Yello Bar

The group of us, about nine or ten people, decided to go to Yello for karaōke after having a late dinner. Supposedly, Chinatown gangsters used to hang out here, but now the neighbourhood has been cleaned up and it’s not a problem anymore.
I may be unfair with my rating of 2 stars here because it is only based on the karaōke experience, which is down in the basement, and not on the ground floor where there is a bar and tables for food and drinks. But really, the karaōke was not very good. I am used to karaōke lounges where you are given your own little room for your group, but here we had to share a very old system with the entire basement. The song selection was not great, and it was sometimes a little difficult to figure out how to browse their selection of songs. The system actually froze a couple of times while we were there, and it erased all the songs that had been entered into the queue. To add to that, the two mics were literally taped together with duct tape. Even the waiters admitted that the system needs to be replaced. The only redeeming thing about it was that they did not charge for using the karaōke system, and only charged us for our drinks, which came out to be the cheapest karaōke experience I’ve ever had. I might come back for drinks, but honestly, I probably would not come back for the karaōke.

It doesn’t not excite me when I see a funeral home right next to this lounge and it depresses me even more when there are people singing on top of their lungs with horrible noise. However, they do have good deals and drink specials. So I would say come here when you feel spiritually strong and geared with ear muffs :)

Happy Hour is ok– $ 3 beers and well drinks. The place can be comfortable for you to hang out, but the windows are open (if it’s warm enough) and the breeze brings in the cigarette smoke – not a good thing for me anyway. There are plenty of TVs around, but they’re only good if they’re turned on. Apparently downstairs is a karaōke place, but I didn’t go down there so I can’t comment on it. I can comment on the wings though – there’s a reason why they’re the signature dish. So if you can’t make it up to K-​town, C-​town is just as good for fried chicken.

Great place to go drinking, the beers here are cheap on thursday nights. $ 20.00 for a bucket of six beers of your choice! Pretty entertaining watching people sing.
One word about the food! I love their CHICKEN WINGS!

I usually come here for a drink or 2 during happy hrs on the weekday. I’ve been here on 2 occasions at night so my review will be based off these experiences.
I would say happy hr drinks are fairly priced and if my memory is correct it ends at 7pm (blue moon for $ 4). It tends to be quiet with 1 or 2 others during these hours. The bartender on Thurs is great. My group of 3 and I received a free round of shots after about 2 hrs hanging out there.
Keeping in mind that this is an asian bar expect to see plenty of asians. That could be a good or bad thing depending on your taste I guess. This place also offers Karaōke but I never done it myself so I couldn’t comment on that. I believe there are 4 tables on the 1^st floor for private parties. There is also a bottom floor but I never went down there so I have no idea whats down there.
So my final take out of all this is stop there with a couple of friends if you are in the area. Nothing you have to go out of your way to visit.

Everyone’s in a recession now. This place offers a variety of alcohol and FREE KARAOKE!!!
The main dish to order here is their signature Fried Chicken wings!, Meaty, Juicy, Tasty!
Only problem is that It has only one private room and the rest is public, so you might have to wait for a bit to sing your song. They are pretty updated with American music and Chinese (Since it’s near Chinatown area). Crowd is mostly asian but don’t get intimidated by them, they are here for fun too!

A fundraiser for the program that my Cantonese classes were founded was held here on a Saturday afternoon. The upstairs was somewhat small. Insufficient staff to serve our group as we waited for some time for the food to be served. Yello Bar’s food is completely Chinese American with fried rice, dumplings, Spring rolls, and pork dumplings. I admit the fried chicken were good though very Asian fusion cuisine which I catagorize this restaurant. There are also Asian influence in their selection of alcohol such as Lychee Maritini.
There are no chopsticks as only forks which is absurd as growing up I have always utlized chopsticks when consuming Asian cuisine. As a non-​carbonated beverage person, I accidentally drank the Sprite or 7 Up thinking it was water. The soda of either Sprite/​7 Up or Coke Cola/​Pepsi were both very flat as all the air was stale.
There is karaōke on the lower level which the room is very dark. The TV screen is a decent size although not large enough for this room size. It’s very dark for patrons to be able to read through the song books. The bathroom is clean and the décor is inviting.

Cheap drinks but service was terrible. That bartender couldn’t even hold his own liquor let alone serve us one. Music was good but probably won’t come back here again. =(

I’ve been here many times these past two years and just recently thought to write a review on it.
They’ve updated their karaōke system, so there is a larger English-​language playlist of songs. Although don’t be upset if they don’t have the most popular songs that JUST came out, but oldies and recently popular songs should be there.
Best thing? FREE KARAOKE!!! Yes, free karaōke is in their basement with only a 2 drink minimum requirement. Their drinks are dirt cheap too, so my friends and I sat there singing for 3 hours and just paid around $ 20 per head.
Bad thing? It is a karaōke lounge so if there are other parties there, you will have to share the mics with them and take turns singing… bummmer…

Pretty much your typical Chinatown hangout place. but cleaned up, I’ll give them that much credit. I’ve been here several times throughout the past years and seasons and only twice was it semi-​crowded and thats only because both those times were my friend’s birthday parties. The bartenders seem nice enough, but nothing really helps the ambiance of this place. I guess it caters more for the regulars.

This is one of my only true locals, and I’ve only been twice. The first time I was hammered and don’t remember much of anything, except nearly falling down on the sidewalk outside, and the second time was last night. I went with my roommate after dinner just to chill and have a drink or two. We were the only two in there, which didn’t matter to me, and had a delicious Lychee Martini ($ 7) and Ruby Red martini $ 7). For being one of the only local bars (Winnie’s and that pub on Baxter), it’s not too bad. I like that they accept credit/​debit cards, too.

Tiny, tiny bar upstairs with a bit of dining space near the back, and an equally small and cramped downstairs lounge with a separate karaōke room (although glass walls, so you can see everything going on inside). Ambiance… er, what ambiance? Drinks are okay, though not consistent: they’re either super weak or ridiculously strong. It’s kind of gross, especially when it gets crowded and there’s no space to move… I guess only stop by if you’re in the area, but otherwise not worth your time.

Friends and I wanted to do a shot before we parted ways, so one friend took us to Yello Bar. I’ve passed by this quaint spot many times and wondered how it was.
It was way early and practically empty. If you come by for their happy hour specials or for karaōke, the place is more crowded then! The bartender on deck, Gladys, was super friendly. We asked for SoCo and Lime shots, which were delicious and relatively inexpensive, at $ 6/​shot. Gladys gave us a heavy pour, but they were weaker than they looked. Still, good times!

Yello is an attractive bar in a sleepy part of Chinatown across from the park… and…hosting 200+ alumnus from 8 schools will probably shake up the neighborhood a little bit. Ha! We definitely had spillage onto the street. We own you! Muahahaha! A good sign? I had high school friends who I haven”t seen in a while crash the party! Of course… it could just mean we’re just damn good at bringin’ down the house…
Yello, with two levels of fun, free peanuts, and quick service, is an easy place. After a night of vodka and Heineken’s, you’ll find slightly tipsy Asians with the munchies waiting outside puffing on cigarettes waiting for their friends to hurry the heck up and use the bathroom so we can all go home. Dammit Kevin.

Eh. I guess I should say I’m not really into kareoke, but that was the one redeeming thing about this out of the way bar, so I guess I don’t even really need that disclaimer after all. I came here for a birthday party and we were all downstairs, which is actually not a bad space to get together with a bunch of friends for some drunken kareoke. But the sound wasn’t great and the drinks were quite weak for the price. Fine for a party, but wouldn’t go back anytime soon.

It’s nice to hangout downstair for a free night of kareoke and grab a couple of beers while dehydrated from some off-​keys. Not a bad choice since there’s not much choice in ctown.

when did this bar transition from ghost shadows hangout to semi-​trendy? thats right, it didnt! if you want to get shot while having a shot this is the place to go. by shot i mean gunned down from behind. dont believe me? ask my buddy chris «LS» louie.

Why am I here? After a long drunken night we stumble into this place by following a friend. I’m hungry and dehydrated and the chairs are scattered all over the place like Katrina refugees. I ask for a menu because I’m totally hammered and need some carbs. After taking my time to meticulously pick out an entrée or two they tell me the kitchen’s closed. awesome. why the hell did you give me a menu? Place is boring and looks like a school cafeteria. Oh, and someone was smoking inside.

Went here for my friends birthday. It was interesting because he wanted to have a Karaōke party and I’m not really a Karaōke type of gal, probably because I can’t hold a note to save my life… lol
But since it was my friend from high school, I decided to go. Didn’t really pay attention to the upstairs so much, we went downstairs to the private Karaōke room. Since it was just us there, it was ok to sing off key every now and then. I had fun but I think I’d only recommend this if you wanted to have a Karaōke night with some close friends.

When Yello first opened, many in Chinatown cheered, as finally there was a hip-​looking bar lounge that catered to local 20somethings. Before it was Yello, it was a decrepit dive bar full of old folks and 70s tunes. Now you can hear hip hop playing on a regular basis.
Tucked alongside several funeral homes on Mulberry Street, the bright yellow awning transformed a dead area (pun intended) to a place where the living took in libations.
If you go, look for Gladys, Chinatown’s most famous bartender. And if she’s not there, definitely ask for their delicious lychee shots. You’ll be glad you did.