Rue B

Was here last night with a friend — second time here. What I love: musicians keep pouring into this place and playing. I could feel their energy, their desire to perform, to try new things. It reminds me very much of the scene in New Orleans.
But…stick with the drinks. I ordered the sliders, which sounded interesting on the menu. But the bread was stale, and the meat not particularly good. Even for bar food, they were poor.
So, five stars for the music, one star for the sliders. Since I went primarily for the music, I’ll round it up to four stars.

I wrote a scathing review and then erased it… because I realized it wasn’t fair… I had not heard an actual band perform.
However, they advertise that they have live jazz starting at 7 pm — and that was not the case (we left at 8 pm).
What I REALLY did not like about this joint was
1) The Frank Sinatra photos all over the bathroom (I have just finished reading the Autobiography of Miles Davis… please refer to that).
2) The joint has copious photos of naked white women strewn all around. My understanding is that JAZZ is CLASSICAL BLACK MUSIC. Please note I visited Rue B less than a week after the release of «Lemonade».
So Rue B’s interpretation of jazz vis-​a-​vis it’s décor is a white-​washed, sanitized, condescending version of what it’s *trying* to be (hip, classy and cool).
If I ever decide to return (I can’t see why I would), I reserve the right to edit this review.

Awesome happy hour. Love this place. Friendly staff. Great drinks. Wonderful atmosphere. Live music some nights. We’ve been coming here for years. It’s gone through changes but still very much a place you should visit. Truly feels like NY. I’ll keep coming as long as they keep that integrity.

Blowing it. Great jazz and drinks but terrible service and food.
I used to like this place but it really seems that it is slowly changing for the worst.
Heads up the female server is terrible… Rude, and generally lacking seemingly all customer service skills.

Great jazz bar for a ‘feel like some music night’. All cocktails are $ 12 and they don’t enforce the two drink limit too strictly. Sitting at the bar is prime viewing!

Awesome relaxed spot with great drinks at great prices. Literally all you need to know. Jazz in the evenings, happy hour every time I’ve been. Definitely check it out. Perhaps while you’re waiting for a spot at Babu Ji.

Loud as hell. Drinks were $ 10-​$ 15 each here.
Jazz was too loud to talk to each other.
Dont know if Ill be back

Wtf is with the new pricing scheme? Cocktails used to be $ 12. Now they’re $ 12 + tax + 18% Service Charge = $ 15.23. And they have the nerve to put «suggested tip» on the receipt, under the service charge. What is this Hooters?!? I’ll gladly spend $ 15 on a good cocktail, but I don’t want to be fooled into spending $ 15 when the menu really says $ 12. Actually I think they removed the prices from the menu recently. Sneaky sneaky. That’s cheesy and low.
This place used to be cool but it is on some «best of» list so now it’s filled with tourists and murray hill types.

I want to give Rue B three stars but I can’t for the ridiculously slow service, and unexpected menu substitutions, the rude manager, but it was a wonderful happy hour ambiance to chill with my friend over a few drinks as her 7 year old daughter occupied herself watching a movie on the phone.
When we arrived, we were handed menus right away, but they were really crumpled, like someone had balled them up to throw them away then realized they needed them. We first sat right by the door, but that booth seat was all taped up and you could feel the springs, so we changed booths, but those seats were also taped up.
The drink menu was really nice and we were right away attracted to the Black Cherry Caipirinha, made with muddled morello cherries. When we got our cocktails, however, there were no Morello cherries, and the drink was instead made with Maraschino cherries, which made it a whole different profile and it didn’t taste very good. But we kept sipping as we waited for the waiter/​bartender to come back around, which wasn’t until my friend had finished most of her drink and I and downed half. We asked the waiter/​bartender, who explained that they didn’t have any Morello cherries on hand. Okay — so we ordered substitute drinks — which were DELIGHTFUL –instead and expected these to be taken off our bill.
We also ordered a pesto pizza and bruschetta to come with our new drinks. The pizza was good, though I wouldn’t have described it as «pesto», but the bruschetta was literally a bowl of stir fry veggies with 2 pieces of toast on the side. Okay —
When the waiter/​bartender returned with our new drinks we had to mention that what was in front of us in the bowl was very much not bruschetta. «It’s not?»
No, it’s not. The very young chef actually came out and was extremely nice. He explained that «that’s the way we make it here», but also told us he was new. Well, next time, we said. He informed us that he was leaving soon to return to school. They seem to have a really high turn over rate in notably young staff. We ate the dish anyway because it didn’t taste bad, the chef was so nice, and it took so long to get anything to our table that it wasn’t worth causing a stir over. After all, we were really there to hang out and unwind, and the atmosphere was great for that.
So our bill comes and they did not take off the two «Black Cherry» drinks. My friend asks about this to the waiter/​bartender who then challenges us with «but you drank them, right?» In actuality, I did not finish mine, but be that as it may. wtf? We had ordered 3 more of the new drinks plus food that was also not as described.
At this point, my friend asks to speak to the manager, who needs to be fetched from outside. He comes in, and immediately lays in with «what’s the problem?» She proceeds to describe the issue, to which he interrupts with «but you drank it, right? And I see she drank half. I had a similar experience the other day and I could tell from the first bite if I don’t like something.» So my friend points to the menu, «Dude, this is not what you described.» Well. The manager gets super offended and comes back with «Don’t disrespect me! You don’t call me ‘dude’! How would you like it if I called you ‘sweetie’ would you like that?» To which I responded «depending on the tone, I wouldn’t mind» while my shocked friend now had to explain that it was just a casual phrase. Then he says, «Whatever. You’re all settled. Good bye.» Again, shock. «No, we’re not trying to not pay the bill. We just want these two drinks removed form it. «
In the end, he said he would remove one drink from the bill, which I don’t think even happened. Plus I believe there was a service charge that we didn’t notice, so we left a cash tip anyway, which I don’t regret because the wait staff worked hard and for the most part were super nice. I love supporting neighborhood mainstays and I come to Rue B my friends and colleagues very often. But last night, I was nothing short of mortified. I was the one who recommended this place to my friend, who was all set to go to Roost. I was eager for her to like it and I was already a bit embarrassed by the duct tape seats and the menu. I was just glad that her daughter was absorbed in her movie.

I’ve been coming here off and on for years. It may be fine for cocktails, but skip it for brunch. They can’t get their s**t together before 3 pm. Waited — at 12:30 on a Sunday afternoon — for over 40 minutes to be served a cup of tea. We won’t discuss the wait for the food. Time for new staff. Seriously. If it were a one time event, I’d forgive it. But it’s repeated.

I want to give Rue B two stars because the service was so inept (perfectly friendly, but completely inept) but the ambiance was kind of low pressure and chill for brunch, so I’m keeping it at three. There was only one other party in the restaurant at the time which made it all the more mysterious.
The menu arrived on a slightly crumpled piece of paper, which was kind of disconcerting. One companion who had been to the men’s when the menu arrived picked it up and looked at it and said «Was this written by a 12 year old?»
The menu choices were kind of pedestrian for a brunch. It was basically pancakes and eggs and maybe french toast. I don’t remember exactly, but there were three or four items on the menu none of which jumped out as anything other than what you could make at home (c’mon, how about some eggs benedict at least for chrissakes or something at least slightly more imaginative).
Special instructions for food preparation (some toast well done, some bacon extra crispy, some eggs over medium as opposed to lightly) were not followed. Food came out staggered with side dishes first. There was lots of it, though, so that’s good; lots of bacon, lots of grilled vegetables, which was good.
The seat I was sitting on was part of a banquette or booth to the immediate right of the door when you walk in, which was taped up with duct tap and the springs in the cushion were completely shot, so I was sunk way down into the bench. As a stopgap, ok, but it’s clear that this banquette had been this way for awhile (seriously, guys? That really should be fixed, unless you just want to be a dive and screw what anyone thinks, pretty much).
On the upside, the mimosas were $ 4 and pretty tasty. The food overall was acceptably good, the missed instructions notwithstanding.
I’m not looking for boogers and cum in my next meal there, but I think these are some fairly valid criticisms; get your service act together, expand your brunch menu some and fix that seat (and any others that might be in similar condition) and you might have more folks showing up for brunch. Essex can’t keep them out if they tried. How about you guys?

Great spot, great drinks. As mentioned by other reviews on this page (search «service charge»), there is a hefty and questionable service charge. When you receive your bill you will receive your subtotal, tax, and an 18% service charge tacked on. It’s strange, especially since they ask you to leave a tip as well. Since that feels like a sneaky addition to the bill, I have to give this bar 1 star only. Sure, you could question the charge– but when you are there with friends enjoying drinks, and the music is loud, communicating your questions about the bill is a hassle not worth doing. Be sure not to leave a tip if they tack on the 18% charge, or don’t come here at all.
A simple but decent hole in the wall watering-​hole with okay-​music deserves would be deserving of 3 stars in my opinion were it not for the unexplained or inadequately «pre-​warned» 18% service charge– Therefore 1 star.

Been here twice already for brunch and the food is good especially for the $ 9 brunch but the service speed and attentiveness could use a bit of work.
Waitress was very friendly both times but they run out of items fast especially for brunch. First time I went they didn’t have enough salmon to make two of the lox specials and the 2^nd time I went our coffee was given to us and she asked if we wanted milk and sugar which we said yes and she brought the sugar but… where was the milk and cream? Finally wandered around and found the coffee/​sugar/​milk refill so we just helped ourselves.
Tables were pretty dirty wherever we sat so a wipe down would be a nice once somebody leaves.
My husband ordered an omelette and there was supposed to be harvarti cheese… they decided to try and pull one on him and gave him orange cheddar instead… when we asked if it was supposed to be harvarti or cheddar, the waitress asked the chef and just said it was cheddar… so why weren’t we told about this? At this point we just wanted to leave and get our bill and not leave a tip… turns out 20% gets automatically added… who does that? You get your tip when you deserve a tip and when you try to rectify a situation. she offered no solution to the swapped cheese and was super slow with everything.
Probably wouldn’t go back for a 3^rd time nor would I recommend anyone else to go. I agree with a few of the comments below that they need to get their sh! t together or close down.

Came here for brunch at 11am on a Sunday. Really enjoyed my meal, but there were some small issues I had.
FOOD: The food was excellent! They have a brunch special where, for $ 9, you get an entrée and either coffee or tea. The entrees are pretty good. I got the Tuscan Truffled Eggs, which was perfectly cooked and incredibly fragrant. It came with a side of roasted rosemary potatoes, which I was pleasantly surprised to see contained not just potatoes, but also some vegetables.
SERVICE: The waitress was very kind, we were served very promptly and everything came quickly. Of course that may have been a function of…
AMBIANCE: The place was completely empty. We were the only patrons the entire time we were there. Not necessarily a bad thing, but given how popular brunch is on a Sunday morning, it surprised me.
So overall, come for the food, but I can’t speak for anything else.

Stumbled in here last night and the atmosphere was awesome! The walls were covered from top to bottom with photographs and the bar emitted a cool red light vibe. There was a live jazz band playing and although the bar seemed to get pretty packed, pretty quickly, there were table options for larger groups.
My only qualm was that the drinks were a bit pricier than I though they would be. A Moscow Mule was $ 12 and the waitress was pretty rude about explaining to us how the pricing worked. Cool atmosphere, don’t know if I’m willing to pay so much for drinks.

Charming brunch spot. Walked in on a Sunday morning and it was nearly empty. The Tuscan Truffled Eggs are fantastic! Brunch cocktails are pretty good too.
They started adding 18% gratuity charge on the bills, so be sure you don’t overpay.

It is very difficult to write a review.
The bar is nice, great live music and the drinks were good. Unfortunately, we made the mistake of ordering something small to eat. We ordered the thin crust margarita pizza for 11 bucks. The pizza was approximately the size of a pizza slice which is not an issue generally. The real issue was the pizza itself. It wasn’t thin and definitely not crusty, instead it was all soggy and very doughy. It was not edible and we did not touch it after trying a piece. We told the waitress and she said that we nonetheless have to pay because she is not authorized to take it off the check and nobody who could handle this situation was available.
So, we paid the full price and the waitress just added 20% tip. Of course we generally tip but the service here was awful: we had to pay for a pizza we didn’t eat and she put another 20% on the pizza as her tip? Obviously, we did not pay her any tip just because of the entire experience.
I did like the bar with the live music but the pizza and tip thing was just too much.

I use to come here often and drink/​snack at the bar with friends after work.
We loved the live jazz and it was a good neighborhood place.
I noticed recently the «service charge» (18%) automatically added to our bill.
We usually would tip 20% or more but after seeing this on our bill, were pretty annoyed and have not gone back since.
Too bad,

We were walking down avenue B around 11:30PM on a Sunday and heard this wonderful music wafting through the air a block away and went inside Rue B. Very intimate jazz bar with great music, didn’t try the cocktails or the food, just had the beer, but the atmospehere of the place will keep me coming back.
I think it was near the end of the night and the remaining patrons were all musicians and at some point during one of the performances, the singer started to scat and then began passing the mic around to the people gathered around the band so they could scat as well, it was just so damn coool, haven’t seen anything like that where the audience participates in a musical interlude.
Really great lounge, awesome music.

Happy hour has been changed to 4 – 7. My dreams are shattered.
Rue B is dead to me. That’s not enough time to order drinks and get buzzed. The service got slower too. They should really fix those booth seats. Haven’t seen anyone playing live music there in the past couple times I was there. Oh damn, the severe decline in quality got too real.
I used to come here almost every week but it’s time to move on.