The Raven

I think this club allows 18+ girls cause when I was here, I saw a lot of under aged ratchet girls. The music was mostly hip hop and top 40s. Don’t even bother with this club.

Free for girls, 30 for guys. Everyone seems to be in black dresses. DJ plays mainly hip hop/​top 40 but is pretty solid (no EDM here guys) went on a friend’s birthday with a promoter and got bottle service too!
I had a great time but I gotta say, pretty biased since I had free drinks, and guy girl ratio was like 3 women for every man.
Surprisingly good ventilation for a underground area, I didn’t feel like a bucket of sweat until I bboyed. There’s not much seating and the unisex bathrooms really weren’t an issue since everything was in stalls.

My experience at the raven was horrible. Why would u ask was it horrible because I couldn’t get in because I’m a big curvy girl that doesn’t look a small size girl. I’ve never experienced this in my life clubbing and going out to lounges. However, at that moment it upset and set a fire for me to let people know what I encountered because I didn’t look like a size 10 and under.
I’ve lived in New York for 25 years of my life and never went through this before. When I went to Miami size doesn’t matter. It should be based off the age and money to get accepted into the club. I hate for someone to feel like this and go through this experience like myself. I figured the world needed to know what happens today on May 9, 2015.

Let me start off with the fact that I came here with my two girlfriends whom I bartended with for years. Needless to say, we have fun every where we go, regardless of the circumstances…, and we LOVE dive bars. So naturally, when we saw the terrible reviews for this place, we had to come here. When we stood in line, the door guys looked at all of the waiting patrons with disdain-​Almost as if there were a foul odor emitting from of all of our armpits and we were scum of the earth. As we entered the building, we were met with A cloud of smoke (not from a smoke machine, but from people puffing in the co-​Ed bathroom) and really dim lighting. Dropped off our things at coat check ($ 7 per item, pre-​pay) and proceeded to the bar and dance floor. The bartender, Blaise, immediately won us over with his sarcastic humour and efficiency. The drinks were overpriced and the shots were TINY… but he was awesome and took good care of us. We danced our asses off and had a great time watching the breakdancers. The DJ WAS TERRIBLE– to the point of embarrassment. Regardless, the 19 year old boys that tried to hit on us were entertaining and the co-​Ed bathroom hangout was hilarious. If you have a great sense of humour, patience for drunk kids and an overwhelming love for dive bars– this is your place!

My friends wanted a night out in the city and we wanted to try something new, so this was the pick of the night. Since it was across the street from Griffin and we’ve been there a few times, we said hey why not.
Girls are free all night, but there is a $ 30 cover charge for guys.
The set up is different. It’s in the sub-​level of the building, low ceilings, and it is vintage looking.
We were situated at a table next to the rest room, which was kind of unfortunate. Where you are located in this club will really have an impact on the rest of your night.
The music was good. It was a mix between hip hop, pop, and top 40. The bathroom is unisex, but not as terrible as other ratings say. Overall, it’s a good place and decent time depending on where you are in the club.

I cant say this is the best club in the meatpacking district, but if you go with the right promoter chances are you will have a decent time, that’s how it usually is in nyc.
the lines here move really fast which is a plus, and the security up front wasn’t unreasonable compared to other places I’ve been to, girls came in with uggs and were able to change their shoes with no issues at the door.
pro’s:
the bar has a great selection of top shelf items, especially vodka, we got a bunch of free refills for bottle service for the juices and they always made sure we had clean glasses
the music is decent, ranging from house, rap, hip hop, mostly older hits though
the sound system itself was pretty good too, it wasn’t too overwhelming in terms of noise, I was able to hear my own thoughts
the crowd of people here is decent for the most part, its a younger crowd but nobody was stuck up, no pervs either
the location itself is great too, its near other places like sugar factory and vip room
cons:
there is a 30 dollar cover charge if you don’t come with a promoter
the bathrooms would look really frickin pretty if they weren’t so damn nasty, every toilet [which is unisex btw, wtf], was filled with cig butts and ashes, and blunts too [ I couldn’t even breathe in these bathrooms, everyone smoked or blazed something, and the security guards were too oblivious to notice]
when a fight broke out near our table the security guards didn’t give a crap either, only time I saw them care is when they were trying to close up at 3 am [ other places in the city are open until at least 4]
this place is in a basement, you will have 0 service, and the ceilings are so low, its not a roomy place, it is rather small
the furniture and look itself is outdated, and people are literally dancing all over the place, like there was no official dancefloor
try not to slip and fall on the floor, nobody bothered to mop up the spilled drinks until closing time
the dj doesn’t interact with the crowd, doesn’t even bother giving birthday shout outs
or to keep the hype going
would I come back here? it depends on who is promoting and spinning, this place isn’t somewhere I would go every weekend, it will get played out.

This is one of those bars that attract college kids and those who have recently moved into the city looking around «trendy» areas to hang out. To pay $ 30 for a cover and not being able to get a basic amaretto sour was very disappointing. I’d expect to have a full service bar. This place is incredibly small and gets packed fairly quick, if anybody wishes to actually get in it’s probably best you get there early or have a table reservation.
I personally went with a small group and we were moved around twice to accommodate larger parties all sharing just one bottle. Which I found to be quite ridiculous considering that both tables next to us were like 20+ college kids splitting a bottle of cheap vodka.
The only thing this place had going for it was the music. It played to my aesthetic in a mix of modern hip hop with some old school beats spun into it. I probably wouldn’t of stayed very long if the music wasn’t that great, we actually only stayed until we finished our alcohol, because our neighboring tables were obnoxious and kept trying to take our drinks.
If you do not mind surrounding yourself with sloppy nouveau New Yorkers, college kids, and some who clearly cannot handle their liquor by all means attend this dark and dank facility. After experiencing an expensive cover without a well stocked «full» service bar and obnoxious attendants, I will not be returning here again. Not even for the decent music, it’s just not worth it.

Tonight was my first time at the raven. My friend was waiting in line to get her coat. Out of nowhere, the security guard screamed in her face to get out of the way and then proceeded to physically push her. I spoke to the manager who treated the entire situation as a joke. I have never seen anyone treated this way at a bar in my entire life, especially just for standing and doing nothing. I would not recommend this place and will be calling to file a formal complaint against the security guard.

Really liked this place for a few reasons; was able to get in with ease because we had a promoter, nice layout and atmosphere, good music, small and intimate space.
Didn’t like that the bottles were free but there was a $ 40 charger for «the service.» The tables are very close and the party near us wouldn’t leave us alone. Drinks at the bar were pricey unless one of the many thirst men buy one of you, which they will, because they are abundant.
Overall was good but wouldn’t recommend going without a promoter.

This place is awful… no need to say anything more

So we were here for my roomies birthday and just… no… please sweet baby jesus no… the security guys were rude and pushy to a few females about checking their coats, the lighting is so terrible that you WILL trip at least twice on the person 6 inches away from you, the music was so loud that after only an hour there I left with a ringing in my ears akin to that which I’ve experienced after four hours at Irving Plaza while up front by the speakers… that being said; don’t expect to have a conversation. And thats just the establishment! Don’t get me even started on the bridge and tunnel fake tan types crowding this place with their obnoxious frat-​tastic Bro boyfriends fist pumping away… despite it being 2014.
Fail.
Damn… this may be the first 1 star review I’ve ever given! There was simply nothing redeeming about this place.

Terrible terrible place. Rude bouncers. We paid for a table and in an hour they moved us. Never coming here. No one ever come here. Digautibg

Only have cover charge for men.
Walk in to a basement. Over priced drinks. No rooftop or cool views.
Probably the worst «club» in manhattan.
My group ended up splitting up because the guys didn’t want to pay the cover charge… they went to The Brass Monkey (a bar not too far away) and had the best time with a view of the hudson.

Place was pricey. We paid a $ 50 cover to get in. It did serve as our tab but that is freak ass expensive. Lots of good looking girls here in this spot

Club was okay music super euro but was still a lot of fun. BUT the bouncers were very rude and aggressive. I’m a 115 pound girl and was waiting for my friends at the top of the staircase and the bouncer physically pushed me outside until another bouncer said to chill out. My friends and I are never coming back here.

I paid $ 46 for two bud lights and a vodka soda. This place is an abomination. Quite possibly the 8^th circle of hell. That’s all I have to say.

Super rude bouncers, pretentious atmosphere, plenty of other worthwhile places in the area. Don’t waste your time.

Visited Raven on a weekday this week and was shocked by the treatment at the bar. The bartender (I believe his name was Michael) was Incredibly rude, demanded additional tip (although tips were already included, mandatory and automatic on your bill here), and when we refused he insulted my foreign freind who was visiting NY on vacation (he went so far as to ridicule him for not being from the US, and insulting immigrants in genera) and grabbed our drinks away from us. I asked to speak to the manager, who never came out. I would think if a customer asks to speak to the manager under such circumstances they should be obliged…
The only reason I would return would be to file an official complaint with the manager.

YESSS!
New York has welcomed a new sweet little hot spot in the old Gun Bar location. The owner, Henry Stimler, wanted to «reinvigorate the glamour of the past with a spot that flirts with sophistication, mystery, sensuality and tasteful debauchery.» As he was quoted on Page Six a few weeks ago, and you know what? He nailed it. It is exactly all of the above.
Like Jaclyn already said in her review, it is different from night to night. I’m still trying to figure out myself what the hottest nights are, but you know what: This place is still worth a visit either way. On Wednesday Oct 23^rd, DJ Behrouz was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. by the way, (and so was the crowd, and the vibe) and last Thursday, on Halloween, DJ Carl Kennedy was spinning and again I had a great time.
When The Raven just opened and had all this good publicity in the NY Times, I was kind of surprised to see the place half empty on a Wednesday during Fashion Week. I told my friend who knows the owner that I really loved the place, but that the music had to be geared a different direction. I said that I thought what this place needs more of is Deep House, because the vibes of that music are as sexy and sensual as this place is, and also because NYC is still lacking a place that spins Deep House only or at least mostly. My friend agreed. It looks like they got their act together now in the music department thank God, and it shows. The crowd loves it.
Just check it out one time. Give it a try. Your friends will think you’re sooo cool because it’s this new venue where all the cool people go.

This is the place to be in NYC. A serious game changer in the nightlife industry. Grown and sexy, beautiful people, all you want in a club.