Manitoba’s

Classic dive bar. I hope this place stays around for 1,000 years. The evillage and alphabet city aren’t what they once were, but Manitoba’s soldiers on. Also, they’ve got air hockey in the basement. How cool is that! Solid jukebox selections. If you don’t love this place, you don’t love NYC.

Didn’t like it for one main reason–
I believe I got robbed for 2 beers.
I had no idea lower east side was known for expensive beers. Paid $ 18 for 2 simple beers. No. I’m very upset that I did pay this much for beer especially here. Although the bartender was extremely nice and even introduced himself, nevertheless beer shouldn’t be that expensive especially in the lower east side at a dive bar where the atmosphere is less than delightful. Never coming here again.

Dive bar is such a dirty word. Although, this place probably likes it that way. It’s a great bar with a punk culture bent. I came here because of the positive reviews and was pleasantly surprised when the bartender slid a playing card over to me and said that my second beer was on the house. I have no idea why. It was happy hour but still…
There’s a photo booth upstairs and air hockey/​arcade games downstairs. There was an old Yankees playoff game playing in the corner, old photos of punk performances covered reveals and the crowd was a interesting combination of people.
Beer selection was limited but still decent in its offerings. It’s a fun and cheap place to grab a drink.

Came here to meet up a group of friends. PBR and Whiskey for $ 7. Pretty decent dive bar. Friend bumped into Dick Manitoba himself at the Jukebox who offered to buy everyone some drinks for some malfunction of the machine.
The bartender was nice, gave me a free shot as I was closing out.
Spent about 30 minutes outside this place trying to climb the tree. There were about 5 of us, or 6 depending on how many shots you had taken. The bark was über slippery and a few of us fell on our asses. Finally, with one guy climbing and 3 guys pushing, we were able to dislodge the Lane Bryant sized black brassier from the branches.
Job well done, gentlemen.

Some days better than others to visit. Was a little dismayed that there weren’t any drink specials on New Years Eve but still managed to have a good time.
Punk rock history keeping the spirit of CBGB era alive. Could use a bit of update and some of the bartenders need a little retraining but other than that its a good neighborhood bar, no BS or fluff to meet friends for a decent time.
Props for the dedication to Lemmy on his death!

The best! Cheap drinks, interesting people, great vibe, awesome tunes. Working jukebox! Air hockey! Punk rock royalty! Busy on weekends but worth it.

Loved this place. After the long meander to the East Village from the Port Authority Bus Station (long walk) we found this place. A true dive but with welcoming feel. Loved the bartender. Cool, engaging and very helpful and accommodating. Good beer selection and great specials. We arrived for a 2 for 1 social and with each order he gave us a playing card we could use for the free beer. A nice little gimmick. Small but large enough. We enjoyed good conversation but also people watching.
Loved the music. He alternated between New Wave (one of my faves) and grunge (Suz’s fave). Somehow without asking we got this music mix.
Thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved this place. Wish it was my neighborhood bar.

Good music, dirty delightful dive bar. Tho on Saturday night there was a group of about ten preppy early-​twenties kids in there, looked like extras from a gant commercial. Prices high too for this kinda place: two drinks of well booze plus soda = $ 17. It felt cheaper when i’ve been midweek

One of the coolest bar in alphabet city. Music is on point bartender are super cool and they have a photo booth. A must do.

Looooove this bar. Yuppies need not apply. If you know who x Ray spex is and have ever projectile vomited On a Porsche, this bar is your spirit animal

The drinks are cheap and the décor … well, you know. There’s a headless mannequin over there, lights up over here, and random stuff and the historic rock photos everywhere (they’re real, the photographers are famous, and don’t try to steal them). The music is loud enough to appreciate. And it’s music you appreciate.
The point of Manitoba’s is not the décor. It is not the cheap drinks (well, maybe it is, but for not the reason you think). Manitoba’s is not trying to impress you.
Many who come here have some appreciation of the Dictators (HDM owns the bar) or rock or punk rock or New York when it was artistic and broke.
This is a bar where you sit down with your friend… or alone… and the table next to you is having a conversation with the table next to them… and they just met each other. Then you jump in the conversation and now three separate tables are having a conversation together. They buy you a round. You buy a round. The third table buys the next round. And it goes on. That’s the beauty of this place. You talk to people. And you forge bonds.
It’s real.
Maybe that is why famous people come here and come regularly. This is a place for regular folks to be regular folks. I love Manitoba’s.

I love this place so much! You’re going here for cheap drinks, cool old divey bar vibes, jukebox, happy hour 2−8pm, and a laidback, do whatever you want type atmosphere.
I’ve been here twice– once on a Saturday night about 7−10pm with a group of 6 friends, and then again on a Saturday from about 5−9pm for my 27^th birthday party. Both times, I was treated like gold and with the utmost respect and attentiveness by my favorite bar tender, Milton.
I thought the place was fantastic right away upon my first visit because it was pretty empty– and considering I probably had about 50 people in mind for my birthday party, if not more, I knew I needed a space that wouldn’t be very crowded or busy with too many other large groups of people. My birthday is a little blurry, but I know me and all my friends had a damn good time and were treated super well. We also obviously enjoyed the happy hour, which includes: $ 3 House Drinks, $ 3 Pints, $ 2 Domestic Bottles, $ 3 Imported Bottles. And yes, they have «The Special» shot & a beer for like $ 5. Obsessed.
I was especially pleased that the owner, Handsome Dick Manitoba, personally called me the day before my party to ensure all the details were good to go and to wish me a good time /​etc. Amazing customer service!
This is without a doubt my new spot in Alphabet City.

Let me start off by saying that I love and appreciate dive bars. There is something amazing about the rise, fall and survival of older establishments and the people that frequent them. Cheap and dirty, dark and relaxed. If I had the choice between only dive bars or fancy clubs for the rest of my life, I’d gladly take local dives to the end of time and back.
The other night I arrived in a group of 5. It was late but not very busy, maybe 3 – 4 other groups of people around the entire place. I ordered two PBR cans ($ 4 each), opened a tab and sat down with my group. We all enjoyed our round and conversation. I went back up to quickly close out my tab with the bartender. She told me that she did not have my card. Not only did she not have my card, she then gave me an attitude as if I did not give her a card to start. I asked her how I would have gotten my beers if I had not opened a tab. For a moment there was a look of panic on her face as she scanned the bar (I saw someone else close out a tab before I had walked up). She continued to tell me that «She did not know what to tell me. She did not have my card.» I quickly ran out to call chase. They informed me that I had been charged $ 17 (my tab would have been 8 originally, I was going to just purchase one other drink to bump my tab over the $ 10 minimum when she had informed me that I did not have a tab open). It appears that the bartender not only charged a different tab to my card, but gave my card to someone who either was too drunk to notice the name change or who was willing to spend my money for me.
The place would have gotten at least a 4 star for price, atmosphere and location. Instead, her attitude and lack of remorse made me dislike the place and I doubt I will ever return. If she was adult enough to admit that she may have given it to another patron, I would have respected that and given this place another shot. Everyone makes mistakes. But not everyone acts like a child and pretends that the mistake did not happen. Either way, chase cancelled their payment. Thanks for the free Pabst.

I come here a handful of times a year and it’s always a good time. Somehow, I have never seen the downstairs. Every time I walk in I say, «I’ll play air hockey this time!», and then I proceed to sit glued to my bar stool, talking to strangers for the next three hours.
Booze is cheap. They have Blue Moon. Bartenders are nice. Music, it should go without saying, is awesome. In my experience it takes a little longer than other bars to get packed on the weekends. Last Saturday I stayed till midnight before heading someplace less crowded, but it can vary. Even when it’s packed it’s still a good choice. If you get there early enough it’s pretty easy to claim your seat and camp out at the bar forever.

To my husband and I, Manitoba’s is a NY staple. Before we moved to NY we would come to NY at least once a year and always made sure to make a stop at this bar. We are both music lovers. «Handsome Dick» from the Dictators owns the place and we love coming in and seeing all the photographs of Bowie & the Ramones etc. on the walls of when NY was a cool, fun and dangerous place to live aka the good ol’ days. So many of our favorite musicians are featured on the walls. I love the classic tattoo style paintings on the wall. Also during happy hour drafts are 2 for 1 (2pm-​8pm). That is like $ 3.50 for my an IPA or Stella depending on my mood.
It’s always so much fun when I come here too. I was here with my husband and brother yesterday. And the movie «Hobo with a Shotgum» was on. My brother was mesmerized. I got us a round and we had a great afternoon visit at of the coolest bars in NY.
One time I was here and Mrs. Manitoba, Zoe Hansen was dying her friend’s hair. It looked like she was getting some impromptu highlights. Ha! Regulars just getting drunk and changing up their look on a NY afternoon.
Supposedly Jimmy Fallon is a regular but I have yet to bump into him… hopefully some day!

I hadn’t been here in about 3 years but I came back yesterday because I had been volunteering a block away. It was a little before 5 PM. I was surprised by the lack of people in the place.
I was looking for the Coney Island Mermaid Pilsner on tap but for some reason didn’t see it until I was drinking a pint of Yeungling. Since it was happy hour it was 2-​for-​1 beer. When I was done with the Yeungling I had one of the Coney Island beers. I asked the bartender about the credit card minimum and it was $ 15. Since it was 2-​for-​1 and I had little time I just paid cash.

Great dive bar!
Jukebox and photobooth are rare these days :) They have them both.
Laid back atmosphere and the feeling of a corner bar.
Beer selection not so crafty but you can get your wasted special from whatever you like :)
Would say it’s a rock ‘n roll dive bar.

If you like the following things, chances are you’ll dig Manitoba’s:
— Dive bars
— Loud rock ‘n roll music
— Tattoos
— Cheap drinks
Really in a nutshell that’s what you can expect from this age old Alphabet City dive. No frills, and really a throwback to a time when Manhattan wasn’t littered with Cronuts and Soul Cycle studios.

Long before Unilocal,when people used to talk to communicate. I was chatting with a regular at a dive bar in Mpls. Mn. Who was from the New York area. I asked, do you have any cool divey type bars in Manhattan you could turn a guy on to. One of them was Manatoba’s.
When you first walk in you may be hearing a New York Dolls tune cranking out from the juke box, or Handsome Dick spinning tunes on the underground garage via Sirius Radio.
Kick ass!!! As far as I’m concerned.
Second you’ll see all the great photos of some of the bands that came up in the NYC 70’s punk scene. Very cool!
Third the drink are strong and beer is reasonable.
Being a bit of a traveler, I like going off the beaten tourist trap, and going to places where the locals hang. There is an a eclectic
mix of people, cheap beer, and great music, need I say more. This is a fantastic bar, go now!

Great friendly bartender who was on top of her game and a very good relaxed crowd too. Some things you should know about Manitoba’s:
— If you are out of shape your arms will hurt the next day from OD-​ing on Air Hockey ($ 1 per game). Also you may or may not acquire bruises on your thigh from leaning over the air hockey table to slam the puck into your goal.
— It’s hard to be effective at air hockey if you have been drinking.
— A double of Jameson’s is $ 10 and about a 10 oz pour. I’m NOT exaggerating. And this wasn’t one drink, this was for 3 or 4 rounds.