Death & Co East Village — Restaurant in New York

Big fan of cocktail bars and was excited to finally try this place but it was a pretty big disappointment, I would not recommend it.

Atmosphere: it's a small place but the noise level was unacceptably loud. For an intimate, dim speakeay-type setting I expect to be able to talk to someone right next to me or across from me, but it was a strain the whole visit. The place was packed of course, so why not turn down the music so people can have a conversation?

Also the day was humid, and the vents were dripping water onto the tables and guests (and if you're unlucky into your drinks). Their only solution is to send waitstaff around with a rag on a stick (I kid you not) and lean over to wipe the vents down every now and then.

Drinks: very underwhelming to be honest. Turtle Power was tasty and I love to see the rare avocado drink, but didn't quite rise to the occasion. Wicked Game was my favorite and legitimately good. There was a mushroom-based drink (Momento Mycelium?) and while I very much appreciated the effort (big fan of savory drinks) it missed the mark. Traded sips with other people so got to try a lot of things and everything else was forgettable in my opinion.

Food: can't comment on most of it since I couldn't really hear the other people in my group who ate but I got fries and they were ok (very overpriced though). The green sauce was good, wish there was more of it.

Service: they seem to be high on their own hype, got the impression like they were doing us a favor to tolerate us in their venerated establishment. Service was kind of slow. They scoffed at our table asking to hold one (1) menu so that we could be ready to order another round during their strict 2 hour time limit and they would not allow it.

Since it was a birthday party someone brought a cake and we were told we'd have to pay a cake cutting fee. This turned out to be a $7 fee PER PERSON so we ended up paying more in cutting fees than the cake cost. It also didn't come out until like 90 minutes into our visit so we...

This was very disappointing indeed.

The three components of a great cocktail bar are: great cocktails, great atmosphere, and great service.

Death & Co. nailed the first, delivered on the second, and fell rather short on the third.

The cocktails are first class. I have the book and I have made at home 80+ recipes from it. Most of them are great, and many, sublime. The atmosphere is what you’d expect, so no complaints there. The service is another story. I arrived at 6 on a Thursday, with more than half the place still empty and just a bit over half the barstools taken. Now, I’m an introvert and generally happy to be left alone, but I do enjoy the occasional chat with someone who knows much more about the craft that I could ever aspire to. No such chance here.

First, the attitude. The two bartenders were far more interested in chatting to each other than in engaging the patrons, to the point that getting their attention to order another drink was well naught impossible (I don’t think raising my hand or shouting should be necessary except in a sports bar…).

Second, and even more disappointing, the skill. My first drink was a mescal-forward, delicious tipple (called “Full Disclosure”). For my second, I asked for recommendations for something that would be hard to make at home, and ended up with a vermouth-heavy, low-ABV cocktail, which – while competent in its own right – should have never followed my first order based on taste progression or what I had already revealed about my likes.

I will continue to use the book – probably my favorite from amongst a few dozen I own – but there are friendlier bars in NY and around the world with equally good drinks if you’re going to invest the...

We have been wanting to visit Death & Co for a while and this time we were finally able to make it happen. A group of us was in town for my birthday, and when my husband made the reservation, he mentioned the occasion. When we arrived at the bar, there was a handwritten note on the table wishing me a happy birthday. The five of us all ordered our first drink from the menu, and every single one of us loved them. I ordered the Rolling Blackout and fell in love at first sip. Our bartender, Justin, helped us all with a second round. This time most of us ordered a "dealer's choice" and he hit it out of the park for each one.

We found the seating arrangement to be a bit challenging for five people. The table was small, and one of us was in the corner with little wiggle room. Additionally, the bar was really busy and because we had to wait for our drinks to arrive, we were offered a complimentary bowl of popcorn (which was delicious). While we had noticed it was taking a long time to get our drinks, we didn't mentioned anything to the staff, so that was a nice surprise. Because of how busy it was, we couldn't order another drink. I'm not sure if that was a staffing issue or just indicative of a busy weekend evening. We actually did order another round, but shortly after, Justin came back to let us know that there wasn't enough time left on our reservation for another drink. He was very apologetic and we all knew he wasn't at fault.

Even with these minor issues, I still highly recommend Death & Co to any cocktail enthusiast out there. We will definitely be back next time we're in town, and hopefully with better seating and a...