Sweetwater Social

What a great place! I celebrated my birthday party with about 25 friends, and we all had a fantastic time. The staff was incredibly accommodating and helped us get a semi-​private space for the group, the cocktails were delicious, and the environment was fun and lively without being overwhelming. Highly recommended, will definitely come back again soon!

Let’s be honest up front: this place smells like a urinal cake. If you can get past that then you might enjoy it. Reminds me a bit of a club after the lights come up. Music is in the background and low enough to talk with your friends.
Haven’t had the food but it does serve it, which many of the reviews haven’t mentioned.
Decent selection of beers. Free shuffleboard and foosball. You could do worse.

I came here when it was filled with NYU students and professors-​loved it! :P It’s a fun environment with a foosball table and a couple of rooms. I enjoyed drinking their «sweet bastard» cocktail that had a mix of gin, lime, mint etc. The bartenders were friendly as well!

I went on a Saturday night for a friend’s birthday. It’s a cozy spot. There were a lot of us, so space in there is very limited. We could barely hear the music but we made the most of it. The drinks were great. They close earlier then most places in NYC, closed at 2 am. I had a great time with my friends.

Environment and ambiance was impressive upon arriving but when it came to drinks and food, I was left with regret. I’m an avid scotch whisky drinker so there is no way you can tell me a Tullamore Dew neat is 18 bucks. Instead of the bartender fixing my bill, he gave me another glass (which I gladly accepted), but he couldn’t comprehend the error. I also ordered the buffalo chicken thighs, which ended up being way too salty to eat. Food and drinks aren’t worth the overprice rates here. I really wanted to like this place since it’s a block away from my work, but I should have just went to Tom and Jerrys.

I went here on a Friday night around 8pm with a friend. This place is very hidden — the sign is just small lettering on the front door, and then you immediately walk down to the bar area. Very great atmosphere, nicely decorated, dim lit, room at the bar, as well as tables and couch areas. They also have games in the back to play!
BAR OVERVIEW:
–Rustic charm, nicely decorated, it has both a lounge-​y as well as a cocktail bar feel. Great for any size of groups! I wouldn’t come on an early in the game date though — more of a group feel or one on one with a friend.
DRINKS:
–Old Fashioned: Good!

Myself along with a few co-​workers headed here after work one night to unwind. We work nearby and always see a crowd outside so figured it had to be a great place. BOYYYY were we terribly mistaken. The venue itself is awesome and has such great potential, but the staff was just incredible horrible. We sat at the bar and had to wait at least 10 minutes before being handed a menu, and that was after having to grab someones attention to bring us some. We sat there for another twenty minutes after reading the menu contemplating leaving or not because we still hadn’t really been greeted, when the bar-​back noticed and came over to take our orders. He was super sweet and I totally get this wasn’t suppose to be one of his responsibilities. We watched him go over to the two bartenders and give them our order, and them clearly having no desire to make drinks for us he came over, opened the menu to the description and made our drinks himself, bless his heart. At this point we really just felt bad for him but were fine now that we had drinks. Myself and my coworkers are all from NY, and paying 15 $ for a cocktail does not phase us anymore, but I do expect if I’m paying this much during a regular Happy Hour time on a Wednesday night at least the bartender herself would make them. We all wanted to order a second drink about 10 minutes later but the two bartenders it seemed were actually going out of their way to avoid eye contact with us. When one of them finally did come over, it was TO ASK MY COWORKER TO MOVE HER SEAT SO A GROUP OF MEN THAT SHE KNEW COULD SIT AT THE BAR. I was actually infuriated that she had the nerve and ask someone to move down the EMPTY bar so these bros she knew could sit right in front of her. We were pretty aggravated at that point and decided to leave. WE SAT THERE FOR ANOTHER 25 MINUTES TRYING TO GET OUR BILL. I asked the girl serving these men who sat SEVERAL times, and her reply was simply «I told you its coming» She was working on their drinks before she could go hit 3 buttons on a register to print our bill so we could leave. It was just an asinine thing to do. I got the attention of the blond bartender down the bar and she actually ROLLED HER EYES AT ME AND CONTINUED TO IGNORE ME. I would just like to make very clear that this place was not busy at all. There were multiple open seats at the bar and the table seating was not even half full. These girls had no reason to be lagging the way they were, it was just an embarrassment. The check finally came when I asked a busboy for it and the bartender could probably see we were on edge.
The rudeness and clear lack of experience shown by the bartenders there was just enough to never go back, and for me advise whomever I can to not give this place your business. It is a shame because the staff other than these two girls was very nice, as well as the bouncer at the door. I do not like leaving bad reviews, coming from a family that is in the restaurant industry, but I have also never felt so disrespected. This place left a bad taste in my mouth, I advise to stay away and not allow it to have the same effect on you.

Great vibe and tasty cocktails (and shuffleboard!). I once threw a small going-​away party for a colleague here and was impressed with how the staff accommodated our group that quickly doubled in size. If I lived in this neighborhood, I’d definitely be a regular.

They. Have. Shuffleboard. One of the few in the city! Hurry here to try and reserve it. Great space for big groups and a cocktail.

This place is a failure at multiple levels. A place that once held an ambition of trying to cater to both the beer drinking sports watching crew and the sophisticated cocktail crowd. Having both of those expressions in me, I went with skepticism and was proven right.
Ordered the first drink that was inspired by some Bill Murray flick and it was an Elijiah Craig and 2 scotches blend. It was so bad I had to give it back after the first sip.
Now that I knew that the specialty cocktails were not vetted I asked for a classic– an old fashioned. It was one of the worst old fashioned I’ve ever had.
That was enough for me to conclude it was not a place worthy of returning.
Go to Madam Geneva 2 blocks away instead, skip this trash hole

Great lounge spot in the city for a get together for a group of friends. Music was dope, the lounge is setup very well, for sports viewing on the big screen, friendly competition on the various bar games, or just comfortable conversation at the bar or the lounge seats. The drinks are very eclectic for mixology enthusiasts.
If it had a dance area it would have been a 5 star for me!!!

Great for groups — it was super painless reserving tables and there was no minimum. Plus, shuffleboard is a great way to break the ice with new friends. The projector screen was distracting though, especially since we were celebrating a special occasion over cocktails and shots. I think given that the bar seems to be going for a classier /​chicer ambiance, they could ditch the sports TVs or at least the full wall-​sized projector.
Sadly, while I’d give the service ⁴⁄₅ stars, the cocktails we ordered were just average all around. I’d go back for beers and a chill night with friends though!

This bar is that friend who’s trying just a little too hard to be cool and hip. There’s definitely something there, but it feels like any character that this bar could actually have is barely breaking through the surface. Don’t get me wrong — I had a fine time the Friday evening that I was there. Bonus points for it not being terribly crowded Friday at 7:30! But something about the vibe was just a little off, and left me feeling vaguely uncomfortable.
As for pros of this bar, as other reviewers have mentioned, they have a fooseball table, shuffleboard, and a pac-​man machine that can all be fun if you’re looking for some games with your drinks. But I got the impression that games would be much more prevalent from reading some of the other reviews, and really the game aspect is very minor. They had a pretty solid beer selection, but it’s prices are definitely on the high side.
Overall impression: I wouldn’t go out of my way to come back here, but I also wouldn’t be opposed if a friend suggested it or something. If I was looking for a nice/​new/​clean/​upscale-​y bar this would definitely get my vote, but if I was looking for somewhere to be comfortable and relaxed, I’d probably try somewhere else first.

Great atmosphere, expensive everything!
Sweetwater Social is the bar to be for big spenders who want a cool drinking environment. Built underground with a very speakeasy feel, Sweetwater Social decks their brick walls with cool pictures and fills the air with a very nice selection of rock music. If you like gaming and drinking, Sweetwater Social has arcade cabinets and shuffleboard, perfect for socializing and competing while under the influence.
The thing that really turned me off from Sweetwater Social is their high costs for food and alcohol. Yes, drinking in NYC is expensive, but some of the prices for the food and drinks are on the absurd side. More so, their food is average, but incredibly pricey. I tried numerous small dishes, fit to serve as one meal or an appetizer for two or three such as chicken wings, fries, and the fried pickles (which were 50% grease). All of the meals were tasted ok, but cost over $ 10 each! One particular let down was the peanut butter and jelly quesadillas, which sounded exotic and hip but turned out to just be a regular wheat tortilla filled with PB and J, and grilled for no adequate reason and served with a bit of powdered sugar on top. What you get is a very hot and sticky mess that burns when you bite into it as molten jelly sprays everywhere. Even after it cools, it doesn’t taste any better than a normal peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And the kicker is that this disappointment costs $ 9!
Overall, I think Sweetwater Social has all the means of being a great hangout spot, but it needs to overhaul the food menu and generally lower the prices on all their items by about a buck. Drink with caution!

This confused us for a second as it had the same address as Bleecker Kitchen & Co. It’s actually a discrete side door on street-​level that takes you down to the basement bar. The atmosphere is very sports bar casual. People are there with their friends. There’s a shuffleboard table that inevitably have a long waitlist. There aren’t really any other games.
After our experience upstairs, we were hoping this bar would actually have cocktails per the LOADed Cocktail passport! But we were sadly disappointed. Again, it was just Wild Turkey Bourbon and Zacapa Rum neat or on the rocks. So we ordered and also ordered a mac & cheese to wash it down. The mac & cheese was a little watery, which was again a disappointment. Overall, a disappointing night at 643 Broadway.

READ all the reviews before you go (not only the good ones like I did):
Tried to reserve a table for 14 people, called 2 times & dropped an e-​mail, getting a reply that it’s not possible, and they operate on a walk-​in basis.
Was very surprised to see two areas reserved in the place, when asked the staff — they said that was possible and no one knew why I got a different reply via e-​mail and phone.
Apparently this place divides its clients based on some unknown criteria.
Drinks are kinda pricey, tasty, but not strong at all.
The place itself is nice and cozy, and out waitress was very sweet, so happy about that, but since reservation was a major disappointment — never coming again to this place and giving only 1 star.

IN SHORT: While you might not find America’s next top model hanging around this space, you will find a laid-​back crowd enjoying mixed drinks and playing an occasional game of foosball or table shuffleboard until the place closes at 2.
THE STORY: Underneath the corner of Broadway and Bleecker lies Sweetwater Social, a spacious bar perfect for those who don’t believe in waiting in lines or taking themselves too seriously on a Saturday night. With a series of versatile subterranean spaces to gather, the place takes on a lively atmosphere, with people drifting towards the long bar, the large projector screen playing the current game du jour, or the small foosball and shuffleboard tables off to the side. While the games are not the focus of the space, they have forced a relaxed vibe onto the crowd, making everyone feel comfortable wherever they choose to linger.
Because of this setup, Sweetwater Social is also a place that is better suited for larger groups that already know each other than for a couple of friends standing around and hoping someone will buy them a drink. As such, patrons tend to stick close together and don’t seem to mind the relatively early closing time. They’re already going home together.

This place is awesome. Tucked away in a basement, it’s dark, wooden, and has a cool layout. There are arcade games, shuffleboard, foosball, and a variety of little nooks and tables to sit at. The cocktails are fantastic, and STRONG. The menu itself is hilarious and has a cool design. The bartenders were friendly and helpful. I sat at the bar with my date for about an hour as we waited for a table at a restaurant nearby. Will be back to try more of the menu!

Sweetwater Social is a versatile option that I feel lucky to have in the neighborhood as a main staple. Drinks with any smallish group (2 – 8 seems ideal for the space) of people who don’t mind shelling out $ 14 for a fairly artfully prepared cocktail in an unpretentious environment is always a great time.
A foosball table and a couple other games are fun distractions too. Dark, classy, old game room vibe. Couches in the back are ideal for bigger parties too!

Per my last review, Yup came back here last Friday with some friends.
Tried the mac & cheese… it wasn’t outta this world… it lacked … BACON… or just comething salt-​based…
Oh the light in the bathroom is motion actived… but only in the entrance. Hence a very interesting few minutes insued at the onset of the exiting of this establishment. Thank goodness the Foos Ball table was time consumming for my friends :)