Highline Ballroom

I highly recommend the brunch show at the Highline Ballroom on Sundays. The food is not particularly good, so plan to eat elsewhere and don’t come hungry. Or order something safe. The service, while friendly, is a bit slow. It’s understandable because they basically get slammed when the doors open. Doors open at 11 am, show starts at 12:30. There’s a $ 10 minimum purchase per person. Their coffee is good. I had the steak and scrambled eggs. It was edible, but had a week’s worth of salt in it. I was dehydrated for hours after from that overdose of salt!
We saw the Edith Piaf show, which was marvelous. Much better than I anticipated and very talented and entertaining singer and musicians. Tickets were about $ 30. Any activity that combines a casual fun environment with food, drinks and live music is alright in my book. Not a bad seat in the house. Arrive earlier if you want to be closer to the stage, though you don’t need to be, you can see just fine from any seat. The crowd skewed older (think seniors), which I liked. Made for a fun and chill Sunday morning. I really enjoyed my time here and the beautiful Edith Piaf songs.

Perhaps part of the reason I had such a good time at the Highline Ballroom is because I went for a friend’s birthday and got bottle service. This place is definitely really fun, and a good place if you feel the need to go to a club on the weekends. I would not have enjoyed this place nearly as much if we didn’t have a reserved section and bottle service because it gets really crowded.
It was a club in NYC that made me feel like I was in AC. People were trashy, drinks were expensive, and I had an awesome time thanks to lots of alcohol.

To be candid, I had a horrible experience. Honestly, none of my friends had a good time. The bouncer made me feel bad about myself and as soon as I left he let my friends in. I’m defending what I was promised by my promoter and he told me «I’m not letting you in because of your mouth». I was trying to have fun and would never come back to the Highline anymore.

Talk about a bait and switch. Paid good $ in advance for two tickets to see longtime favorites Buckwheat Zydeco, a Louisiana outfit billed as «America’s greatest party band.» I.e., a band to crowd up to the stage and dance to with a drink in your hand. Instead, we walk into a tightly controlled supper club setting where all tables are «reserved» and require a $ 10 per person per set minimum if available — which they weren’t. We had to stand back by the balcony bar like third-​class citizens with the view totally blocked. I guess Jim Crow never really ended. Thanks for deflating and embittering a highly anticipated night out. We won’t be back.

The night I went, they had acrobats, a little person, a person on stilts, etc. Not sure if it was a special event, but I thought it was really cool. Not only did I get to dance, I also got to watch performers. I’m going to be honest, I got really drunk that night, so I can’t remember what kind of music was playing or how much drinks costed (oops!). But, I do remember having fun. And that’s all that matters.

Terrible service… Burnt coffee and subpar food. I came here with my friends for a Sunday jazz live brunch and the waitress rarely stopped by and when they finally came, they served the wrong food. Served that cold, too. Waiters from other tables kept coming to us with things we didn’t order. Not to mention that we had to grab the utensils ourselves after waiting for them for more than 15 minutes. No apologies, just attitude. Totally ruined my Sunday.

Great venue to listen to good music in a rather intimate venue. I’ve been a few times. Drinks are priced at regular NYC prices. Food is not worth it. If you go on a weekday night and need to hit a minimum, order more drinks. The food is not great. I got the sliders and fries once to meat the minimum for the table — the fries were old and salty and the sliders overcooked. Go to hear music, and stay late if you want to dance.

This is another venue that has the dinner theater/​comedy club approach to watching live music, which is not my favorite way to attend a show.
On our visit, it was a $ 10 minimum per person per set, which was confusing because we were seeing a band with an opening act — does that count as two sets? $ 20 minimum? it wasn’t an issue because the drinks are pricey here and ordering a couple will put you over.
They pack you in at the tables like sardines. It was fortunate for us that the show was not sold out so we could adjust our chairs to face the stage and not have to view it by turning our heads sideways. Unlike a similar venue, City Winery, you DO NOT get to select your seats before hand at the Highline where it is on a first come first seated basis (at least on our visit).
Didn’t order food because we were able to eat before hand. Here’s a tip: If you have time grab a bite in the nearby Chelsea Market, which has a large selection of excellent food choices. Not to say the food is bad here, because I wouldn’t know, but why have a higher bill here than necessary — I am sure they do fine with their imposed minimums.

Update: The GM Matt reached out to me and apologized for the way I was treated at the door, and offered me the opportunity to return with some friends but I politely declined.
Definitely a nice gesture and I appreciate the fact that he followed up with me, however there are a myriad of places to party in this city and I only came to this place because I was cast through SURKUS.
I’d rather go and experience a new place than risk the possibility of being quizzed and embarrassed at the door again. I would probably only come back if I heard they re-​trained their bouncers at the door.

Lovely, lovely space. I went to see a country concert and everything was great. It is small enough to feel like an intimate space but large enough that you don’t feel on top of other people.
As expected, the bar is on the expensive side. I did not order food but it looked good.
My advice would be to eat and drink beforehand! But concerts here are fun!

Just went to a Pauly shore comedy show here yesterday on a Sunday night. We landed some cheap tickets and I thought it would be a fun and reasonably priced night. Minimum 10 per person at each table. But the menu has no prices for the drinks.
$ 18 cocktails at a comedy club. Tack on tax and tip and it’s like a $ 23 per drink. Now bear in mind we aren’t at a swanky rooftop or s 5 star hotel bar. It’s s comedy club. I felt very bait and switched with discount tickets and crazy overpriced drinks. Almost as if they left prices off deliberately to «getcha» on the back end. That left a bad taste in my mouth. Prob won’t be returning.
Service was good though.

Came here for daybreaker this morning. Fantastic venue with a semi-​large dance floor and a small stage area. Very intimate setting, would be amazing for concerts. Clubbing… maybe not so much. I have more to say about daybreaker than the actual venue, but the Highline Ballroom served very well for the daybreaker event (in case you didn’t know, it’s an early morning yoga + dance party, 6am-​9am. No alcohol, just sponsored juices like vitacoco, and a few random snacks).

Let me start off by saying I came to this place without hearing anything about it. I’ve heard the name but didn’t bother looking at reviews because whether it was good or bad, I was still going regardless for my cousin’s birthday.
There were apparently two lines to get inside the place. One bouncer told us to wait in one line, and then they yelled at us and told us we were standing in the wrong line. So we switched to the second line. After about 10 minutes, the first half of my group got inside and the other half of us were still waiting outside. There were other groups also standing in the same line as us who came after, and the bouncer let them in without turning to us for even a second. The female bouncer then told us we were standing in the wrong line, WHILE letting other groups standing next to us into the club. How are we standing in the wrong line when she was clearly letting people enter from that line right in front of my face? Anyways, we got in eventually after 40 minutes of waiting (no lines outside btw). They played good upbeat current music from like 11 pm — 1 am. At 1 am, the music stopped, and random people started free styling. I did not come to a club to hear random people freestyle. Killed the vibe completely, and I went from having a good time to lets get out of here ASAP.
I’m 23 years old. Only came here because my cousin was celebrating his 21^st, but I’ve been to much better places. I will probably never come back.

A decent place to watch a good band up close — everything else though, needs some work.
Went about a few years ago to see a band. We were lined up outside for a bit until we were slowly filed in. It was annoying being on that line, since we had to stand in front of an open and fairly busy grocery store located in front — but I’ve stood on worse lines. Once inside, we realized that there was really no place up close to lean against without being in the crowd, so we opted to sit… and we were a little hungry, so why not. They informed us of the minimum requirement$ and we kind of expected that. What I didn’t expect, was the way we were «forced» to be seated — which was across from each other leaving empty seats alongside each of us. I’d rather have sat next to each other, so we could talk and not have to shout over the music to communicate, but ok. The seating area was small — but I’m not a fan of mosh pits or excessive crowding, so we just dealt with it.
The drinks were not that great at all for the prices and once the food came out, it was pretty bad. I only ate 25% of the dish, which like the drinks, were overpriced. I can’t remember exactly the dish now, but it was a steak type thing, with disgusting lettuce in it among other things.
Anyway of course through the show, there was the crowded floor and the moshing, so it was nice to be able to sit, relax, take pics, and enjoy the show. After the show, we were able to stick around briefly and take pics with members of the band until we got the boot from the place — and then finished up outside.
Again, a nice venue to watch a band up close, but avoid the drinks and the food, unless you have a burning desire to sit. Next time, I’ll just stand in the back or just drink soda.

Honestly not as bad as I thought it’d be. But then again I did come when Major Lazor was performing. Layout kind of reminded me of Marquee but not as nice. Usual-​priced drinks and usual-​clubbing shenanigans here. Had to leave after only an hour because of how suffocating the place was. Unlike some of the ritzier packed clubs, such as avenue, everyone here was hardcore dancing so the place how real hot and sweaty real fast. I literally almost fainted.

The Highline Ballroom is so much fun! It has disco balls hanging from the ceiling. That should say it all, but there are so many other positives about this venue.
The number one thing that counts for me is the quality of the venue’s acoustics. It’s a great place to listen to music. The sound people know their stuff and it sounds perfect in there (no matter where you are in the space). The next thing is the lighting. They really get a lot of value from that disco ball. When I saw Brazilian Girls here, the light design and a/​v during the show were pretty amazing. It was a real trip.
There are two bars inside, one towards the right of the room and one on the left. The drinks were priced fine for a venue like this. I think I remember they sold Magic Hat. The bathrooms are found towards the back, next to the sound booth. The Highline Ballroom has bathroom attendants, who were nice, but the bathrooms are smaller than other similarly sized music/​entertainment venues.
I’ve never been here when it runs as a club; I’ve only been here for shows. There is a second level, balcony seating area with tables. I’m thinking, for music acts, those are the VIP sections. It looked pretty cool from what I saw. Of course, I’m making this assessment while I was gazing up at it from the general admissions area below. :)
All in all, I liked this venue. I would go see another music act here again for sure!
Note about getting here: Highline Ballroom is on the West Side, so you’re on the A/​C/​E/​L to 14^th street and then hoofing it over to the venue. While I wouldn’t recommend it, you can also drive there and park your car in one of the parking garages or open paid lots in the area. The parking garages are WAY expensive, but the open lot close to The High Line isn’t as expensive. Nonetheless, you’re still going to put out more money than you’ll expect if you decide to go by wheels.

Pretty much what I expected so 2 stars out of 5. Loud popular songs, super short dresses, horny people, navy guys, bad vodka, rude bouncers. The space and toilet were very cleaned and I was really surprised about this. It is a weird crowd. Also for a saturday night I thought that the place was really empty. No one was at the bar. I felt like we were maybe 150 people max in the club which I felt funny because in the waiting line on the stairs you can see a video/​advertising of the place where it’s packed. I felt sorry for the dancers on stage. Shitty and not sexy costume that they had to wear. But they were actually doing a good job. Being sexy but not being vulgar. The ladies and guys in this club are really interesting to watch. There was those 2 persons dancing together-​met on the dance floor– the girl was twerking on the guy’ crotch. The guy was probably super excited and try a move to kiss her and she was like «no you can kiss me I just want to keep rubbing my butt on you crotch.» I thought it was funny.
No recommendation from me. Not coming back.

The Highline Ballroom might have a captive audience, but that’s no reason to treat them like literal prisoners.
In the dinner theater arrangement, there’s a $ 10 per person per seat minimum on top of the show admission. While that’s low by New York and club standards, it feels more painful than it should. The beer selection is horrendous — I don’t mind paying $ 8 for a beer, but it should be a better one. My friend ordered a cocktail that tasted more like toothpaste than any identifiable liquor.
There’s requirement to get food, but attending a show that ran from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on a Friday might ordering basically a need. How I envy the couple friends of mine that decided just to get the simple appetizers.
This was the worst meal I’ve had in New York in months — sweet potato «fries» that were undercooked and tasted of sugar, a pulled pork sandwich with mealy meat and a much too large bun. I sampled other things that arrived — tasteless guacamole, terrible chips.
I understand the high prices — although this place really pushes them to the limit — but presumably this amount means that the food will at least be edible. Places are doing far, far more for far, far less all over city.
Next time, pretend it’s a multiplex and sneak in some candy.

Arrived here for a Alienware launch event. Seems the space hosts corporate events, parties, and nightclub weekends. For event spacing it’s a good decent size to host your corporate functions or launch events. Both sides as you walk in have bar areas. A main large stage in front for the live acts or demonstrations. Both sides of the floor have elevated VIP sections witih couches and tables.
A second floor terrace also provides a bar area with a large amount of space for private VIP tables. Bathrooms on the main floor are a bit of a tight squeeze and lines can be long. The space is in the far west side of chelsea with no close by mass transit which is kind of a pain.

Based on what I read in some of the reviews, I told my wife to not wear anything she didn’t want to get dirty and I also made sure to go to the bathroom before we entered the club.,
Needless to say, we were pleasantly surprised by how nice the place was. You do need to get there early. Otherwise, you might have to share a table with strangers or wind up with an obstructed view. The chairs don’t look very comfortable but the couches were great.
The sound system sounded quite good. We saw 20 Somethings 2 and it was a great show.
The food seems to be hit or miss. Our friends liked their guacamole. I had something called cookies and cream which was a small dollop of ice cream in between some really bad baked good (not really sure what it was).
A lot of street parking and a relatively inexpensive Edison Lot on 10^th Ave. help. All in all, looking forward to going back again.