Botanica Bar

My kind of bar. It’s dark, divey, plays good music*, easy to grab a drink and enough room to be comfortable. The perfect combo to chat with friends or to bust a move (when necessary). The drinks were cheap enough not to break the bank too. Set the expectations at average and you’ll do just fine here.
*Note to the midweek DJ… say Last Call or go home if you’re bored. Don’t be a d! ck. You know exactly what I’m talking about, Clown.

I just loved Botanica. It is really very very interesting bar. I had gone with my four friends and enjoyed very much. Especially the drink was awesome. We spent 5hours and enjoyed all the times. Hope I’ll come here again.

This place is great. It’s lively, cheap, and fun. No NYC bullshit. The bartender was super nice, which is shocking because most are assholes who make you wait 14 hours to take your order and avoid eye contact. 4 stars because there’s a 20 dollar minimum to use your card. So bring cash or get drunk on 20 dollars.

I always have a problem with the bouncer. Always a wanna be rents cop who stops anyone not from Manhattan. Not worth the headache.

Cozy. The bartenders were great as was the DJ. My only issue was the bathroom. Honestly dudes aim for the bowl.

The ambiance is alright, but the bartenders are very smug. I’ve been twice already, and got the same treatment both times. Didn’t get served at the bar until everyone else around me got their drinks. I’m Asian, so not sure if it’s because I’m not white or because they think they’re too cool. Definitely not giving this place a third try.

This place.
Love it!
True divy. If you want divy experience with good cocktails, beer or wine, come here!

I’ll admit it, I have a soft spot for Botanica.
It’s very dark and feels kind of like a date spot, even though I guess it could be classified as a dive bar. I came here to meet up with a guy I knew, which unexpectedly turned into a date. Maybe Botanica has some romantic magic or we just really hit it off, but it ended up being an amazing date.
The drink deals were great and the alcohol spurred the conversation. The Australian bartender was charming too, and told my date to be sure to take care of me. The drinks were so cheap that even though we were good and drunk by the time we were trying to close our tab, the bartender said we didn’t hit the $ 20 minimum yet. We had a couple of shots before hitting the road, and the rest is history.
Oh, so after that first date? We’re still together, 1.5 years later. Thanks, Botanica!

Made a reservation for dinner there using OpenTable. We were walking out of the apartment and the restaurant called saying they could not honor the reservation because other people made a reservation at the same time.
I get it that the restaurant has to pay OpenTable for reservations made through that system and they don’t want to do that, but OpenTable loses its benefit when restaurants will just cancel reservations if they can fill the tables with people who call the restaurant afterwards.

Can’t believe they don’t serve old fashioneds
Good bar especially for the environment and prices

Wow I don’t normally hate places but gosh was this bar terrible. It was crowded in the front and empty and sticky in the back.
One bar tender even stole a friend’s credit card, saying there was a 20 dollar minimum after taking the card. When she said she’d like it back he just disappeared and ignored her for ages. And she had already waited 20 min to get service.
The crowd there was also terrible with people spilling beers and not picking the bottles up. Would NEVER recommend. The drinks may be cheap but for maybe a dollar more there are plenty of great places a few blocks away.

This was my 2^nd time here. First time I went might have been on a Friday night, it was not crowded at all and there was indie music playing in the background. I’m a fan of indie music but I thought I’m never coming back here again! Wasn’t really my scene. But! This time on a Saturday night it was really fun, I met a few friends after work for a drink and had a really cool time. The bar was insanely crowded which made it hard to actually dance and keep your beer in your cup, but I still enjoyed myself. The crowd was super chill, young professionals and college students danced and exchanged words over new and old school hip hop playing in the background.
Not sure what other nights are like, but If you’re looking for an inexpensive, divey spot check out Botanica Bar on a Saturday night.

Chill, divey bar with an intimate ambience.
They have nightly drink specials until 8pm and then after you can still find a fairly large draft beer selection and each for about $ 5. I love that they have Left Hand Nitro on tap and for the aforementioned price.
The ambience is intimate since it’s a fairly dark bar lit up only by candlelight. The bar is a bit submerged from the ground floor so the windows don’t provide all too much light inside. There is seating in the back for groups in case the front gets a bit crowded. The décor is an eclectic mix of bright red couches, black couches, wooden seats and a variety of wooden tables (from antique to typical bar tables).
Sunday night is karaōke (or at least the Sunday that I decided to go). If you’re into that kind of thing check it out. If you’re not, stop by and grab a drink in the back so you aren’t disturbed by the singing.

Insanely cheap drinks (yay) but everything just seems sticky all the time… the kind of dive bar where you want to be careful what you sit on/​touch, which is unpleasant. Really dark and all the chairs/​tables are falling apart, and it doesn’t smell great. I’d rather pay $ 1 – 2 more per drink and not feel skeeved out.

There have been very few places here in the city where I can get a $ 4 Lagunitas IPA. By few, I may mean one place.
This place!!!
I love it.
It’s a little dark but if you get there by ehhh… 5:30p (during the week) that table up front by the window could be available!
$ 20 minimum on cards. Grrrreat tunes, nice selections of draft beers. This place is my jam. I thought twice about writing this review because I kind of don’t want people to know about it. I’m cool like that.
Cheers, my dive bar dears!

Came here on a sprinkling Saturday day to spend my last night in NYC with some friends. The friend who lives in NYC raved about how good this place was so I felt obliged to check it out.
It was pretty dead for a Saturday night. Their Ginger Yum Yum is pretty yum I must admit. I guess I expected a little bit much out of it since it’s the first and only bar in NYC I’ve been to. I’m sure the City can do much better than this… right?
Btw no food is served so you’d better stuff yourself before you get in.

They have a pretty good happy hour here, and a pretty good atmosphere.

Depending on the night, Botanica can be dead or… less dead but still dead. It’s a place you go to sit down and have a few beers or cocktails, not really to dance. That’s a shame because I’ve also been on a night with live DJs, and they play awesome music.
They have some decent beers, and a ginger beer cocktail that I love.
It’s a little divey, but on the nicer side of dive.
Bring the company with you.

The bouncer was nice, the bartender didn’t even crack a smile, made me feel like I should apologize for ordering a drink from her and bothering her.
It wasn’t crowded when I went on Monday night, but it was not empty either. There were a couple of patrons drinking and enjoying themselves in their conversation and cozy atmosphere of Botanica Bar.
I got the ginger yum yum which honestly tasted weird to me. I like ginger beer and even ginger tea, but ginger yum yum didn’t taste so yum yum to me. I preferrred the dark and stormy, not so sure if I would come back here. Sure it is inexpensive, but for me to frequently come to a spot I would prefer to receive at least some decent service.

The definition of a «dive bar» but in the bet way possible.
I always find myself on Houston street for some reason or another and pass thhis small basement bar. I came here last Friday night with some friends and commendered a table in the back that was perfect for people watching.
The Crowd:
Fun loving, college/​gradschool aged people who are just happy about life. Speedy forward to 20 minutes in the bar and me and my friends have already been volen-​told to be in about 9 group selfies! Since we are now all famous on FB & Instagram & probably on someone’s ShatChat it behooves me to inform the audience that this place as some rockin music!
A mix of early 90s happy rap, bubble pop & 90s female angst groves. I got down to a little Biggy & Mary J in the corner with some «new friends».
Also had a deep conversation with a group about why men past the age of 22 should not be out with backpacks unless explicately «going for a hike». You finished college (we hope), you can get an adult bag.
Seating:
Tables are decent and comfy and no groupd is gonna be mad if you «invade «their space for a little.
Hygine:
Not gross at all. Surprise ! The floor is not sticky!
Bathroom:
So they are those little doors marked «WC» and there are only 2. Break the seal early because the line can get very long.
All in all a good spot.