All Blues — Restaurant in New York

Beautiful space, incredible sound system, gorgeous listening room!

Disappointingly, every interaction we had with the front of house staff was uncomfortable, condescending, and disrespectful. It is a Japanese style listening bar - I went in understanding that a certain etiquette might be expected. However, there was ZERO sense of hospitality on part of the FOH staff.

Despite our attempts to be understanding and accommodating of the vibe and of the space, we were shoved around and told exactly when, where, and how to sit or stand by the host. I understand managing the flow of guests through the space is important, but being rudely commanded rather than kindly asked to move seats, or to face the bar rather than the aisle, or to keep the hallway clear, or to place our bags under the table, etc. made us feel like unwelcome houseguests.

When a friend couldn’t find the restroom and mistakenly opened the wrong door, she was physically pushed out of the way by floor staff and spoken to like a child for not waiting for the restroom appropriately.

I was the guest of a performer for the evening’s event, who received a comped drink as a thank you for participating. They were not drinking that night, so they reasonably expected that I might use the comp. I ordered one drink, and at the end of the night a member of the floor staff came up with a terminal to close out the check.

When we explained that I was planning to use the comped drink, we were rudely scoffed at for suggesting such a thing. What could have been an easy misunderstanding gently fixed was immediately escalated by the staff member’s hostile attitude and refusal to leave without the tab being closed out. When we went to speak to a more senior server, we were met with the same incredulousness. It was one drink, but we were treated like drunk idiots trying to skip out on a $200 bill.

I am culturally literate, familiar with the restaurant industry, and know how to behave respectfully in unfamiliar environments. I don’t know if this style of hospitality is to be expected at Japanese listening bars like All Blues - so maybe I am seriously misunderstanding my experience! But it felt important to leave a review to let people know what to expect when...

First time at this bar. The only complaint was the rude manager, the rest of the staff were amazing. We had a reservation for the bar because we knew the theater room was a “no talking space”. We arrived two minutes before our time but they had an event before which they were cleaning up from so they told us it’ll be a few more minutes. Unfortunately it was taking longer than expected so they let us sit in the theater room while we waited and told us it’ll be 10min . It was a cool experience but not for 30 minutes of silence. I hadn’t seen my friend in a long time and we wanted to yap… I went up to the staff after 15min to inquire and they told us a couple more minutes but I noticed the manager seating a group with a later reservation than us at the bar. I waited another 15min but then went directly to the manager to ask when we will be seated and he was condescending and rude. He cut me off and kept saying “listen to me, listen to me” when I was just trying to explain that we had a reservation for the bar because we wanted to respect the policy of not talking in the theater room. He went on explaining that he wanted us to enjoy the entire space as a whole(?) and that the next available space will be for us without sounding understanding or courteous. He lowkey made me feel like I was overly complaining when all I asked is “when can we be seated at the bar”. Other than the manager, the rest of the staff and bartenders were amazing and so nice- would consider going back just for the friendly staff...

The idea here is a listening bar which is great, this concept isn’t common in New York but in some other places in the world. The reason for the one star is the terrible attitude allowed here. The guy at the front, Gilbert, was cool and welcoming. He explained a few things and gave me a seat in the listening area. I went to check another part of the space and when I came back to my seat area I was taking a photo (I had previously asked someone if it’s ok who said yes) then a guy on the turntable, Cornelius, says no pictures but in a aggressive and condescending manner. He seemed really insecure about the whole situation. I told him it’s fine but the tone is unnecessary. Then I go to my seat and again with a poor attitude he says that someone has to seat me (despite the host already having shown me my seat) at that point I just ignore him and step out. The nice host from upfront was apologetic about it to be fair but at that point it felt very unwelcoming and the mood was off. You’ll see the same in some of other reviews unfortunately. I enjoy these kind of places but this one is wasted potential. I’d recommend you learn about the kind of customers that are interested, they’re already at your door, you don’t need to...