Keybar

They have a great happy hour special! I bought a craft beer and received a coupon for the next one to be free. That’s two beers for about $ 8 in Manhattan! The staff is caring too. I left my a coupon at the bar thinking that it was an advertisement, and the bartender was kind enough to grab my attention and advise that it was a voucher for a free drink.
The atmosphere resembles a club. It dimly lit when red lights. There is a vib table in one of the corners. It’s only missing a dance floor.

Great Happy Hour with 2 – 1 drinks. Once you order your first round, the bartender gives you complimentary drink coupons for your next round. Great system, strong drinks, can’t wait to return. I went last night during happy hour and there was only one bartender and she totally rocked it during happy hour!

My Favorite bar on 1^st Ave, atmosphere is nice, relaxed and really good for a girls night out. Drinks are super cheap considering prices in new york. Martinis are 12 $!!
And for 7 $ of a cider, you get an equivalent of a free drink with the same price. Always has happy hours, friendly bartenders and cool location.

Best happy hour in the city hands down. The atmosphere was great and the drinks were delicious. I honestly want to come back every week but I need to be a functional member of society.

Greetings from California. :)
No cover, yeah! Electronic music, huzzah! Hard trance tonight. I like that they’re open late. Alcohol is reasonably priced and I found some familiar beer (Lagunitas and Sierra Nevada) there’s no doctoring that bottled stuff.
There’s only one room and it’s loud, I advise rear plugs; I forgot mine, pewp. :/​
There are coat hooks and my jacket didn’t get stolen, thanks NYC! OK, that was unnecessary to say.
The bar staff is kind, responsive and quick, at 2 AM, goodie.
There’s only a little space to dance, so be careful.

I enjoy grabbing drinks at Keybar with my girlfriends. What keeps us coming back every time is the delicious cocktails and the happy hour special till 10pm. Basically, you pay $ 12 for a passionfruit martini (my all time favorite) and get a drink ticket for a free $ 12 drink. You can choose to use this for the next round of drinks or you can do what I do… which is to keep and use a bunch of them for next time at Keybar. My friends and I usually have a bunch saved up and come back to have an awesome night.
Also Keybar does take table reservations even if it is a small group of 4. Definitely would recommend it as this place gets packed and it will be hard to find seating.

I liked Keybar because of their drink specials, but they fell short with their table service. We were carrying several shots back to the table we had reserved and were handed a tray instead of assistance. Very small, casual bar. Good for beginning or ending your night.

If memory serves, a few drinks at this place set the stage for the finality with her; this certainly wasn’t the last time I’d see her, but this location may very well have served as the penultimate staging ground between yours truly and a «porn manatee» of sorts.
Why this place? Not much pomp or circumstance within these brick walls; sure, some crimson curtains to pair with the reddish-​in-​hue interior, but nothing with the kind of flair that would necessarily impress. Looks like true beauty doesn’t always reside on the inside (amiright?!)! No, while this place doesn’t have the aesthetic trappings that one would (objectively) label as «beautiful» … the true beauty lies in the oft mentioned drink deals available at this joint. Two for the price of one, buy one get one, (and as far as practicality is concerned) two drinks at half price each … however you wish to attribute a description to the place, should be applicable (so long as it sticks to the sum and substance of the three previously stated descriptors…).
And with that drink deal in play, breaking the bank would not necessarily be an issue. The plan for a few G&Ts, however, was spoiled (by her). Introduction of a michelada (first ever to be sampled by yours truly) was sharply suggested by the oft obtuse company-​I-​had for that day. A tip of the hat to her, though we may never be in each others’ company again, at least I have this place and this drink to help me remember (or forget) her doltish persona.

2 for 1 happy hour? What could go wrong you ask?
I was sitting at the bar with my gf and friend, which was pretty packed at the time, being happy hour on a Friday. Having a seat, at the bar nonetheless, was a luxury, as the space is small. My gf gets up and uses the bathroom, so I slide her drink in front of the seat, the international symbol — this seat is empty but the person is coming back.
A female sits down in her seat, I thought nothing of it. I thought she would just order drinks and leave. She saw the drink that was left at the bar, signifying someone else was sitting there.
When my gf comes back, I politely tell the female sitting there that my gf was sitting there. She made a scene and proceeded to actually put her hands on me and shove me, yelling on top of her lungs «nobody’s been here for a while.» I’m like ok, maybe staff will come and sort this out. The bouncer came and did absolutely nothing. We were being blamed for the incident instead.
Me and my friends are various shades of brown. The female that took out seat was white.
I called the cops to report the incident. They came, I told them that a person actually put their hands on me and shoved me. They said since I wasn’t injured, they could do nothing, not even a police report. Strange. But that’s another story.
This place is disgustingly racist. The 2 for 1 specials isn’t worth the embarrassment I faced. We were literally second class patrons.
The sad part is, I actually liked the drinks and was planning on coming back.

I’m intrigued about this place. For starters it is TINEY. Came in for a minute for happy hour 2 – 1. Note that they don’t serve food. Had a twist on a Bloody Mary, which I loved! They have a lot of specialty drinks. The place is dimly lit and artsy meets dive bar. They have this one drink they refuse to serve during happy hour because of its potency. Challenge accepted.

A quiet little place that’s good when you don’t want to deal with the a huge «bar scene». Drinks are reasonable and often times you’ll get a buy one get one type deal. Good for catching up with a friend!

«The keys to success»
in the words of Dj Khalid once said «ANOTHER ONE», this bar is truly awesome for what it is! its a small venue with big deals, big drinks, and awesome coupons! let me just first say this bar has two for one drink specials, and they do this very often! so you can literally have double (triple even) the drinks for one complete price! so dont worry about getting drunk in this place they have you covered in it literally! they offer tons and tons of drink varieties from beer, to gin and whiskey just to name a few. but any beer direction you go drink wise, you will see the effects later on during the night.
«music?whats that like»
depending on what day you go is what you will hear. usually the weekends usually top 40s hits of hip-​hop and R&B but during the weekdays, you’re mainly going to hear rock/​electronica/​or maybe some house music if you are lucky. but for the most part its overall music that everyone will appreciate for their own individual taste!
«come in groups»
they have seat setups if you plan to just sit down with and hang with friends or if you just want to relax from standing. or if you want to dive face first towards the bar be prepared because this bar is crowded so have elbows out and push your way to the front!
«overall»
come here with a big group, mix and mingle with everyone here this place is a Unilocal landmark in new york, every Unilocal big name has been here so you should too!

I have only ever been here during happy hour. It’s a very relaxing place and very pretty inside. Their happy hour is 2−4−1 but the reason it gets four stars is because their prices are inflated so happy hour is good, but nothing compared to some other 2−4-1s in the area (like the library).
But still not bad, good for a date.

The vibe has changed and this place isn’t what it used to be… Snobby bartender, weird crowd. Probably never again.

Meh. Came here for the happy hour and was very disappointed. First of all, it was CRAZY crowded to the point where you had to fight to get to the bar and were really at a loss as to where to even stand and enjoy your drink. My drink itself also missed the mark. I ordered the Huckleberry Sin and it was a very strange and overly strong-​tasting combination of orange liqueur and some other fruity flavors. Finally, their happy hour special is 2 for 1 only after you get the first drink. (After the first one you get a drink ticket up to whatever value your first drink was). Guess people come here to pre-​game.
I’m willing to give this place another shot (if only to use my drink tickets), but not looking forward to battling the crowds.

This is a cool little bar, not much space, so you have to come early, or if you have a group of people try to reserve their back room area. There happy hour special is ridiculous, buy one get one free on all drinks, and if it is your bday, they will match whatever amount of shots you buy (as long as you have different people buy each time). There drink are tasty, and they have some interesting shot choices. The brain hemorrhage looks awesome, the rolo was pretty tasty, and I really enjoyed the passion fruit shot.

Stumbled upon here the other night and I’m so glad I did! The happy hour is the best I’ve ever seen. All drinks are 2 for 1, all day, every day. Does it get better than that?
The atmosphere is dark and cozy. Great place to grab a few drinks on the cheap side and try to get out before you’re on your 10^th drink.

Uhhh did someone say DANCE PARTY?! This place is the best. You walk in and there’s a line of people cheering you in and urging you to make a dance entrance. The passion fruit shots are the bees knees as well.
Only go to this place if you are ready to dance.

This is one of those places where your expectations don’t align with reality. Based on the reviews I was expecting someplace… nicer. A spacious, upbeat place to have a few drinks maybe.
Nope. It’s a tiny room, dark as the pits of hell, with aggravating red lighting and BLARING music. Seriously, the music was so freaking loud, we had to shout into each other’s ears. I got one shot for my troubles and got out of there. Once I stepped outside, a wave of tranquility washed over me and I was feeling extra grateful for the sweet blessing of silence.
Not for me. Or anyone who values their eardrums.

Une des plus agréables soirées de mon année!
À la recherché d’un bar où passer un lundi soir à New York, on nous a suggéré le KeyBar pour ses légendaires 2 pour 1. Lors que vous commandez un cocktail, bière ou shot, le barman vous remettra un ticket valide pour le rachat d’une consommation du même prix. Celui-​ci est valable à vie si jamais vous né voulez pas l’utiliser le soir même.
Nous avons faits de multiples agréables rencontres dans ce bar où se mêlent touristes (Luxembourg, Québec, Australie…) et locaux. Le propriétaire qui est souvent présent nous a raconté les histoires les plus intéressantes et offerts quelques verres. Nous avons également eu la chance de rencontre l’illustrateur de Spideman, comme quoi même la haute société de la Grosse Pomme ose le détour par cet établissement du East Village qui peut à prime abord sembler un peu glauque. Les choix musicaux sont de bons goûts et permettent à certains clients de danser, sans toutefois enterrer les conversations de ceux qui préfèrent s’accouder au bar. Sélection de bière de qualité et de spiritueux diversifiée.
J’y repasserai dès mon retour à New York!

Three words: Brain Damage Shot!
Oh me gee. If you come here, be sure to get the brain damage shot. It is so ridiculously good! It’s about $ 8 but you get a two for one drink card til 10pm so it’s like getting two shots for the price of one.
Other than this amazing shot, this place is just okay. First of all it tends to get crowded because of the amazing drink deals, and also it is a VERY tight space to begin with! There is not much room to do anything but find a corner to stand around. The music isn’t that great in here either.
Also it’s pretty annoying how some people stand around at the bar like directly in front of it where there’s no room for the bartender to see you so you can get a drink! Very annoying. You have to ask people to move over to make a little room for you or hope someone leaves the bar area. It also doesn’t help that it’s pretty dim in here. And you can definitely expect people to bump into you here constantly when it’s crowded. There’s no getting around that because of how small this place is. You can reserve VIP seating in the back if it’s your birthday etc.
I got a drink to start at $ 12 and got a free drink card of the same value. I had the lychee martini drink which I’ve had previously before at other locations and it did not taste the same here. It was actually pretty gross. No sweetness and kind of bitter. WOMP!
Very happy at this point that I got the free drink card so I used it for a Polish Kiss drink which tasted like watered down Apple juice. I kid you not. Watered down apple juice my friends. Very disappointed. I don’t know if it’s because I was waving the free drink card in my hand and the bartender saw while I was making my order but it honestly tasted like cheap liquor. My friends said the same about the different drinks they ordered as well without me even mentioning what I thought about my watered down drink.
Had it not been for the amazing brain damage shots, I’d give this place a 2. It’s good for two or three people, but bringing more than that on a busy evening is not a good idea for this place. I would like to come back and try other drinks but like I said this place is just ok. Nothing that special.