47 East Houston Street Bsmt
New York, NY 10012
New York County
Phone: (212) 343-7251
Fax: unknownWebsite: no website on fileEmail: no email on fileHours: unknown
Botanica Bar - About Us
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by Deborah O. on Who'da thought that an old electric plant in a one-time seedy area of downtown would house an expansive, luxe lounge crowded with sharply-dressed clubgoers and generate an impressive line down the alley outside? My friends are downtown residents and regulars at the Edison and they insisted I check the place out. Our cab careened down the alley, plowing through clusters of short-skirted girls and wide-eyed dudes in hats and vests and screeched to a halt right in front of the club. We climbed out and walked over to the front of the massive line like we owned the place, at which point some interaction occurred between my friends and the clipboard man that allowed us to waltz right in. We sweep in past the door guy, down the dimly-lit staircase, into the cavernous ex-industrial space now with superimposed vintage leather-and-velvet decor. There's a maze of rooms with intimate seating and remains of the plant's old machinery scattered throughout. The bartender knows us and we get drinks right away....he's a doll. My rye manhattan, up, is perfectly executed (stirred, not shaken) and garnished with a brandied cherry.....ohhhhhhhh, yes. My friend's red bull vodka was, uh, poured over ice in the correct fashion. There were a few tasty shots presented to us, which revved things up a bit right at the get-go. The crowd was friendly/mellow (I love downtown for that).....I made all sorts of friends walking around and talking to random people. There's a sweetheart dressed as the Green Fairy wheeling around a cart loaded with absinthe-based libations in cute little corked bottles (they're OK, but everyone knows that the now-legalized absinthe isn't the same as the mind-bending wormwood-loaded bohemian concoction of the late 19th century--oh well, we can pretend). The bouncers had a ball flashing their little lights and constantly herding people out of aisles.....I kind of felt like I was always in the way. I got to be good friends with Bouncer Christopher, he had to flashlight-direct me to a legal standing area so many times. Keep it up, guys....you're doing a great job bothering people with enthusiastic enforcement of fire codes. The place stayed crowded till late. There was some scantily-clad girl dancing on a stage at one point. Apparently, there's burlesque shows on certain nights. As long as I go with the right people to grease my way in past the line and straight to drinks at the bar with none o' this waiting around business, I'll be back for more slick flapper-era downtown action.
by claudia y. on im actually so livid about this i cant go back to sleep. so here i go. first off - two big fat middle fingers to suite 181 so last night i drop off QUEST CREW and then i go in. going in - no problem because the promoters run this part of the operations. everything is fine until i want to go and hang out on the 'stage' area. the middle part upstairs where the tables are and where quest crew was going to perform. they told us no one could go in without a bracelet and they werent letting anyone in anymore. if fact, they kicked one of the girls out. i was actually ok with it. it was crowded. people everywhere. later on, the bouncer douchebag lets a tall white guy in. i say to him 'what the f*ck!? he steps up to me and says 'do you know who that was?! it was the clubs managers bosses promoters guys' and i say 'sorry no,do u know who i am?! 'he says no. same sht. earth to douchebag bouncer, if you say no one goes in, at least be fair about it. i was pretty pissed after that. on top of that the tall white guy stands in front of me and my friend, completely obstructing our view. to add insult to injury, at around 2am while everything had died down, quest crew performed, the place was emptying out, i was waiting to take them back to their hotels. i go into that same area and sit down. the bald manager guy or whoever he is has the audacity to signal to me to get out. i ignore him. earth to bald dude. get the stick out of your as$ there is no one here anymore. i hate being treated like an animal or a child. suite 181 can go f themselves
by Cornelius Gladwell on a group of friends and i visited the kress on the second weekend of the grand opening. i had a few friends in town visiting, one celebrating her bday. so i decided to have dinner there and check out the nightclub. 1 building, 4 entities... the restaurant/bar offered a GREAT ambience and decor. a good place to get a few drinks prior to a night out. the food was ummm ok and just ok. the citrus chicken was a tad bit bland but memorable. the bento box offered a tasty variety. the peking duck would've been left better as a mystery. to top this off, my poor bday girl ordered the rock, which was literally a thin piece of steak cooking on a heated rock. spare us the presentation and give us real food, please. furthermore, we had dinner for a party of 7 but felt like sardines while dining. the tables were obviously too narrow for the humongous dishes/platter. again, spare the presentation and give us comfort. service was delightful. the hostesses were very accomodating even when making reservations. our waiter acknowledged our bday girl was not at all happy with her entree that he comped (on him) the awesome dessert. 7 entrees and probably 2 drinks per person gave a tally of $450 the basement nightclub was arghhh a major disappointment. being new to the venue i wish the hostess would've recommended bottle service for the 3rd level, at the least. i don't really have much to say about the nightclub, but don't waste your time. we ended up just getting a bottle just to make the best out of it.... and felt forced to down the bottle before the music went out (due to someone pulling the fire alarm). i may come back to the restaurant for decor purposes. forget ever visiting that basement nightclub again!!! i will definitely consider checking out the upper level VIP sections... if i feel the mood for one of those "very hollywood" nights. frankly, i rather pay more for a quality crowd than deal with the rug-rats at the other spots restaurant and basement nightclub: 2-stars (for awesome decor and service) and definitely not the food 3rd & 4th level VIP: to be continued?
