Stay

*This is based on my experience in the basement*
The disclaimer sounds a lot sketchier than it is. I went to see a house DJ here and was pleasantly surprised by the intimate basement setting. Great music, attractive crowd. No talk, all dance.
Of note, the door-​woman drew a penis on my hand for admission (though I’m not sure that was the status quo), so do wash your hands before work the next day.

My friends took me downstairs to the basement to hear some DJs.
Vibe was good but soooooooooooo crowded!

I’ve come here a bunch of times (mostly the basement) because my techno DJ friends (Erratic NYC) play here on a regular basis.
They actually changed their name to Open House recently (no idea why, all of my friends still call it Stay).
I feel like this location is a little bit more spacious than the other LES lounges in the area. Also, the basement is perfect for techno shows. It’s super dark and there’s a good designated dance floor. They also have seating in the corners.
The drinks are NYC-​priced, nothing too special. The upstairs area is a little bit more «upscale», which I’ve only actually partied at once. Most of the times, the parties I go to are in the basement. They have bathrooms on both floors.
I’d definitely recommend checking out an Erratic party. Super fun and cool people (:

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! So aggravating to come here.
First of all, why they don’t open the front bar on a Saturday night is beyond me. You have a full club crowding to the back of the club to get drinks. 2^nd of all, the cups are NOT clean. I don’t want to see someone’s fingerprint on my glass. Gross. 3^nd of all, Absolut is not Grey Goose.
The music is pretty good. That’s the redeeming factor, I guess.

My friends and I came here for my birthday on a Saturday and had a really good time. Consistently good music, decent service, and not too many people, so great for bringing a big party! Priced like other bars in the area — so $ 10/​mixed drink.
I had made reservations for a table, which included a bottle of champagne and a $ 20 service charge. There was no cover and my friends could cut the line if they just said my name to the bouncer. We got there a little after 11:30 to claim the table and even had a choice. Drinks were only $ 5 up until midnight and included top shelf stuff. We chose a table near the DJ that had two couches and was elevated from the rest of the bar, which made it fun for dancing.
Perks:
Great music
Half-​priced drinks till midnight
No cover, no line, no waitlist, no maximum amount of people!
Clean look — white walls with splashes of colored light, dark cushioned furniture.
NOT crowded so there’s room to dance
Downstairs has different music if you get sick of the upstairs
Criticisms:
A little empty, could be discouraging if you come with only a few people and not a big party
OVERALL A REALLY FUN TIME! Definitely going back…

Visited this place on a Saturday night and the experience was as advertised on Unilocal.HORRIBLE!
The place was fairly empty when we arrived and we (group of 7) were able to snag a small table. 4 rounds of drinks and shots delivered by the bartenders! Sweet but they tasted like gasoline! An hour in, the same bartender that delivered the drinks (Jen) comes by with her friend and says the table is reserved for her and we have to get up. WTF? We were there for over an hour, no reserved signs, no fair warning that the table is reserved? WTF?
Spoke with the «manager» and she was dumbfounded. she didn’t know what was going on and that according to their system there was NO RESERVATION! The bartender (Jen) insisted and said there was a mix up. There was NO apology, No alternative, Nothing! A simple apology and/​or simple alternative would have solved the problem from the get go. Jen didnt want to look stupid in front of her friend and even went as far as calling the bouncer for help because she knew she was wrong. The bouncer goes, «Listen… they do what they like, i’m just here to keep the peace. You guys can still drink and have fun.»
Why spend your hard earned money on a place that employs people that treat customers like crap and hook their friends up with free booze and «table service» when there are so many other spots in the LES?
If I were the owner reading all the bad reviews on Unilocal,someone should be getting fired tonight.

Went to stay on two dif occasions and had a good time in both.
Nice simple décor with a long stretch of room. Two bars with a projector on back showing the video to the music being played. Ample seating as well. Not a bad spot to go to with friends. Great area as well.

I came back for a second friend’s birthday (she obviously didn’t read my first review). The place has NOT improved since my first visit. The only upside is the free cover, but the drinks are pricey enough so it all evens out in the end.
My friend had reserved a couple of tables for her party. Some of us weren’t planning on staying long so we didn’t check our coats. What’s the point of waiting in line, paying $ 2 to check a coat, and then waiting on line again to retrieve it? Anyway, the waitress kept telling us to check our coats even after we, as an entire group, threatened to leave. So we got up to: 1) check our coats, 2) get more drinks, and 3) figure out which place we were heading out to next. Immediately, people outside of our party took over the two tables! And where was the overbearing waitress now?!
Besides the poor service, the other party-​goers are pretty horrendous and the music sucked.

It has definitely been a while since I’ve come to Stay. The inside hasn’t changed a bit — it’s a long narrow place with a bar in the front, table service in the middle, and a dance floor in the back. The way the space is doesn’t make it easy to dance or mingle, but if you have a table, it’s not so bad because you are a little elevated so you can survey the crowd and you can dance in your own little area.
I think that their prices for table service are reasonable and that the girls at the bar were really helpful and sweet. The music was really good all night and we ended up staying for quite some time.
I’d definitely recommend it.

I normally don’t like Stay because of the location, price of drinks, spacing and crowd. The spot upstairs is always too crowded because the floor space is being shared with the bar. Downstairs however is quite big but it can turn into a sauna when it’s packed and with my nostrils the size of this: I gasp and drown from stuffy air. The music is a real hit or miss too, it really depends who’s DJ’ing which most of the times is playing Russian Roulette. When it’s banging it’s really banging but when it sucks, holy mother of cows it’s horrible. Another time they were playing laid back trance downstairs and THAT was groovingly awesome. I hate trance too but the DJ was awesome and she was hot.
Despite all my complaints I would really give this place 2.5 stars. Since I’m feeling a tad generous this morning 3 stars it is.

went here for new years. The top floor was small and packed, filled with guys. The bottom secret room was tiny and upon entering my friends all agreed that our crappy frat house basement was bigger and nicer than it.
The worst part: 220 for a ticket for open bar on new years. They gave us sparkling cider for a toast. Let me repeat that. Sparkling cider… this place is a joke

A friend had a birthday party here and it was not very comfortable. They have a mandatory $ 2 coat check which I think is a bit ridiculous, although there’s no cover charge. My main problem was with the elevated dancing area towards the back — a couple of my tipsy friends fell off the step, luckily they didn’t get hurt but they easily could have. Stay really isn’t my kind of scene to begin with, but I was eager to leave before I even got settled in with a drink.
Also, the «free champagne» deal is BS. It’s $ 40. Not even close to free.

There’s certainly more than meets the eye at Stay.
When my pal Meg Whitman insisted we enjoy a few overpriced drinks in the company of the folks at Stay, I didn’t bat a lash. When we walked into an ultra lounge with purple lights, white couches and four, maybe five guys drinking cocktails that should only be consumed while on vacation, I started to question her motives. When we sauntered past the spiked hair and hieroglyphic Ed Hardy shirts to discover an underground labyrinth hiding behind a faux wall consisting of old cases of Corona, I got it!
This place really has two identities. The kids upstairs couldn’t be more different than the crew that was hanging downstairs, but it goes without saying that I identify more with the young bucks hanging in the cellar.
The DJs couldn’t mix, which bummed me out a bit (this is NY!), but once the night grew, they worked out the kinks. Still, I don’t think there’s any excuse for a DJ in New York that can’t mix. C’mon!

Went to Stay this past Saturday and let me say I wish I would’ve stayed at home.
The ONLY upside was that there was no cover charge. However, once I walked in I realized why would they charge ME to come into a sweatbox? Now, I don’t know if this was an off night but it was ridiculous. It was hot as hades in there. The cooling system was dripping on patrons. The floor was wet. I don’t know what possessed me to go into the basement… maybe because I thought it would be cooler. Nope, not even close. The AC wasn’t working and they had one fan. What the fuck am I supposed to do in a crowded room with one fan? Dance?
The set up of Stay leaves very little room to dance when it’s at maximum capacity. It’s so narrow, that you don’t know whether people are grinding on you or just trying to get by. The music was typical, nothing to write home about. The best part of the night was when I left and was welcomed by the cool air that awaited me outside.
Also, is this the number one club for Asians? Because that’s all I saw inside.
Definitely wouldn’t go back there.

Stay made us feel right at home — diverse crowd, good music & good drinks. The bouncers were really friendly, too. Too bad I can’t say the same for the bouncers back in SF Bay.
We ended up having a really great time thanks to our new friends who bought us rounds and rounds and rounds of drinks! Good times!

Stay is one of my favorite ‘chill’ spots in NYC. Neighborhood gem w/​in walking distance of some really good after hour eateries. But isn’t that almost everywhere in Manhattan? ;)
I’m a bit biased b/​c let’s just say I knew someone important at this establishment that ‘took care of us’ the entire night. I have no idea how cheap or expensive the drinks were or how the service was but we had a hell of a time!
The retro décor was a nice touch, music was great, diverse crowd, and the atmosphere was chill. We’ll definitely return.

Downstairs there is a subterrainian dance floor which is actually kinda cool. Especially if you know the DJ. I co-​hosted for my birthday last summer here with my friend Eunice. Half of the guests were my friends, and half hers. We all mixed well, and her DJ friends were great.
The sound system is pretty good here as well, at least downstairs. Also it kinda feels semi-​exclusive too, so again if the DJ is good, I’d go for sure. Downstairs is a little small though, that’d be the only downside.

This place is a miss or hit. Unfortunately, I came on a miss. The upstairs portion was pretty empty when I arrived at 12 on a Saturday night. The downstairs was pretty crowded. My buddy who suggested the place swore the day before was better.
geeze, the downstairs! There is a different atmospheric pressure down there and the air is sweat drenched too.
yuck is right.
Believe the other reviews. The drinks were watered down– the downstairs ‘dance floor’ bar served extremely watered down drinks. upstairs was a little better.
Music? top 40 mixed in with some older 90s stuff. Its definitely mixed by a DJ who isn’t putting much effort into this job. Oh, and no one was dancing. A few super drunk girls were dancing with each other, but be prepared to just stand around with your drink and nod your head for a bit.
There name of the place is no where in sight outside so you’ll need to know the street number to find the place.
Surprisingly, there were SO many Asians at this place!
Pick up place? Sorta. The crowd is mostly made up of groups of people. Not many single-​alone goers.
I will not go here again. Heck, I arrived pre-​drunk too! It should’ve been real easy to have a rockin’ good time. Sadly, no. This place wasn’t that hot– I had a good time w friends, not because the place was cool.
Yes, the bouncers are really awesome and no cover. Coat check was $ 2/​person.

Not the best club in NYC. Not even one of the good ones. If it wasn’t for a birthday party, I would’ve left in a second. There weren’t much room for dancing, and the narrow way to get to the inside made excuse for people to bump into each other. The stools are not comfortable and just look cool. The crowd was lacking, and the music was also… lacking.
The only good thing was that the drink she mixed me was strong enough for me to give them 2 stars.

The management at Stay should fire their:
— Bartenders for watering down their overpriced drinks.
— Architect for creating a confusing and crowded floor plan, with no room to dance or stand without getting bumped 100x through the night, and stupidly long lines for the bar.
— General contractor for failing to install proper ventilation, which in turn makes Stay a cesspool of body odor and sweat. You can literally taste the perspiration in the air. Gross.
— DJ for having the same tired and overplayed mix. I can’t imagine what goes through some of the DJ’s minds. «Hurrr, let’s play a remix featuring an American Idol winner, followed up by some Journey.»
— Bouncer for using permanent ink in their hand stamp. Two days, 3 showers, and numerous hand washings later, I still have the mark of shame on the back of my right hand from that horrible night.