Lair

Still permanently closed, since early 2015 at latest.

I remember this place. A few years ago my brand new Panasonic camera was stolen here. Although, I was invited I noticed the waitress were rough and pretentious. Sorry, I never went back.

IF I could give this place zero stars I absolutely would. You pay $ 20.00 at the door to get into the dumpiest «Lounge» in New York City. Here is why you should never go to this place:
–My drink was served to me in a cup that had a leak in the bottom of the glass. When I asked for a new drink they tried to charge me again.
–I’ve been to bad restrooms in New York City, LES dive bars… I know they can be bad so I am not a princess in this department by any means, HOWEVER The bathrooms at Lair are horrendous. I waitied in line for 25 minutes right when I was about to be the one to go in an underage girl skipped the line to go vomit… Lucky for me I got to go in right after her. The door had two hinges but it was actually only on one hinge, so you couldn’t shut it… you had to angle it so it wouldn’t fall into you… Basically just leave the door open while you pee or vomit… seems that a lot of people are vomiting in this place.
–everyone in this place is underage and unattractive. I think I saw some 16 year old latino girls… oh wait they were everywhere.
Bottom line– this place is in a great location and it sucks. If you want to go out in this neighborhood I would suggest La Esquina (next door).

If you’re looking for a place to have a private party, this is a great option. I celebrated my 26^th birthday here over the weekend. Had about 50 – 70 friends. I was allowed to bring in my own DJ (bonus) and the bar minimum was completely reasonable. We met that without a problem. The manager, Michael, was great at communicating with me throughout the entire booking process.
We had a phenomenal time!!! The drinks were on point!!! Shout out to the bartenders!
I would certainly recommend them to others.

Came here with a group of friends a while ago (about a year I wanna say?). We had a good time here, drinks were on point. Music was flowing but they lack variety. Waitress was cute but had some balls of steel to ask us for a higher tip (our bill already passed the 1k mark). Cant ask for much but it was a good night indeed.

DON’T LET THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS DETER YOU! THINGS HAVE CHANGED! I don’t usually write reviews but I had to take the time to post about the incredible experience I had at Lair. I threw my husband a surprise 30^th birthday party last Saturday and could not have had a better experience. I was in constant contact with Lair’s owner, Michael Levine who helped me throw an amazing party. He allowed me to have the space for a few hours for my party alone, then opened the lounge to the public later on. He was extremely prompt and courteous in answering my hundreds of e-​mails in preparation for the party and ensured that all of my needs were met. The food was amazing and the servers were great. My experience could not be more different than what other negative reviewers experienced in the past. When I asked Michael about it, he said he was working with a promoter and had a bad experience with him. Rest assured, they are no longer working together.
If you are throwing a birthday party or event, this is the perfect place. Thank you Lair for making my husbands party a great success!

My wife bought a coupon from
that gave us 100 bucks for 20 bucks. We invited about 10 guys and decided to have a group dinner together. When we got there, we realized that their idea of food was merely appetizers… so 11 hungry dudes and 1 female made due with just about everything on their menu (about 6 dishes long) and a ton of drinks. Our hostess got the attention of several guys in our group kept them all entertained. At around 11:30PM, a DJ popped out and the place got packed. Lots of dancing, lots of liquor pouring… and then we get our bill… $ 1300.00… lmao… thanks
:)
It was a fun night, we won’t come back though… That 1300 included a 20 percent tip, the waitress had the nerve to come back and ask for something more… wow…

I admit after reading the endless negative Unilocal reviews I was very hesistant to visit this venue for a Release Party earlier in the month. We were promised open bar service on the flyer and the affair started 7pm. My buddy told me to come at 6.30 since it is not a big space and tends to get packed.
He wasnt kidding. I walked thru a pair of black leather curtains to a space about the size of studio apartment. The well stocked longish bar only had two stools which was odd. I guess they removed the other stools to make standing space.
I expected open bar to start at 7 but was told the promoters wanted it to be 8 to 9. I ordered a jack daniels and ginger beer that came in a tiny glass costing $ 14. See picture. Needless to say I nursed it and waited until the open bar hour.
Overall we had a great time. There were two bartenders. The tall one was friendly and took care of us all night while the short muscled up one had an attitude. They do respond to tips. So if you are stingy don’t expect to get attentive service.
The old school hip hop music was great and the soulful crowd was a good mixture of urban hipster and mild-​ghetto.
I don’t think I would visit this venue on a normal club night. Drinks are very pricey and the small interior space and narrow entrance is bit tight if it gets packed and something of a fire hazard.
That said if you need a low budget trendy place for a small party then this is your target.

Another bait and switch: This place was basically an incompetent sheep in wolf’s clothing.
I came here to meet friends and support another friend who was guest bar-​tending (I’m a damn good friend because this place was beyond ridiculous I was in and out within 10 minutes).
I liked the bouncer guy greeting me and opening the door for me, I didn’t like that he insisted I immediately check my coat upon entry; I take two steps passed the dark curtains by the entrance to be greeted by another employee who insisted that I go and check my coat; I take a few more steps towards the stairs leading to what I presume was the restrooms when another fool on the LairNYC payroll tells me to go and check my coat; then I finally make it to the bar where I’m looking for my friends only to be told by another staffer to go and check my coat.
Thoroughly annoyed, I got the hell outta dodge! Funny thing, I wasn’t even wearing a coat; I was wearing a blazer. There were so many douche-​bags actually wearing easily discernible coats and jackets and no one approached any of those idiots. Apparently, this place relies heavily on coat check money but are clearly not good at obtaining it.
It’s a shame because the set-​up inside isn’t half bad; it’s unfortunate that the patrons are pretentious posers/​hipsters and the employees are just plain ignorant and abhorrent.

I first went to Lair sometime in 2011 for dinner. I had a great time– it was a week night so it was quieter. I tried maybe 3 – 4 cocktails during the entire dinner and I tried almost everything on their menu. I enjoyed all of the dishes I had and I thought that the cocktails were pretty good. I liked everything but my favorites were the Lobster, Bacon and Avocado Salad in Wonton Rolls and Roasted Bone Marrow with X/​O Marmalade and Scallions.
Oh by the way, this review is solely for their food and cocktails. I’ve never gone to their «club» nights.

Lair is the most miserable excuse for a lounge, which is a shame because the venue itself is nice and the location is prime.
How much does the place suck? The bartenders themselves look grumpy, one of the workers started taking chairs away out of the blue, and they insist on a $ 75 cover charge per person for people trying to come in after 10 pm. I repeat, $ 75 PER PERSON!!! There were 15 people in that group, who myself and others, were waiting for. Because they wanted $ 75 per head, they lost the business of 15 people plus the 7 people who were already inside the lounge. Did I mention that one of their TV’s wasn’t working? Between the overpriced drinks and the $ 75 per person cover charge, they can’t afford to get a new one? Even dive bars have all of their TVs working.
There are other venues in the city and they won’t treat you like poop. This place is not worth the headache.

Last night, a friend of mine was scheduled to work as a guest bartender at Lair between 10pm and 12am. He was told it was mandatory to be able to guarantee attendance of 25 guests in order to be allowed behind the bar, but by 10pm only about 10 people had arrived. The only reason this place is getting one star, incidentally, is because they allowed him to begin his shift even without full attendance.
Either way, it seems the rest of us arrived between approximately 10:15 and 10:40. When we were «greeted» by the rude and inattentive door staff, we provided our friend’s name as we were told to do and said we were on his list. The person at the door told us that because of «other reservations» they wouldn’t be able to let myself and a guest inside without opening a $ 75 per person bar tab. Knowing our friend had asked several times if the guests in his party arriving after 10pm would still be able to get in for free if they mentioned his name, and having been told repeatedly the answer was yes — we were a little taken aback.
Not even knowing at this point whether our other friends were inside or not or if our friend had even been allowed to start tending the bar at this point, we stood outside for a while to make some phone calls. Eventually, one of the 10 – 15 members of the group who arrived after myself made contact with someone inside and told our friend who was bartending. He tried to talk sense to the manager, Mike — but he «colorfully» insisted there was nothing he could do and we would each have to pay to open a tab, even though by this point there was only an hour left to our friend’s shift.
Needless to say, our friend decided to cut the night short, took the money he had been able to make so far, and all ~30 of us moved the party over to Madame X, where we spent lots and lots of money and had a ton more fun than this stuffy lounge would have been able to provide.
I would have been willing to dismiss this experience as a disappointing fluke and move on with life, but instead I’m leaving this review, because after we spoke to one of the door staff for a third or fourth time, he admitted to us that had we NOT said we were there for our guest bartender friend, it wouldn’t have been a problem. We would have been let inside without having to open a tab. It’s a policy that seems oddly backwards and greedy to me and I feel like others should be made aware of it, should anyone ever decide to go to this place for some reason.
If you enjoy being overcharged for absolutely everything, being belittled by unfriendly door staff, rudely dismissed by terrible, almost nonexistent management and having half of your party disregarded on the whims of secret policies, then this place is your bag. If you’re human and you like to be treated as such, you’re gonna want to stay away.

Do yourself a favor and go elsewhere!
I visited the Lair to support a freind who just got her bartending license and was bartending here. (It should be noted that this place allows students to bartend which may result in not so great drinks). Despite that fact, the Lair charges a ridiculous amount for drinks! Now I am a New Yorker, born and raised, so I am aware of how pricey drinks can be but $ 15 for a fruity pineaaple and vodka? I think not!
I ordered 3 drinks: Pineapple and vodka, a hulk and a Long Island. However, I was charged for 3 LI’s= $ 45. One would be curious to know how that makes sense seeing that a Long Island is typically more expensive due to the amount of alchohol. But in NY the cost of things generaly have no correlation to what you get! So I digress…
At this point I hope my review was enough to get you to chose a different bar for your enjoyment but if that’s not enough… This place took it upon themselves to charge me $ 5 extra on top of my already overpriced bill, after I left cash tip. When I called to have them fix it they were complete assholes «its only $ 5, we’re not gonna fix it. you can come get it yourself.» TOTAL ASSWIPEs! (hope you read this too)
I repeat… do yourself a favor and go elsewhere!

Don’t bother coming here. The Lair is about as pretentious as you can get. Their owners must be complete idiots. So the night I went it was packed wall-​to-​wall which is normal for a NY club. The difference from this club and any other is that the downstairs bathroom area was booked for a photoshoot. Yes you heard right. a photoshoot. Which means that patrons were blocked from going to the bathroom area because a photoshoot was in progress. If that’s not idiotic, I don’t know what is.
It’s as if the owners bought an assault rifle just so they could shoot themselves in the face. This club has so much potential because its location is prime. But, the owners don’t seem to have any idea of how to run a club and it seems like they’re losing profits quickly. This is evidenced by the fact that our bottle service was a sham. The bottle of vodka we got was 50% water. A complete travesty.
Bottom line is that I’m surprised the Lair is still in business. The owners have no idea how to make this profitable, instead they resort to unethical activities like watering down bottle service so that they can turn a profit. It’s a completely disgusting practice. These owners are unethical and don’t seem to learn from their mistakes. It’s a shame since the venue is nice and the location is brimming with potential.

I too like many of the other reviewers on here think this place was awful. A co– worker and I went here for drinks after a long day/​night of working and since its next door to our office this was most convenient place. We had our reservations about this place but because of proximity we said «why not».
We had three drinks each and at the end when I was given my bill I was given a «free one» which I didn’t ask for or drink. When I did get my bill I was charged 10 drinks +gratuity included for two people standing at the bar. Two problems here, we only drank six drinks AND including gratuity for two people STANDING at the bar.
I tried to dispute this with the staff and they were so rude and unwilling to change the bill. At that point I took my card, in anger and walked out. They then stuck their HUGE bouncer on me (I’m a 5’1″ small female). He grabbed me around my neck and choked me. Excessive if you ask me. At that point I was outside and the OWNER came out and clearly does not understand customer service. He told me I was a liar and was not helpful at all. During this time they wouldn’t let my friend leave AND they charged her for the drinks as well.
Someone else mentioned fraud which I completely agree with. They charged BOTH of us fraudulent charges. Needless to say I disputed this with my cc.
To top it all off I got a call a few days later saying I won a free VIP party. I declined AND then they called my friend and told her the same.
Overall, this place is shady, overpriced and has no business or customer service ethics.
DO NOT GO HERE!!! Also I do not care for a response from the venue so DO NOT CONTACT ME or comment on my review.

This place is trying desperately to be something, but I am not sure what. I came here with two of my friends, including one from out of town, both celebrating their birthday week.
We checked in with «Xavier» at the door and he told us to wait. In between idle chat, including «Xavier» complaining about his job search to his colleagues, people on the same guest list as us who came after get us went in. There was no method to the selection. At first I thought it was looks. But after they let in a few people, I believe they profile who they think will purchase bottle service.
After waiting over 20 minutes, I asked to at least use the restroom and was told by «Xavier» that Lair was not a public restroom and that I should go to Café Select.
This signaled to me that we were probably not getting in. Instead of telling us that we could not get in, the door staff (which did not include bouncers) was incredibly rude.
The crowd did seem pretty diverse in many ways, so that’s worth a star.
For a place that appears to be trying to make a name for itself, Lair comes up short. The effort is too obvious, and the door staff leaves something to be desired.

Last time I was here there were like 18 year old girls getting hit on by old men. It was nasty, not my scene, I wasn’t impressed and won’t be back.
Oh and the dj sucked.

My friends and I came here because my girlfriend «won a VIP party» when she came here previously. Supposedly, 15 – 20 of our guests get to skip the line by being on the «guest list,» get your own seating area, a bottle of champagne, and a couple of free drinks. Sounds good right?
When we got there, multiple groups had «VIP» passes too and when the bouncers couldn’t find our names that’s when I knew something was up. The bouncers are indeed as rude as other Unilocalers say, and it feels like they were making us line up single file to enter a prison instead of an «upscale lounge.» The party organizer who was in charge of the VIP offer was nowhere to be found.
When we finally got in, we did get 5 free drink tokens, but there was no reserved seating and no free champagne. How bad do you want to make our guests feel? Downstairs, they have a guy who watches the bathrooms but no coat room service? How obvious do you want your money-​hungry marketing scheme to be? You know the vibe is bad when most frat parties are better than this place. Overall, Lair was an epic fail and we’re glad we went somewhere else to salvage the night. Lair is indeed what the word means: a secret resting place for your money in their management’s pocket.

I stopped in here with a bunch of friends on a Saturday night because someone we knew, knew someone, whatever.
To be honest. I felt like I was at any quasi-​upscale club in any major city in the US. It was dark, it was loud, it was crowded and there was a lazy DJ playing every «hot» hip-​hop track, with a little house thrown in.
Then some muppet stepped on my foot. Ouch. We left soon after.
I doubt I will be back because there are a hundred places like this in NYC.

I keep passing by this place after work, Didn’t know what it is until my friend invited me to his party.
On a Friday night, 2 bouncers outside checking for ID and also if I’m on the RSVP list, and I mentioned my friends throwing a party and they let me in.
Dark inside (dimmed lights), but I was able to see everything Bar on the Left side, tables by the wall, People mingling, pouring drinks, sexy ladies dancing and singing while the DJ spinning a great mix selection of top 40 and a mix 80’s 90’s.
Service was pretty well managed, Sexy waitresses coming every 15 minutes (well not exactly 15 minutes, just around there) to make sure we are having a great time. Staffs coming by to clean the table, collecting the glasses so noone makes a mess on the floor.
Place is small, maybe 1500 square feet, but It’s perfect for a small group to have some fun. Very convenient to the transportation and restaurants (if you’re hungry).