The Bell House — Restaurant in New York

Went here with a friend for the 13th Annual 50 First Jokes NYC event. The venue is in a place where there’s not much street light in the evening, so I would be uncomfortable navigating the area if I were by myself at night.

The venue itself is small. Doors opened an hour before the event actually started, and we arrived well before that time. Still, there was a pretty long line, and once we had our hands stamped and we entered the stage room, we found it already quite cramped. People had already taken all of the chairs in front of the stage, and the empty seating in the back was reserved for people who had paid for it in advance.

My friend and I leaned against the wall (bordering the paid seating area) because after waiting for the doors to open, and now waiting for the event to start, we were tired. There was so much room between us and where the line of chairs formed that I started wondering why they couldn’t make better use of that space and add a few more rows of chairs.

By the time the event started, I was struggling to see over taller people who had squeezed in front of me. During the halftime break, our legs and back were hurting so much that we decided to call it a night and leave. Honestly, if we had seats, we would’ve stayed. If I had a better view instead of the backs of people that squeezed in front of me, I would’ve reconsidered.

The jokes themselves were hit or miss. But the venue itself was definitely a miss. I hope they reformat it better...

...the Bell House is probably my least favourite venue in the greater New York area. While the employees are friendly and well-meaning, it basically comes down to three issues that happen time and time again:

The check-in system, where you speak to the person at the door and then get in line, is counter-intuitive and always results in confusion. People inevitably get into the line without checking in, causing them to get turned away when trying to enter the showroom, meaning they have to get BACK in line after checking in and losing their spot. There really isn't a better way to do this?

For comedy shows, the room is ALWAYS oversold. People have to stand in the aisles, along the back, around the bar. For this reason, if you want a chance of getting a seat, you need to arrive at least 45 minutes early, and probably more for sold-out shows.

With that in mind, the doors NEVER open on time. Count on them opening at least 20 minutes later than stated. So if you arrive an hour early, CONGRATULATIONS! You're actually an hour and twenty minutes early! Hope you like standing in line (and possibly standing throughout the whole show).

The Bell House must be really good to performers, because they love working there and come back time and time again. The Bell House does not extend this courtesy to their audience, who are subjected to awkward procedures, inaccurate show times, and an uncomfortably crowded room.

I only go here if it's a comedian or musician I...

This review specifically addressing the once a month party 'The Rub'. The Rub for a decade has been my favorite monthly dance party, DJ Aryes is just one of BK finest, it used to be held at Southpaw, but for the last year it's been at The Bell House.

The bouncers at the Bell House, are extremely rude and have ruined the energy of 'The Rub' ---it used to be the place where everyone was out to have a fun time, they just get you in and let you dance with the rest of BK.

But last night most people I know waited OVER AN HOUR to get in. And I had people on the inside who said it was empty. So they are either playing games with people on the outside, or they are just extremely inefficient. And they also did the whole club promoter scene (which historically the Rub has never been about) where all of a sudden there were two lines and no one from the general line got it for 30 minutes, just club promoter friends.

In the end, it's really hard to justify going again, which makes me sad as such a longtime favorite, and would suggest others to think about it too, because attitude from the bouncers in combination with the wait in not worth it. (I'd rather go to a real club, where the...