Gallery Bar

I went here for brunch on a Sunday (yesterday). The group I was with are all pretty laid back, but we were hungry and wanted a boozy brunch.
Our server was nice, but overall the service was extremely slow with only a few tables full in the restaurant. We sat for about 30 minutes until someone took our drink order. Cold coffee served and we always had to flag down the server for everything.
The food was good and the bar/​gallery it’s self is very cool. I would recommend just sitting at the bar oppose to sitting down to eat.

Had a birthday here and we had a great time. The photo booth was fun especially because we got there early enough to enjoy it and have it all to ourselves. The bar does get a little crowded but that is typical. They play good music and you can dance with the little space there is.

This one star rating is ENTIRELY because of the GM, who is named Henry. (I’ll be decent and leave out his last name). I want to be clear that the Gallery Bar staff (other than the GM) were fantastic, and the venue itself proved worthy. If it hadn’t been for the GM, this would be a four or five star rating.
Two weeks ago, I held my book launch party at Gallery Bar after a friend recommended the venue. I caught the outgoing events planner on her last day, so she then put me in contact with the new GM. I secured the space as a private event on the agreement that if I and all of my guests hit a certain collective amount on the bar tab by the end of the event, I’d owe nothing. If we came in below, I’d owe the difference plus tax and tip. Fine, that’s a straightforward enough deal.
I emailed the GM several times before my event to confirm all of the details, including the physical layout, what the DJ needed to bring, and what I needed to bring to play a video on the bar’s projector. Overall, the GM had terrible communication (not to mention horrendous grammar), so I ended up going twice in person to have all of my questions answered.
The day before event, I realized after calling the bar and talking to someone else that the bar does not have a computer to connect to the projector. So less than 24 hours to my event, I spent several hours confirming who had what kind of computer, SD card readers, etc., and ended up having to buy two converters to make sure everything would work. Needless to say, it was a total waste of time and an unnecessary panic.
Here’s the real kicker. In the weeks leading up to the event, I confirmed TWICE with the GM what time he would be there the day of the event. He said 5:30 PM (my event was to start at 7 PM), so logically, I showed up at 5:30 PM to give myself as much time as possible to get everything set up. Except when I made it over there, 50 copies of my book in hand, IN THE RAIN, the metal theft-​proof door was drawn shut. I called the bar and the GM’s mobile phone no less than four times each, texted, emailed, but no answer. The GM hadn’t bothered to give me a back up contact in case something like this happened.
Thankfully, one of the staff members of the bar waiting outside heard me leave a message, and was kind enough to track down a spare set of keys. 45 minutes after I had arrived — at 6:15, just 45 minutes before my event was to start — someone opened the doors and let me and the staff (minus the GM) inside.
Again, I want to reiterate that the other than the GM, the bar staff were all incredibly helpful, and entirely the reason my event actually happened. Unfortunately, I was so stressed with getting caught in the rain and not knowing if my event would actually happen, I didn’t encourage people to the bar and came way short of the minimum.
The GM finally bothered to show up just half-​an-​hour before the end of my event and demanded I close out the tab. I calmly explained to him how unprofessional his behavior had been, and said that he needed to do something as compensation. The «only thing he could offer» was to knock off the tax and tip, which I accepted because I was too tired to argue.
I later went back to the bar to pick up a bag I had left, and asked the GM point blank whether the no tax and tip affected the staff. He said, «A little bit, but don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter.» When I told him it does indeed matter, as the staff was the reason the event happened at all, he switched his answer and said the staff was compensated out of pocket. I wouldn’t be shocked if he lied to my face to get me to leave.
Long story short, do not deal with the GM. If he’s fired, then go for the gold and have your event here. Such a shame this bar hired someone so incompetent.

I celebrated my birthday here this past weekend, and I had a blast! The atmosphere was great, the service was great, and the DJ even listened to all of our song requests! It was a really nice chill atmosphere. I brought a big group of people with me, so it was really important that it is easy to get in. There was no cover for my friends, and the only issue was that it was a bit hard to find, which could make it all the more exclusive.
I went through Birthdays and Bottles (
) to plan my birthday. They were very patient and great to work with. The manager of Gallery Bar even came up to me to congratulate me and let me know that he was there if I needed anything. Overall, a great time!

Came here for an industry networking event. They have a tiny coat rack to hang coats (no official coat check when I went). They do also have nudie pics on the wall so Puritans, make sure to bring your smelling salts. The trailers we saw had no issues. They also have a photo booth in the back near the coat racks.
I got my tap water from one good bartender in particular so no complaints here. There are also some seating areas in here though the event I was at did get crowded at one point.

They have pictures of naked people on the wall. How artistic. It’s like putting a brother Jimmy’s inside an «art gallery». How cutting edge. It feels really ‘sceney’ to drink a bud light while looking a photograph of a dick with Save the World from 2011 playing in the background.
News flash, if you think you are being artistic or cool by going to an «art gallery» in a LES bar (known for its art scene– not) and listening to middle school dance music then you are an idiot.

If you come here with a big group theres a lot of space to stand if all the lounge couches are taken.
They have a projector so if you want to throw a movie party, this place is perfect for it.
Bar in the back can be hard to get to when the place is crowded.