Fantastic drive bar. Great drinks. Great playlist. Great bartender (Chelsea!)
Austin Lyons
A favorite neighborhood spot. Love this place and its staff.
Jackie G.
Cozy neighborhood bar, great cocktails including a Toki highball machine. Super friendly staff and happy hour deals! Rotating pop-up kitchen with solid offerings. East Village industry hang out - nice place!
Susan C.
Regardless of menu or staff changes as some other reviews have mentioned, my experience here last weekend was excellent. Came with a party of six at 5pm and grabbed a booth in the back corner. Service was prompt and friendly, given it was an off peak hour and the bar was only about 25% full, we checked out the menus and the bartender/manager took our orders at the bar. Food came out quickly--burgers, massaman curry tater tots, shrimp chips with a chilli-like dip, wings, shishito peppers, pigs in a blanket, and beers all around. Highlights to me were the double cheeseburger with slice of crispy fried cheddar cheese, great umami and one of the better burgers I've had recently; and the wings--double friend with a savory mildy spicy sauce. The curry tots also deserve a shout out considering we ordered a second round of these. The shrimp chips were a bit to salty for me but came with a meaty queso/chilli dip and was the favorite of a few friends. My only comment is that it's pretty dimly lit inside the bar so it's a bit like eating in the dark but the food was tasty.
Marie-Claude Poirier
Great drinks! Amazing staff. Perfect place for a girls night out. Great atmosphere and we could hear each other. Amazing! You should go!
Emi B.
3 cocktails we ordered were all premade.... Disappointed. Thought this is a cool place.
Roman U.
Black Emperor Bar is my favorite bar in the East Village. The bartenders and ambience are really cool and they have a dangerously delicious Toki Highball on tap that you must try! They had the best secret burger in the East village but have changed the menu. I haven't tried any food off the new menu yet but I will soon.
Marcos Coto-Batres
Great staff and good drinks. Overall good vibes.
Alex Robertson
didn’t do much for me. average upscale bar and the burger was too salty
This might be my new favorite neighborhood bar! The bartender who is the owner is super friendly and kind. I and my friend got the Truffle cheesy fries with bacon- delicious! Great portion size to share between 2-3 people. It's an item from the menu with their collaboration with the Trufflelist. The menu here changes every other month or so. For the drinks, we got the Toki Highball- smoothest whiskey drink ever! It's made with white Japanese whiskey. I loved it, it was so refreshing. The place has a cozy dive bar vibe. I will definitely be back soon.
Deirdre L.
I have been meaning to check this place out for a very long time and I am glad that I was finally in the area to do so. Before this place opened, Shoolbred's was a neighborhood bar that had great drink specials. This bar has to live up to the hype that once made Shoolbred's what it was. Black Emperor bar exceeded my expectations. Coming in, it was so cozy. Learned that they rotate the food menu every couple of weeks. Also was excited to try their Trufflelist collaboration & had the cheesy truffle fries with bacon, which was so delicious and good enough to share for two people. Just made it on the cusp of happy hour and had one of their signature cocktails that was so refreshing. It was made with a lighter whiskey from Japan, so smooth! Can't wait to come back and take friends here. It's a great place & the hospitality makes it even better.
Andrew D.
Not sure what happened. The only reason anyone came here was for the burger and tater tots.. chef left. Black emperor's new business model is: pop-up foods. I doubt anyone really came here for an overpriced highball. Good run
Brendan T.
This places rating was surely justifiably boosted in a big way by it hosting the now legendary "Him" pop-up, which was home to my personal "Best New Burger of NYC, 2019" by a long shot. Well that place is now long gone, as those geniuses have happily moved onto their next step at their brick and mortar Nowon. As such, I thought it appropriate to review the bar on its own merits as a bar. The staff was uniformly pleasant, and they obviously were hip to the game enough to connect with the Him people, so I'm giving them positive props on those fronts. Beyond that however, the place is about as basic and generic NYC bar as it gets. This is especially the case with the tap selection. Nothing makes me sadder, in an era when NYC is actually making some of the best beers in the country, then when I walk into the bar and see the same lame Budweiser-pushed selection with Goose Island as the sole IPA on offering on taps. C'mon guys do better.
Garrett Pike
Great placeto meet up and hang all night or just get a bite of food and back on your way
Innovative cocktails and standard favorites.
Fantastic drive bar. Great drinks. Great playlist. Great bartender (Chelsea!)
A favorite neighborhood spot. Love this place and its staff.
Cozy neighborhood bar, great cocktails including a Toki highball machine. Super friendly staff and happy hour deals! Rotating pop-up kitchen with solid offerings. East Village industry hang out - nice place!
Regardless of menu or staff changes as some other reviews have mentioned, my experience here last weekend was excellent. Came with a party of six at 5pm and grabbed a booth in the back corner. Service was prompt and friendly, given it was an off peak hour and the bar was only about 25% full, we checked out the menus and the bartender/manager took our orders at the bar. Food came out quickly--burgers, massaman curry tater tots, shrimp chips with a chilli-like dip, wings, shishito peppers, pigs in a blanket, and beers all around. Highlights to me were the double cheeseburger with slice of crispy fried cheddar cheese, great umami and one of the better burgers I've had recently; and the wings--double friend with a savory mildy spicy sauce. The curry tots also deserve a shout out considering we ordered a second round of these. The shrimp chips were a bit to salty for me but came with a meaty queso/chilli dip and was the favorite of a few friends. My only comment is that it's pretty dimly lit inside the bar so it's a bit like eating in the dark but the food was tasty.
Great drinks! Amazing staff. Perfect place for a girls night out. Great atmosphere and we could hear each other. Amazing! You should go!
3 cocktails we ordered were all premade.... Disappointed. Thought this is a cool place.
Black Emperor Bar is my favorite bar in the East Village. The bartenders and ambience are really cool and they have a dangerously delicious Toki Highball on tap that you must try! They had the best secret burger in the East village but have changed the menu. I haven't tried any food off the new menu yet but I will soon.
Great staff and good drinks. Overall good vibes.
didn’t do much for me. average upscale bar and the burger was too salty
Restaurantji Recommends
This might be my new favorite neighborhood bar! The bartender who is the owner is super friendly and kind. I and my friend got the Truffle cheesy fries with bacon- delicious! Great portion size to share between 2-3 people. It's an item from the menu with their collaboration with the Trufflelist. The menu here changes every other month or so. For the drinks, we got the Toki Highball- smoothest whiskey drink ever! It's made with white Japanese whiskey. I loved it, it was so refreshing. The place has a cozy dive bar vibe. I will definitely be back soon.
I have been meaning to check this place out for a very long time and I am glad that I was finally in the area to do so. Before this place opened, Shoolbred's was a neighborhood bar that had great drink specials. This bar has to live up to the hype that once made Shoolbred's what it was. Black Emperor bar exceeded my expectations. Coming in, it was so cozy. Learned that they rotate the food menu every couple of weeks. Also was excited to try their Trufflelist collaboration & had the cheesy truffle fries with bacon, which was so delicious and good enough to share for two people. Just made it on the cusp of happy hour and had one of their signature cocktails that was so refreshing. It was made with a lighter whiskey from Japan, so smooth! Can't wait to come back and take friends here. It's a great place & the hospitality makes it even better.
Not sure what happened. The only reason anyone came here was for the burger and tater tots.. chef left. Black emperor's new business model is: pop-up foods. I doubt anyone really came here for an overpriced highball. Good run
This places rating was surely justifiably boosted in a big way by it hosting the now legendary "Him" pop-up, which was home to my personal "Best New Burger of NYC, 2019" by a long shot. Well that place is now long gone, as those geniuses have happily moved onto their next step at their brick and mortar Nowon. As such, I thought it appropriate to review the bar on its own merits as a bar. The staff was uniformly pleasant, and they obviously were hip to the game enough to connect with the Him people, so I'm giving them positive props on those fronts. Beyond that however, the place is about as basic and generic NYC bar as it gets. This is especially the case with the tap selection. Nothing makes me sadder, in an era when NYC is actually making some of the best beers in the country, then when I walk into the bar and see the same lame Budweiser-pushed selection with Goose Island as the sole IPA on offering on taps. C'mon guys do better.
Great placeto meet up and hang all night or just get a bite of food and back on your way