Hiro Ballroom

I have been to so many concert venue here in New York over the past few years but Hiro ballroom I think was one that has escaped me. Well last night the crowd was definitely more hip hop fans and people with a lot of INK.
I finally headed there last night. I thought it would be more of a mingle play pool type of event but no this was actually a club here. Haha, INKED the site had an even that was also an album release party for MGK (Machine Gun Kelly). He performed a few songs and had French Montana with him out there on stage and Travis Porter. After the show, some white girl just grabbed my ass hardcore and knocked me out the way just to get close to Travis Porter to give him a hug, that was funny. There were alot of people smoking weed here, well not alot but you know, a few. Most guards or security never seem to stop this at most shows anyway.
A lot of smoke from the stage into the crowd, very mystique environment. There was a Dj booth and multiple DJ’s interchanged over the night. I would say great time was had by all. The venue was like I said more impressive than i THOUGHT it would be. It is relatively small but I mean it was not Jay-​Z performing so the crowds were at relative levels, including press and other media. I would definitely come here again to West 16^th street. The upstairs seemed cool too, the décor had a very Asian (Tao-​esque from Las Vegas feel). There were not that many people upstairs though but I walked around to check it out. It was still a great time. I am gonna have to see Machine Gun Kelly next time in a full show next time he comes to New York. It was a good night and after the actual performance you didn’t really get kicked out, you got to listen to DJ Kalkutta. Machine Gun Kelly himself and Tech-​Nine moved over to the V.I.P area but it was cool, he talked to the fans and you got to say WHAT UP and I got to give MGK a pound real quick. I guess you could have also taken a picture with him if you really wanted to.

I am totally fine with not going here ever again and am glad that it is closing. The main reason for this low rating is the difficult entry process.
Friday nights are normally Asian nights, so if you aren’t Asian yourself or don’t have yellow fever — you may not enjoy Friday night at Hiro. Getting into this place is the most troublesome process ever. The people who work at the door try to exert whatever power they have over because they know that they will never become anything in life more than a doorman for a club.
I have thankfully only paid cover once in my life for this club, but even that one time should never have happened; I managed to avoid it all the other times I have come here. They are supposed to be free before 11 with open vodka bar for ladies, but they rarely even open their doors before 11 and force you to pay a cover of $ 20+. The key is to not accept it so easily: there have been multiple times where I have argued with the door people, and they ended up relenting and not making me pay because they know that they are just trying to take advantage of people. The line is terribly managed and often enforces a ratio, so gentlemen — prepare to come with many ladies unless you want to shell out some cash, especially if past midnight.
Once you get over the madness of trying to get in, the venue is very big. There is a huge first floor with two bars on either side, booths on the far end, and an upstairs with another bar and more tables. There are tables scattered ON the dance floor, which is such a pain because it limits the room to dance and get around. There are Asian characters decorating the walls and paper lanterns to add to the Asian aesthetic.
Dancers fly back and forth on fabric above the dance floor in addition to two exotic dancers on either side of the DJ. I guess it’s a nice touch, but they’re nothing special since they’re wannabe playboy bunnies with implants and terrible dance moves. The TV behind the DJ is sometimes very disturbing; there have been times when it was showing animé porn … not particularly what I want to see if I’m clubbing.
I generally have a good time if I’m drunk. The music is good (top 40, hip hop, etc.), and the crowd is mostly attractive. People definitely dress to impress when coming to Hiro. Since it was one of the big Asian hot spots, I almost always saw other people that I knew when I went. I’ve danced many a night away here, but Hiro is overrated. If it’s so much trouble just to get in, I’ll pass.

As much as I don’t like Asian clubs, I’ve actually always had a good time here so I can’t really complain. Getting in has always been easy and usually our guy friends always get a table so we’re always pretty wasted with a place to sit… which makes me one happy camper!
After you get into the club, you’re on the top level where the bar and a few tables are. The upstairs makes it look like you’re at a bar, but the cool thing about it the set up of Hiro is that the upstairs overlooks into the downstairs. The dance floor and more tables are downstairs and that’s where most the fun is. It’s nice to have a table right next to the dance floor that way it’s easy access to either dancing or chilling. The dance floor can get pretty crowded and then people just start dancing anywhere downstairs. The club itself is spacious with 2 bars downstairs and 1 upstairs. My friends who are locals love coming to Hiro on Friday nights.

Oh Hiro! I always have fun in Hiro. I would suggest not to go every week considering they play the same music every weekend. The venue is really nice. The only drawback is the tables spread around the dance floor.
Rumor has it that it’s closing. I hope not. Hiro is my go to place. I would hate to see it close.

Get to the Chase:
Pros:
1) Cheap for both guys ($ 15-​$ 20) and girls (free)
2) Mainstream/​pop/​remix/​house DJ’s are decent, enough to get you dancing
3) Great large enough room for dancing
4) Hit or Miss crowd, but on average pretty good (rarely any fights, decent looking, fun and chill atmosphere)
5) Table Svc is not ridiculous ($ 250) last time I went with 2 girls 2 guys
6) Good that it has 2 floors, especially when you want to cool down, you can chill upstairs
7) Not racist at the door… don’t bounce you away because you’re a guy or because you’re some ethnic minority
Cons:
1) Young crowd, 18 – 24
2) Drinks aren’t anything special
3) Not that swanky

Ah club life.
Be prepared to get treated like crap to get into some place.
Even though the promoters online say it’s free before midnight with guestlist, prepare to open your wallet to the shady folks working the door.
After waiting an hr to get into an empty club, are you going to walk away or pay the $ 20 since the «free admission tix are gone» ?
The place was much smaller than I expected and I thought the benches in the middle of the place were pretty poorly thought out. They really should just start removing them as the place gets more packed because it really messes up the flow of things and creates unnecessary choke points.
The girls swinging around the ceiling are a nice novelty, but after a while, it goes on repeat and you see the same repeats. As for myself, I don’t see a repeat of this venue in my future.

Went to Hiro with low expectation since all my friends in NY were hesitant to go there. I get it that Hiro’s been around for a very long time with the same Asian parties every weekend. I can see why people would get sick of it and want to venture out somewhere else, but as my first time there, it wasn’t that bad.
For a place that’s been around for a while, it was a nice looking venue and the crowd wasn’t so bad at all. The music was surprisingly pretty good and I like the big dance floor in the middle of the venue.
Since we had other places to go to, we didn’t get to stay there for too long, but i don’t mind hitting up Hiro again the next time I am in NYC.
Girls get on the g-​list if you don’t want to pay~

I give this place 2.5 stars– average. This was literally my first club experience in NY and sadly, it was just okay. (wthell?).
Pros: Music was decent, first hour free drinks for the ladies and got in free too. Nice setting, two bars, Japanese theme, clean, $ 3 coat check. The only thing that was really cool was all of a sudden I see two girls swinging from this suspended cloth up on the ceiling, that was neat.
Cons: the dance floor. there are tables in the middle of the dance floor which made it not really a dance floor in the beginning. so then people would just dance up front, and the front isn’t big. No multi-​levels. The night we went there wasn’t too much hiphop but more popular dance/​house music, though I’m sure it is based on whose playing that night.

Definitely a club that caters to the Asian population (no complaints there). Don’t arrive early (show up 12:30pm-ish) when the party is actually bumpin’ a whole lot more. Bartender was very nice & gifted me free drinks (win).
We arrived earlier on a Friday night (11:30pm) & the DJ was playing pretty wack music (c’mon, a remix of Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream?!), but then we really revved up the energy in the room after Shots (LMFAO) started playing. Then that’s the type of music that had us dancing throughout the night.
A return is very likely, definitely enjoyed my time while out :).
Mr. Hiro DJ — please seriously reconsider NOT playing the radio pop remixes that you played at the beginning of the night, such a mood killer! Let me know if you need some ideas for some real club music that will have us all on the dance floor.

Meh, this place was alright.
Stopped here with a friend to check out the asian clubs in NYC. The décor is gorgeous in the place– great 2^nd floor and great dance floor. There’s these cozy corners, good to have a group of ppl come out and sit at… but that’s about it. That gives this place 3 stars.
Came here to meet some friends. We found them as they had bought a table on the first floor… but it was very… meh. It’s definitely all asian club– went on a Friday night, and it was packed. Although I felt like everyone here was madd young. Like, fresh out of college, just moved to NYC, and just… meh. I wasn’t a fan of the crowd… too young.
And the music? BLEHHHHH. 2 stars on the music. I definitely hated the music… not current and I couldn’t even dance to it… meh.
Super crowded and the drinks were not good. I’ve definitely seen better…

Wow. we went clubbing in NYC like we go clubbing in Vegas.3 clubs on average each night, and I was there for 4 nights. so we hit a total of 12 clubs (?) – something ridiculous like that. x_​X
Out of all the clubs we visited, Hiro was my favorite.
Hiro was amazing. My entourage was amazing. The music was great. The acrobats and performers in the middle of the club were great. Clubs don’t stop popping until 4am! If it does, there are after hours and late night carts and pizzas!

I LOVE the décor! and the music selection was pretty good at the beginning of the night, and we didn’t have to wait in line for long, and we were allowed in for free during memorial day weekend when every other club charged for table service. These are the good points.
The only downside is I along with a couple of other girls seemed to be the only non-​asian girls in the club. Apparently, this club is mostly known amongst Asians. Didn’t really notice it until my Asian friend told me.

Popular place, which equals ample opportunities to torture people in lines and give attitude. Hmm…
The place is decorated nicely, but the dance floor is filled with tables that take up the center of the room-​not the best set up. The music was not your typical top 40s or house-​mostly just beats w/​o much lyrics to ‘em. Odd, packed, yet over-​hyped spot.

I was there last night and enjoyed the place.
The ambiance is very cool… with all those asian lanterns… the lighting is really awesome. And it feels quite intimate… no matter where you are located, the stage is right there a few feet from you.
I just wish they had more selection of beers and wine… that sucked. And food… no food is served so don’t come hungry!
:-)

My initial thought when walking in was, «This is a total place for Asians. And white dudes who like Asian girls.»
It didn’t even occur to me that this, a Japanese restaurant above, might have been AIMING at that clientele until I came here to read the reviews. Why wasn’t I expecting this in the first place?
Anyway, it was a fun time. Music was good, although I was surprised how little the crowd chimed in at the appropriate times (like the «Whoa-​oa!» in «Livin’ on a Prayer»). Someone was celebrating her bachelorette, and creepy dudes hovered in the corners eye-​raping the girls. It was a typical club.
Nice bartenders. $ 15 cover. $ 3 coat check (add another $ 3 if you want to check a purse too. Lame).

Nice place to be at. Asian crowd.
Our crowd was 15 so our minimum was 3 Bottles. We order 3 Bottles Of Johnny Black. Johnny Black $ 250.00 A Bottle.

I definitely preferred Hiro over Circle.
Arrived around 1am. Didn’t have to pay cover since our friend knew people at the front. People were definitely just starting to arrive, which is crazy since SF is usually about to start their party at that time!
The décor is Japanese themed and it had a nice glowing red vibe to the club. Paper lanterns and acrobats in the middle of the night were definite cool touches to the NYC nightlife. There is an upstairs balcony section, which was probably for the table service. I loved the décor of the club.
Drinks were strong and is your standard NYC prices. I don’t recall seeing an automatic 20% gratuity tip unlike Circle though. Unless I was completely out of it! It hit the buzz level definitely! I rather downed the drinks then hold it around since the girls always kept pushing and shoving as usual! It was definitely more spacious than Circle though.
Music was awesome. Definitely upbeat. I never heard the same song twice! It was Korean Night last Friday night, when we went.
This definitely makes me more curious into NYC nightlife for the next time I visit!

Wtf am I doing at a club. I don’t know.
Asian theme. Asians everywhere. Strong drinks.
$ 20 cover, sometimes.
What garners a 4 star review? The gogo dancer shaking her booty (who DOESN’T like that). The aerial dancing. That stuff still amazes me every single time. How the dancers hoist themselves with fabric and make these amazing flips. Crazy, crazy.
And. Yes. Clubbing. Because I should still be at the club.

I may be easy impressed here, but seriously Hiro was alot of fun for this Seattle girl!
We don’t get such places in the Northwest. Hiro is defiantly themed but in a good way! Plenty of balcony seating with a huge dance floor on the main level.
3 things I most loved about this place:
— no cover, free tequila for girls (with $ 1 tip on certain nights)
— pretty lanterns adore the dance floor
— the boys have to pay cover (ha-​ha!)
They also had lovely girls swinging from silk curtains while the lights were blasting out on the dance floor. Lots of fun to watch! Good place to go for groups but be prepared to wait in line for over 30 min in those heels ladies.
Dress code is enforced!

It’s that time of the year again, my good friends birthday. She tells me, we will be going to Hiro. I just thought okay. another party. nothing special. Being the good friend I am I will definitely be there. The day comes, me and 2 girlfriends took a cab to Hiro and we went inside to wait for rest of the party to arrive, mm. nice place I thought to myself, they had good music playing in the background. Great lights, great crowd (mixed) and already at 11 pm there was a floor packed with people dancing.
They have a few bars, up stairs (lounge area with an open view of the bottom floor) and down stairs (main dance floor). Plenty of tables if your group wants bottle service. There’s a few spots inside Hiro away from the crowd, which are the corners of the bottom floor, the bathroom area (there’s comfortable benches where you can sit) and the hallway to exit the club. The signal downstairs is not that great for some reason, just go upstairs if you need to use your phone.
During the hours we were there, they had 2 very hot dancers dancing where the DJ was located. Then 2 more performances which was pretty cool, they had 2 girls swinging around in the middle of the club’s ceiling, and later on a girl doing fire tricks which is my first time seeing this. I didn’t expect to have this much fun here but we had a great time.
If you want to go outside for some air don’t forget to get a stamp to get back in. They stamped it on my wrist and it had the coolest letters. It’s not an ugly X or a dumb smiley face.