Nowhere Special Libations Parlor — Restaurant in City of Ithaca

Absolutely unprofessional bartender/owner, and from reading other reviews, many have had this experience. As other reviews from my group have mentioned, my friends stopped here for one drink to surprise me before moving on with our night. Had the bartender simply said to them that he doesn't take large groups, they would have moved on with their night and respected that. However, given that he did not say anything until everyone had purchased a drink, we (CRAZILY!) assumed that a bar open until 10:00 PM on a Saturday night would allow customers at 9:30 PM. He clearly had a problem with the fact that we were all 21-22, despite the fact that everyone was paying and tipping, and no one was being rowdy. Instead of asking us to leave politely when we walked in, he instead decided to ruin the moment when my friends said "Surprise" by instead immediately screaming at us that they close at 10:00pm, insulting us, cursing at us, and rolling his eyes. I truly have never experienced something like this. As a Cornell student, it is imperative to me to support small Ithaca businesses and I make it a point to be respectful of the local community. If he has some problem with college students, I am not sure what he expected when opening a business in Ithaca, but that isn't something we could have magically predicted.

When he eventually cursed at us to leave, my friend posted a review stating exactly what had happened, similar to how I described it above, but even nicer, complimenting the female bartender (who I heard was lovely). Instead of addressing the complaint from a dissatisfied customer, or simply ignoring it, the outrageous owner decided to POST her review, including her full name, letting his army of loyal supporters tear her a new one in the comments. These commenters insulted my friend, uninformed and clearly part of some weird cult-like customer base. I understand that they have an interesting selection of drinks (I was unable to purchase one before being kicked out), which people seem to be particularly passionate about. Some more rational commenters who don't hate young people for no reason pointed out that Nowhere Special does not have this no-group policy listed on their website, which I confirmed, and that they should simply have politely told us to leave. I am genuinely astounded not only at the treatment of my group, but the subsequent bullying of an honest reviewer. Their assertion that they OBVIOUSLY don't take large parties or host "bar-crawls" is not only untraditional for any classic bar open on a Saturday night, but seems to be an arbitrary policy made up by the bitter owner.

Luckily, we were able to relocate to Chanticleer after being kicked out - not only did they welcome us with open arms, but they had very cheap drinks, and the bartender wore one of my...

We were looking for a cocktail bar to celebrate my birthday. We stumbled upon this bar and figured it would be a good fit. The bartender was great and super nice/accommodating. The owner was very rude and aggressive. He was upset that we asked about a vodka that wasn’t distilled from wheat (due to allergy). And then he refused to allow us to order a Mai Tai with a higher quality of rum (cocktails are premade). This wouldn’t be a big deal except for the fact that he proceeded to complain about us to other customers. Loudly and openly. I highly suggest looking some other place for cocktails. Literally any other bar would be better than dealing with someone who is wildly rude and belittles customers. If you don’t mind the owner shaming you openly this might be the place for you. We were between this bar and the one across the street. I will choose the one across the...

Heartbroken and shocked by our experience at this Ithaca bar.

As excited international students, we were turned away despite having valid Russian and Estonian IDs with English translations. The staff's refusal to accept our documentation left us feeling humiliated and unwelcome in a town we hoped would be our new home.

Is this how Ithaca treats visitors? We came to America with dreams of experiencing its famous hospitality, only to be left standing on the sidewalk, watching others enjoy what we were denied. This cruel rejection has cast a shadow over our entire study abroad experience.

I urge the management to reconsider their policies. Your actions have real consequences on young people...