Funny Bar
Restaurant · Lower East Side
133 Essex St, New York, NY 10002
Highlights
Steak frites and live jazz in a retro piano bar
Steak frites and live jazz in a retro piano bar
"Steak and jazz—that’s the key summary of Funny Bar, a Lower East Side cocktail bar from the folks at Baby’s All Right. The dark bar has two varieties of steak frites ($29 and $69), and live jazz a few nights a week. If you find yourself inspired by the free flow of the music, pick up one of the crayons on your table and do a little free-flow yourself. For calmer, chattier nights out or just-feeling-each-other-out weekend dates, Funny Bar works well." - bryan kim, molly fitzpatrick, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah, andrew ryce
"Leave it to the Baby’s All Right team to open two new bars within a couple of weeks of each other. Funny Bar is located on the Lower East Side, a great going-out spot with plenty of room for groups, that, in addition to being a bar, touts an affordably priced steak frites deal. And then there’s Night Club 101, which is slightly further uptown in the East Village, and brings a similar young going-out crowd to a massive bi-level space with multiple bars and rooms. Here, you can go dancing and also see a show performed. The latter holds the torch as the former home of the legendary 1980s nightclub Pyramid Club." - Emma Orlow
"After your eyes adjust to Funny Bar's candlelit room, you'll notice a piano in the corner (if you're lucky, someone will actually be playing it), and a bunch of tables covered in white paper for you to scribble on with crayons. No, this isn't a daycare—unless you consider trust fund kids children. It's a Lower East Side steakhouse-jazz-bar from the Baby's All Right crew, with mid-priced wine and a tiny menu: just two steaks and a weird (but good) iceberg wedge. The steak frites is a steal at $29 for a solid filet mignon, though the $69 "big steak" is worth the extra cash, especially for the tarragon butter smeared on top. The servers won't ask you how you want your steak cooked, because it will always come out a perfect medium rare, not that you'll really be able to see it in the dark. Besides, you’ll be busy paying attention to all of the Raya dates and the LES crowd still on their parents' health insurance who fill up the place around 9pm." - Andrew Ryce
"Live jazz and a $29 “bar steak” with frites are no laughing matter. Funny Bar on the Lower East Side does both. From the folks behind Baby’s All Right, this piano bar is a retro-looking spot, with glass bricks, colorful pillars and ceramic tiles. It’s open Wed-Sat for now, you can “super size” your order to get a Big Steak with fries and maitre d’ butter for $69." - will hartman, bryan kim
"A new daily bar from a music-venue owner offers a compact menu with bar staples — the offering includes steak frites among other day-to-night plates — positioned as a neighborhood hangout tied to the operator’s local music-venue ecosystem." - Emma Orlow
