Arlene's Grocery Review

Love going the The Lesson every Thursday night, incredible music and fun venue.

Great atmosphere. Interesting music choices, a few good drink deals too. Good vibes for midday or late night drinks!

One of the best smaller music venue. The F-Bomb shows are the best.

My friends band played there last night and it was an epic venue and setup. Upstairs they have a large size bar and through the door downstairs is the live music area, also equipped with a full bar and plenty of room. The lighting and sound was great and the staff was friendly. A Tecate and shot of tequila for $9 is normal pricing for Manhattan and the bartender was cool. Afterwards they had a DJ spinning old school hip hop/house hip hop and the dance floor was fun and not overly packed. All in all a fun night.

Their drink menu was pretty extensive and there were some enticing drink specials as well. However the bartenders mood went from 0-100 real quick when we questioned our bill. They were very nice in the beginning but then gave us a very hard time blaming us for incorrect drink orders and then figuring out where they might have messed up. We felt attacked by one bartender who was confrontational and snarky and unfortunately am not sure if I would go back.

Great small venue with cool neighbourhood upstairs and live music venue downstairs. Highly recommend.

Better sound than any other small music venue in nyc

Place was really cool. Cheap drinks and you can bring your own food since they dont have a kitchen. Will definitely come back.

Very cool vibe, it was kinda dead but I heard they have bands there all the time. I'd go again

All of the staff are real friendly from the bouncer to the bartenders. Bathrooms aren't terrible by any standards. Musical acts are great and often free.

Always have good time. DJs don't always take requests

Confused because it says they re closed but I definitely went there with friends yesterday. We ordered 2 Moscow mules, a G&T, and Oban on the rocks. Three of us are former bartenders. They served us two cups of ginger beer, a cup of tonic, and a house whiskey. Then when we brought it up, they said we could pay for two shots of vodka and a shot of gin to add into our drinks. Worst experience. Should ve just waited for seats at Hair of the Dog.

Went to an interactive theatre event didn't know ehqt to expect...had a blast

Arlene s ale is delicious and the live music was awesome. Would highly recommend

Great place that keeps Rock n Roll and the littke scene we have left alive !! We are very grateful for it !!

One of the only, and one of the oldest, rock n roll venues in NYC... Good shows and it looks exactly the same as it did 20 years ago. Go support it!

Love Arlene's...
Iconic...
Fun...Great Music...Dive Bar

Love it here and the people that work here are gems!

Great small venue with cool neighbourhood upstairs and live music venue downstairs. Highly recommend.

Home of the world famous "Rock and Roll Karaoke" (I like to call it "punKaraoke").
Enough said.

Great dive bar, rock music and a friendly atmosphere!

What can I say about Amoeba that hasn't been said already? I was amazed at the amount of music here. I was disappointed to see all of my CD collection from the 90's is now only $1 here. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised with my terrible taste.

One of my favorite venues, convenient location, the best lighting for live music photography and great sound

Great space for attending music set. Friendly atmosphere!

Fun place to watch local bands. Good prices on drinks as well.

Nice little hide away spot, good drinks and the band cranked!

The former Puerto Rican bodega/grocery store (the facade of which remains) and neighboring butcher shop were turned into a bar in 1995. After expanding into the next-door butcher shop in the late 90's, Arlene's offers two fully stocked bars and a gallery space for artists in addition to its large helping of live music. A very hip bar & concert venue. The place has a lot of Great bands that come to play in the large basement boutique style stage. Get up close with the band, enjoy good live music & drinks.

It's one of the best bars in the city "Thursday Night"

Nice punk bar and club with stage for local musical acts. Beers are priced favorably given it's Manhattan. Can get crowded and hot. Whether you take subway or drive yourself you will have to do some form of walking to get to Arlene's.

nice little venue. and the bartender was really nice, let me try something before buying without me even asking.

Arlene's is a unicorn. An established music venue in the LES with reasonably priced drinks, a friendly staff, a great live room, and an excellent culture of musicians and jam sessions? Only one place I can think of in the area that checks all those boxes!

The guy at the door was a little rude but the place was nice

A great dive bar with nice cozy ambience and gr8 music playing. Though the restrooms need some regular cleaning.

Nice place for live music but the standing room is limited. Staircase to lower level is in an odd placement in the bar. Directly next to the door.

Excellent venue to see local and touring bands. It has the best small venue sound system in nyc. Come for the bands, stay for the excellent service.

Great venue to see live music. Ice cold ac, great atmosphere, great crowd, friendly place.

oh arlene's, you used to have such a bright future. once you were a venue with decent sound and cutting edge bands. now you are nothing more than the venue that represents a very marginal yuppie version of that former edict and your rock and roll karaoke night grows tiresome. if you've never been to a real nyc rock venue, have a trip to arlene's. then grow up.

Came here to see Katie Buchanan, Liam Buchanan and Kim Vogels. Venue downstairs was a bit cramped, warm and stuffy. Pbr cans were $4. I'd come back - tickets were cheap and music was good. The street level bar was much more enticing. Crowd was very chill/laid back.

I had an amazing Time! The karaoke with a
Live band is a must do!

Laid back East village dive bar, grungy and dark with chill vibe. The bartender Coco is awesome -- makes great cocktails and very friendly. Fun music in the bar area.

The Karaoke event in the auditorium of the bar was very entertaining.

Try doing Karaoke here with a live band backing you!

Nice bar /live music venue. Divey in a charming way. Sound and lighting is good for live performances. $10 cover for live music. Good happy hour specials.

Come on a Thursday night. That's the livest night. And, the bartender downstairs, Lee, and is the best.

Incredibly friendly and helpful staff, great vibe and venue, and solid location - I had a great time and would highly recommend it!

Fun and aleays super cool . no hangs up and always a good band to review !

Solid, eclectic spot to grab a reasonably priced drink, listen to some good classic tunes, and hang out with friends. Bartenders are friendly and cool, location is fantastic.

Such a neat little venue! Enjoyed watching my cousin s band play on the downstairs stage.

First absolute random set I am in love, good price on drinks, just a good vibe, grunge bathrooms, makes you think it's 1986.

One of the last punk live music bars in nyc...
Cheap drinks and great local bands!

Excellent venue to see local and touring bands. It has the best small venue sound system in nyc. Come for the bands, stay for the excellent service.

Loved it. Music a little too loud but staff is great.

The music was great. I didn't try too many of their drinks, but they were good.

Always have good time. DJs don't always take requests

The security guard at the entrance of this place was rude, unkind and inconsiderate to me. Also men's bathroom is one of the dirtiest I've ever seen in New York.

Small, cozy place, hip, funky. Cheap at happy hour. Staff is very friendly. Never had a problem here.

Great live music, helpful, happy service and very reasonable prices.
Can t wait to return