the aesthetic of a bar that's impossible to get into.. but actually attainable - I love the orange dim lighting, circular bar in the back, and large booths. it is definitely a very loud establishment so if hoping to discuss anything serious, maybe not the spot - the drinks are all presented so well. a $18-20 cocktail seems inescapable these days so at least here they add a display that makes it worth it. the dirty martini comes in a mini pitcher over ice so you pour your own constantly crisp drink - the espresso martini has a full on smore on top. I saw them toasting each marshmallow with a blow torch, can only really respect the dedication. the drink was pretty solid, more chocolatey coconuty than deep espresso. - the cornstar martini is basically a pornstar martini and does not lean too hard into the corn for flavor (I think it's a good thing) but comes on a plate of truffle popcorn. very fun! - service was perfectly attentive, no complaints there read more

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For starters this is very appealing bar, pretty decor and ample seating and what appeared to be a decent happy hour menu. My friend and I decided to stop in for happy hour as it seemed to be a good option. We were greeted by the bartender who was very kind and took our order right away. We ordered the Cornstar martini , which was extremely tiny. However, the drink was crafted very well and tasted great. In addition we ordered oysters, chicken nuggets, and wagyu sliders, which we were shortly told they were out of oysters. The martini was indeed tiny as 'tiny' was noted on the menu however you are better off ordering a regular sized drink for that price. Our food order took a significant amount of time to come and when it arrived it was all burnt. My friend and I took a few bites and it was not edible at all. Overall this is a great place for drinks but I would opt out of it for happy hour. read more

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Not bad for a pit stop for drink and bite. Burger was kinda dry unfortunately. Space gets way too loud and hard to talk. read more

Bar Bonobo - Burger w/ Fries - little dry - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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The bar is super cute, beautiful interior. I wouldn't recommend for happy hour- martinis are tiny (should have ordered a regular drink, it was good though!) , food was very mid. Our bartender was super nice, would probably go back for drinks but happy hour was not worth it. read more

Bar Bonobo - Happy hour martini - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Line outside on Friday night around 11 probably but we were only a group of 2 so we got in very quickly. Super crowded inside but great vibes and music. Drinks are on the expensive side but normal for New York. We got the Chelsea's which were pretty good and not too sweet. Would definitely recommend for a fun night out. read more

Bar Bonobo - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

How happy hour ought to be... mini tinis and oysters to pair! Bar tenders having fun, folks from all walks of life celebrating, smiling, sharing. A diverse space that is as much a spot for business as it is for the Party as the DJ stand indicates. Oh, and gold. Gold everywhere. Super fun spot that still maintains super crisp, clean program. Clean, rooted and martini driven. No bonobos here, just well manicured martinis that are built for the pallet, not the instagram grid(but, hey, they're pretty damn photogenic, too) read more

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I went to Bar Bonobo to celebrate my birthday. The ambiance is undoubtedly gorgeous, swanky, and hip. Very vibey for a GNO or date night. My only two gripes with the spot were - they didn't acknowledge my birthday, even with a happy birthday from my server or the hostess. I am not sure why Resy prompted me to indicate the occasion if it wouldn't even be acknowledged or looked at. It obviously feels good to feel celebrated, so they dropped the ball in this regard. The second issue is it got sickeningly loud inside. This was a sunday night, and I ended up having to shout just to be heard by the girl right next to me. Everything else was good! Though there wasn't a dish that just blew my mind, everything was consistently really good and enjoyable. I recommended ordering a handful of dishes and sharing with a group. The cornstar martini was fun (and the popcorn was great!), the vodka pasta, caesar salad, and truff fries were enjoyable as well. The cute matchboxes were a cherry on top as we were leaving! I would come back for more of a going out event instead of a sit down dinner, but it's a cool spot! read more

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Some of the best/most fun cocktails I had while visiting NYC! We had a Friday evening reservation and arrived a bit early, luckily that made us make the tailend of happy hour! There were a few martini options I had my eye on, and with happy hour, I was able to pick 3 as part of the mini martini flight, a huge score. I got the cornstar, espresso, and Chelsea martinis. The espresso martini was fine, but I'd skip it for another one next time. The cornstar and Chelsea on the other hand were amazing. Would've loved to have either of these in a full size version. Everyone else in the group also liked all of the drinks they got. I got an aviation after happy hour and liked this one too, but the martinis were still my favorite. To eat we ordered the Whipped ricotta and French fries (asked for no truffle), both were great! Overall it's a cool vibey spot with great drinks and some good shareable plates! Would recommend making a reservation just to be sure you can get a table. read more

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Lovely bar, best martinis in the city and one of the most romantic and sexy dining areas as well. Absolutely bring a date here. The bartenders are all so impressive. read more

Bar Bonobo - The Appetizer- vodka, peach liquor, tomato jam, citrus, balsamic bitters - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

The ambiance of this place is so nice and fancy. It's such a fun place if you want to take pictures. I got the martini flight which was so yummy and adorable. They were small but strong. I also got the chicken nuggets and those were delicious. Service was good. Met some great people at this bar! read more

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Loved the music here, pretty upbeats and quite a range of the ambiance is very warm and modern. Drinks were solid and mine was quite sweet, which I enjoyed. Only complaint is that we felt a bit pressured to keep ordering or "here's the bill" and leave. Normally not an issue but it was a weekday and pretty empty so I didn't understand the rush. read more

Bar Bonobo - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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Came with a friend for drinks on a rainy Saturday afternoon. We both e got the espresso martini- the graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate added in are a nice touch. The staff was nice and the ambiance is great- pretty mood lighting, gorgeous chandeliers, not crazy loud, and a variety of seating both at the bar, plus high tops, and some booths and tables as well. Would recommend this spot for sure. read more

Bar Bonobo - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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Came for happy hour on a weekday with coworkers. They do $10 tiny martinis, which is very fun (though not exactly a deal if you consider the portion size). Cold a$$ martini (mini) and Cornstar martini (mini) were both great. Also had a sip of The Chelsea (mini) and the Hugo spritz. Will return! Apparently they do a fun holiday setup. read more

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Great place! A lot of people rave about it online and I think they live up to the hype. Cute and cozy cocktail bar, great food, I had the spicy rigatoni and the flavor was so brilliantly balanced. The service was absolutely amazing, Dino was our bartender and he was so kind & attentive. Great for a date night, out with friends, solo, anything. Definitely will be back read more

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Very chill place on a Sunday. Weekend nights are crazy. The drinks are good and a must to try it once or twice. Lots of fun. read more

Great beautiful spot in prime chelsea surrounded by other cute cafes and restaurants. They do have happy hour but it's not the best deal. Still it's worth the ambiance and gorgeous vibe. Bathrooms are similarly immaculate Servers were quite attentive read more

Bar Bonobo - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

New favorite cocktail unlocked?? Must try the cornstar martini!!!! The fresh lemon in the martini paired so well with the buttery and salty popcorn Definitely recommend making a resy. I made mine for 8pm on a Saturday and it was getting packed as the night went on read more

Bar Bonobo - Cornstar martini - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

It's a beautiful bar with happy hour on weekdays from 3-6pm. It would be a nice date spot. Service was fast. They have cute mini cocktails for $10 and regular cocktails for $15. The truffle fries were perfectly crispy shoestring fries with shreds of cheese and a great truffle aroma. I'd love to come back. I loved the aesthetics. read more

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Such a cute bar with the best of vibes!! Our waitress was really kind and the drinks came pretty quickly. My friends and I went for happy hour and the mini martinis are $10 and honestly seemed a bit steep given the martini is actually so small, so would have rather gotten a full size drink. We all got the cornstar and enjoyed it because it was not too sweet. read more

Bar Bonobo - Cornstar Mini Martini - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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Went here last min it was a cool vibe, berry cute. They had a dj. The bathroom is unisex

The popcorn and the shrimp scampi were the unexpected stars of the show. Perfect date spot ambiance, sleek throwback design, pricy cocktails (20+ dollar range.) Cornstar martini (play on pornstar martini) was delicious - did not miss the vanilla at all. Accompanying popcorn was really good as well. Split the burger and shrimp scampi and was wowed by the scampi, which had a spicy kick to it. Would love if they started doing hot seafood towers here if it would be anything like the scampi. Popcorn should be an appetizer as well. The burger was okay, I think the tomato jam makes it a bit too sweet. Would recommend for dates and more serious convos, not super ideal for boisterous groups- go to jungle bird for a more lively atmosphere. read more

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Such a great place to stumble upon between broadway and a comedy show. Solid cocktails. One of the best dirty (spicy) martinis I've had. Great espresso martini. Sweetest bartender. Awesome vibe. Can't ask for much more. read more

Bar Bonobo - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

A great bar that my friend and I happened to stumble upon. We came in for a few drinks and had a pleasant experience. There is a good selection of specialty cocktails that all sounded very yummy. The Birds of Paradise was 10/10, would recommend. The bar itself had such a nice ambiance. It is like you've teleported to the 1950s and it has such a sophisticated vibe. The server was super friendly and very accommodating. Would absolutely return. read more

Bar Bonobo - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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I've had my eye on this place for a while! We had a reservation for a Sunday evening. The bar was pretty quiet when we came in with just a few patrons. We sat in a booth high top. I'm short and it was kind of hard for me to climb up into the booth. It's very high. The table also had another chair with no back that seemed uncomfortable. My friend and I were able to both sit in the booth comfortably and did not have to use that chair. There is a dinner menu and a drink menu with signature and classic cocktails plus wine and beer. I had The Chelsea drink and I thought it was good. There were a few different drinks I could have tried and it was hard to make up my mind! We shared French onion dip and chips. The dip was very good with chives. You can add caviar for $25 though we did not do this. I'd love if they add more chips though. We were headed out or we would have asked for more chips. The decor in the bar is stunning especially the back room booths! Love the 70s dimly lit disco vibes. Service was attentive and friendly. There's a beautiful bathroom next to the bar. The entrance and bathroom are ADA accessible. I'd love to come back to try more of the dinner menu and a new drink. read more

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Came in on a Sunday night after a late dinner and the place is dimly lit but was playing the old school jams that I was singing to every song! The espresso martini can be made with vodka or tequila, I chose tequila and it was so good! Also, got the Sunday Mini Martini flight (Barnobo, cosmopolitan, and Chelsea) all equally yummy. Stop by for a drink and some good music. read more

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Cute bar with lots of space/seating and good music (SZA, Frank Ocean), vibes are def there. They make a good light skin espresso martini, if you're into that. I wanted to try the Cornstar Martini bc I saw it on Yelp, but $22 for that with some stale popcorn?! I will never financially recover from this. I guess it's to be expected at such a cute little place in Chelsea. read more

Bar Bonobo - Cornstar martini - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

The best truffle gnocchi I've honestly ever had ! Wish it was a bigger portion. The aesthetic is absolutely gorgeous and chic! Went solo to hear a friend dj. Drinks were good and the bartenders were attentive read more

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We had a reservation and were promptly seated. Just keep in mind if you are a smaller party, you most likely won't be able to get a booth. This was probably the best device i have ever had at a restaurant. Drinks came out super quickly and they were absolutely delicious. For food we got a pasta dish and the onion dip. Both were amazing and had a lot of flavor. The portions are a bit smaller though. read more

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Went here for drinks with my boyfriend. It was OK. Very crowded decent DJ. The drinks were good. The service could've been better though.

Bar Bonobo might very well be the best bar in the area. That's not saying much, because this particular area of Chelsea weirdly has very few options to start off with. I say weirdly, because it is central and generally quite busy. Still, Bar Bonobo would be a great time regardless of area: the drinks are as delicious as they are creative and the DJ/music is somehow both mainstream and quirky. And yes, to get it out of the way now, it can get pretty loud in here. But welcome to New York. If you want full assurance that you'll be able to freely communicate without having to repeat yourself, find a wine bar that is anywhere but smack dab in the middle of the city. I wouldn't recommend exposing yourself to this decibel level every night for weeks at a time if you're looking to preserve your hearing in your older years, but it is otherwise completely tolerable and also kind of fun. We came here at around 10/10:30 on a Saturday night. It was pretty packed, and somehow got busier as the night went on. I was initially a bit concerned about how to position ourselves because the standing room behind the bar was pretty night, but we noticed a few tables that looked to be wrapping up their evenings so after trying to mark our territory and talking to the host, we were able to sit down (after maybe 15-20 minutes). One of main reasons Bar Bonobo had been on my list was its martini menu. This of course made deliberation nearly impossible, because do I get one of the more classic options and revel in clean, crisp flavors or do I get one of the more specialty/novelty options? Of course, the answer was one of each. I started with the Cacio e Pepe Martini (Absolut Vodka, Parmesan Pasta Water, Black Pepper Tincture, Table-side Fresh Cracked Pepper), which to my partner sounded absolutely repulsive but as a savory martini girl, I absolutely had to try it. I can say it's probably not for everyone because it indeed tastes like cacio e pepe and if you do not want a drink to taste like your favorite pasta preparation then keep on moving, but if that sounds too good to pass up, you should absolutely go for it because it's kind of a marvel. I don't think I'd want two of these in a row but one was really something else. It's a pretty genius idea and it is well-executed. Plus, it's served with an almost comically generous side of parmesan cheese. I then went with the Bonobo Martini (Beefeater Gin, Absolut Vodka, Lillet Blanc, Grand Marnier), which has some Vesper vibes with a bit of extra sweetness. Very smooth, dangerously so. I felt like I needed something crisp after the first drink and this fit the bill. We happened to visit Bar Bonobo during Negroni week, so my partner took advantage and ordered a white mezcal Negroni variation and a Boulevardier (basically a Negroni with bourbon) variation. Both were excellent. The moral of the story is that it's extremely challenging and thus potentially time consuming to order here because there are many many good options to choose from. But this is a good problem to have, imo. Also just want to shout out the service/our server because somehow, despite how busy it was, our drinks came within a reasonable amount of time. Our server was very helpful and personable amidst the noise and energy and to me, that is an impressive feat. read more

Fun vibes, dimly lit. Easy to go as a walk in. Good for late night with a small group

Such a cozy vibe and well decorated too! I like coming here for a drink after dinner at Konban, one of my favorite restaurants. Staff is friendly and and it's a major plus that they have nice bathrooms! It can get pretty packed on weekends so definitely go early if you want to snag a table. Otherwise, weeknight would be much easier! read more

Bar Bonobo - Wine - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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Kindest staff, so welcoming and the drinks are very dry satisfying. Great for those sudden get together...or in my case a long layover read more

Bar Bonobo - Bird of paradise and a classic marggg - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

I've been wanting to go here, and we stumbled upon it on our walk, what a GEM of a find! Walking in and you're transported to a swanky cocktail bar without the stuffy feeling. I had a cosmo, which is usually too sugary, but the bartender hit the right balance of sugar and bite. Pro tip! They just started serving brunch, this would be such a vibe before bopping around west village read more

I miss Bareburger. There, I said it. My boyfriend and I were curious about checking out the spot for awhile and finally made the plunge. We were both trepidatious because the first time I came by was when they first opened and the bar was a little bit more open to the street and didn't have their windows covered up yet. We wanted to view the menu and the hostess kind of glared at us and asked what we wanted. I asked if there was a happy hour and he kind of smirked and was like no, we don't do that here. So I left and went somewhere more welcoming. We came back during the holidays and had a seat at the bar. The place has the same layout as Bareburger ironically. Exact same bar shape down to the booths. But they fancied it up with some imported Italian tile and relics. Pretty chandeliers and curtains. I guess they finally did succumb to inventing some kind of 'golden hour' that's from 3-6pm. $12 cocktails as opposed to $19-22 (half of these are just spritzes) and mini martinis were $10. Interestingly beer doesn't make an appearance on it and that's $12 on draft. I opted for the Bonobo mini martini (Beefeater Gin, Absolut Vodka, Lillet Blanc, Grand Marnier). I was too busy taking everything in to watch him mix it. But boy was I in a state of shock when it arrived. Mind you, I've had mini martinis before at other bars and this was literally the size of a shot glass. I'm not even sure how you would balance a cocktail into a shot glass. An eye dropper? Or was it premade, shaken and then poured? Beats me. But it literally just tasted like a shot of inexpensive alcohol. I'm sorry but beefeater gin and absolute with a lemon twist doesn't scream luxury to me. My boyfriend opted for getting a beer even though it wasn't on the happy hour. Boy was he surprised when he got a small water glass filled with his Gun Hill pilsner for $12. Lol. Which is a local beer and definitely not worth that value. Taking a further look at the menu - prices continue to be so erratic and over charged. Chips and dip are literally $16 while an order of truffle fries are $15 as well! And that's the cheapest thing on the menu. I haven't even seen inflated prices at rooftop bars or speakeasys this bad. And don't blame inflation because literally a year ago Bareburger in this same spot used to sell $1 drafts/ $3 moscow mules. And there are cocktail bars in the area a block away that sell happy hour cocktails for $8 in normal big people sized cocktail glasses. Another issue presented itself when we got up to go to the bathroom and I found the main bathroom's light to be out. In lieu of this they decided to place a giant candle next to the wood oiled wall in the dark on the bathroom floor. Somehow, this doesn't seem like a smart move. But time will tell. I think because they are new, they have some kinks to work out. Their specialty drinks sound intriguing but I'm almost afraid to find out what glass it's served in. I probably won't be back unless many things change about the establishment. read more

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Nice bar in the neighborhood for fun drinks, but you can probably skip the food. They have yummy and creative cocktails, especially the martinis and signature drinks. I even had a matcha mocktail which was good. My group shared a couple bites like the spinach dip and whipped ricotta which were fine but not amazing. We sat in the front room, Chelsea Room, but next time I'd opt for the cozier and more plush back room. I'd go back if I'm in the neighborhood but wouldn't go out of my way for it beyond one visit. read more

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The vibes here are a modern twist on a 60s cocktail lounge. It wasn't too loud which was great. You could have a conversation at your table. The cocktails were great. We had the chips and dip. I'd like to come back to have dinner there and try some different cocktails. The servers were friendly. read more

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Cool funky bar in Chelsea with interesting cocktails. I tried the misfit martini and it was good but definitely spicy. Was very loud and crowded with a DJ, cool spot but would love to come back on a weeknight for post dinner cocktails read more

Bar Bonobo - Misfit martini with side of olives - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Cute and vibey cocktail bar with lots of tasty drink options! They have a few happy hour deals, including $10 mini martinis (and you can make a flight with 3). The Caesar salad and truffle parm fries were average. There were long waits for water, but service was friendly! read more

Bar Bonobo - Cocktail Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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The cornstar martini is a must try! The concept is cute with the popcorn surrounding the drink and it has a nice flavor, albeit not very strong. They also have a mini martini happy hour which lets you try small versions of their famous martinis and my favorite was definitely their signature Bonobo Martini. They have so much fun cocktails and it was such a vibe, can't wait to go back. Also highly recommend the calamari! read more

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