Fire dive bar! We met Jax and shad on a Friday and they set the vibes!! GOOD music and dope people

Stumbled into this fantastic dive as a group of 11 and bellied up to the bar and back tables. The biggest shout out to bartender Amber for taking such good care of our crew and making this spot feel like a second home even though we were only there for ~40 minutes. One of the only bars in the LES where you'll see exclusively women and non binary folks behind the bar, which I love! We enjoyed some well-poured shots, rounds of surfsides and assorted bevvies, then went on our way with great memories. I will be back when I find myself in the lower east side an appreciate the team here at Local 138 for the amazing afternoon! read more

Local 138 - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

This bar is nice enough - divey and a good vibe. But I would be wary of doing business with them. I rented it out for my birthday and we had a minimum to hit. The bartenders lied about how much we had spent and were intentionally deceptive in trying to get me to pay more than we needed to according to our agreement. Really bummed as I had an otherwise fun night, but it's a shame to know that there are bar owners and operators out there who are intentionally trying to deceive people. read more

0 stars!!!! don't go if you don't want to get yelled at by the bartender!!!!!!!!!!!! So rude read more

If i could give this 0 stars i would, upon entering i was yelled at that i couldn't use the bathroom before i bought a drink and i wasn't even trying to use the bathroom. I moved to the back of the bar and was then harassed to buy a drink after being there for not even a minute. This bartender got in our face and was practically yelling at us to buy something. When i said i would they said they had a 2 drink card minimum and called me broke when I didn't have the cash. They practically threw us out and we literally weren't even there for 2 minutes. read more

Worst bar experience ever! Rudest bartenders, Bartender yelled in my face and tried forcing me to buy a drink and called me a bitch for asking for a minute to think about it. Told us to leave because we didn't order drinks (no cover btw) while only standing there for a minute. read more

- I spend a lot of time at craft bars so my review will be tough - Good happy hour prices - $6 for a blue moon - Asked for a blue moon, it was flat and below average cold. I think pretty unacceptable for such a basic beer on tap - Server was very nice and friendly though. She said they had WiFi but was not equipped with the right WiFi info after it changed - Laptop-friendly and has power plugs at the bar read more

This is nice dive bar on the lower east side if you don't want to go somewhere loud and can speak to people. I will say, the drinks were pretty expensive for a dive bar but I guess with inflation prices are going up. That being said we didn't go during happy hour as well but overall chill atmosphere. The music was totally on point and you have to check out the bathroom - total dive bar vibes! read more

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Solid dive, it's right about what you'd expect. Wound up here a couple times recently and can always find a spot.

Ok ok lately I have been visiting spots and having a ball. I figure, why not, right!? This place is cozy and they sell picklebacks! Nice! It's lower Manhattan so you know how it goes. Fun fun fun. Music good vibes is what I seek & find to be what I want. Come thru. I think you'll have a good time! read more

Local 138 - Back view scenario - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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The service? Out of this world! 24karatz/janay made me feel more than welcomed. Her energy and vibe is amazing and contagious. I came to the local 138 bar on a solo date and I really enjoyed my time because I didn't really feel alone. Janay made sure I was good, cup filled, and even small talk. Thank you Janay!!! For making my regular Wednesday memorable. read more

Amazing bar for late-night Happy Hour! Their HH deals last until 9 pm--a rare find. Gina is absolutely amazing. You couldn't ask for a friendlier face. So welcoming, so kind, and ready to get the party started! Gina also introduced my friends and I to the wonders of chasing a tequila shot with an orange slice. The orange made the burn absolutely disappear. I love when bartenders aren't just servers, but become a part of your night as well. The interior of the bar is clean, neat, and chill. It's a great place to grab some cheap drinks before heading elsewhere. Or, stay the whole night! read more

I will be thorough about my experience... I have worked in the service industry since I was 16 years old. I am now a bartender with plenty experience in nightlife. Now with this experience I know some basic things: for example, a bouncer usually is a big guy who stands either outside the front door or right behind it and checks ids. When a bar does not have a bouncer, it is the bartender who checks. So explain to me then why there was no one greeting us, and when I went to order at the bar some TINY man lingering by the bar in no official apparel started telling me I can't use the bathroom??? I said no I am trying to order a drink. This (white) man said I had an attitude and he had to check my ID. Mind you my ID shouldve been checked in the first place regardless of my demeanor. Now at this point I guessed he worked there. As I am going through my wallet I asked exactly that (does he work there?) because why is some random dude who looks like any other guy off the street asking me this?? This was the ONLY indicator he worked there. This emasculated little dude so much he asked me to leave before I could even pull out my ID in the very dark bar... it is normal to take time to look through your cards in a dark bar. Some lady (idk if she worked there or not, there really is no way to tell) came to blindly repeat what he said, not to deescalate or ask the customer trying to order a drink what was going on. The hiring practices need work, as well as training for security staff because in no world does security stand 10 feet inside, be small and be mad ppl dont recognize them as security in no uniform. Why they would hire a tiny guy to stand 10 feet inside and give patrons problems is beyond me... as a bartender it seems like he's robbing the staff from paying customers. Hire real security if ur gonna be mad at people for trying to order a drink????? Because I wasnt intimidated or scared of anyone there and I am confused why that was the goal in the first place at a bar.....I came with several people none of which realized lil dude was supposed to be a bouncer.... read more

Janae has excellent service! very attentive and nice! 5 stars . She was by herself and Still rocking it with as many customers that were there. I will definitely be back read more

Janae is the hostess with the mostest. One of the most engaging bartenders with prompt, and attentive service.​

OMG where has this place been all my life? I came in yesterday with some friends for post brunch birthday drinks. We were lucky enough to score the booth up front by the bar and felt like we were in VIP. Was so fun to have our own space where we could people watch, hang out, and order drinks without getting up. Bartender was awesome and friendly. Definitely the epitome of a dive but that's why I loved it so much! Let's not forget the best part, happy hour! Everyday til 7 or 8, $4 beer and well drinks, can't beat it! Dive enthusiasts dream come true! read more

Stopped by for a beer while walking the neighborhood. They had ten beers on draft with a focus on macros. I had a Coney Island mermaid pilsner. Service was quick. read more

Came here out of state and wanted a to grab a quick drink with my friend. Looked like a cool atmosphere. Before we could settle ourselves, a red headed waitress came up to us and we politely said "we don't know what we want to drink yet". She responded with, "then you guys better get out." We we're maybe here for about 5 minutes max. We gladly left and took our business else where. The red headed women said, "thanks for nothing!" As we left. Red headed women, you are right. Thanks for absolutely nothing! Women supporting women... yeah, not the place. Enjoy a bar filled with grimy men and a bitter waitress. The bouncers were kind! I enjoyed their company. read more

If you look up "dive bar" in the dictionary (or on Wikipedia for you civilized folk) you may see the 138 make a cameo appearance. I'm normally not a fan of pickleback shots, but for some reason the night (post-summer into the fall) really called for it. And by "it" I mean half a dozen in the span of an hour. An ideal after-after party following a show at Rockwood or Arlene's. read more

Three years later, the graffiti in the bathroom at Local 138 is doing nothing if not keeping up with the times. Gone are mentions of Zack and his impressive erection; now we are left with a truly depressing directive: "Fuck love. Embrace war." However, the $3 Double Chocolate Stout during happy hour ('til 9 pm) remains a constant, and one for which I am continually thankful. read more

Happy hour is everyday 4-9pm and well drinks, wine and beer for 4 dollars. Yes there is nothing wrong with your eyes it's 4 bucks!! Kinda didn't want to share a comment so I can keep it a hidden gem but it's too great a place not to review. Grab your friends and hangout a while, it's a great pregame spot for before a night in LES. The crowd is pretty assorted ranging from college students to older bar junkies. Love this and will be back probably this weekend for some cheap sips. read more

Darn you Yelp Drink Week! You got me hanging out with Jose, Jack, and Jagemeister. After leaving The Living Room last night I made a left instead of a right and saw the sign; all three shots are $3!!!!! read more

Very cheap and tasty. You know this is not a fancy bar. But it's pretty unique and good price. If you just want to be relax and find somewhere to drink. Here is a very nice choice. read more

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Quiet bar in a loud neighborhood. While initially I felt a bit strange that the bar was so quiet, I quickly changed my mind. This place plays great music and is good for a chill evening with friends. It's not crowded (which may or may not be a bad thing depending on what you're looking for) and service is very fast! The best thing about this place is that it is CHEAP. I ordered two rum & coke drinks for $10 and they were VERY strong. I assume that all wells drinks are 2/$10. I came on a Saturday night around 7:30PM, so they may have had some kind of happy hour going on. I don't know much else about this place but solely on the music they played and the cheap drinks, I will definitely be back! read more

Overcharged on my credit card. Mysteriously didn't receive an itemized receipt (weird). Shrugged it off because I want to have good faith in people.. I thought the bill was a bit high, but I shared my tab with a friend so I thought they had just ordered a few. Turns out that's not the case, and I was grossly overcharged. I had one drink. I was not drunk, and I can perform basic arithmetic. Make sure you double check your bill and don't be like me. I hope the extra money was worth it. I could use some extra cash, too, but I try not to steal. read more

I went here on a Friday looking to have a fun ladies night with my friends and I was served nothing but watered down shots. I paid 70 bucks for shots of New York City tap water. read more

Update: I have now been here multiple times since my last review. I've had a variety of bartenders and they have since added a very distinct sign saying the minimum for card usage is $20. Lauren has served me again since my previous review and has been a very nice and attentive bartender. If you are looking for a chill night, I recommend this place. To be honest, it's still one of my favorite dives. ........... I love this local place. The specials are great, the grimeyness is great, I love the special rooms in the front when you are lucky enough to grab one. (The one attached to the bar is super cool!!) This place is exactly what it claims to be- a local hangout spot. I normally love everyone who works there and I've never had an issue with someone, until I went in there on a weekend and encountered a bartender who I've never seen before- Lauren. If you walk in and she says her name is Lauren, walk the other direction. Listen, I could be wrong and maybe have just not realized it, but I always thought the card minimum was $10, however I was told on my last visit it was $20. That's fine. I just wasn't aware. So of course after I order my drink ( Which she didn't hand me right away) and while she has my credit card in her hand, she informs me she will not be giving it back to me until I order another drink. I'm a firm believer that most bad situations could have been avoided if the wording had been different. Shocked at her actions, I said "well that's ok then, I can just leave and come back another time. " and asked for my card back as I literally hadn't even touched my drink yet. She informed me, she would be holding onto my card and that I had to pay for the drink. She then refused to serve me the rest of the night and I had to get the other bartender to serve me. As someone who drank here often, it disheartens me to be treated this way because I love this bar. Take this experience as a grain of salt, but I haven't been back since the incident and I'm not sure if I will. Especially if she is there. read more

My friend and I had a quick beer here before heading to dinner. We had our temps checked at the door and sat outside. The bartender was AMAZING. She came over to turn the heat lamp on even though it wasn't that cold outside and said we could take the big table that was right under the lamp. She was so, so friendly and sweet, we ended up chatting a bit with her about our day. The beers were cheap and our Cuomo food item was frozen pizza, which she sliced up for us. It was actually really tasty! She didn't charge for the pizza! I used the restroom inside and she let me know to use the hand sanitizer outside instead of the one in the bathroom due to its weird texture, which I thought was nice and friendly of her. She also took my info for contact tracing. All in all a chill and safe experience! read more

138 is one of my favorite places down on the LES. Is it a hole in the wall? Yes, but I happen to think some of the best bars you will ever encounter happen to be little hole in the wall type places. What it lacks in modernness it makes up for in dingy charm, and I love that. You walk into a bar that clearly hasn't been updated this century, but guess what, nether have the prices. You will find one of the cheapest and longest happy hours in the city, 3 dollar drafts and well drinks that go until 10. And not just any old PBR drafts, for your lousy three bucks you can have a victory stout or a UFO. Not too shabby 138. The well drinks are not particularly well made, but again it adds to the old school charm of the place. It would fit in nicely with some divey bars you'd find on the skirts of Paris or Edinburgh and to be perfectly honest, maybe that's why I like the place so much, it's not trying to be anything it's not. If you're looking for a club, Verlaine is right around the corner - they'll happily make you wait two or three deep for a 3$ bottle of yuengling that you can enjoy standing up as the DJ blares loud annoying music. If you enjoy your friends company and a nice conversation then come here after a long day, sink into a bench that has been around for a good long while and enjoy what I believe to be a fantastically authentic New York City happy hour. read more

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This is one of my favorite, laid back and unpretentious cheapo bars in the lower east side. I found it years ago when meeting someone who was formerly a best friend - I lured him here with the promise of $3 beers - that was easily like 5+ years ago and (unlike my former best guy friend) their Happy Hour has not changed. Aaaaanywhoo, bartenders here are always friendly and the beer selection, while mediocre, is solid for a casual beer drinker. I tend to go for whatever seasonal UFO brew the have on tap or their Young's Double Chocolate Stout because that's always a win. This bar gives me some really sad memories, but that's not Local 138's fault at all. This is a great bar that's refreshing from some of the other places in the neighborhood. The private nooks by the entrance are really fantastic and it's a great bar for groups. Two thumbs up for Local! read more

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Nothing particularly special about this place, aside from their EPIC happy hour deals that last until 9pm! Get off work and come here for a pint of Brooklyn Lager for $4. They have all of the typical options including Guinness, Coney Island Mermaid Pilsner, Blue Moon, you name it. They were out of the Harpoon Cider yesterday (sad face), but their ample draft options made an enjoyable night possible. If you're not into divey Irish pubs, this isn't the place for you, since that is exactly what Local 138 offers. The leather seats are ripped with the foam coming out, the tables have beer stains and that sticky feel, AC is blasting and the place can get a bit loud. It isn't everyone's cup of tea, so I get it. read more

This is a dive bar for sure, but a great one. There's a great happy hour, it's laid back, and a nice change of pace from a lot of the nearby watering holes. There's a cool "booth" for 4-6 people facing the window. It's hard to explain and I don't have a picture but it's a private area that you and your friends should try to commandeer if you're able to. Happy Hour lasts until 8pm, glasses of wine are $4, and the bartenders are very nice. Regular-priced beers are $6-8 and shots are cheap too. read more

Local 138 - Interesting bathroom - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

I don't think I'm the target demographic for this place....middle aged, paunchy, balding. However, I had a great time here. Friendly crowd, good music, pretty nice space. I usually just assume places on the LES will be kind of grimy and divey but this wasn't bad. The best part was during happy hour, beers and drinks were $3. And they had decent stuff, not just PBR or Bud Light. The moral of this afterschool special is that I should learn not to judge a book by its cover. But it's probably too late for me to learn anything so it will continue to be a revelation to me each time I recognize that in the future. read more

6 hours here took 6 years off my liver. The original plan was to go to a newer, trendy place around the corner that was hip, loud and packed. I'm glad we moved here because it was also busy, very diverse, but more laid back/less of a scene. It's a blue collar/no collar/dog collar sorta-dive with great bartenders, a couple of great private rooms, and punk rock album cover worthy bathrooms. Having a half-off happy hour that lasts till 9 p.m. on a Friday is also a steal. Food wise, they give you a goblet of menus from nearby places and have no problem with bringing stuff in. In fact, our group chowed down on paninis, crepes, halal chicken and gyros. Just a note of caution however... if you go here you might not be very productive the next day. read more

Local 138 - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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I've been to my share of bars in NYC in my years but Local 138 is definitely one of those gems that comes across very few and far between. Came here this past Saturday night for a good friend's birthday. He rented out the back space of the bar which is definitely recommended if you wish to throw a large gathering here being that space upfront is fairly limited. Local 138 is a very cool spot in the lower east side of Manhattan not too far from some very good eateries and is easily to get too if you know how to navigate well in the area. Very good place to go to if you live in Manhattan or in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn being that it is not too far from the bridge. The crowd here is not so much mixed but friendly. You have mostly those who live in the area that come here and in the area which I am just finding out is a strip alongside Ludlow Ave. of bars and lounges which is pretty cool if you wish to avoid the much congested area of midtown/upper east side. The majority of the bartenders are AWESOME, more so Monica who made sure my friends and I had a blast at this spot. Probably the most friendliest bartender I have ever come across treating us to a round of shots and taking part with us as well. NY Love to Philly love for her. Even the bathroom in here is pretty cool as it is definitely as classic as a dive bar bathroom can get...lol. Only downfall to Local 138 is that there is a $20 credit limit to use your card here which in my opinion is a bad trend in NYC bars these days but the drinks are not that expensive. $8 for a bacardi and coke is not bad at all considering at other spots they may charge $11+... Definitely will make my way back here sometime soon though. read more

If you can get the semi-private room adjacent to the bar, you should. If only because there's a window where you can order drinks. They have a surprisingly good beer selection. They play good music. Bouncers are decidedly not dicks, even on a Friday night. Bartender is great and did some shots with us. There's kind of a dance floor. But only if you try really hard. Definitely a gem in the underbelly of LES. Especially compared to the bar-that-will-not-be-named across the street. read more

Local 138 - #bathroomshot - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Ended up here on Halloween and had a fun experience. Real, live trick-or-treating kids were coming in, presumably with the full blessing of their parents, and the bartenders had candy ready and waiting for them. This was my first Halloween in NYC and I had no idea before that this was a thing, but I loved it. The bar was also showing the classic horror film Blacula that night. Local 138 has a great happy hour special for $3 well drinks, draft beers, and wine that runs until nine, which makes for a lot of hours of happiness. I started out with an Old Speckled Hen and then switched over to vodka and gingers and whiskey and gingers. Whatever they're using for their ginger ale made for an unexpectedly delicious well beverage. The space is TINY and we had to stand around for a while before finding enough seats at the bar for four people. I was a lot happier once we got to sit down because the room is pretty small and I kept getting inadvertently hit by people passing by on their way to the restrooms. Otherwise, the crowd was friendly, and two of my friends got free drinks from some random guy who wasn't trying to hit on them (too much). Also, the bathrooms here are awesome. read more

1. Happy hour til 9 2. $3 well drinks and drafts (and not just shitty drafts, but it includes everything!) 3. YOUNG'S DOUBLE CHOCOLATE STOUT 4. That is all read more

Gotta agree with the masses: hands down best value happy hour ever. $3 well drinks, beer, and wine?! All the way until 9 pm??? I'm definitely sold. What a great place to drink for cheap, especially earlier in the night. What's even better is that their drinks don't taste like $3. Sure, maybe they're not using top shelf stuff, but the drinks are still well balanced and tasty. Ambience was not exactly the most exciting. I was here on a Saturday night and there were very few other people. This might just be a dead weekend, but it didn't seem like the place would ever get too crowded. Plenty of seating. Would definitely recommend coming here to start your night! read more

CHEAPPP DRINKS ALERT! I REPEAT CHEAP DRINKS!!! Local 138 used to be on of my favorite pregame spots in LES. The Happy Hour deals are unbeatable. You would expect a bar like this to be loud but the noise level is well balanced. The venue is not huge but great to grab some drinks and figure out your next move with friends. Def worth a visit! read more