Alibi Lounge — Restaurant in New York

The aesthetic of the lounge/bar is very chills and dope. The staff is very friendly and upbeat.

However; my first experience in this lounge will be my last. After leaving a nice kickback at Harlem Knights a few friends of mine, and myself went to Alibi.

As me made our way in, the vibe of the lounge was very welcoming. One lady even looked back at my friends and I and said "Hello".

Aftet maybe 10 minutes in the place, what I later learned that the owner of the establishment was walking around the bar asking people " Are you buying a drink ".

Now while I am all here, for another Black Gay man soring and building a successful business. The owner was very rude and tacky.

As he asked everyone ( maybe 7 people ) did they plan on buying a drink ? Then next came to me.

Let me remind you, this is my very first time in this bar. He asked me was I buying a drink and I immediately became offensive and offened.

I do not walk into any bar or resturant ordering drinks within the first 2 minutes of my arrival. Not when I have visited Boxers, Nor G lounge, Nor Harlem Knights!

I was not going to write this reveiew, because again. I support and/or want to support local black own establishments within the gay community.

However; the owner came out from behind the bar a second time. Asking myself and my friends were we buyiny drinks.

While one friend was about to order 12 shots, my partner stopped him. Due to me addressing the owner and the owner telling him , he cannot sit in his chairs if he has not purchased a drink !

I then stood up to let the owner know that, by this being my very first visit time in his bar. It is/was very rude to be approached and asked TWICE if I and/or we were going to purchase a drink ?

And as I stood up and verbally stated how I felt about this matter. He looked at me and said " OK ".

Furthermore; I will not be visiting Alibi...

From humans of New York about this bar.

“The War In Chechnya was going on during the time I was in law school. I remember watching a news report where a young boy walked up to a journalist and asked for help waking up his grandfather. The grandfather had just been killed by a bomb. I decided then that I’d be a human rights lawyer. I went to work at the United Nations. I pictured myself drafting stronger human rights laws. I thought I’d meet with heads of state and convince them to form better laws and better institutions. And those meetings did happen. I did my research and made my presentations. You should have seen me— I was so passionate and confident and sure of my reasoning. The leaders would nod their heads, and say ‘thank you very much,’ but then nothing would change. Unless there was an economic benefit, nobody cared about protecting children, or empowering women, or stopping genocide. And it wore me down. My colleagues were worn down too. After ten years I had to quit. Last week I opened this bar. It’s not human rights, but at least now I can...

I would never come here again. I’m not sure who the new owners are but they are overcharging. We ordered 3 frozen drinks with barely any alcohol in it and one shot of patron and the cost came to $94! I don’t mind spending money on drinks but the bartender included a $14 tip and they charged us over $20 for using a credit card. The service was subpar. When I pay this type of money I expect to have excellent service. The bartender was lazy, spent most of the time on her phone and never checked in with us or anyone for that matter. We had to ask for water a few times and I saw the same frustration in a few other customers and a man who was also behind the counter with her appeared to be somewhat frustrated with her as well. I hate when small businesses like this come in and try to exploit the community. I will never...