Bridges Bar – Hilton New York

I love people watching so imagine my joy when I go down on a Monday night and there are 2 different hookers working the business guys. I’ve played this game for many years so it was fun having one try for 20 min to get me to go up for a therapeutic massage with happy ending. She left quickly after I let it slip that I’m better at the game than she is and I have arrested 100’s of hookers on the streets and CL and backpage. Made for good people watching, which I may have mentioned, I enjoy! Quick note they add 15% tip to the bill already. 4 Stella’s with an additional $ 5 tip was $ 31.63. Pricing seems inline for the area.

The service was terrible and the bar tender not very friendly. The hotel is under construction until end of 2016. I would not recommend this location.

just what i expected from a hotel bar — good drinks and delicious apps and attentive service, but of course the prices match. we sat here because it was quieter (and less packed) than the bar near the check-​in desks of the hotel, but toward the middle of our stay, they blasted the music and we had to shout our conversations. that is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to bars. Still, I enjoyed my wine and apps but would only come back here when my vocal cords heal up and if I want to pay hotel prices (and no happy hour).

I’ve been coming here since I first set foot in NYC over a decade ago and it has not changed. (I mean, literally, some staff members are still there after all these years, and still as friendly and accommodating as they’ve always been.) I have to say that I have never left this bar in any state other than pretty much blotto, but that’s why I love it! From the apple martinis I ordered ten years ago to the Manhattans I order today, this place has never done me wrong. The prices on drinks here are really not anything out of the ordinary for NYC and actually fall into the pretty-​affordable-​for-​midtown range, especially for such a convenient location and comfortable atmosphere. It’s never overly-​crowded and the booths are designed to offer maximum privacy for every belligerent after-​work convo and flirtatious encounter. But I’m not gonna lie, I really come for the sweet and spicy nut mixture that is generously replenished throughout the evening. As long as I live in this city, Bridges will always be an easy go-​to spot for me.

Salty and sweet is the way I like my nuts.
…and that’s the kind of nut cluster mix they had when I stopped here for a couple of drinks.
In addition to those tasty nuts, I had a Manhattan that was great. It was also super strong… after one I was a little woozy. So I had a second just to be sure the first wasn’t a fluke. Luckily, I only had to stumble a block to get home because otherwise I would have been passed out somewhere in midtown.
Nice service too. Four stars for that, great drinks and those mouth-​watering nuts.

I attended a private event at this bar.
The bar staff seemed annoyed to be working and at best were short with virtually everyone I saw try to place an order. The later it got, the more annoyed they seemed. The drinks were average — nothing to write home about. The layout of the bar makes it hard to walk around if it is busy. While it is convenient if you are staying at the Hilton, you probably are better served (hahaha) going elsewhere otherwise.
Also, in typical hotel bar fashion if you need to use the restroom, you have to leave the bar and use the hotel lobby washroom.

Needed a nightcap, well not really but hey I’m on vacation my liver will get over it. Order my standard Dirty Martini with regular olives. As I was watching the bartender prepare I was like how big of a glass is he going to use. Just kept pouring in the booze. The Otis in me was happy. He did use a standard glass and left the mixer for refills. Typical hotel bar decent grab a drink pass out. Just watch the bill, they include tax and tip this I noticed as they rang up another customer. Maybe that why the pours are heavy.

The drinks here are expensive, but they are huge! I loved the bar kibble they serve (very good potato chips). The crowd is sometimes quite strange here. typical «hotel crowd» if you know what I mean. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here, but it’s very convenient if you are staying at the hotel anyway. A good alternative is Places and Names across the street.

Wow. Don’t come here and expect to be served. Ever. And be prepared to haul out your wallet. $ 14 for a glass of cheap red wine. All this and no place to sit, too?

They gave me a free diet coke when I was sitting at the bar watching hockey scores after the conference — they didn’t have to since I ordered it, but when I asked for the bill I was told «its on the house.»
I wasn’t even staying at the Hilton, so kudos for that. Bonus points to the bartender who sat and chatted hockey with me — even if he was a Rangers fan. :-)

Um, $ 15 a cocktail for THIS place? Lame. Decent sized drinks, quick service, but it’s sort of a crazy place and clearly overpriced. It’s Hilton, not the Four Seasons for Pete’s Sake!

Wandering around my hotel I figured I’d give one of the bars a try. The bartenders aren’t very friendly and the bar wasn’t very crowded. Ridiculously expensive cocktails but at least it was ¾ gin. Entertainment consisted of watching the games on the TVs and people watching. Between the ridiculous tourists and a hooker, at least the small crowd was interesting to watch. Also, the lime chips are very salty but good… definitely a good way to make you drink more.

Nice atmosphere but bring your own crowd. Typical manhattan hotel lounge. You’ve got to make the experience… don’t come expecting to find one.

My wife and I went to Bridges last Saturday night. We has just finished dinner and wanted to grab a drink before heading home. It’s a great place to people-​watch. The mood is dark, energetic and of course transient. Yes the drinks are pricey. Though all the bar stools quickly fill up there are plenty of couches to sit on in the lounge. There was way too many bartenders for the crowd that was there. Anyway, we had some great conversation with our bartender. Ever the health conscious, he advised to opt for the white russian in lieu of the high in fat Baileys. I like when my bartender looks after me.

Some old guy in red pants snuck in a side door of the Hilton to bypass the entrance where they were only letting in hotel guests so he could go to this bar. He then preceded to attempt to pick up on this lady who did karaōke contests for a living. (This is seriously no joke, I actually moved one bar stool over after I heard this just so I could be closer and hear how the rest of this conversation would pan out). The red pants old guy said he had money and could sponsor her. She left the bar without him but he was TOTALLY trying to pick her up! The even funnier part was that I ran into the red pants guy earlier in the evening at Faces and Names on 54^th Street. I noticed him since he walked in, scoped the bar, did the obligatory lap around, and left. You can’t forget a guy in red pants in NY in the middle of summer.
Everyone else around that bar that night were business travelers. The tourists were all at the tables.
Nice and attentive bartenders. Kept my water glass (and wine glass) filled during my eavesdropping.

I second Victor L.‘s review of this bar.
I went to Bridges Bar last Saturday Night after a late dinner with a friend. There were plenty of bar patrons, but the bar stools weren’t filled. I was taken aback when the bartender warned us that we would have to buy drinks if we sat on the stools. Of course we were going to buy drinks. I felt possibly insulted. Did it appear that we couldn’t afford to buy drinks?
Anyway, at least the bartender was nice enough to give me a taste of the wine I ordered before he poured it. He must have known I would order a more expensive wine after tasting it. The more expensive wine wasn’t much better.
The bar closed early, especially for New York (1:30AM?). When I paid the tab, the bartender seemed surprised that I was staying in the hotel, which is peculiar since security wouldn’t let us enter the hotel without a key card. We were dressed for dinner at Quality Meats and I really do not think we looked like street urchins, so his behavior puzzled me.
Overall, this place has potential and was a fine place to sit and chat, but I wasn’t impressed with the bar.

I spent 90% of my time sitting in this bar during my recent trip to New York while staffing my company’s «demo suite». Can’t really say much about the place, other than the fact that it has overpriced drinks and the location meant I didn’t have to stand on my feet for 6 hours a day.

I love the fantasy of hotel bars. There’s just a certain air about it, of course because the clientele is either in transit, lonely, bored, doesn’t want to venture out of the comfort zone, or, in this case, as with a lot of upscale places, the bar itself has an allure of «I don’t have to know your name». Maybe that’s too many movies that I’ve seen. But it’s always kinda sexy. I guess.
This is a power bar off the lobby of the Hilton New York in midtown. It’s dark and kind of moody, with sloping booths and floor to ceiling windows to almost give an 80s slickness. I’d want Patrick Bateman to drink at a place like this. The tvs are small, hovering over the large 360 degree bar, as tourists come to shell out enormous amounts of money when all they really have to do is walk a block or two in either direction and they’ll find at least something that’s more down to earth. For two Stellas, the total came to 17.34. That’s right. 17.34. There’s tax on this stuff, like any hotel.
It’s not a great bar because of that, but it’s definitely a place that seems like a cougar would lurk; on this particular night it was crowded with casual tourists rather than suits, but a couple of women fit the bill of «hello stranger» kind of attitude. It was just kind of hilarious. I’d much rather go to Hudson Hotel if I’m going to be paying 14 dollars for a drink.