Zanzibar

Do you like to get your groove on? You are not in the mood for a huge line at a club? Well this lounge is probably one of the places you’d like to check out. My friends and I went here for one of our birthday’s and it was a great time had by all. The best part was that we were semi-​secluded towards the back of the lounge. There’s a nice fireplace there so you can keep comfy while you’re dancing. They have 3 other rooms that are either more of a bar or more of a sit-​down spot.

After a long evening of extravagance, my friends ended it here with late night appetizers and drinks. Upon arrival, it was very quaint and pleasant… our waiter was kind of all over the place. I think she was one of two or three waitresses… which clearly there needed another waitress. We ordered a few of their cocktails… which were goood. I thought the names were unique.
We were there for a while just chilling and getting our drink on… as the night progressed… the music got louder and there was a couple next to us, I suppose they were friends with our waitress… so they were taking patron shots all night long, or the duration we were there anyway. By the time we were ready to get our check and leave… our waitress, literally was butt effed drunk. It was quite hilarious! By this time we were seriously, ready to leave. haha. A little irate at our waitress for leaving us for so long and not really being attentive… but eh… I guess she was too busy taking shots!
It was a fun night for my friends and I, but we expected a little more from the place… and it wasn’t met. I think I would rather try another place in NYC then come back here. But I wouldn’t shoo people away either. It was a nice once in a life time experience.

I was pleasantly surprised by this place because I had no expectations at all when I went here around 11 on a Saturday night.
Set-​Up/​Décor:
We had a the private room towards the back of the Lounge for a Birthday Party. it was perfectly situated because it was away from the crowd of the bar. The lights were dim the ambiance was seductive with the candles and the sunroof above. The seats around the room were a great use of space. There was mix of African and Caribbean décor with the figurines on the wall and adornments around the room.
The Food:
We had three types of platters: Shrimp, Spinach wrap and one Calamari, they were all delicious. The waiter was super accommodating and attentive. The Lounge even allowed us to bring in our own cake so that we could really celebrate our friends Birthday!
The Music:
I loved it even though there were some music I did not understand. The DJ covered all his basis: Hip/​Hop, Reggae, Disco, African, Soca, Latin except for Reggaeton the DJ was on great!
Definitely love this place!

Typical posh lounge with your typical young professional crowd. You’ll have a pretty good time here but you will leave feeling overcharged for the drinks. It’s a rowdy atmosphere and gets really crowded on a Saturday night. There will be some in the crowd who start dancing but it’s the type of thing where not everyone’s getting their groove on so you might feel awkward that there’s a group just a couple feet away not dancing.

There is some ridiculously fabulous dark chocolate cocktail they have here with muddled raspberries. And the music is good. That’s about where the nice things I have to say about Zanzibar stop.
Meghan M. is spot-​on with her assessment of the staffing. The insincerity of our server’s attentiveness was palpable. When she offered to take photos of our group, it was almost as if she was doing it out of obligation, but she was pretending to be nice because we might tip her more. She rubbed me allll kinds of the wrong way.
No need to return.

Terribly overstaffed… Lots of overly attentive servers who stand around looking completely bored. Rude management. Also, overpriced.
On the plus side, I liked the dj.

(3.5 stars)
I had my initial doubts about Zanzibar. The name is cheesy. It’s located in HK. And I had a traumatic encounter with a 45 year-​old patron (who turned out to be 56) on a Tuesday night that would put most people off visiting bars solo for life.
However, I was lucky enough to get dragged back to it by a date late one Saturday evening. As expected, it was overflowing. To my surprise, however, the crowd was extremely chill. I passed by several people who were actively ignoring their surroundings and moving to the fun music.
Uncharacteristic of most bustling places (To Bottle Service: You suck. Love, Me.), Zanzibar’s seating areas are up for grabs. We arrived just as another pair was leaving, so we took over their cozy, corner nook in the adjacent hallway space. The lights were dim and tinged red, creating a slightly naughty vibe. I would even venture to say it felt a sprinkle of Miami.
Regarding boozy selections, I adore the Gin Gin cocktail. The Rejuvenation and Paradiso are A-Ok’s in my book, as well. Zanzibar’s concoctions are nowhere near the caliber of fine mixology, but sometimes you need a break from fine imbibing.

The music here is very chilled and metro.
The lounge is bit small and there aren’t that much seating.
The atmosphere of this lounge is very relaxing and zanzi lol
The drinks are ok. The Long Island drink was just ok. But the kamakazi was made right.
It’d be a place to chill at 3 in the morning.

You’re all dressed up and … in Hell’s Kitchen. Fear not, duck in here for a cocktail and some pretty good snacks. The firepit in the middle of the back room is a nice touch, the couches promote friendly behaviour, and the blasting top 40 tunes are, well, I don’t know about you but I’m all over the new singles.
Get out before you get too comfortable, there are surely fancier places about town to take your dressed-​up self.

I walk by this place all the time and I think of the Tenacious D song every single time… I mean, come on, had to try it.
After searching for an acceptable bar for quite a while with my boyfriend and some friends, we finally decided to just pick somewhere in Hell’s Kitchen.
They took us to a lounge in the back which had a cool ambiance. I was happy to hang out there. The drink I got wasn’t very good though and I didn’t have a desire to finish it. Just stick with a simple Jack and Coke or Vodka soda and you’ll be better off.

Came here for a chilled out lounge experience with a group of friends on a Saturday evening and instead got pestered continuously by the waitresses who were surly and didn’t give us a moment to chat or digest the menu. I’m all for attentive service, but a constant disruption every 10 mins is not my idea of good service– it’s just plain annoying.
Food was OK, not great and overall expensive for what it was.
The loud, cheesey music had absolutely no association with Zanzibar or Africa, which is what most people would probably expect with a name like that!
Altogether a disappointment.

Zanzibar has been around for years and here’s my take on it, both positive and negative.
1) Older crowd
2) Reasonable noise level for music
3) Can be empty at times, but crowded certain days of the week, i.e. Thursdays & Fridays.
4) Overpriced drinks
5) 2 good sized rooms and no tv’s to distract you from your lovely.
In the final analysis, since I’m a cheap guy, the prices nix this place on my list, but if you like their other attributes I pointed out, go for it!
P. S. This place has and enforces a dress code. No shorts.

No cover = good?
Nobody inside = bad?
Decent music, except it sounded like it was just a playlist. No mixing. Boo.
It takes FOREVER to get a drink. And pretty pricey for a watered down version of a drink.
There are other bars in the area that you could go to and have more fun. Dive bars I mean. If you’re in the mood for dancing, then yeah, I guess come here, but it’s no fun if you’re dancing by yourself cause the joint is empty.

So there’s this rule of thumb that says if a place is empty, it probably isn’t very good. And if you’re like me, you think that rule is stupid, but you’re also stupid enough to have tried enough empty places to know that it’s usually true.
Well, Zanzibar is usually about as empty as Lindsay Lohan stomach, but has consistently been a great spot to meet people for drink. The jungle décor is amazing. When I’m sitting, I am half expecting a giant furry thing from «Where The Wild Things Are» to come out and hug me. (If only.)
But this place really lights up the sky on weeknights. It’s crowded. So be wary. If you need a drink recommendation, try the espresso martini.
I also highly recommend this place for Halloween if you happen to be going with a safari or wild animal costume. You’d fit in.

It’s probably not the place that was name dropped in a Tenacious D song, but it’s your typical run-​of-​the-​mill lounge/​bar in Hell’s Kitchen. I came to see a friend who was attending an orientation after party for med school so the place was literally flooded with other med students, some socially awkward and some completely normal.
There’s no cover, which is nice and the live DJ was pretty awesome. He played a lot of popular songs which got most of the crowd to start dancing. Décor is cute, probably playing a reference to the city in Tanzania with plants and African themed furniture.
One problem. It took forever to get drinks from the bar. I’m sorry I wasn’t the guy ordering 8 Patron shots for my friends and apparently the bartender was only taking orders from people who were going to give him great tips first. Or he was being sexist and decided that he was going to ignore the girls who were waiting just like me. I demand great service even when I’m not showing a ton of cleavage! 10 minutes later waiting at the bar, I finally got my vodka tonic. Eh, drinks were on the pricier side for a place in HK, but at least they were pretty strong.
There are tables to sit in the front of the bar and in the back room, although, I’m not entirely sure if you have to reserve them. Also, the old strange man with the top hat and the thick-​rimmed glasses who called me «love» sealed the deal. I probably won’t come here again unless there’s free drinks involved.

My cousin came into town to celebrate her 24^th birthday and wanted to stay strictly in the Times Square/​Theater District/Hell’s Kitchen area, especially since it was pouring. After we were denied entrance to Highbar (I was warned beforehand but thought it would be worth a shot since we were a group of 5 girls and 1 guy), I led them to Zanzibar. This actually worked out pretty well because my cousin wanted a table and Zanzibar doesn’t require reservations and there is no bottle requirement. We’re allowed to sit at a table as long as we were ordering drinks. The cosmos were strong. Stay away from their odd cocktails. I wanted to be adventurous and tried some weird dessert cocktail made with Godiva liquer and the concoction tasted like sour milk.
They still don’t have a dance floor but we made use of the space around our table. The music could have been 10x better. It was an odd mix (without any mixing) of current hip-​hop, reggaeton, pop with some salsa and meringue and then old school hip-​hop and then… Bollywood music (?!). The DJ’s booth is also hidden so we had to pass our requests to the waitresses.

Despite all the recent harsh reviews Zanzibar has received, I’ve decided to check this place out again. It’s been about 3 years since I’ve been here, so I decided to meet up with some friends for drinks today. Two of us arrived at 6:10 pm, and the place was eerily familiar with not much changing, with its jungle-​like + urban feel, with the cement floors, natural red brick walls, and tiki masks and photos of safari animals hanging on the walls. Situated in the front is a ~10-​person modern looking full bar made from smoked/​colored glass and a red glow emanating from the front. There are various rooms to this lounge, which is perfect if someone would like to throw a birthday or private party. In the front room (with the bar), there are about 7 small wood-​lacquered tables, with booth seats situated on one side of the wall and uncomfortable red leather square backless seats situated on the other side of each table. There is also a small seating area near the front entrance, which the front two glass-​doored walls can be opened to streets of the city. For the most part, the seats/​tables were similar in the 2 back rooms (one room having another 6 – 10 tables and a smaller room with another 5 – 7 tables. It appears Zanzibar is creating an extension to the right side of the establishment. I’d highly avoid being seated in this area, as the walls are still visibly drywall (sheet rock). They seemed to make this area really dark to make it a little more appealing, but you’ll definitely notice if you have a curious eye to your surroundings. Near the back-​right are two single-​stall bathrooms. The men’s room was a bit odd, as there was one large stall, and a urinal directly adjacent to one of the two sinks. It may be a bit akward if someone is trying to use the urinal as another is trying to wash/​dry their hands.
Service was better than I was expecting. At the time we were not sure how many of our friends were coming (6 – 10 people), so the hostess seated us in the main room and put three small tables aside for us. As soon as we were seated, the waitress came over to ask us if we were ready. We asked for a couple minutes which she gladly gave us, and did come back in a few minutes. (Random note: Tabs can be started at the tables, though the waitress will strongly suggest keeping everything on one credit card for the entire party, but will break up the bill upon paying). We asked about the specials (which we saw on the website) and the waitress said the happy hour special (5 – 8 pm) is $ 2 off beers (and I believe $ 1 off cocktails). During the course of our stay, the waitress frequently came by, more often than not, asking us if wanted to order any more drinks. At times, it became quite obtrusive as it felt like she was trying to get us to order drinks, as some had just come to visit while others were only looking to have one drink. All 10 of us were squeezed at 3 tables, so I can’t really feel guilty that some were loitering and occupying space without buying anything, while others were buying drink after drink.
We were also aware that free appetizers were to be offered during happy hour, so we were quite curious what they were going to give. As our friends trickled in for the next 2 hours, we received two appetizers, one at 6:45 pm and another around 7:15 pm. The first appetizer was a small bite-​sized piece of their tomato and feta cheese flatbread (farmer greens, oregano and red wine vinaigrette). The ingredients were pretty fresh and complimented each other well, making out for a tasty piece of flatbread. The second appetizer we received varied between the smoked hummus, apricot jam with mint yogurt, feta cheese and charred red pepper, and labne yogurt with pickled cucumbers and dill. I had the opportunity to try the apricot jam with mint yogurt which was served with a small piece of flatbread. I couldn’t quite say that this was at all good, more of a disaster than anything. I also was able to try the smoked hummus which was decent but nothing to think twice about.
To sum it all up, Zanzibar’s ambiance is modern and could be a bit more cozy and comfortable. Service was good yet obtrusive. The music was too loud at times that you’d have to shout to your neighbor. The food here, which is quite limited in choices, is not at all that great, and I’d easily overlook it for just the drinks. But then the drink menu can be quite short. Beers and cocktails are not listed, giving you no idea how much drinks really cost. So I’ve decided to leave the prices of a few drinks below for you fellow Unilocalers to decide if it is expensive or not (please note that I’m not sure which drinks were discounted for happy hour and which weren’t):
— Hoegarden Draught — $ 5.00
— Eruption — $ 12.00
— Litchi Martini — $ 12.00
— Bay Breeze — $ 7.00

I’ve been here twice for private open bar parties. The staff downstairs is very accomodating if you’re with the group. It’s kind of night & day compared to Rudy’s down the block, but it’s okay if you’re either going for a party or just stopping by on your way elsewhere. I haven’t tried their food yet

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this place, and i’ve only been once. That being said — on a night where the place was absolutely empty, it was early (9pm) and we were drinking at the bar — the hostess approached us to ask if we had reservations. First i thought she was being nice, then i got the sense that she was implying it was more of a restaurant upstairs and we either should be eating or going elsewhere to drink.
Its dark and from what i could make out because i decided to down my jack-​and-​coke the décor is classy. Maybe i should give it another shot later in the evening.

Zanzibar has a fun jungle atmosphere, with lots of wild zebra and jaguar prints on the furniture and the walls. There is a large bar area right by the door that has enough space for the after-​work crowd and relatively large groups of friends stopping by on a weekend night. There are also a number of smaller rooms to the side and back of Zanzibar with table service.
The drinks are good and reasonably priced for the Times Square location. There is a food menu, and though I didn’t try any of the dishes myself, one of the desserts that my friend had for her birthday did look amazing.
The service is the only downside to Zanzibar… we had a very cranky waitress on a Saturday night from 8pm-​11pm at our table. I think she hated that we kept paying for our drinks with cash instead of opening a tab.