The Willow Lounge

.ever. do not go here. the bartender (tall blond guy) was so rude and told me to f*ck myself b/​c he made an incorrect drink for me and I told him to make me the right one.

Ugh. The worst.
Came here with my med school class because one of our classmates was DJing. So the music and crowd were great. I’m afraid I can’t say the same for the bartenders.
1. Watered down, expensive drinks (I know bartenders aren’t at fault for drinks being expensive. But read on, my child.)
2. One bartender (manager?) threatened to kick us out before 12:30am (the places closes at 2am, I think?) unless we bought «more drinks». I don’t know that it is EVER necessary to tell that to med students who’ve just finished a huge exam and ENTIRELY embraced the post-​test binge drinking lifestyle. There were about 70 of us there, and each student probably bought 3 – 4 drinks AT THE LEAST. What the deuce???
3. OK, so maybe that bartender/​manager was just having a shitty day and felt like throwing a wet towel all over our post-​exam bliss. No, the other bartender had the nerve to WRITE IN a tip amount on my buddy’s receipt. So here’s how it went down:
i. Classmate buys 3 shots. Total $ 30.
ii. A – hole Bartender hands him the receipt.
iii. Receipt has the total, and then that typical space for the tip IN WHICH A – HOLE BARTENDER TOOK THE LIBERTY OF FILLING OUT. No, it wasn’t an automatic gratuity added to the bill. No, it wasn’t a suggestion. A – hole Bartender TOOK a pen and WROTE in an extra $ 15.
iv. Bewildered Classmate asks the bartender why he wrote in the tip, as that is typically the role of a paying customer, wouldn’t you think.
v. A – hole bartender apathetically mumbles something along the lines of, Oh, I mean, you don’t have to tip that much if you want to be cheap.
Glad to support our classmate’s DJing, but def wouldn’t return to Willow ever again. If you’re reading this, a – hole bartender… bite me.

I was here with a group of friends with bottle service in mid October. we had a great time, but we always have a great time regardless of where we go, but here’s my review.
Pros:
–it was easy to get in, though we did get there fairly early. it got pretty packed the rest of the night, so i suspect the wait might have been a little longer like any other place.
–the place itself is pretty nice and modern. decent setup. decent room to move around and dance as well. not too big, not too small. my type of place.
–good looking crowd. granted, i had quite a bit to drink.
–the music was really good, though the DJ itself looked pretty bored. i mean he was really bored, at least look interested. he looked really, really bored. but still good.
–good lighting. not too dark. not too bright. just perfect.
–the busboys were very attentive at our table, so cheers to that.
Cons:
–2 bartenders. i think you need 3.
–the whole writing down your information thing on a paper to hold a tab is a little ridiculous. find a way to expedite this process. people are waiting at the bar for drinks and we don’t want the bartender’s back turned away from us for minutes at a time.
–MAJOR NEGATIVE: AUTOMATIC 20% gratuity on credit card tabs. i ordered one round of shots (3, maybe 4, Absolut shots) for a tab of $ 50. $ 10 – 11 tip was tacked on. i’m very generous, but seriously? are we at TGIF’s with a party of 6 or more or something?
–i thought some of the dance lighting was a little cheesy. they had one of those with only one pattern and moves left and right or so. you can find these at a cheap korean karaōke place, where it should be. not at a nice place like this. they had other lighting too, but this one stuck out like a sore thumb to me.
–i don’t believe there was coat check.
–the back bar did not look well stocked at all. given that this was a nice place, there should be a wide range of spirits to choose from.

I was also one of the hosts of the Halloween party previously reviewed. I actually just joined Unilocal in order to add my review of Willow Lounge. Aside from what was already stated (crowded, the owner agreeing to an OPTIONAL open bar and then telling our guests at the door it was mandatory to enter etc). Our party was scheduled to start at 9pm we got there a little early to decorate. There was someone on a ladder working on the lights or something till 9:30. Our guests were arriving and there is someone in the middle of the (not very big) bar on a ladder working. We were told the bar was going to be exclusively ours until 11. There were 3 people there I did not know so I asked why they were here. They said they were friends of the dj and they were having a party there starting at 11. First of all we were told we were going to be the only party there that evening. Secondly, the owner had gone on and on about how great the dj was have you heard of him blah blah. i dont know anything about djs and dont really care — as long as they play some 80s music and some hip hop i can dance to, I am fine. But these three guys said they were there to support their DJ friend because it was his first time EVER dj-​ing. (a far cry from the famous dj they told us about). apparently he didn’t know what he was doing because there was NO MUSIC for the first half hour of our party. and when he did get going there was no room to dance because there were 3 parties going on at once. all in all very very disappointing. DO NOT HAVE YOUR PARTY HERE!

Would rate this as zero stars if it were an option. Not one good thing to say about this place. I have to agree with other reviews that said the manager agreed to one thing and delivered another. The Willow Lounge is over crowded, over priced, and definitely NOT the next hot spot in NYC.

Willow saves the neighborhood! Great music, drinks and cool management. The spot is trendy in its own little way, absolutely great spot to hang!

Worst venue ever. They tell you a bottle min is ok, all details confirmed (they were well aware of the # of people), and then when you arrive, they decide to screw you over. Thanks for a great birthday.

My friend Sara was misinformed about a party, so we ended up here by mistake. The manager was nice, and he told us to stay for a drink. She and I ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. I barely finished mine. Tasted cheap. So we stayed till she finished hers. It ended up costing us $ 10 each. Not complaining, but just expensive for a cheap tasting glass. I know they just opened, and they will be serving American food. No menu yet, so I had to ask the bartender if she could let us know what type of food, so she described a few options. Typical, nothing special kind of a place. They have a DJ playing in the back of the lounge area, but the sound system isn’t that great.

I had pre-​visited the space to inquire about renting the venue for a private party. Anyway, the space is very beautiful and modern. The reason why I love the space is the extra large kitchen– meaning, it’s all about the food here. The Chef is a famous Manhattan sous chef that is making it on his own. The guys running the show are very passionate, talented, driven guys! I love the vibe here and decided to book my business event here. Blessings and good luck to you great people!