REBAR Chelsea

TL/DR: Don't pay cash, or the bartender will double the price of your drinks. I didn't realize that until I ran out of cash and started using my card. My friend moved to NYC last year, so I am here visiting him. He took me out to Rebar, and I do like the bar. The music could be better, though. They have a "DJ" playing unremixed pop songs from over a decade ago. I don't know why they pay a DJ for that, but that's a moot point. What I am actually frustrated about is when we ordered our first drink, a vodka tonic, and a rum & coke, it came out to $36. I thought, wow, that seems expensive, but I chalked it up as we are in NYC. Then, we ordered our second drink; he said it would be $38. I thought, bro, why did it change $2? We didn't have enough cash, so I just pulled out my credit card to use. He came back, and the total with tip was around $22. I was puzzled but then pushed that thought aside so I could go back to dancing. Only when I woke up today did I see the situation for what it was. He was taking advantage of us. Any business that takes advantage of its customers deserves 1 star. Probably zero stars. I looked at other reviews from other websites and found a guy recently having a similar experience. That makes me suspect even more that the owner has an employee who rips off customers and pockets the difference. This must be a relatively new hire. The bar owner should take some action because he's stealing from the bar and damaging its reputation. I am saddened because I just read the owner's bio on Yelp. Owning this bar is his dream, and someone is actively destroying it.

Came on a Wednesday, so I shouldn't have expected too much. But I got a drag queen over an hour and a half late on a week night (on several occasions), no drink specials despite the ad saying so, tiny overpriced drinks even for the area, and they're playing meh music off YOUTUBE with terrible sound quality. Why did I pay cover plus overpriced drinks for what I could get for free(and better) in any college dorm room? I'm 30, so that's really saying something. Save yourself the trouble and don't go on a weeknight. Support queer spaces, but also don't get ripped off by them.

Good vibe, stiff affordable drinks, and friendly staff. It usually doesn’t get busy until after happy hour ends at nine making it a great place to sit down for a lil bit before dancing all night. Music is dance hits mashups which I love but isn’t for everyone.

REBAR, a gay bar/lounge in the heart of Chelsea (225 W19th Street), has theme nights and a happy hour with drink specials. Each Sunday, The Richard Cortez Band performs from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Richard revisits jazz classics from the Great American Songbook highlighting songs that had been sung by Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Sinatra and many more as well as songs by composers that include Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Hoagy Carmichael and Stephen Sondheim. Richard's interpretation of these songs is singularly entertaining, and he and his band bring a touch of class to Chelsea each Sunday evening.

I asked for a Bombay Sapphire martini, but it was not pure Bombay Sapphire in the glass. I drink it all the time. This gin left an after taste on my tongue.

What a gorgeous space! GREAT sound system! Fun crowd! What I am most impressed with is the staff at Rebar. I have worked at many clubs and bars DJing in NYC. I have never met a warmer or friendlier staff than the staff at Rebar.

Unfortunately this place is loosing its quality! I have been a regular for years and always take visiting friends to Rebar, but on my last couple of visits, specially, last night my perception of the quality and overall atmosphere of Rebar went downhill. Last night a bartender became belligerent, and insulted me because I did not tip him on the first round of drinks I bought for myself and my friends, and the other bartenders took a very aloof and belligerent attitude towards me and my friends, to the point that we decided to leave to another place after a hour or so of getting there. On top of this, the cover is high, the drinks are expensive and the AC was supposedly broken, so imagine that space full of smelly, sweaty people on a NYC summer night Rebar do better or you’ll be losing more patrons like myself!

This bar has a lot of potential because of its location but there’s this one worker named Junior that is rude AF. Like I’ve probably been in 500 bars around the world and I swear he’s the most grotesque I’ve ever met. He acts as if you’re doing a service by coming here like we’re not in New York with a few thousand options to choose from...