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Rue B

Critics' Pick

188 Ave. B, New York, NY 10009
nr. 12th St. See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
212-358-1700 Send to Phone

Reader Rating:
8.3 out of 10
|
3 Reviews | Write a Review
Scene: After Work, Bar Food, Brunch, Live Music, Lounge, Restaurant & Bar, Romantic, Swank

Photo by Shanna Ravindra

Map Rate & Review

Hours

Mon-Fri, 4pm-4am; Sat-Sun, 11am-4am

Happy Hour

Daily, 4pm-8pm; two-for-one drinks

Nearby Subway Stops

L at First Ave.

Profile

Avenue Bistro's most romantic boite should be rightfully compared not to the self-consciously hip spots on this strip but to an elegant Midtown hotel bar. Curvy banquettes line both sides of a narrow, amber-toned space lit with glowing wall sconces. A jazz combo plays in the back corner. Obliging bartenders mix first-rate mojitos, margaritas and other fanciful concoctions involving blood oranges and apples. And the open kitchen prepares phenomenal Continental munchies like panini and bruschetta. If this is gentrification, we'll take it —and another bottle of Chimay, please. — Jenifer Van Vleck

Extra

It doesn't just feel like a hotel bar. Those Art Deco banquettes belonged to the Stanhope Hotel back in the 1930s.

8.3

"Recommended"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10

66%	Would you go back?
66%	Would you take a date?
0%	Would you go on business?

Good food and drinks, bad crowd.

joker from 10024 | Posted on 6/28/09

Overall Rating: 7 (Recommended)

I have been going to Rue B for a long time. The food and drinks are good. the decor is unique and comfortable. There is always good music, however, the audience seems to be indifferent towards it. My biggets complaint about Rue B is the people. It used to attract a diverse and mature crowd. Now, it has been taken over by young kids who are loud, disrepectful and obnoxious. They congregate around the narrowest space of the bar between the bathroom and musicians. They yell and scream over the music. They seem completely oblivious to the waiters trying to squeeze past them with drinks. They bump into the musicians in the middle of the performance and don't even apologize. They tip the waiters and bartenders poorly. They completely ignore the tip basket for the musicians when it goes around. I wish the older crowd would come back and show these morons some class.

Rue B Tuesday

jamesviola79 from 10009 | Posted on 4/4/08

Overall Rating: 9 (Highly Recommended)

Despite the name, and its jaunty Parisian sign, there's nothing particularly French about Rue B. The collection of black-and-white photographs which clutter the walls celebrate mid-20th century American cultural or sporting greatness. Sinatra is well-represented in the bathroom. When lights are low a tight jazz combo swings in the corner, under the watchful gaze of an aging Chet Baker. The drinks are good, and so is brunch. How could I resist something called "Eggs Corleone".

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