A & K Nail Salon

this place was really good! the woman who did my nails was really friendly and knew what she was doing. i got acrylic tips and she was a perfectionist and made sure they were an almond shape like i wanted. it was only $ 25 too which is a good deal tbh. they offer a lot of other services and do eyebrows and waxing and stuff. i would definitely recommend this place and go there again.

My gel nail polish came out wrinkly. Wtf. I think there’s only one person who’s good here for gel and unfortunately I didn’t get her. I would recommend macro rainbow nail salon on Avenue U and 22^nd Street instead. Very upset here. I pointed out her mistake and she ignored me. I usually don’t judge that harshly for nails because I don’t get it often. But this has been extremely disappointing.

Your experience here depends on which nail tech you get. Last time I came here my manicure came out perfect. She did a repair on a crack in my nail and after a few days it cracked again not sure if this was the way she repaired it or just a really bad crack because I had it fixed again and it’s holding up so far. However, visually my second manicure was not as good. Every single nail came out with a bunch of bubbles on it but gel is so time consuming and not the best to do in a row so I will deal with it for now. Definitely going to try and find out who I had the first time I came here because I think my manicure done by her was much better.

Do not come here to get acrylic nails done. I got a fresh new set of nails done and the lady did a horrible job. Both my pinky nails are lifting off within a week and my index nails. (See images below) The lady rushed through it even though the place was empty. I’m so disappointed. This place is also NOT less expensive than other places so take your money elsewhere!

They are ok

This is one of the better nail salons I have visited in the area. I usually just walk in after work (I know, I should probably start making appointments) and if I’m lucky, I’ll get a chair right away. If I’m not, theres one or two people in front of me and the wait isn’t that long.
Normally I get acrylics because my nails are so damn stubby. They’ve increased their prices since the summer: $ 25 for a set, $ 19 for a fill in and (I believe) $ 3 for if you need a nail replaced. They don’t charge more to have rounded or stiletto nails so thats a plus. They also offer gel and gel extensions. I’ve never gotten a regular mani or pedi so I can’t tell you guys the prices of those. Although I see a bunch of people (especially men!) getting pedis. Prices are pretty standard for a Brooklyn salon but pretty cheap for a salon in Manhattan.
Anyway, the service is pretty good and the women are nice and very skilled. I have gotten a fill in from every single one of them and they have all come out great. They do exactly what you ask them to do and have no problem fixing the shape or anything if you ask. Just don’t expect to have a full blown conversation with these ladies if you like to do that. The atmosphere is generally pretty quiet so no complaints coming from this end one bit. All in all a solid and inexpensive place to get your nails did. Its worth giving it a visit if you’re in the area.

Unilocaling some nail salon around the area where I live & saw this & I called them & ask if they’re busy & said no so I rush to go.
When I get their they let me pick which color I want & good thing I don’t need to wait. They did my nails right away. I’m so happy about the service. The person that did my nail is really good. She takes her time & she did a good job. I’m happy with the result.
While waiting for my nails to dry I saw that they do eyebrows too & I dicided to do it & again I’m happy for the result. Its cheap too! For my nails I paid $ 8 & $ 6 for eyebrows without tip.
This is my new spot now! Love it!

Good cheap manicure-​pedicure. A little on the slower end but they are close to me and cheap. Close to q train and accepts credit cards. Also good hours 930−730… Always come here

I’ve tried a few of the many nail salons on Avenue U and they’re very similar:
*$ 15 mani/​pedi
*Spa chairs
*Technicians are Chinese and English is their second language so dont get offended if they just start talking in Chinese to each other
I thought they did a good job and the mani lasted me about a week so that’s pretty good.
They do charge $ 1 extra if you use your credit card and $ 2 if you want to buy a pair of flip flops

I really don’t understand how this place accumulated 5 star reviews at all.
I made an appointment for 4:00pm and waited for 20 minutes. Do you guys not know what an appointment is? I made the appointment in Chinese if anyone thinks that the language barrier was my issue. The salon looks like a really run down and poorly equipped place. Usually I don’t mind the appearance of such places cause they end up doing an impeccable job. However this was not the case! I was seated in an uncomfortable broken massage chair when getting my pedicure. The pedicure was painful because the technician would dig her nails into my flesh when painting my toenails. I came out to be pampered and got the total opposite. She would stop half way to finish up another persons nails. This was extremely unprofessional! My pedicure was rushed onto my manicure (which I promise you wasn’t impressive either). Their drying machines were complete garbage. I sat there for almost 20 minutes and it still wasn’t dry!!! It’s only been 6 hours since I’ve gotten my nails done and the tips have already chipped.
Bottom line, It was my first and last time here. I made a huge mistake not sticking to my original nail salon.

I have tried max 3 different places so far in NYC for mani and pedi so it would not be right to generalize them all according to one specific location however for A & K’s being a minute walking distance to my home, I always tend to go there and am satisfied. As long as you avoid rush hours, you do not wait longer than 10 – 15 minutes. I have never got any infections here, but I saw some people bringing their own sets so it is an option. I have had gel mani couple times and it was really long lasting. Prices are super reasonable. I agree that they speak their mother tongue at all times and it might get annoying after a while but I watch TV to avoid.

Always satisfied with my gel manis. The wait is the worst part of coming here but it can be a hit or miss with the timings.
All the manicurists are pretty good, and they also always try to do their best… even when i annoy them with making some fancy complicated designs!

I like this place because it’s cheap and they were friendly. I got a French mani and pedi for $ 19. Regular mani and pedi would be $ 13. I just walked in on a Wed night around 7 and waited 20 minutes.

Get a card and make an appointment for no wait. Uses the real deal products and none of that cheap, watered down stuff that will chip. Go early and I cannot stress getting an appointment. Even with an appointment, i say go at least 30 minutes before time.

I was there first time and I liked it. Place is small, but it’s clean and they do everything fast. They made me manicure/​pedicure for 13 $ and is great! Stuff may be seem unfriendly, but I think it’s because they have a lot of people/​May I will try french manicure next time.

I went in there because I desperately needed my nails done as to my usual lady being sick. I was very shocked as to how good the girl did my mani pedi. They are very well priced and quality is good. The place is very tight, crowded and small and they ladies could be a little bit more nicer but that’s just typical at these kind of nail salons. But still I would go back!

Got a gel manicure on Sunday. It startng to chip and come off in strips within a week. I usually get gel manicure and they last a while, I usually redo my manicure because my nails grow and it takes a while to get the gel color off. No here though, the polish failed just like a regular nail polish would.
It’s a tiny space so expect a wait. Staff aren’t friendly or unfriendly, seem to generally not care about your existence at all and for some reason there’s always screaming kids around. It’s cheap but the price you pay is stressful «me time»

4 stars for good Gel that lasted for 4 weeks straight! the mani lady was nice and careful. i’ve did hair cut too, and it was amazing.
minus 1 star for cleanliness.

I found this on Unilocal when I was in the area and had an 1.5 hours to spend. So, this is what I liked:
— They took me straight away as a walk-​in; if you come in at a busier time be prepared to wait.
— Colors: they have a good selection of Essie and OPI, and a lot of Duri and some others — more than 400 overall. Impressive.
— Massage chairs are good.
— Place is very small, so if someone is getting acrylic, it either stinks to high heaven, or they have to leave the door open (cold!)
— I liked the feet massage ($ 10 extra, and she spent about 10 minutes on each foot, as opposed to many other places which do a 5 +5 minute massage for same price)
— Price. Where else will you find a mani/​pedi for $ 13?
What I didn’t like:
— I chose Essie for my feet and OPI for hands. Essie has been holding great, as usual. OPI, however… I own a few OPIs and none of them behaved the way of the OPI I got in this salon. I spent about 20 minutes under their dryer (very, very old and outdated btw), and went on my way… taking care not to touch my fingertips… and when I got home I saw that most fingernails are smudged, and smudged a lot. When I pressed a little on one of the fingernails, I found out that they are STILL not dry (1.5 hours after the manicure)! Either it wasn’t an OPI color, or it was a bad OPI, or there is something wrong with their top/​bottom coat. I’ve never had a nail polish taking so long to dry.
— Feet scrub was not even on par with other cheap mani/​pedi places. Very quick and careless, and I think it actually did more damage than good in terms of scraping, and not polishing, the skin.
In fairness, I would give this place 3.5 stars, but I am upping it to 4 mainly because of price, color selection, and a good massage. I won’t necessarily come just for mani/​pedi, but I will stop by if I am in the area.

I love this place… I get my nails done from here most of the time… They are pretty cheap and the results are amazing… :)