to Forum? _​_​_​_​_​_​_​
| No, Pedro, | |
| it’s better — — - O |
up here… /​|\ |
O /​‘ /​\ |
/​| |
/​\ |_​_​_​_​_​_​|
IFHTP 1