Whammy Bar/Double Whammy/Public Bar

Good place to watch bands. It can get steamy inside the room, good loud sound. There is an open area where the bar is. They only serve drinks in plastic cups. Nice staff and especially the door guy. They have limited toilets one for ladies near bar and another side of stage. Be prepared to wait. Small entrance be prepared to wait a little to get in. Iconic venue you will love if you’re a true lover of bands.

Great venue for live music. Had a great night . South Summit and Th Goodside were EPIC..didn't get to hear the first opening act....even had a fire alarm and had to evacuate and that went well to!! Thank you double whammy!!

Probably my favorite venue ever from an aesthetic/feeling. It felt very alternative/punk. Tickets were reasonably priced, the bands were super entertaining, so far my favorite part of visiting Auckland. If you love music that comes from the soul and isn’t some corporatized lowest common denominator crap, then you absolutely should visit the Whammy Bar and the Double Whammy. Whether you’re an international tourist like me, or a local, supporting local music has never been more fun.

Whammy Bar has been an absolute institution on K Road for as long as I can remember, and after frequenting it for over 15 years, I can confidently say it’s still just as great as ever. When it became Double Whammy Bar after Wine Cellar closed its doors, I wasn’t sure what to expect—but honestly, nothing has been lost. The vibe, the gigs, the staff, and the drinks list are all spot on. It’s a small venue with a big heart, and it continues to be one of the best places in Auckland for live music and a good night out. Love this place!

It's got a charm to it, good live music venue. Bar is separated from the music venue so it has a cool concert feeling. You can of course take your drink through with you. Sound is great!

Awesome experience watching live music

Dodgy wooden Ramps join the various levels of this very small venue, I'm sure they've taken down a few good people in heels. Bathrooms are not great and considering at a bar all you really have is your bar and your loos to pride yourself on, there was no pride. Unless I had another gig to watch here, I doubt I would return

Sick ass dive bar, great bands, great drinks, and awesome staff!

I've said it about The Wine Cellar and I'll say it about Whammy too - this place treats bands (and their respective door bitches) incredibly well. Booking a gig at Whammy (or The Wine Cellar) is done through Rohan, a professional sound tech who will make your band sound pretty gosh darn good. He'll do it for $100. Get 6-10 paying people through the door and you've broken even already. Accommodating about 150 people more than Wine Cellar and starting later in the evening, Whammy is the place to go if your band wants to be late and loud. Doorman Will is a massive boss as well - about as courteous as a man who deals with drunk idiots can be.

I'm embarrassed by how long it took me to realise the pun in the name. Whammy bar is like a lot of music/performance venues: the quality of your experience here is directly related to what's on. Good band: good night. Crappy poser art-noise: bleeding eardrums and regret. It's a gamble, but a fun one to make. Whammy has all the requisite dive bar trappings - low ceilings, awkward stairs, an unassuming entrance. The crowd is your typical fashionable scene, but not too teenage to make you feel old - although again, this depends somewhat on the band playing. They don't just have bands playing, I've seen poetry recitals and comedy here. But the best times to be had are the rowdy live music nights, when the energy's deafening and everyone's bouncing off the ceiling.

Ah, Whammy. Highlights: Dark, Good bands play here, can get up to all kinds of mischief in dark booth areas, drinks are cheap-ish, Security are cool cats and it's close to Sal's for a pre-home snack. Decor features are a Elvis bust at the bar and retro pictures on the walls. Screwed onto the walls. Lowlights: There is a high chance of stickiness depending on the night of week/event being held. Bathrooms can be dicey, the middle ladies toilet has never locked/had a functional lock in my memory. Has recently had a foosball table added - I don't understand this, as it is a live music venue. Anyway, always a interesting night when Whammy is involved. Boo on the fact that Cider is no longer on Tap, however is is still available at the close by Wine Cellar.

The Wine Cellar's noisy younger brother. The Whammy Bar is somewhere between a bar and a house party, a favorite venue for underground bands. I saw a local electro folk duo perform here, they were great, complete amateurs who played with confidence and enthusiasm. Sometimes you might find a door charge, depending on who's playing.

The last time I was at Whammy Bar they appeared to have resurfaced the floor with some sort of crunchy, textured covering, but no, it was just that there had been so many glasses thrown to the floor in either delight or a nihilistic expression of rebellion. This is a properly grungy place, good. They book almost everyone and anyone; if you've been here early in the week, it's likely it's because you know someone performing and you feel compelled to support, despite worrying that you might have contracted something from the toilet seat here. Watch for all the tight pants in attendance: if anyone drops anything on the ground you're likely to have to pick it up for them as their movements are severely restricted, and you don't want to have spend all night scrabbling around on said floor.

Nestled in the depths of St Kevins Arcade, Whammy Bar acts as a last bastion of the "underground" in Auckland - quite literally, as it is two flights of stairs down from the main road. The last time I went to Whammy , a guy broke his knee - then came up and down the stairs twice in the hope of seeing the DHDFDS play an encore - well worth it considering they set up two drummers on the ground in front of the stage. The bar itself is not far off what in America would be called a "dive bar" - but it's a stylistic choice, and one that works well. There are booths set around the outside walls where all kinds of seedy activity takes place, and a large outdoor smoking area. Occasionally they open up the doors between this and the wine cellar, allowing for a festival-esque atmosphere. The drinks range is decent, nothing to write home about but encompassing a price range from "day-before-dole-day-what-can-I-get" to "just-got-a-bonus-give-me-top-shelf."