Manhattan’s NY Deli & Pub

All around I was very disappointed with this place. They had a cover charge for one band that was turned up obnoxiously loud, it was just not a good vibe for going out and socializing. I didn’t have any food, just drinks, so this review has nothing to do with that. But as far as going out for drinks with some friends, I would go somewhere else.

Do not go here. I went here with my husband and brother in law for drinks while visiting the area. It was exceptionally loud and crowded and the bouncer (who was over 6 and a half feet tall) kept walking by and forcefully bumping into my husband and myself (female 5’4″). After over an hour of his constant rude shoving, I politely asked him to stop. He didn’t offer any sort of customer service (an apology) he got in my face and started calling me a B!*ch for NO reason. When my family tried to step in to stop him from getting violent with me, they were forcefully escorted out for HIS bad behavior. This establishment has no respect for customer service or women. The entire «security» staff needs to be given a training in sensitivity and customer care. They do NOT deserve your business. Go elsewhere.

This is my go-​to bar! Awesome drinks and Happy hour! I love the karaōke on Tuesdays. They have bands play on a weekly basis to cater to most peoples’ niche. I love it. The food is also good, considering its bar food. The music is always on point and the crowd is usually pretty chill and diverse. Definitely a place to stop by and hang out if you’re in the area.

Excellent bar and grill, I’d say the best in Newport news. The food arrived and looked like it had actually been prepared for display. I specifically went here for the chili, as it’s the best I’ve found yet. The chili came out with cheese, onions, plenty of crackers, and one of the staff told me they just changed the recipe. It was very good. I ordered the chicken pretzel club, and it was also delicious, everything was fresh, and had to wait a little for the food to cool down. For desert I had the peanut butter pie, which consisted of peanut butter mouse, chocolate chips, a really nice Graham cracker crust, and a cheesecake like base, covered in a beautiful display of chocolate drizzle. Three yeunglings at only two dollars each, and everything under 30 dollars. I noticed they are closed Sunday, but have events, karaōke one night, and specials every night. The place might be a liitle dark for some, but it fits for me. They also have a nice outdoor area with heated lamps for winter and where I met their mascot squirrel named Matty. Hard to find if you haven’t been, going from Jefferson into city center, take the first left. If you haven’t tried it yet, definitely check this one out.

My favorite bar — THE BEST happy hour, awesome staff, excellent food, and entertaining nightlife. LOVE it!!!

Probably the best chicken wings I have ever had!!! Love the staff and the great deals!

1^st time & last time going!!! service mediocre! Asked for Happy hour list of items she was clueless and I ended up with a $ 59.00 lesson.
ONLY positive note. Reggae music was nice.

Manhattan’s is another of those places I don’t go to often, having only been there for happy hour drinks with friends a couple of times and several lunches with business acquaintances over the years. Despite my lack of consistent patronage they must be doing something right, because they have been in business at this location for at least 20 years.
I had another chance to experience Manhattan’s this past Sunday while attending a jam session hosted by a band we like and various musician friends. It was much as I remembered it — basically a sports bar with a flat screen in every direction tuned to one or another ESPN channel broadcasting whatever, and every, sport being played that day. Sound was off due to the band, so it was not as disconcerting as I usually find these type of places due to what must be ADD on my part.
There was a decent number of folks on hand, some for the music and others obvious regulars, but we were immediately seated at a table of our choice by a very pleasant server who took our drink orders after informing me of the promotional beer special.
It being after 3 PM and my oatmeal long since digested, I was starved and ready to eat. My partner opted for a glass of wine and some schmoozing with friends.
I spied a shrimp po’ boy sandwich on the menu and ordered that since along with a really great burger, po’ boys are one of my all-​time favorite sandwiches. Man, am I glad I ordered that sandwich. A hoagie roll piled so high with hot, perfectly fried, and very tasty, medium shrimp, they threatened to topple off and I questioned if I would be able to close the roll and eat it! Piled even higher were the hand-​cut fries which were hot and so yummy that my partner, on returning to the table and sizing up my plate, immediately ordered the exact same thing… including the fries, which she never does usually satisfying herself by poaching from my plate. And this petite, light eater scarfed them all along with most of the po’ boy. The rest she took home for lunch the next day.
I’ll sum it up like this. The service was excellent, the food was outstanding, the IPA beer on special was superb and a good time was had by all. The only downer was my own fault — our table was next to the door to the outdoor terrace and was in constant use by the smokers from the bar. Being cool out that day, it made for some chilling moments. I didn’t change due to the table being in a good location from the stage for sight and sound. All things considered, We’ll be going back real soon.

Great food and fun happy hour. Always a friendly staff! Fun place to hang out with friends.

We called to see if we could reserve a tv to watch the NFL Sunday tickets game. We were told it was first come first serve (which is fine and the typical rule around this area). But when we got to the bar (at 12:20 to get a table for a 1 o’clock game) we were told the tv’s were reserved and they wouldn’t move it to accommodate us bc some of their regulars were coming in later. Also they only have 8 tv’s so couldn’t show 2 of the games at all. Eventually they put us in a corner where we could see both games we wanted, but couldn’t see any other games. And one of the tv’s was super fuzzy. Place has potential but the staff just made everything a hassle. Not going there again. Ended up going to The Cove down the street where they have 10 tv’s and a good view no matter where you sit!

Manhattan’s has some great sandwiches, wraps and entrees, but is fairly basic in its selection. This place converts into a local hangout/​bar at night with regional bands. Why they call the place a NY Deli is beyond me. You can’t find a hot corned beef on rye, pastrami sandwich, matzo ball soup, potato latkes, cheese blitzes, or anything served on a bagel on the menu, no matter how hard you look.

This place has a decent happy hour (actually it’s happy for several hours), friendly staff, cold beer, and good food. I went for a friends birthday and they were very accommodating for our party. We ordered several rounds of appetizers and they all came out promptly after being ordered. The chips and queso is my new favorite, but they don’t quite give you enough CHIPS. Only thing that cost them a perfect score. The staff was super friendly, and they even gave the birthday girl a birthday shot on the house. Definitely will be back.

I was greeted by the owner as I walked into this establishment for the first time today, and was promptly seated with beer in hand seconds later. I ordered the Caesar Salad with Blackened chicken, which turned out to be excellent. A bonus was the bun served with the salad, which tasted fresh out of the oven. I was expecting a deli upon entering the place, but found a full bar/​restaurant to my delight. I had to ding them a star because they had a glitch in their billing system that put a surcharge on my bill that was meant for New Years Eve clients later that evening, but they were quick about correcting my bill. Overall, a good, inexpensive place to have lunch!

I just recently went to Manhattan’s after not having gone in close to 2 years and boy, has it changed. And not for the better.
I had reserved the back room for a going away party on a Tuesday evening. I knew I was in for trouble when the reservation was for 30 people but there were only enough chairs for 20. :/​Initially the staff was pretty good about taking care of us, though we didn’t have servers dedicated to our section– any waitress serving us was also serving customers in the front and it eventually led to a lot of empty glasses and long waits. Most people ended up just going to the bar to get their own drinks as the night wore on.
They have karaōke on Tuesdays starting at 7, which was the whole reason I had chosen this venue. By 7:30 it still had not started, so I confirmed with the waitress, who told me «yup, starts at 7!»… It finally began shortly after 8 and was not the same karaōke Manhattan’s used to have. Instead of using the stage area, it’s now right next to the door, so anyone singing has to deal with people going in and out, and crossing right in front of them. Additionally, the lyrics were only available on a television *behind* the singer, so unless you know the words by heart, you are going to have your back to the audience. The DJ does not have a book of available song titles/​artists either, so come prepared knowing what you want to sing. Equipment was subpar with crackling mics and poor volume control (music far outpowered all but the strongest singers). DJ was uninteresting and uninvolved. He did nothing to hype the crowd, or even interact with them.
Speaking of the crowd, that has changed as well. Since Manhattan’s claim to fame is live music (Hey Hey Hooligan plays every Wednesday night), the crowd has typically been rock/​alternative. Tuesdays the place is packed with men wearing skinny jeans and oversized tanks (what bar even allows men to wear tanks???) with cupcakes on them (yes you read that correctly), thugs in super baggy clothing and a backwards caps with hipster glasses but no lenses, women in stripper style clothing (floor length dresses with slits up to their waist and booty shorts). My boss showed up around 8:30 and when he saw the crowd he turned around and left because he felt that uncomfortable/​intimidated.
He was not alone: one by one our group left, feeling pushed out by the newcomers who forced themselves into our section and repeatedly badgered us about whether we were leaving so they could have our tables. I asked our waitress for a final drink and asked her to close out my tab. I could see the server window from our table and my drink sat there for nearly 10 minutes before she came back and picked it up after being pulled away to serve customers in the front. I had to remind her that I wanted to close out, which took another 10 minutes. I have had bad experiences at this bar in the past (which is why I hadn’t been in 2 years) where items I had not ordered had made their way on to my tab, so I was anxious to see that everything was correct this time, but I was not even given an itemized receipt; only the credit card slip with the total. I think that is extremely shady: we were there for 4+ hours, with 30+ people in our group… it should be standard that they let you see what you’re paying for. I didn’t bother to ask for a new receipt because I was tired of waiting and just wanted to get out of there.
Lesson learned: Manhattan’s was everything, and worse, that I remembered it being.

The staff is friendly and the food isn’t bad. Decent place to see a band on the weekend. Interesting crowd.

Three Words: Rich Whiskey Monday!
The fact that the owners of this place are smart enough to continually have this band in their establishment is awesome enough! I’ve been coming here the last few Mondays to catch Rich Whiskey and have not only enjoyed hanging at the bar while watching the band, but have actually grown quite fond of this place!
It’s a quiet place that seems full of locals and regulars. By my third visit though, I felt like I was starting to be a part of the regular crowd — so it’s certainly not cliquey like some places.
As for the food, it’s not fine dining but it’s better than one would expect! Their wraps are delicious and the fries are fresh! The prices are moderate as well.
Indoor and outdoor seating, happy hour, darts, and live music… pretty decent place.
My one complaint is that the waitresses have been slow when I have say at the tables. I resolve this by sitting at the bar… which always has had the best service (and are friendly!!).

I have been coming to this place for years, so I feel pretty confident to write a full review, knowing that I am not reporting an anomaly. Sitting on the patio on a nice day like today would have been great, but the crystal clear, big screen TV showing the UEFA Euro POL/​GRE game was a greater draw. Free wifi and Playmaker is a great bonus for entertainment purposes.
They have a lot of lunch offerings. $ 5, $ 6, 2 for $ 10, and 3 for $ 12 (the latter two are combos of (app/​meal/​dessert). I opted to keep the calories a little lower and bypassed the peanut butter chocolate pie. My lunch was the chili appetizer and the flounder with rice and broccoli entrée.
I asked them to make the chili as spicy as possible, which promptly gave the chef a happy challenge (he did well). The main course was okay, however, I must admit that all of the items were pretty bland, even with their blend of spices. Still, it was a great portion size for lunch.
Staff was attentive and very friendly. It’s a good place for a quick, cheap lunch in the middle of the sometimes-​overpriced City Center.

I went here for karaōke night, which starts at 7:00pm Mondays through Wednesdays. Karaōke-​wise, it’s a great establishment: fun (and cute) DJ, gigantic song list, and tons of people singing. A lot of really good singers too, working the crowd and everything. I went on a Tuesday night and it was pretty packed. The appetizers were good too, although they could use a better happy hour menu (2 select appetizers are ½ off, depending on the day). Just don’t get the crab dip unless you really, really love cream cheese.
However, the service was horrible! The girl was nice enough, but she often disappeared for long periods of time and we worried that we would never see her again. Cashing out took forever and we ended up having to take our bills to the bartender to get it taken care of.

Manhattan’s is a decent place to eat in Newport News, tucked off Thimble Shoals near Jefferson. I’ve only been there for lunch and for the nighttime crowd. For lunch, I’m a fan of their blackened tuna sandwich which is delicious and cooked to perfection. Also, they make a mean bacon burger that is definitely worth checking out. The servers and staff are all very nice and friendly, too, which adds to the atmosphere and has influenced my decision to return.
At night, Manhattan’s is a very popular hangout. It’s a drinking spot for 20-​to-​30-​somethings and is often packed on the weekends. The entertainment varies – I’ve seen bands, DJs, and even live comedy (which was actually funny and worth checking out again). The crowd can be a bit loud and rowdy, but it’s almost always a good time anyways.

$ 5 cover charge on friday night… $ 6 drinks… in Newport News for a super tiny little pub. they had a live band, that was cool, but they were hardly more than background noise. When the band stopped for a break the speakers were playing, the music was rap and definitely all p2p or torrent music, hilarious when at the end of a rap song you hear an advertisement clip at the end of a song «for the hottest new tracks be sure to check out
and producers get the illest new beats» the songs were old too but whatever
crowd– okay
bartenders– awesome
music– all pirated stale pop rap music. live band was cool but mehhhh