Mehanata - Bulgarian Tavern in New York Review

Went on a Friday night and it started slow. Eventually people began arriving around 11pm. DJ was good. Many cumbias surprisingly for a Bulgarian bar but everyone danced to it. Cider drink was really good. Good vibe all around. Great place to be at.

Good ambience . Need to pay entry fee after 10pm . Has coat check in service .

$10 cover but worth it. So much fun. Latin/Arabic/Eastern European/Indian music all come together at a party that always lasts til 4am. Most of the time we don't go until 1am.

This place screams EURO-trash dive bar meets I hope that you speak English kind of place. 3 floors of fun. *** Decor screams divey with bras, panties and other items dangling from the ceiling. Tasteful nude art as you enter the venue. *** Main floor has a bar with wooden swing sets to sit on as chairs. The kitchen is also located on this floor. You can order hookah and smoke it on the main floor but the same space is used as a dance floor once it hits 12am so you might want to take the smokes up to the second floor. *** MUST TRY : House Apple Cider; it is well made but the cocktail could have been stiffer. *** 2nd floor is used primarily for hookah and dining. It has a great view of the dance space below. *** 3rd floor is where the infamous ICE CAGE is located. *** ICE CAGE; a refrigerated room with shelves of vodka and shot glasses made of ice to drink from. You have 2 minutes upon entering the cage to drink up to 6 shots of the assortment brand and types of vodkas available in the cage. They are lenient on how many shots you can drink. The world record was 21 shots and a trip to the hospital. *** DON'T LET THAT BE YOU *** There is a throw up bucket inside just in case you can't hold your liquor. *** FREE ICE CAGE ENTRY IF YOU ARE THE BIRTHDAY GIRL/BOY ON YOUR BIRTHDAY ONLY. VALID ID REQUIRED. *** Regular price is $10 to open ice cage door $20 entry, $30 for 2 minutes of chugging. EXPENSIVE but can be well worth your time if you are a quick drinker. *** There is also an additional bar, dance space as well as bathrooms on the basement floor.

$10 cover and kind of a dump. Freezer downstairs is closed so no more kitschy Russian vodkas in the cold. Drinks were kind of gross and served in plastic cups. Pretty empty too on a Saturday night.

Honestly it would have been a great experience but I later discovered they added an extra $10 to my credit card bill for a tip (I didn't leave one because the bartender was super rude).

Next time I'm paying with cash, if I even decide to come back at all.

Fun place, downstairs is good if you go early, then move on up to the first floor for live music and crazy fun dancing.

Its a really fun bar, with mixed music upstairs and downstairs. Swings at the bar you can sit on and a polls downstairs to dance on

Ohh.. it's so much fun. World music, dancing, cheap drinks...one of the best places on the LES for dancing. Don't go if you're looking for anything fancy!

This place is insane, and in the good way. It s three floors where each level is a different vibe, the drinks are fun and reasonable, and there s generally just fun and interesting people.

Definitely a destination in town if you local or not :)) likely to blow your mind. There might be Marx hanging about too.

When we came sound was distorted badly. We were 5 minutes there and left, asked for a refund and got refusal. 20$ for 5 minutes of a really bad sound. Never again

This place is always fun, if you are leaving this place without having fun you're doing it wrong! Vodka cage is free on your bday! Chug as much vodka as you can in 2 minutes! Good luck!

This is a very funny place. Multiple bars, I was there earlier in the night but I'd imagine it gets pretty crowded as the night progresses. Good prices for the city, good music downstairs, and a very unique and interesting vibe.

This place has charm. It is not your typical bar/club, and I think the owners are the ones to thank for it. I have visted the place a couple of times and the Live music is just fantastic. The drinks are not too pricey and offer a good selection. It has two floors, a mezanine, ample seating, and if I recall correctly they do have a kitchen and hookah (I am not sure about the last two - so don't take my word on that). Overall, if you are looking for a chill night with yourself, your friends or even just a causual date - this is probably one of the few underated spots in the city.

Do yourself a favor go here on a Friday(live band check the calendar) or Saturday.
I used to go here a bit when it was at the old location off of Canal. Over the years the crowd has changed but still remained pretty fun. Not the best place to go solo, bring a group of friends and get ready to dance the night away...

-- Try the Apple Vodka drink, or one of the Bulgarian beers.
-- Don't get sucked into the vodka cage with out friends
-- Try to get here a little earlier especially in the summer

Decent selection of European beers and the mixed drinks are pretty good as wel

Awesome place to meet people and dsnce bulgarian music

Owner is extremely rude and does not pay staff. I was contracted to build their website, then once I finished the owner ignored me and swore at me when I tried to recover what he owed me. My friends who have gone have said the staff is rude and the drinks are watered down. Do not work for them or patronize Mehanata!!!

I went to Mehanata for my birthday and THOUGHT it was a great bar. Good music, fun people, etc. HOWEVER, I went back, paid the $10 cover, set my bag and my coat down on a table to dance (keeping my eye on them) and the freaking bar tender stole them! She literally took them, put the coat in check and kept my bag. She told me I was stupid for setting my bag down and I had to pay to get my coat out of coat check. She said people are stealing things and I was stupid to set them down, but she was the one stealing! I will never go back to this bar. They have a scam going on so BEWARE.

Strong drinks and stripper poles what more do you need?

Went late on a Friday night, usually would never pay a cover to enter a bar in NYC but definitely worth it. Didn't get a chance to check out the ice cage but drink prices are reasonable and music is great for dancing.

Not really appealing to my taste. Also really dead by midnight. Also other bars in the area don't charge entrance, but this one is $10 :(

A good place to dance, not pretentious or kitch. The decorations and atmosphere are awesome. Checkout the bathroom downstairs

Highly recommended to my girlfriend and I, it lived up to its hype

Cheapish drinks, not too loud until the time (~11 pm) at which every bar in Manhattan is legally required to become intolerably loud so I guess I can't fault them for that.

Awesome place, great music, fun crowd, has a loft area for special parties. $10 cover charge, but well worth it !

This place is the tits! All races, orientations, ages are welcome here! Come drink and dance the night away!

Interesting place, worth stopping by if in the area.

Great Crowd, extremely diverse, a safe place to just dance and leave all the worries of the world at the door.

Frigging awesome bar, even with the cover. Totally worth it! Especially for the the ice locker. Had an absolute blast dancing we even joined a random line dance on the lower level. So much fun!

Where the fun always is! Great for dancing to international / balkan tunes! The party here gets wild, be careful how much "rakia" (the famed strong bulgarian liquor) you can handle ;)

nope. plenty of better places around without the mandatory coat check bullshit and without the cover. I'd be ok with the cover if the place had been any good. had no fun at all.

A fun place with Nice drinks and Ice cubicle. Had a good night.

Cool Place.
Lovely and Happy People on the Dance Floor.
Melodic, Groove, Boom Sounds all Night.
This Location is bAd happy scratch ass in New York City!

Mandatory coat check. If you lose your ticket they keep your coat even if you have a picture of your ticket

Try the vodka room... Really. The staff is really nice too

Great music and great vibe. The DJ was incredible playing several numbers from languages across the world, including some trippy Punjabi songs. One of the best nights you'll have in an informal setup in NY city.

Every Thursday there is an international meetup for travelers. Fun place to dance. On the weekends it gets really crowded and there's usually live music.

The ice cage is super cool! Music is good with 2 different levels. Swinging bar seats are fun!

Big place and dope music. Love the art work and nice price drinks

Good bar, though it's gotten a little worse since its best days.

Pretty bad, even for a Bulgarian place. You might think, oh I'll go there to meet other Bulgarians - you'll be the only one. Overall, you pay some premium prices for mediocre Bulgarian food at best and not much in the way of atmosphere.

Fries with feta absolutely amazing. Great live music and drinks, especially the vodka ice cage.

Awesome! Live band. Swing at the bar. Fun atmosphere.

Nice place to meet international people and travellers