Kastel

January 2014
after dinner drink with girl
Food– my old fashioned was very good and strong
Service– sat at the bar
Ambiance– nice and dark
Came here for a drink after dining at PAO
prepare to open up your wallet because the drinks here are pricey, but you pay for the quality drink and ambiance.
Nice lounge inside Trump Hotel in a really sketchy warehouse neighborhood lol

nice bar pretty quiet round midnight, no complaints but it won’t be added to the rotation

Normally, you will not find me in a place like this. I like to keep it real and hang out in some run down out of the way warehouse in Brooklyn. But hey, sometimes, you have to go with the flow.
Date night was successful and we had filled our bellies with yummy Vegan food and desserts. My date got a text and very shortly after, we were in a cab going to this place.
This lounge is inside the Trump Hotel. My, it is swanky. I was like a fish out of water. But its OK, I was still breathing.
My date and her whole posse were gathered here. The lounge was winding down and we came just for the end. Drinks were on the house and my date knew the bartender, the manager, and the DJ. Whoa.
Anyhow, it was fun to shake my bon bon in a not too crowded place and just hang out with friends. And the DJ played a song I requested. Cool beans!

Never busy or loud, just a laid-​back place to hang out and chat with friends. The mix drinks are great, and they have a decent wine selection.
Great place with ultra cool atmosphere. They had live band during the weekday night that I visited.

Kastel is chic and cozy but I wouldn’t make a point of going back there. I came with a couple of friends, one of whom was friends with the DJ. The DJ happened to have been pretty good but the drinks, tasty as they were, were very pricey and the crowd was almost entirely women with the exception of a few gay men. I’m also not wild about that part of town at night…

Decent music, cute cozy lounge… obnoxious people. Some annoying girl who tried to stuff herself in a dress made for Barbie (and not the My Size Barbie either) with her bits oozing out kept trying to edge me off of a booth with her butt, while passive aggressively screaming «Wow, SOMEONE is in my way», and whipping her hair in my friend’s face. Not cool.
The lounge itself is pretty nice, but my night just got sour when I encountered some obnoxious Kim Kardashian wannabes. While «TOTAL SUCKAGE/​GARBAGE» isn’t my final judgement of this place, I’d be hesitant to return. It didn’t blow me away, for something that’s supposed to be all Trump Soho hotel fancy schmancy.

Wish it was upstairs on a rooftop, but it isnt! It’s actually on the 1^st level… behind the front desk of the Trump Hotel :) Beautiful hotel in SoHo btw!
The lounge décor is really cute, cozy and classy! It’s a tiny lounge. One room with a few couches and tables on the sides and the bar in the back of the room. We went on a Sat night and left in a bit. I would recommend checking it out once to see how the lounges of Trump Hotels are like ;)

The promoter was a friend of a friend who simply wanted to have a party, asking guests to wear jackets and 4″ heels. You’re in a lounge located in the Trump Soho Hotel, so naturally you should expect a highly somewhat fashionable crowd. While there was no cover (and perhaps I was ignorant to ask becuase I rarely frequent such places), my gin & tonic was $ 18. Bartender didn’t give me attitude when I didn’t want to open a tab (oh hell no) and asked for water two times after that — not that I couldn’t afford it, but I’m a weaksauce when it comes to drinking. I highly recommend anyone going to shi-​shi places such as Kastel Pre-​game before coming here.
Great female DJ who’s name I heard whispered — Nirvana.
My favorite part of the evening was when a girl I met bluntly said most people here are looking for sugar daddies (or mommies — gotta love NYC peeps keepin it real), to which I naturally ask — what she did for a living. Least part of the evening was that I saw two female friends there with which one of them (married) told a girl I was «rich». Attractive women are easy to find — classy friends are hard.
–1 star for the place being a little too dark.

1. Can I just say that this place has some of the most awesome Unilocal reviews I’ve ever read.
2. If I could give this place 3.5 stars I would, 4 seems like too much, 3 too little. I felt compelled to make that clear.
3.I went on a Saturday night for a going away party. Much to my surprise, there was no cover, no guestlist, no hassle. The music was deafening, but I didn’t mind because it was right up my alley (a mix of Top 40, hip hop, and whatever category groups like MGMT and Mighty Mouse fit into).
4. When the bartender said $ 15 for my house vodka and tonic my hand trembled as I handed him my $ 20. :Looks around for I-​Banker boy to pay for next drink:
5. At first I was like, hmm, okay good looking crowd. But the phrase «everything done in the dark comes to light» was made for this place (not really, but roll with me here). Because when I left and caught glimpses of people in the lobby, I nearly screamed. Bridge and tunnel, Forever Fashion Q 21 outfits and shoes, weaves that should have been taken out 3 months ago, Wall Street types who just left the office 20 minutes ago desperate for a drink and a bump of coke.
6. This is not SoHo. Maybe SoHo adjacent.
Conclusion: I would go back. I know, I know, totally weird review. I think that if you can bring the crowd, this would be a fun place to party. The music was good, the décor is sexy (albeit very very small), and I appreciated the lax door policy.

Premise:
— Co-worker’s surprise b-​day party = open bar & menu at Trump Soho
— You have to bring the party, and we did!
— JAC = jack & coke
Reality:
— after the first JAC, I was ordering all the free food I could shove into my pants. I couldn’t believe it; they put Lobsta on the menu! Bwahaha!
— that’s what happens when you party with work peeps; you’ll learn more than you’ll want to know about me.
— after the second JAC, I found myself impersonating crazy legs out on the dance floor, popping n’ locking, sweating profusely, and aching for days on end…
— my work peoples are crazy, and for some reason they all have beautiful girlfriends.
— after the third JAC, I was grinding up on my buddy’s girlfriend. She was startled and played dead at first, but she warmed up and judiciously returned the favor much to the chagrin of my buddy; we don’t talk anymore.
— your night isn’t right unless you get your glasses whacked off your face by a birthday girl that’s practicing her pirouettes with a live conga grandmaster that’s beat-​matching every beat alongside the resident dj!
— after the fourth JAC, I had to check out the bathroom situation: girl throwing up while boy holds her upright, a couple making babies — by accident, bouncer having an embolism, and my calvin klein tie tipped into the freakishly shallow sink.
Conclusion:
— party with your co-​workers more often., especially if they’re picking up the tab!
— beware of flailing limbs!
— watch out for that sink!

So-​so crowd, small space, packed with people. Impossible to find a waitress. Ridiculously overpriced drinks. Will never go back again!

This spot is itsy bitsy and located in the Trump Soho and has been touted as one of the new it spots. No problem getting in at 1:00am with two of my girls. Once we were inside it was super crowded but the drinks were strong, the music was pretty decent. Leather shorts did not attract ass grabbers. All in all a solid place to add to the rotation.

Got inside this time. Bartender had a heavy, heavy pour. Makers and ginger was $ 12. Not bad at all, especially with the pour. Very nice. Euro trash alert. Middle-​aged crowd. Music was electronic… boring stuff.
I would go here again. Maybe. If there was nothing else to do. Overall… pretty lame spot.

Really? This is the hot new SoHo lounge? This is the best we have? A teensy weensy little lounge with dim lights, flashing crystals, and ridiculously priced drinks? I don’t see how that differs from the usual tiny lounge around here, but whatever. The French Tuesdays event here was enough for me to go in, look around, glance at the menu, and then bounce on out to the next spot. I doubt I’ll be back, unless someone gives me a really good reason to go.

«As long as your going to be thinking anyway, think big.”-Donald Trump
The quote doesn’t really have anything to do with the review but it’s better than «You’re Fired.»
Kastel is the new swanky ultra lounge in the back of the Trump Soho. It’s very intimate and the décor is sexy. This is a great place to bridge the post-​dinner and pre-​club scene. The signature cocktails are strong and delicious but will set you back $ 18 a drink.
It’s more about conversation and sophistication until the dj’s set gets progressively louder. I recommend going on the earlier side because a guest list policy is enforced and you may be forced to buy a bottle of Trump Vodka to get in.