Iggy's — Restaurant in New York

THUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER ! My wife and I were totally enjoying our recent 8 day vacation in Manhattan, New York. On Wednesday, Sept 29th we started our day at 7.30am with a fabulous Aussie style brekkie (breakfast ) at the Bluestone Lane Cafe around the corner from the Hotel Beacon on Broadway ( where we were staying ). And then we worked our way through a bunch of really cool stuff on our long bucket list....The High Line, Little Island, Chelsea Market, Electric Lady Studios ( Jimi Hendrix ), lovely lunch at Bluestone Lane Collective Cafe in Greenwich Village, looking through a few record stores, amazing dinner at Eataly NYC Flatiron, seeing David Byrne's ( sensational ) American Utopia at St. James Theatre on Broadway. And we weren't done yet..at 10pm we took a Lyft to Iggy's on 2nd Ave. We had looked this place up and it didn't look or sound too divey. We walked in about 10.30pm and just as the description said there was a 100ft long bar ( in the long narrow space ) which we had to walk past to get to the karaoke stage at the rear. The bar was pretty packed and virtually no one was wresting a facial mask. We were wearing ours ! A sign at the DJ's booth said $2 a song so I paid up front. At this time of the night...early for a karaoke bar ( Iggy's shuts at 4am ) almost everyone was more interested in drinking than singing so I was next up to sing straight off the bat. Having just left David Byrne's American Utopia on Broadway after singing along loudly ( with my mask on same as everyone else ) to the encore number Burning Down The House....I was a bit hoarse in the throat. I asked the DJ to let another dude go ahead of me. They had a good sound system with a small elevated stage. THEN IT WAS MY TURN ! And I chose to sing Hang on Sloopy which I thought I performed ok ( surprisingly I was totally sober ). I got a big cheer from the lads up front and a couple of them asked me to do duets with them. But given the hour and the fact that no one was wearing a facial mask in a pretty packed bar...we hit the road. BUT...

Hold onto your hats!! If you're coming to Iggy's, especially late night on Fridays and Saturdays, it's a wild ride. On NYC's Upper East Side, it is surrounded by posh Irish pubs and upscale dining. But enter Iggy's and you're not in Kansas anymore. It's rowdy and it's crowded and Upper East Siders love it for exact!y that reason! The bartenders are doing the best they can under the crush, and they are some of the best most dedicated bartenders I've ever seen. But if you get rude, demanding or impatient, you may not get that warm smile you were hoping for. It's a true taste of New York City! Soak it in and think about all the stories you'll have to tell your friends afterwards...

If you want to sing karaoke, then that will be it's own adventure! Look around you. Literally EVERYBODY has put in a song. So you WILL have to wait! Here's my insider's tip: Decide your song immediately. Don't thumb through the Song Book looking for ideas, just go for it. The Karaoke Company here has hundreds of thousands of songs in the computer and they keep it constantly updated. Rush right to the front, put your song in. Basic price: $2. But what did I tell you? It's New York. We tip people here!! DJ's are no different than bartenders, this is their grocery money. Follow that practice, and even a token gesture will get you appreciated. After you submit your slip, ask how long the wait is. They will give you the straight answer, no b.s. Appreciate that!

It can be hard to find a seat. But be patient, order a couple rounds, and enjoy all the New York nut jobs, business men, musical theater students, medical professionals, Broadway talent and Real House Wives of Manhattan interacting, giving you a slice of the City you can't get...

Although Iggy's is a fun dive type. The bar, the bartenders, and the security are extremely nice. The crowd is quite fun. But it was tainted by the DJ who took kickbacks to put people in front of us for karaoke, which was the whole reason we chose to go there. We are from los angeles. We love karaoke. We arrived right at ten when karaoke began. We put in five songs between the 3 of us. We watched numerous peoples slip the DJ Brooke extra money and demand to be put in sooner than they should have, which she obliged depending on the tip. We watched several people do numerous songs before we were called for the first one at about one thirty Am. We then had to wait till three thirty AM for our follow-up songs. Watching the operation it put a damper on our visit, and we probably would not return on our next visit to New York. A basic example of indiscretion was simply that I was called before my daughter for my 2nd song. When I put my papers in a bit after her. So the way the d j rotates is not in proper order. We watched one young lady sing six songs throughout. Another young man sang three within the first hour and a half and was terribly drunk and demanding to go next each time. An older gentleman who came in well after we did got in 2 songs before we sang our first. So unless you have a spare $20 or $50 on you, be prepared to wait...