Japas 55

This is one of the worst karaokes I go to in NYC, but when all the other (better) ones are full, you just end up coming here because they ALWAYS have rooms available. The sound quality isn’t very great and the rooms are so hot! The service isn’t bad and the prices are okay, but the quality of the establishment itself is just not up to standard in my opinion.
I also come here with a song in mind and they NEVER have songs up to date, it’s frustrating. I end up singing the same old songs because of it. Oh well, still end up having fun with friends.

Basically a scam. No longer Japas, rebranded as y55. They Don’t enter tickets in order or enter them at all until right when they are going to go… hence things go out of order and you may wait for hours to hear your song. 3 staff members were not able to hold things together better than 1 – 2 people at a REAL karaōke bar. Never seen such amateurs run a karaōke bar. Or a bar in general. This is either a mob front or they don’t care about actually making money.

My favorite bar ever.
The staff are super friendly and helpful, IF YOU ARE NOT A DICK. If you’re a dick, you deserve what you get.
Standard Karaōke selection; cool regulars. On Sunday — Wednesday, almost always a low-​key vibe with some great singers from around area.
Ignore the haters. It’s not a movie set of a bar, which is what some people seem to want/​need. It’s a real bar, with real people — yes, even real New Yorkers — good prices, good times.
If you can’t handle that, head out to one of the more corporate places, and get ready to get ripped off.
Jiff

Just found out that the staff is on student visas so the owner pays them $ 10 an hour and all of the tips go to him. What a dirt bag. I used to come here years ago for good fun. It’s clear that the regulars have caught on. This place took a dive. They barely speak English and the owner takes advantage. #DOUCHEBAG

There are several issues that left me feeling like I should never spend my money here. #1 the fact that they require cash in order to pay for songs at the bar is somewhat inconvenient if you don’t have cash on you. Especially, since they do take credit cards for drinks. After going through the hassle of finding an ATM and getting the cash…#2 I submitted 8 songs, but they only played 6, when I informed the male bartender, he looked at me like I was being ridiculous for saying you didn’t play my songs and threw the six tickets on the bar to say they did, anyway… no apologies, so I said may I have my money back? Then he proceeds to take out money from his wallet… I mean seriously, it’s only three bucks, not a big deal, but it adds insult to injury. So I said you know keep it. # 3 this place is looking more run down than ever.
The only positives in this experience was the female bartender was very nice. The drinks were also decent. I really wish I had better things to write about.

This is kind of like the Sierra Leone of karaōke bars, no one really wants to be there if they have a choice. The best advice I can give about either Sierra Leone or Japas 55 is that you shouldn’t go if you have a choice.
When we got to the private room the first thing I noticed was how dirty and run down it seemed. The atmosphere was on the verge of depressing. Come on guys, spruce the place up a bit!
The service was terrible. We ordered drinks to start, and the server never came back after we waited for an hour! The place wasn’t busy at all. So I finally just walked out there and started ordering drinks directly. After our time was up, I asked the server to get our bill. We immediately left a credit card on the table for the bill and waited for the server to come back and process the transaction. That’s how most places work, right?
We continued to sing and realized it had been 30 minutes and the server still hadn’t come back. I left to go to the restroom, and the server found me and chewed me out for staying over our time slot. I informed him that he never came and picked up the bill. So what were we supposed to do, check ourselves out? After he realized he had left us hanging, he came back and completed the transaction so we could finally leave.
Definitely won’t be coming back here. I can deal with the depressing karaōke rooms and expensive drinks, but I can’t deal with the terrible service.

Stopped by here with some co-​workers after finishing a couple days of working in New Jersey! So, why the 4-​stars? First, they were VERY respectful here. Interrupted as little as possible and they were VERY respectful of our time. No pressure, brought great drinks, and let us let loose in the back for some good olé fashioned fun! Now… Only if they can rate my singing. It wouldn’t be good. :-)

I went there last night on the first really cold and rainy night of the fall so the place was pretty empty in the front. There were people in private rooms in the back from what we could hear. The song selection is decent, But the sound system is great!!! No sure if it was because there were so few people but you can hear yourself loud and clear and in many karaōke places that is not the case. The drinks were also reasonably priced which was a plus. I’m sure if I had come on a warmer night or a weekend the place would have gotten at least a 4 star rating, I would go back with a group next time since there was only two of us this trip.

For some reason Unilocal said this location is closed, but I just called and Japas 55 said they are open!

What a fun place to karaōke in NY! I’ve never walked into a bar, sat at the bar, and karaoked from the bar before. But you can here!
Enjoy your favorite beverage and pick out a tune from their song book. Within minutes you’ll be next in line, but no worries on getting up. For those of you who need a stage, there’s a small dance floor to the right of the bar.
Very fun place I would return to again. The bartenders were mostly girls but very friendly. Good times!

If you’re looking for a fun night out in the city with a larger group of friends — I would definitely recommend starting out the night here and renting a room. It’s an awesome place to hang out with a lot of song options — giving your group the opportunity to sing privately with each other and not have to worry about singing in front of strangers. My friends always start out apprehensive about doing karaōke, and end up having an amazing time. I come here every year for my birthday and have also come to know the staff — they are always very accommodating and make sure my friends and I are well taken care of. They seem to be pretty understanding as well, even if your night gets a little out of hand. Start your night out here — the price of renting a room per hour is surprisingly affordable and you’re guaranteed to have a memorable time!

Worst. Karaōke. Bar. Ever.
I have been coming to this place for years because it is the ONLY karaōke bar in midtown close to my job. In the past few years, this place has closed down early (they have a sign outside that says they are open 7 days a week until 4am– they frequently call last call at midnight), they have taken $ 1.50 per song and then told my friends that they don’t have room for songs and refused a refund (on cash), and just had rude service behind the bar altogether.
I decided tonight I would give them one last try since I was in the neighborhood and *guess what* they called last call right when we walked in the door at 11:30. The «Open until 4am» sign still glistening in the streets.
The service here is rude and inhospitable.
Do not go to this bar. I will not ever go again. I will will a cab to another neighborhood instead.

Pretty good song choices but can’t give it 5 stars without FOOOOOOOOD served! That’s not ok.

Cons:
* This place is a dump: books falling apart, paint falling off the walls, carpet needed to be replaced years ago. Gross.
* When you’re in the bar on a Friday night, you would wait more than 1.5 hours for your song.
* Staff is spread thin and thus service is slow, took me forever to get a drink.
Skip this place– better to go to Gagopa Karaōke or Inhabit Karaōke Lounge.

I prefer japas 27 in midtown east. Its a little better environment there.
But if ur in the area and u want cheap drinks and some signing u could stop by for the cheap drinks.

Japas 55 is a fun place to go to for karaōke if you’re in the mood near Midtown West. Their rooms aren’t that great (very outdated– could use some major remodeling) but most people come here to sing at the bar in front of drunk strangers.
Warning though, if you don’t get here immediately after work (say 5:00pm) it gets insanely crowded and you won’t be able to find any standing space!
Oh and if you do stay late and get drunk, there’s a Japanese restaurant right underneath that you can order food from or go to afterward in case you’re hungry.

The staff is great but the crowd has gotten obnoxious and rude. I’ve been going here since 1999. The current crowd doesn’t know karaōke etiquette. You don’t boo people, you don’t yell at people who chose to sing a song that you like to sing. You don’t own the song! LoL it’s the Jerry Springer Karaōke Show! Egh.
The best example is like the Loews movie theaters. The theater on 84^th and Broadway the audience often obnoxiously yells out loud and talks during the movie. If you like that good for you. But if you like to watch the movie without audience input you go to the Loews at Lincoln Square at 68^th and Broadway.
Japas 55’s current crowd of regulars are obnoxious and rude. That can change but only if the owner instructs the bartenders to tell the obnoxious regulars that rude behavior is not appropriate at any karaōke bar. Seriously, I go to sing and have fun. Last thing i want is the Jerry Springer karaōke show. You’ll know which people I’m talking about if you decide to go.

Exceptionally nice staff!
My party of 6 was running late and they had no problem starting the 2 hr special once everyone arrived 30 minutes later. They have an all you can drink $ 30 special on top of the one with food for $ 40 (beer, wine and sake!).
SO much fun with a group of friends.

Out of the Japas joints in the city, Japas 55 might just be the least liked of the über popular chain. i’ve long been a proponent of their decent sound system and weekend private room availability (where as the other two are constantly full) but consistent service snafus, song selections that are getting more stale by the day, and space issues have become a legitimate concern.
Their happy hour (2 for 1 drinks + 50% private rooms) makes for a decent happy hour after work spot. When it gets crowded, the bar can be a real cluster to navigate through. Never mind getting through the crowd, sometimes getting a drink can be a challenge. People sitting at the bar or situated in a private room have it pretty decent evidently.
Beware, even if you’re actively buying songs ($ 2.00) in the public area, know that it comes with a drink minimum for every 1 – 2 songs. Even if you’re ordering a ton of drinks for yourself and your friends are belting tunes left and right, don’t be surprised if the staff asks them to buy something too. It’s a common practice for most karaōke spots in Manhattan to do this, but it gets irritating /​borderline annoying for people who don’t know to expect it.
Compare this Japas to 38 or 27 and one will notice that it’s a little more worn out, even somewhat antiquated by hot karaōke club standards. Call it charming or even hipster appropriate, but I’ll tell you it was completely unintentional. A makeover in the décor department and an upgrade in equipment wouldn’t hurt. The men’s bathroom is not my favorite place in the world either, so I’ve just learned to avoid it whenever I’m here. Strangely enough, Japas 55 hasn’t adopted the same HH, party specials that have made 38 and 27 so popular. Independence isn’t helping in this case.
Now that the karaōke game is hot above 34^th Street, there are some more updated alternatives in this part of town. Japas 55 isn’t all bad, a fun night can be had here, but its certainly far from ideal.

Jappas is one of my favorite neighborhood bars. East restaurant downstairs provides the kitchen for this place. They are a great low end sushi place. If you are a nobu person, this is not the right place to eat. If you like to have a little cheap sushi, you’ll find this to be good. On Mon-​Wed there are specials on different type of fish (all salmon, all tuna, etc).
As for the K-​TV, they are not super up to date, but I think the person who only saw Destiny Child must not know very many singers. That’s pretty inaccurate.
The crowd during the week is different from the weekends. Sun-​Wed, you get people in the neighborhood or after work who enjoy this as a way of relaxing. The bar is somewhat in the theater district, so you’ll get a few of these people as well. During the weekend, it’s a rowdier set.
There are private rooms. There is nothing special there. Acceptable but not amazing. I probably would not choose this place if I had a very large group. Jappas 35 has bigger private rooms. None of them are really truly nice, relative to Queens. I would put them slightly behind top tunes in ambiance.
Songs at this Jappas is same as all the others $ 1.50 and require a 1 drink minimum. There are cheaper places, but this place isn’t catering to that.
The singing ability is good for the area. I would say that a few of the places in the Village that get the theater and arts students around NYU are slightly more intimidating for non-​singers. However, if you are a good singer, this place is also pretty good on the off-​nights.
They have books for most of the Asian languages. There are limited songs in European languages. The book for English songs is extensive, but I think slightly better at top tunes and in Chinatown. You can ask for a separate book that has more recent songs, but it might not quite be as up to date as you’d expect.