Hi Life Bar & Grill has been around a very long time, consistently serving the neighborhood great eats, drink and all-in hospitality opened by the charismatic, hospitality leader, Earl Geer. Taking the hip retro bar vibe to an entirely new & vibrant dimension! . Last evening, was a Michelin star experience for this diner and everybody else lucky enough to be seated in this crowded superb venue from the moment you enter this storied eatery! What an amazing interaction with the entire team.Greeted by Manager Elsa and the smiling hostess Julissa. The server's top-tier attention to detail at the table covered every aspect of service. The busser's were all prepared & present for the busy night ahead! Of course, the entire production's success is led by the veteran, 30 plus year owner & Conductor Earl. Well done! I'll see you all soon. Happy holidays to the entire team! bean read more

Since it's opening, I've been going to Hi-Life. Over the years, I've brought family & friends. The food, service & atmosphere are consistently excellent. Always a great time! Earl & his crew go out of their way to make your visit pleasurable. If you haven't been, do yourself a favor and visit this UWS institution! You won't regret and most likely, you'll run into someone you know... read more

I have many fond memories in my 20s at Hi-Life, and decided to come back recently for nostalgia's sake. It's a casual bar with good food and solid happy hour deals. Regular prices aren't so bad either. During warm weather months it's a fun spot to eat outside and people watch. The inside is very cool looking, with a full aquarium when you walk right in. On my most recent visit I stopped in right before happy hour ended and grabbed a $9 cosmo. I was surprised that daquiris were also included in this happy hour, which my date opted for. The bartender was friendly and attentive. This place was decently busy during weekday happy hour rush, but we were still able to grab the last two seats at the end of the bar. I also treated myself to some happy hour $1.50 oysters while we were here, which were fresh and decently sized despite being on happy hour. Can't speak to the rest of the food but the sushi that the folks got next to us looked delicious. read more

Hi-Life - Cosmo and Daiquiri happy hour - American Near Me - New York, New York

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We had a bad experience at this restaurant this week. The manager was disrespectful to our waitress who was a doll. We have had Betsy as a waitress several times over the past year. She is kind, attentive, funny, and always remembers us (like Cheers). However, we heard the manager make disrespectful comments to her and to the other waitresses about her service. This was uncalled for. We have had other waitresses at this restaurant and none of them compare to Betsy. Earl, recognize the gem you have in Betsy. read more

I was told by the manager that my wife and I could not sit at a booth because we were just 2 people. 2 minutes later they sat a white couple at a booth. Just saying..... read more

Fun place with cool interior, but average food. Their menu is quite diverse, from sushi to burgers to a combination of both. Would come for a casual hangout but likely won't be back. Service is okay, nothing special. I got their sushi-inspired burger that came with ginger. Definitely interesting - not bad or anything, but not amazingly good. read more

Hi-Life - American Near Me - New York, New York

What a quaint and charming neighborhood restaurant! We had a great brunch with delicious silver dollar pancakes, a well-balanced BLT and a super fresh turkey club sandwich. The drinks matched the wonderful food with mimosas and French 75's. Will definitely be back! read more

Hi-Life - Turkey Club - American Near Me - New York, New York

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Eclectic menu. They have everything from sushi to bar staples like buffalo wings. In my opinion the burgers are what to get. Great neighborhood joint for grabbing a beer and/or a meal with friends. read more

Another gem on the Upper West Side. Places like this have been around since the 90s... and there's a reason for that. The owner Earl and his wife and everyone who works there is just so welcoming, always great food and ambience. A home away from home. And their brunch is also really great! read more

I placed an order over the internet! Of course they accept payment right away. Then NEVER show up with my order! Sooooo buyer beware. I reached out to GRUBHUB. They were nice , I requested cancelation and a refund! HMMMM! No clue about the food! Have never been there , 5 minutes from my house! Will not be going either! Well people I heard from the owner of the restaurant, Earl, he explained that the delivery person took doorman's instructions to leave at the door literally. And as it is, the pizza was there. Guy didn't knock. Innocent mistake. I hold no animosity. Earl is sending a freshly made HOT pizza as we ( speak ) . No harm no fowl. When ever I walk by this restaurant which is right near my home, it's always packed! So that says something. Just trying to help. The End! Revised: thanks Earl, nice hot pizza, great crust and nice fresh mushrooms. Worth the wait, See ya soon! read more

Hi-life is my favorite neighborhood spot! They have an amazing happy hour, great vibes, and friendly service everytime. Some of the items I've had so far that I'd recommend have been the burger, steak sandwich, and lemon chicken. Chicken fajitas were iffy. read more

Father's Day brunch. This is my husbands favorite place to get salmon eggs Benedict. I'm here for the strawberry butter! The place looks very diner like with a full bar and always playing sports on tv, nothing fancy but great service. They accommodated my daughter with a high chair and crayons/coloring page. The best part is the strawberry butter they serve with bread to start, have I mentioned this already?! The huevos rancheros were perfect, surprisingly no beans. I am not a fan of eggs Benedict but these truly are the best I've had. Great place for a quick affordable brunch. read more

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My friend and I went to Hi-Life twice. The first time we got burgers and they were good we came back. The second time we went it was all decked out for the holidays. It's a very cute spot and everyone there was just enjoying a calm cozy meal. Then in comes a group of about 10 thirty something's drunk as heck. They are screaming and shouting and singing the song that we're playing in the restaurant as loud as they could. The entire atmosphere of the restaurant changed. We were sat directly next to them. The other people next to us started talking to us about how loud and disruptive they were, we agreed. One of the girls at that table whipped around yelling at us that "ITS A BAR" so they can be as loud as they want (it's a restaurant that HAS a bar). My friend politely said "sorry it's just a little loud". The girl then calls the waitress over, who was also our waitress, and says "those girls are yelling at us saying we are too loud, but this is a BAR". Our waitress then rolls her eyes at US and tells them they were fine. They absolutely were not fine. They were drunk and obnoxious and literally everyone in the restaurant was irritated. The fact that our waitress had the gaul to roll her eyes at us was shocking. As we were paying for our dinner, a group of girls from the loud table got up and slammed into our table, spilling all of our drinks (purposefully). Not one member of staff offered help. My friend and I were not Karen's in any way. All we said was it was a little loud (understatement of the century) and got harassed by a group of drunk weirdos and got disrespected by our waitress. On the way out we went to talk to the hostess, but she was in the middle of a weird exchange with customers who were leaving because they felt they were being mistreated by staff. So seems like it's a theme. We just left, absolutely shocked. Never going back, and the burger wasn't as good the second time around. read more

The Hi Life is a great local restaurant and bar on the upper west side. Located on 83rd and Amsterdam the inside is 1930's chic and it's usually crowded. They serve late and have a huge eclectic menu. The only place I know that serves good pasta, Thai, burgers and Sushi! It's a nice stop after the theater, if you're hungry. One of the few places I can take my family and everyone can order what they want. Burgers are great here. French fries are always crisp. Mussels are good too. I've never had the sushi, but hear it's fresh and on point. If you can get a table or a seat at the bar, it's definitely a good time. read more

Hi-Life - Cheeseburger - American Near Me - New York, New York

Great staple on the UWS!! Bar was great, food was fantastic!! Will come back for sure!!

Someone we talked to at the park down the street recommended this place since we were visiting from San Diego. The food was okay. Not bad not good. We had wings and pizza both nothing special. The service was great and the ambiance was very cool. It felt like a true neighborhood bar. We had great conversations with the regulars and felt right at home. You could have been from anywhere and felt welcome there. Would I recommend for food probably not. But I would recommend going for some drinks, snacks and great conversation. read more

An upper west side institution, the Hi-Life is just as I remember from 2011 - the last time I was there. What's more alluring than a great bar/restaurant with a warm ambiance, and great attentive service from what seem like a hip band of 23 yr olds? That same place but it also serves sushi!! We had to head up to our old stomping ground while in NYC for the week and we made a b-line, off the 1 line, for our favorite place for brunch. It was awesome and came fast but not too fast. Benedict's abounded and Bellinis were perfect. This is the kind of place where the feeling, the vibe along with the food cause you to slow down so you don't get to the end too fast. My wife literally said, "I don't want this plate to end". Eventually, we had to leave but, it was with a warm wonderful feeling and a sure sense we would be back even if in another decade... read more

Hi-Life - Blood Orange Bellini, Mimosa and cinnamon toast with strawberry butter. - American Near Me - New York, New York

Food was excellent and well priced. Service was also very good. The atmosphere was lovely and fun.

We ordered the delicious brunch. It was served with delicious cinnamon toast and raisin muffins. Our service person, Anjana, was extremely attentive and courteous. We sat outside and were there for several hours, not rushed. Perfect place for a relaxed, great place to eat! read more

Always good food and excellent service in addition to the overall vibe of the place we frequent it allot with & without children!

Strong drinks, fresh oysters and an addicting caesar salad. What more could you want? One star off because not everything on the menu is great. But I still frequent this place for the music selection, decor, and the items on the menu that I know are great. They always play good music, too! read more

Hi-Life - outside - American Near Me - New York, New York

very glutinous rice, overall a very chewy bite. Filling was okay and I'm inclined to be generous because it is a sushi place in a pub!!! Also generous ginger portion which is important to Big Tuna. At the end of the day, the vibe of the gummy rice somehow matches the exceptionally comfortable, lived-in, old-school vibe of the pub. read more

Cute local UWS bar great for happy happy and outdoor seating with heating lamps. No food happy hour specials (like it says on their website), only cocktails, beer and wine. I made a reservation online but on a Thursday night it wasn't needed. The service was great and attentive throughout the night. The waitress was patient and let my friends and I catch up since we hadn't seen each other in a while. We ordered the nachos $14 which were great! It was. A huge portion enough to share between 2-3 people. I ordered the salmon $20 which was tasty and came with a choice of two sides; I got a baked potato and veggies! Make sure to check in on Yelp for your free shot of Patron or Titos! I'll definitely be back. read more

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I'm at the point in life where so much of the nostalgia in NYC is catered to my demographic, Gen-X. And Hi-Life is a nostalgic place. The atmosphere is what I remember seeing growing up. All that's missing is the cigarette smoke. The accompanying soundtrack was tailor-made for my age group, so I pretty much was saying, "This is a great song!" all throughout dinner. The staff is super friendly while not being overly intrusive. The menu is diner-like without all the breakfast options. I decided to get the burger. You can tell a lot about a place by their burger. The fries were perfect. I haven't had fries come out the kitchen this hot in a long time. They're not crispy fries but they are perfectly salted with the right amount of grease. I wish I could have loved the burger as much. It's a large burger. I got it with bacon so it was piled up enormously high. But sadly the patty was very dry. It was more well-done than the medium that I ordered. I think all my juices wound up on the plate... and my shirt. Even the bacon was well-done. The portion was large enough that I couldn't finish all my fries, but frankly I was struggling to make it most of the way thru the burger. It started to get the consistency of wet cardboard after a while. *Sigh* There's so many other options on the menu that I'm willing to give it another try in the future. I won't write it completely off for one lackluster overcooked burger. read more

Spent a cold and rainy afternoon there after stopping in for brunch. Servers at the bar across both shifts were super cool. Cocktails were on pint and nicely made (read:strong). read more

Was intending to go to Jacob's pickles but the wait was going to be an hour, so we decided to try this since it was around the corner. The hostess let us know that the they needed the table by 3:40, it was 1:50, so plenty of time. It's nice that with brunch they give you cinnamon toast and muffins with what I believe is a strawberry spread. The blueberry muffin was dense and hard but the cinnamon toast was probably the best thing I ate there. I got the huevos rancheros and my other guests both got the Paul Bunyan. If you're looking for a memorable brunch place, I wouldn't describe the food here as that place. It reminds me of diner food but with smaller portions and not as good. Both my guests thought there pancakes had a boxed pancake mix feel. My huevos rancheros was pretty basic lacking a lot of flavor. The prices for brunch here are pretty good, but also the portion size is very normal, don't expect to pack anything. The Bellinis were standard, but I definitely felt them. My husband liked his jalapeño margarita, I've had better and I think what he actually liked was the taijin rim. It's an eclectic vibe, couldn't really tell you what the theme of the place was. The most off putting part of the experience was the clearing of plates and making us feel rushed though there was plenty of time before they needed the table. We sat down at 2 and they kept coming to clear things at 2:30, which made us uneasy as we were trying to enjoy our brunch and conversation. Might return for drinks but not food. read more

Hi-Life - Huevos Rancheros - American Near Me - New York, New York

Hi-Life Restaurant has the rudest delivery people on the Upper West Side. The incessantly boorish delivery guy, Fernando, is still apparently resentful of the instructions I have given for my orders. He still tells fibs that he can't get into the building, and I don't answer my phone to buzz him in. That is a complete and total untruth. I called Hi Life and spoke with the manager of duty, Elsa. She said she would talk with the delivery drivers. I hope so. As a customer who spends at least $400 weekly, the delivery people's shenanigans need to stop. read more

Love this place and everyone there. Earl is always available to talk to and he recognizes his "regulars". That honestly is appreciated especially when we always want to support the local businesses. Was annoyed they got dinged by NY as there were so many others that should have been "fined" -- what High Life was doing with their tables and open air seating we thought was wonderful! Drinks and food always consistent. Swing by and support. Ask Earl too about New Years Eve! Hoping that we can actually celebrate!! read more

Hi-Life - American Near Me - New York, New York

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Great location. Decent food. The owner reached out to personally address my concerns. We need more business owners like this in NYC. read more

My significant other and I were here this Saturday for Brunch. He had a Brooklyn lager with eggs Benedict. I had my usual Bloody Mary (spicy) with the crab cakes Benedict. Love, love, loved it!!!!! Both orders came with nicely charred home fries and a lil side salad. Loved it! Home fries were with green peppers and onions((both also charred)). Their bathrooms were neat with old fashioned gumball and M&M machine. Cute. Good food and drinks although a lil pricey. Will definitely visit again. read more

Hi-Life - Crab cakes Benedict with home fries - American Near Me - New York, New York

I sat at the bar for happy hour and had a great time. The inside is nice and cozy, and Taylor the bartender was amazing. The frozen strawberry daiquiri I got ($8 for happy hour) was delicious. I also got a dozen oysters ($1.50 each) and they were great. Can't wait to come back! read more

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Smallest portion steak sandwich I ever ordered. It was basically an appetizer. Tastes good but that was a joke of a portion like they used the last half of a French roll that was way too small. 3 stars for weak portions , very disappointing read more

If you are looking for something fancy. This ain't the place. However if you want some good food at reasonable prices. Good drinks. Good service and a cool vibe. Then come. I think i used to come here like 30 years ago. Still a fun place. Recommended read more

I'm a long time UWSer and come here a lot. It has decent prices and a (comically) large menu. The chicken pot pie and Hi-Life cocktail with rock candy are my favorites. I love the retro decor and cozy vibe. Pretty quick service but you don't feel rushed. Highly recommend for casual hangs with friends and family. read more

Fantastic experience! Great food and drink and such a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The owner is so gracious and the staff so attentive and kind. Will definitely be our new go to spot in the city! read more

After getting turned away with wait times in nearby spots, was finally able to get a table for two here on a Saturday late afternoon. Both indoor and outdoor seating here and a decent menu with changing specials. Decided on the Bratwurst Sandwich ($16) off the specials menu to go along with a Little Umbrella Cocktail ($12). Meal comes out within 15 minutes, a two hander hero stuffed with grilled onions and sliced brats. Meat is cooked well, juicy inside and browned outside. Grilled onions were fine, was hoping for more veggies or cheese to counter the dry bread. Used some of the spicy mustard to add more flavor. Fries are lightly salted and not greasy, also fine with the mustard. Service here is good and the drinks are strong. Not a bad place to settle on if in a pinch for a sit down meal. read more

Hi-Life - Bratwurst Sandwich - American Near Me - New York, New York

My quick visit home to NYC I just had to fit brunch into my schedule. Hi-Life is definitely a hidden gem in the area. The popular restaurant had a regular long wait so my friends and I decided to a walk by and stop anywhere. Hi-Life caught our attention. We were seated right away for brunch on a Saturday afternoon on the upper west side is unusual. The waitress was super friendly and patient as we got our orders together. FYI- a yelp check in gets you a free frozen shot! Yes I took mine straight to the head. Lol.. The usual brunch drinks such as mimosa and Bellinis are $4.50 (don't quote me with that price but I remember it was $4 and change) when you order an entree. Food: yummy! In my opinion it's hard to ruin breakfast food. My friend and I had the 3egg omelet, we had the option to add our two ingredients. My sister had the French toast with a side of bacon. Oh I almost forgot a bread basket was placed on the table shortly after being seated. It had muffins and sweet toast. I am somewhat disappoint the basket wasn't served warm. It was obvious it was prepared and sitting out for a while. Overall, it wasn't horrible experience. I really liked the ambiance. It wasn't loud and super busy. My friends and I were able to talk, laugh and catch up on life. read more

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Did any one read the firs review in short Brunch is great for the price mimosas super good What are you waiting on pull up Returning shortly read more

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Stumbled upon this place with my brother while strolling the UWS. While the menu was expansive, and I had a hard time deciding, I ultimately chose a sushi roll and penne w/grilled chicken. Both surpassed my expectations and were extremely delicious. The service was amazing!!! I will definitely come back, due to fact that there is something for everyone on the menu! read more

We had a reservation for 11 am. Although the place was packed due to the World Cup soccer match, the table was waiting for the 4 of us. The place is lovely, nicely decorated and cozy. There were many TV sets around Me and my friends ordered the Benedict Arnold which was delicious!! I would highly recommend. My other friend ordered the turkey burger and he gave it a 9 out of 10. Service was good and quick. I will definitely come back for brunch! read more