Absolutely unprofessional bartender/owner, and from reading other reviews, many have had this experience. As other reviews from my group have mentioned, my friends stopped here for one drink to surprise me before moving on with our night. Had the bartender simply said to them that he doesn't take large groups, they would have moved on with their night and respected that. However, given that he did not say anything until everyone had purchased a drink, we (CRAZILY!) assumed that a bar open until 10:00 PM on a Saturday night would allow customers at 9:30 PM. He clearly had a problem with the fact that we were all 21-22, despite the fact that everyone was paying and tipping, and no one was being rowdy. Instead of asking us to leave politely when we walked in, he instead decided to ruin the moment when my friends said "Surprise" by instead immediately screaming at us that they close at 10:00pm, insulting us, cursing at us, and rolling his eyes. I truly have never experienced something like this. As a Cornell student, it is imperative to me to support small Ithaca businesses and I make it a point to be respectful of the local community. If he has some problem with college students, I am not sure what he expected when opening a business in Ithaca, but that isn't something we could have magically predicted.When he eventually cursed at us to leave, my friend posted a review stating exactly what had happened, similar to how I described it above, but even nicer, complimenting the female bartender (who I heard was lovely). Instead of addressing the complaint from a dissatisfied customer, or simply ignoring it, the outrageous owner decided to POST her review, including her full name, letting his army of loyal supporters tear her a new one in the comments. These commenters insulted my friend, uninformed and clearly part of some weird cult-like customer base. I understand that they have an interesting selection of drinks (I was unable to purchase one before being kicked out), which people seem to be particularly passionate about. Some more rational commenters who don't hate young people for no reason pointed out that Nowhere Special does not have this no-group policy listed on their website, which I confirmed, and that they should simply have politely told us to leave. I am genuinely astounded not only at the treatment of my group, but the subsequent bullying of an honest reviewer. Their assertion that they OBVIOUSLY don't take large parties or host "bar-crawls" is not only untraditional for any classic bar open on a Saturday night, but seems to be an arbitrary policy made up by the bitter owner.Luckily, we were able to relocate to Chanticleer after being kicked out - not only did they welcome us with open arms, but they had very cheap drinks, and the bartender wore one of my party hats:)
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Erick Barnes
Best bar in the city!!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lusca Robinson
Best place to get a quality
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Summer Logan
Vibey, cozy, unique spot with huge selection of specialty liquors and fabulous staff. They do have snacks. I saw some cured sausages, cheese and sweet treats like Via's cookies.Since it's November, my current fave things to get there are the warm drinks! Hot Buttered Rum and Boozy Hot Cocoa!YUM!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nathan Chandler
Hard to find! Look for the red door. Fantastic cocktails and beer selections. Dark, cozy and wonderful service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Timothy Riegle
How this place isn't a solid 5.0 is insane... not a local, but i absolutely F-ing love this place. Still sitting here and enjoying the fantastic cocktails, great music, chill vibe, and cool
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Aaron R
Outstanding cocktails, as good as you’ll find anywhere (let alone the Ithaca area)
Roger Jennings
Excellent cocktails and huge selection. Knowledgeable owner.A must while in Ithaca.Plus table top Pac-Man !
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Jeremy Yowell
Nowhere Special Libations Parlor was a dark, moody, intimate bar experience that I hope to have again soon. Service throughout was exceptional, and the bartender helped us navigate the large whiskey and cocktail selection available. Highly recommend a visit!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Button
Great mixed drinks with an awesome whiskey selection!
Really good cocktails. Absolutely love the pacman. Only complaint is they close early.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Bernadene
Almost walked past this place. Tucked away in an assuming place, you’ll find in this bar the loveliest bartenders, retro decor and drinks that make you go whoa. We had a lovely time talking about the drinks with one of the bartenders whose name we forgot later. Ask for recommendations for your preferences. We had two sweet cocktails. One with pineapple and coconut milk. That was the sweetest cocktails we’ve ever tried.
Chase Needham
Fantastic cocktails and beer selection. This is not the place for you if you are a Michalob Ultra drinker.
Melissa “ML” Louidor
My favorite bar in Ithaca! Such well made drinks
Nana Potenza
Go where the locals go. Great selection, convenient location.
Absolutely unprofessional bartender/owner, and from reading other reviews, many have had this experience. As other reviews from my group have mentioned, my friends stopped here for one drink to surprise me before moving on with our night. Had the bartender simply said to them that he doesn't take large groups, they would have moved on with their night and respected that. However, given that he did not say anything until everyone had purchased a drink, we (CRAZILY!) assumed that a bar open until 10:00 PM on a Saturday night would allow customers at 9:30 PM. He clearly had a problem with the fact that we were all 21-22, despite the fact that everyone was paying and tipping, and no one was being rowdy. Instead of asking us to leave politely when we walked in, he instead decided to ruin the moment when my friends said "Surprise" by instead immediately screaming at us that they close at 10:00pm, insulting us, cursing at us, and rolling his eyes. I truly have never experienced something like this. As a Cornell student, it is imperative to me to support small Ithaca businesses and I make it a point to be respectful of the local community. If he has some problem with college students, I am not sure what he expected when opening a business in Ithaca, but that isn't something we could have magically predicted.When he eventually cursed at us to leave, my friend posted a review stating exactly what had happened, similar to how I described it above, but even nicer, complimenting the female bartender (who I heard was lovely). Instead of addressing the complaint from a dissatisfied customer, or simply ignoring it, the outrageous owner decided to POST her review, including her full name, letting his army of loyal supporters tear her a new one in the comments. These commenters insulted my friend, uninformed and clearly part of some weird cult-like customer base. I understand that they have an interesting selection of drinks (I was unable to purchase one before being kicked out), which people seem to be particularly passionate about. Some more rational commenters who don't hate young people for no reason pointed out that Nowhere Special does not have this no-group policy listed on their website, which I confirmed, and that they should simply have politely told us to leave. I am genuinely astounded not only at the treatment of my group, but the subsequent bullying of an honest reviewer. Their assertion that they OBVIOUSLY don't take large parties or host "bar-crawls" is not only untraditional for any classic bar open on a Saturday night, but seems to be an arbitrary policy made up by the bitter owner.Luckily, we were able to relocate to Chanticleer after being kicked out - not only did they welcome us with open arms, but they had very cheap drinks, and the bartender wore one of my party hats:)
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Best bar in the city!!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best place to get a quality
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Vibey, cozy, unique spot with huge selection of specialty liquors and fabulous staff. They do have snacks. I saw some cured sausages, cheese and sweet treats like Via's cookies.Since it's November, my current fave things to get there are the warm drinks! Hot Buttered Rum and Boozy Hot Cocoa!YUM!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hard to find! Look for the red door. Fantastic cocktails and beer selections. Dark, cozy and wonderful service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
How this place isn't a solid 5.0 is insane... not a local, but i absolutely F-ing love this place. Still sitting here and enjoying the fantastic cocktails, great music, chill vibe, and cool
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Outstanding cocktails, as good as you’ll find anywhere (let alone the Ithaca area)
Excellent cocktails and huge selection. Knowledgeable owner.A must while in Ithaca.Plus table top Pac-Man !
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Nowhere Special Libations Parlor was a dark, moody, intimate bar experience that I hope to have again soon. Service throughout was exceptional, and the bartender helped us navigate the large whiskey and cocktail selection available. Highly recommend a visit!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great mixed drinks with an awesome whiskey selection!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Really good cocktails. Absolutely love the pacman. Only complaint is they close early.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Almost walked past this place. Tucked away in an assuming place, you’ll find in this bar the loveliest bartenders, retro decor and drinks that make you go whoa. We had a lovely time talking about the drinks with one of the bartenders whose name we forgot later. Ask for recommendations for your preferences. We had two sweet cocktails. One with pineapple and coconut milk. That was the sweetest cocktails we’ve ever tried.
Fantastic cocktails and beer selection. This is not the place for you if you are a Michalob Ultra drinker.
My favorite bar in Ithaca! Such well made drinks
Go where the locals go. Great selection, convenient location.