Ambience was awesome, music good, however there a bit of favoritism with the service.. people that came in after were served before us, and I had to go to the bar to request my drinks.. female waitress more attentive to male customers and tables of large people..three customers came in after us and were served first.. not to crazy in going back..
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Popcorn
Ekin Alp
Not good music, no vibe at all. Drinks are NOT special. Don’t waste your energy and time!
A V
Cool place to go with friends and a date. Drinks were good and music as well. Wasn’t so crowded when I went. Will go back with a larger group. The popcorn was fresh. Didn’t order food since we were bar hopping.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Popcorn, Monkey King Mocktail
K T
Black people be aware - you may be asked to pay for your drinks as soon as they serve you and be completely ignored by the staff. Oh and don't attempt to complain - they will dismiss you like you are invisible. Never felt so humiliated and mistreated in my life in NYC.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Abiola Ayanbule
Went here last Saturday with a few of my girlfriends and it was a terrible experience!!! Avoid at all costs. 1st when we got there right around 7:45pm there was only one table with folks seated. We seat and we are told immediately that it’s becomes a reserved area in an hr… we are like okayyy. Then we ask for menu and order our drinks… I asked for water and we are told to go get the water ourselves and point to the bar… when drinks arrive the hostess immediately pulls out the card reader and demands that we pay for our drinks??? We were quite perplexed and said wow we haven’t even had a sip and ur harrasing us for pmt at the table?? What if we wanted more than one round?? After that other folks begin to come in and we notice that all other tables but ours have the complimentary popcorn… our waitress never comes back to check on us… after a while it was obvious we were being ignored… meanwhile no other table got the harrassing treatment of payment demand as soon as drinks were provided… we didn’t stay too long after that esp after one of the girls in my group went to the bar and asked for a mgr and was told no mgr available… which was a lie… to cut a long story short, the supposed mgr came from nowhere had a serious attitude and instead of trying to rectify the situation made it even worse… despite the drinks been good… I’ll say stay away… very horrible customer service not to mention discrimination!!!
Atmosphere: 2
Service: 1
Ekoko Omadeke
Came here Saturday 3/16 for drinks after my friend's birthday dinner. The racism and discrimination we experienced was so 1924. We sat down at 745pm. The server immediately rushed us saying the table was reserved at 9pm. Mind you the bar was EMPTY. We (5 BIPOC women) had to get our own water AND request the complimentary popcorn while the white groups around us received popcorn and water without effort. Our server insisted we pay immediately and didn't ask us to start a tab - assuming we had limited buying power because of our skin color. The whole experience was icky! Racism has no place in a diverse city like NYC! Hope this place closes for good.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
virginia sin
Very nice hidden kinda underground-nish bar in China Town! i was amazed by the vibe.
Atmosphere: 5
Xavier Ames
Shockingly bad experience. Avoid at all costs.Used to love this place. Was a hidden gem! Went in tonight and was hit by a foul smell, like a dirty locker room with old bleach. I mentioned this problem to my friends and while they looked at the menu, I went to the bathroom. While I’m at the urinal(!!!) someone from the staff had followed me into the bathroom… I guess they overheard me talking to my friends and, No joke, while I’m using the urinal they start yelling at me (from behind) that ‘if I don’t like the bar I should leave’. I can’t see their face, and I’m pretty shocked but I manage to reply ‘Yeah that’s what I’m trying to do!’…after that experience, I finish in the bathroom, go back to my friends and tell them what has happened, and we’re all talking about how weird that is, how bad the place smells and where to go next… As we’re getting ready to leave, this same person (manager?) who, as it turns out, was sitting very near to us at the bar, shows their face and starts yelling at me me that I need to leave. He, AMAB with long black hair and eyeliner, puffs out his chest and yells at me to GET OUT… he was so upset and so aggressive I genuinely felt bad. It was like we’d attacked his character or something but we’d just been talking amongst ourselves. Poor guy. Misplaced anger.My friends laugh and inform him that we all agree with him because we’d rather be somewhere else.Anyways, we all left and walked over to Diaspora around the corner (where the staff were super friendly and engaging) enjoyed their excellent mezcal negronis + amazing food… we had great time there instead!What a total shock to be treated this way at Basement, what a shame they aren’t taking better care of the place and what a totally bizarre choice to have this volatile, angry person be in charge. Such a weird experience I’ll definitely never bring anyone / go there again.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Jahn Hall
I can't speak to the drinks as I haven't been there in years, however for whatever reason, it smelled like a boys junior high school locker room and we were just there long enough to get accosted. My husband went to the restroom and the manager (?) followed him into the restroom and said "if you don't like it here, leave" while he was at the urinal. Pretty awkward, however he then followed him to our table and kicked us out. Best of luck to them, but it's not the same place I went to pre pandemic. Bummer.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
A Wong
Go on a weekend if you want it to be lively, empty and quiet rest of the week. Good selection of drinks. Able to play beer pong, Chinese checkers, and craps.
Amazing atmosphere and free beer pong tables! Drinks were good ( look at drink menu beforehand) and staff was friendly. 10/10 recommend for a night out or celebration after dinner. No bag/ coat check.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: HK Milk
Jusbel Olivo
Great music and friendly staff. One of the best spots in the neighborhood!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nestor Alvaradó
Excellent...I liked it a
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jacqueline Soriano
Great spot for drinks are games. Loved playing darts. Con is that it was right next to the bathroom.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4
Summer Wang
Stumbled upon Basement, a cocktail bar in Chinatown, NYC, intrigued by its unique front door designed like an '80s vending machine. Decided to check it out on a Thursday night, and surprisingly, it was just us and the bartender. Ordered an Old Fashioned, which turned out to be one of the priciest cocktails I've ever bought at $25! It was served with a quirky touch - 5 pieces of popcorn on the side. Cute, but was it worth the steep price? Probably not, but the experience and the novelty of the place made for an interesting night out.
Ambience was awesome, music good, however there a bit of favoritism with the service.. people that came in after were served before us, and I had to go to the bar to request my drinks.. female waitress more attentive to male customers and tables of large people..three customers came in after us and were served first.. not to crazy in going back..
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Popcorn
Not good music, no vibe at all. Drinks are NOT special. Don’t waste your energy and time!
Cool place to go with friends and a date. Drinks were good and music as well. Wasn’t so crowded when I went. Will go back with a larger group. The popcorn was fresh. Didn’t order food since we were bar hopping.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Popcorn, Monkey King Mocktail
Black people be aware - you may be asked to pay for your drinks as soon as they serve you and be completely ignored by the staff. Oh and don't attempt to complain - they will dismiss you like you are invisible. Never felt so humiliated and mistreated in my life in NYC.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Went here last Saturday with a few of my girlfriends and it was a terrible experience!!! Avoid at all costs. 1st when we got there right around 7:45pm there was only one table with folks seated. We seat and we are told immediately that it’s becomes a reserved area in an hr… we are like okayyy. Then we ask for menu and order our drinks… I asked for water and we are told to go get the water ourselves and point to the bar… when drinks arrive the hostess immediately pulls out the card reader and demands that we pay for our drinks??? We were quite perplexed and said wow we haven’t even had a sip and ur harrasing us for pmt at the table?? What if we wanted more than one round?? After that other folks begin to come in and we notice that all other tables but ours have the complimentary popcorn… our waitress never comes back to check on us… after a while it was obvious we were being ignored… meanwhile no other table got the harrassing treatment of payment demand as soon as drinks were provided… we didn’t stay too long after that esp after one of the girls in my group went to the bar and asked for a mgr and was told no mgr available… which was a lie… to cut a long story short, the supposed mgr came from nowhere had a serious attitude and instead of trying to rectify the situation made it even worse… despite the drinks been good… I’ll say stay away… very horrible customer service not to mention discrimination!!!
Atmosphere: 2
Service: 1
Came here Saturday 3/16 for drinks after my friend's birthday dinner. The racism and discrimination we experienced was so 1924. We sat down at 745pm. The server immediately rushed us saying the table was reserved at 9pm. Mind you the bar was EMPTY. We (5 BIPOC women) had to get our own water AND request the complimentary popcorn while the white groups around us received popcorn and water without effort. Our server insisted we pay immediately and didn't ask us to start a tab - assuming we had limited buying power because of our skin color. The whole experience was icky! Racism has no place in a diverse city like NYC! Hope this place closes for good.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Very nice hidden kinda underground-nish bar in China Town! i was amazed by the vibe.
Atmosphere: 5
Shockingly bad experience. Avoid at all costs.Used to love this place. Was a hidden gem! Went in tonight and was hit by a foul smell, like a dirty locker room with old bleach. I mentioned this problem to my friends and while they looked at the menu, I went to the bathroom. While I’m at the urinal(!!!) someone from the staff had followed me into the bathroom… I guess they overheard me talking to my friends and, No joke, while I’m using the urinal they start yelling at me (from behind) that ‘if I don’t like the bar I should leave’. I can’t see their face, and I’m pretty shocked but I manage to reply ‘Yeah that’s what I’m trying to do!’…after that experience, I finish in the bathroom, go back to my friends and tell them what has happened, and we’re all talking about how weird that is, how bad the place smells and where to go next… As we’re getting ready to leave, this same person (manager?) who, as it turns out, was sitting very near to us at the bar, shows their face and starts yelling at me me that I need to leave. He, AMAB with long black hair and eyeliner, puffs out his chest and yells at me to GET OUT… he was so upset and so aggressive I genuinely felt bad. It was like we’d attacked his character or something but we’d just been talking amongst ourselves. Poor guy. Misplaced anger.My friends laugh and inform him that we all agree with him because we’d rather be somewhere else.Anyways, we all left and walked over to Diaspora around the corner (where the staff were super friendly and engaging) enjoyed their excellent mezcal negronis + amazing food… we had great time there instead!What a total shock to be treated this way at Basement, what a shame they aren’t taking better care of the place and what a totally bizarre choice to have this volatile, angry person be in charge. Such a weird experience I’ll definitely never bring anyone / go there again.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
I can't speak to the drinks as I haven't been there in years, however for whatever reason, it smelled like a boys junior high school locker room and we were just there long enough to get accosted. My husband went to the restroom and the manager (?) followed him into the restroom and said "if you don't like it here, leave" while he was at the urinal. Pretty awkward, however he then followed him to our table and kicked us out. Best of luck to them, but it's not the same place I went to pre pandemic. Bummer.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Go on a weekend if you want it to be lively, empty and quiet rest of the week. Good selection of drinks. Able to play beer pong, Chinese checkers, and craps.
Restaurantji Recommends
Amazing atmosphere and free beer pong tables! Drinks were good ( look at drink menu beforehand) and staff was friendly. 10/10 recommend for a night out or celebration after dinner. No bag/ coat check.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: HK Milk
Great music and friendly staff. One of the best spots in the neighborhood!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent...I liked it a
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great spot for drinks are games. Loved playing darts. Con is that it was right next to the bathroom.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4
Stumbled upon Basement, a cocktail bar in Chinatown, NYC, intrigued by its unique front door designed like an '80s vending machine. Decided to check it out on a Thursday night, and surprisingly, it was just us and the bartender. Ordered an Old Fashioned, which turned out to be one of the priciest cocktails I've ever bought at $25! It was served with a quirky touch - 5 pieces of popcorn on the side. Cute, but was it worth the steep price? Probably not, but the experience and the novelty of the place made for an interesting night out.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3