1-800-BARTEND

Terrible customer service! They cancelled the class without notifying us. Then they said for a refund we had to write a letter and it would take 30 days to refund us. Really? You cancel, you automatically refund, immediately. Why should we have to do anything?

1−800-Bartend is a wonderful place to get a certification to be a bartender. The class is set up just like a bar and is mostly hands-​on. Anyone who is a kinesthetic learner will do so well here. Some of the teachers I had were Tasha, Ed, and Danny. They all are wonderful people and will definitely help you to understand all that you need in order to become an exceptional bartender. You also get to work at a couple of bars to get hands-​on experience with real paying customers. I had a great time taking this class and getting my certification was a success.

This school is great. I took the 40 hour class on the weekends at the Kew Gardens school. The class was small and the instructors made me feel super comfortable. I learned so much from how to use a pouring nozzle to how to construct my résumé. The guest bartending events really helped as well. I went to Van Dieman’s and got to practice with actual alcohol. All in all I’d recommend this school to anyone I definitely got my money’s worth.

On 9÷14÷13, my daughter and I signed up for the 2 day 16 hour Bartending course, at the Kew Gardens location. I must start by saying that the instructor and the course was great. However, their reliability is not. Upon completion of the course the certificates were not ready. The instructor indicated that the students should call the following week to inquire about the certificates. I followed up as instructed. I continuously called, however to no avail. It has been 2 yrs. and we are still waiting for our certificates. I recently called again. On two separate occasions, I spoke to Scott and John, both politely provided excuses and stated that they would follow up with they manager. Oh… one more issue that should be addressed, the ice machine and other items used for class practice are not adequately clean !
Well… I am still waiting. I will continue to follow up in writing.

I took the course in August 2014. The instructor I had was good however when I went to guest bartend with the manhattan instructor at a bar downtown, it wasn’t a great hands on experience. The manhattan instructor came in with his students and let them get first priority despite there being a list when the queens students arrived. He seemed to be nicer to the Spanish chicks and white guys-that’s what I personally experienced.
Anyway back to the queens instructor-​I cannot remember his name but he was good and knowledgeable. I was told to sign up for their site
for placement however now it just goes to their site with little jobs that are months old. Ive called several times about the flair class which is included in the 40 hour course however there still has not been one to my knowledge.
All in all, my experience was okay but I think they should help more with job placement esp since its All Star weekend and emails about upcoming flair classes. Luckily I just did it in case I need it whereas the bar I work at never asked for one.

1800 Bartend at 14^th St NYC:
Brandan is such a fun and quirky instructor whose creativity makes remembering drinks recipes easier. And I like that he demands attention to details in the presentation of each drink. He introduced ways to make it easier and quicker to make such drinks.
Tasha shared a lot of her real life experience in bartending and how to navigate the industry to succeed in this field. She is very friendly and approachable. She made it look bartending easy.

I really enjoyed attending classes here. I took the 16hr one and it was so much. The teachers are great and they make learning alot of fun. The classroom is nice and spacious and you get the feel as if you were already in a bartenders atmosphere

Danny is a great teacher, personality makes it easy to learn. School is awesome full selection of liquor so it’s easier to learn

Learned a lot more than I thought possible. Instructor was impressive. Wish there was more experience with coffee and champagne, but absolutely no other complaints :)

I bought a groupon for the 16hr certification and flair course. I had a horrible, unprofessional, experience.
1. Scheduling was a nightmare. Their online scheduling system is only for their 40 course and they won’t do groupon scheduling over the phone. You have to go into the physical location just to schedule. By the time I was able to get in, I couldn’t get into the course (which is only offered once a month) and had to be put on a waitinglist. I finally got in, thanks to the one helpful employee that works at this business. One good thing, however, is that someone always answers the phone during their business hours, even if they can’t help you, they always answer.
2. Even though the groupon deal I bought included a flair course, I was told they no longer had this course, and I was not offered any kind of compensation for their misleading advertising for the amount I already paid.
3. Apparently they offer «free refresher courses» to previous 40hr students. Sounds great, right? Not if you are taking their 16hr class. What that means is that their trainings can get incredibly over crowded. The first day of my class their was over 20 people crammed into the small space, which meant less time behind the bar and not enough chairs.
4. The place is absolutely disgusting and filthy. The ice machine had SO MUCH mold in it that I felt uncomfortable being ask to handle the ice it produced. The whole place smells like must and mold. Many of the glasses and bottles had mold on them or in them. Even though you don’t consume anything, the whole place should not be covered in and smell like mold. You are supposed to be training future bartenders, you should follow health department protocols just to make sure that the bartenders know them. Dirty rags, dirty tools, dirty ice, dirty glasses, yuck! They also seemed low on any kind of cleaning supplies. Very few rags, no paper towels, no sanitizer handy. One nasty detail: I actually got mold ON MY SHIRT from leaning into the ice machine. After that I just kept reusing ice to avoid having to get new ice, which also affected how my drinks were coming out.
5. Everything is supposed to be dyed the correct color so that drinks look the right way. Everything out of the gun was clear and whenever one of the bottles became empty, the instructor (to avoid getting off her phone for a minute, I would imagine) told us to just fill it up with water. By the end of the class all the drinks were clear which was confusing and make it difficult to keep track of what you were doing.
6. The class was supposed to be 16hrs long, but it was really only about 8−9hrs long. Each day the instructor began 30 minutes late, she ended 10 minutes early for an hour long lunch, started 15 minutes later after lunch, and «let us» leave an hour to two hours early each day.
7. While my instructor seemed knowledgeable, I found her very lazy and unprofessional. She lectured for about 1 hour each day in total. These lectures were great. However, the rest of the time she sat on her phone while we practiced and got notes from each other. She did not walk around and make sure each of us was doing it correctly. You had to get up and go over to her if you had a question. Occasionally she would call out drinks from her seat. She was eating strawberries and other food during class. She also spent the first day of class primarily talking to her coworker who was the receptionist. The second day she spent mostly on her phone (sometimes actually talking on the phone) or on facebook on the computer. I came out of it learning basically nothing. I don’t know if I was making the drinks correctly because the instructor never actually watched me, or anyone else, make a drink. She would only come over to you if you specifically asked her to come over. I did this the first time, when we were learning to pour shots, but after stopped. I shouldn’t have to walk over to a teacher and ask her to do her job.
8. They were weirdly stingy about the class books. Even though they were simple paper pamphlets, they made a huge deal when some people forgot theirs at home.
9. They basically lied about a «bartending certification» being real in the same way a CPR or Food Protection certification is. They make it sound like you need one to work, or like it is regulated in some way, even though it is not. I knew this going into the course, but alot of the people mentioned they were just here for their «certificate.»
I don’t know if the Manhattan location is better, but avoid this location if you can. My instructor was unprofessional, the space is small and cramped (it can only accommodate 8 – 12 people but they let 20 plus in). The space is sickeningly filthy. You will not get the amount of hours promised.

I decided to go with 1800 bartend and pay for a new course. I previously earned my license with another school in manhattan. The two week course was great I was able to reatin a lot of the recipes and I loved volunteering for the beerfest event at the armory. However I am not too happy with the lack of job assistance. I created my profile as instructed and more than a month later I have yet to hear back. I am still looking for work although I have tried to market my services for private events to keep the material fresh in my mind. If i could just get the job assistance that was promised they would get 5 stars from me.

I Really like this school so much fun and the teachers where great too learn so much Great job Guys.

I attended the 16 hour course and it was so much fun and very helpful. I learned how to make a variety of drinks. I am now signed up for the 40 hour class. It’s definitely worth it, and my instructor was awesome! The class room is setup like an actual bar so its very lifelike. I recommend this to anyone interested in bartending.

# 1 New York Bartending School (All Star Bartending)
After researching my options for Bartending School I decided to attend All Star Bartending (1−800-bartend). And I’m so happy that I did. They have several locations that you can train at but hands down training with Diego @ the Kew Gardens locations is great! His personality along with his useful tips for success behind the bar is amazing. I took the 40 hr. class (2 week p/​t class) after work from 6−9pm. I had so much fun and had a great group of classmates.
Techniques like that perfect pour, eye contact, bottle flairs and how to set up/​break down a bar are just a few things you learn in class. Every day there were drills on the drinks we learned the class before, once you get the hang of it you’re making drinks without even thinking about the ingredients. Sweet!
You even get to do guest bartending at an actual bar while you’re training, and yes whatever tips you make you keep! Once you obtain your certificate they help you with job placement and you are welcome to stop by the class anytime you need a refresher.
I would recommend this school to anyone that wants to get into bartending; it’s a fun trade that you can take anywhere.
Cheers!