Always a fun, welcoming, casual, enjoyably slightly weird spot. I've only been a few times because I live far enough south in the general downtown area that it's a bit far to walk, but seems too close to drive to, but I like the ambiance a lot. The bartenders are always super friendly, and treat you pretty much right away like you're a regular. There's just a general feel to the place of it being a sort of funky neighborhood bar where the staff and customers are all sort of on the same team.
They do some decent stuff with their drinks, despite not being able to serve hard liquor/actual cocktails. They're not the BEST drinks I've had in town, for sure, but I'm not really there for the drinks anyway. If I drank more wine and beer these days I might be.
Also, fun art! And a cute outdoor space! This is just a really nice hangout in general, and if I lived a little closer it would probably be my regular spot.
I've been to karaoke there twice, and had different experiences each time.
Cons: The setup is very...informal. Just a mic on a stand and a computer where you go find your own tracks on YouTube and hope they work out. Not much you can do in the way of dealing with sound issues, and what you find on YouTube may be hit or miss.
Pros: Everyone is very supportive and enthusiastic, and it's small enough and a small enough crowd that folks are usually actually listening (sometimes) when you sing, which is neat. And because they aren't running it through a specific system like Karafun, you can use it as a chance to sing things that aren't available in the Karafun catalog, or test out numbers that you might not want to try at a fancier karaoke night.
So...sort of a mixed bag there. I enjoy it, and the vibe in general is super friendly and chill, but occasionally I'd like a nicer setup and more reliably selection. (Also one time there was a one man band there on karaoke night, and he was kind of rude, played the same song my wife sang right after she sang it, and kept telling sexist jokes? But I'm assuming that was a fluke. And the radical inclusion of everyone and anyone is sort of part of Bottega's charm, so....hard to say how to feel about that one.) read more