by Xuan Astorga on It's a real trek to get here, but a good dive bar is worth the trip. Incredible drink specials, pool table, shuffleboard, jukebox, live music and a kick ass patio = GREAT dive bar. AT&T, why aren't there more bars like El Rio in more places?
by Jae Humbel on I had high expectations from reading all the rateclubs reviews here. We went there for lunch around noon. Upon entering, we immediately noticed how dark and cold it was inside. Its hard to enjoy eating when its almost freezing. A little more cheerful lighting would make me feel that I am in a restaurant, and not a night club for dancing. I ordered some tea, but was given a cup of hot water, and the actual tea bag followed in a few minutes, which resulted in the tea not brewing well. For entree, I ordered the grilled chicken with coconut rice. The portion was small (I jokingly said, that now I do need to order dessert), and the chicken a little too salty. I've had better. And to end it all, we were never asked whether we wanted to have dessert. I could have explicitly asked for the dessert menu, but given the poor experience thus far, we decided to postpone dessert for another establishment. Needless to say, I won't be going back anytime soon for lunch.
by Elissa S. on This place gets 1 star for being a gay bar (woohoo!), and one star for being on the UWS (gotta love being within walking distance). It's definitely pretty divey. There's a pool table in the back, and it's either being patronized by some of the best gay pool sharks in the city, or some dykes (i.e. me and my friends) who are trying to step up their game to play with the big girls at Gingers. My friends and I are often the only women in there, and we keep requesting they have a "ladies" night, mainly because we're tired of schlepping all the way out to the west village for cubbyhole, or alllllll the way out to Brooklyn. It's not a great bar, but hey, at least the UWS has a gay bar in the neighborhood.
