Mehanata

Love this place. Down and dirty dance bar. Bahngra night!!! Hookah loving, shot slamming, head spinning fun!

This place is great to start your night, especially when you do the ice room challenge first. Then enjoy the rest of your night. The music could be better though.

Where dreams & the sporadic nightmare comes true!
Having crossed into my 30s, I limit myself to an annual, perhaps bi-​annual visitation. That said, I fervently recommend you bring everyone you know here – sans expectations.
PS, Use to be a bartender there that looked like Rasputin, I’ve never been happier.

Came here this past Friday night for a birthday party (there were about 48 of us on the guest list). Mehanata was very interesting, to say the least!
There was a mix of people here — one extremely old guy, some other older men, but mostly people 24 – 28 (I would guess). When we got here around 10:40pm, it was fairly empty — but it got super crowded, super fast. We stayed until 3am and by 3am it was still super crowded.
In the bar on the first floor, they have really funny signs that are fun to look at, and even swings to sit on. There’s also a live band that comes and goes. Downstairs, there are cool blue lights on the ceiling which gives the downstairs an «icy» vibe.
They have this «Ice Cage» thing downstairs — you basically pay in advance to wear a hat and a cool coat (that probably many other people also wore before you), and you go in with a group of about 4 people. You get a shot glass made of ice, and there’s tons of bottles of vodka lined up around you. Then you get two minutes to take as many shots as you possibly can. Seemed like a lot of people enjoyed doing this.
I wasn’t a fan of the music. It was cool when the live band was playing — but the DJ often replayed songs to the point where it almost seemed like he only had like 15 songs on a playlist. There was also a strange amount of Indian music being played — which I did not expect at a Bulgarian bar. Being indian, it was a bit off-​putting — especially seeing a ton of people’s interpretations of what indian dancing entails. Apparently Saturday nights are bhangra nights? Glad I didn’t come for that.
Definitely had fun, but probably because of the crowd I was with. It was an experience, for sure. I just didn’t feel very clean there. The sangria they had also wasn’t covered up and I was just thinking about all the germs that were going inside — which I admit may just be my paranoia, but still.

This place is seriously the embodiment of FUN!
I’ve never left Mehanata without having a wonderful time.
Mehanata is a one of my to-​go places.
Come here to celebrate ANYTHING!
Check when the band is there, not that the DJ is not good — but he is just not as good as the band. Dance your ass off. Bring your friends. Make new friends! The first floor is my favorite when the band is there. The little swing seats are cute!
There’s a little area upstairs to sit down and grab some food. I think the food is not as good as it used to be a couple years ago, but the fries are still a great option. They come with lots of feta cheese so they can do no wrong.
The cage is located downstairs and so are the stripper poles. lol There’s a different DJ downstairs. The bar downstairs is cash only.
Come to drink until you drop! That’s what the ice cage is for!
It’s a truly dope experience. It really encourages you to drink too much vodka! You can’t come here in a group without having someone go in there! I’d recommend using the blue vodka as chaser. They used to let you bring one in but not anymore, probably because there’s a groupon offer available. Still tons of fun! Excellent way to hype up everyone in your group.
IT’S FREE FOR YOU ON YOUR BIRTHDAYYYY! YESSSSS. $ 10 to «open the cage» but you will definitely be too drunk to get back. You get 2 minutes to really chug as much as you can — 6 shots is kind of a suggestion… really. lol Those Soviet uniforms are gross, but necessary. The shot glass is made of ice and you break it on your head or on whoever-is-wearing-the-hardest-hat’s head. There’s a bottle of Devil’s Spring and I pity the fool who takes a shot of that poison… specially because I was that fool.
HAVE A GRAND TIME! Mehanata is the shitz.

I did not realize they barely play English/​up to date music. I am into hip-​hop, r&b, and Spanish music. This was definitely not my place of choice. I paid $ 10 cover because of a live band who did not perform in English. Their music skills were great, just not something I understood at all. I had drinks which were okay, nothing amazing, and their food was okay — nothing amazing.

Lovely spot! It’s not quite a dive bar, but they have 2 levels and plenty of space to dance (downstairs, they have 2 poles on a stage for the exhibitionist dancers in your group)
They played a few pop hits, but saved the night with quite a few popular Ukrainian/​Russian music.
Few things to note :
They charge $ 10 cover, the bar downstairs (where they have the vodka room) only takes cash. They do not accept AMEX and have a $ 10 minimum charge for cc’s (drinks are $ 8 – 9 each, so you’ll need to order 2 minimum) Drinks come in small plastic cups.
The vodka room has just enough room to fit 3 standard size people. They have over 20 bottles of vodka (different brands — top and bottom shelf) to try. The rules are: you pay $ 30 or so per person, get a cute hat to cover your head, a shot glass, and are «trapped» in the room for about 2 minutes. You have to drink all the vodka you can in that time period.
People have gotten sick in the past. So not for the faint of heart. lol.
We mostly stayed upstairs — music was better and easier to find a table w/​some chairs.
The crowd was quite the mix of people. Really really unique spot.

I would say Anderson C’s description of Mehanata as «EURO-​trash dive bar» is pretty accurate. I’m still not sure if I like or dislike this place. Definitely different/​unlike any other establishment that I’ve been to. Ever.
The main attraction is the «ice cage» down in the basement which I thought was a great bang for your buck and also the reason my insane friend picked this place to celebrate his birthday. But really, the ice cage is a small box that fits maybe 5 – 6 people. They advertise that it’s $ 20/​person but if you pay with a card it’s $ 21.75. They say you can take up to 6 shots in 2 minutes of any of the varieties of vodka in there (top shelf included and you get to pour it yourself) but really no one is counting. I only managed 4 but others in the group took 7… Also, they give you cool soviet outerwear to put on for aesthetics.
Aside from the ice cage, there’s a $ 10 cover and drinks are reasonably priced. Earlier in the night (like 10−11pm) they had live Bulgarian music on the main floor — the crowd was going wild for this. I was unfamiliar but it was obviously entertaining to stand back and watch. Later in the night they switch to a DJ/​top 40.
The basement (where the ice cage was) is a totally different scene. It’s CRAZY down there. A cash only bar, weird lighting, lots of steps, stripper poles, people going even more crazy than upstairs, etc. They did have a third level but I had no reason to venture up there.
I’m not sure that I would actually willingly revisit Mehanata because it was a little too obscene for my liking and it was very apparent that 90% of the people in there were on hard drugs. BUT it was definitely a fun/​different experience and the place certainly has character.

Super divey grunge bar but it’s a hidden gem. $ 10 cover usually.
There’s several floors with the ice cage on the bottom basement floor. You basically pay around ~25 bucks to drink as many vodka shots are you can in 2 minutes. They give you Russian looking clothes to wear so that’s pretty cool You get to pour your own shots– pretty good vodka brands– not crappy ones. Def try it at least once!!! It’s a fun experience!
The 1^st floor is like Spanish music but then it turns into other stuff. It was completely packed for a Saturday night. There’s not really a line outside so you can’t tell that it’s packed inside. There’s coat check for like $ 1. Drinks are NYC prices so pregame before.
There’s tons of other bars on this street so if you want to hop around it’s super easy!

For the love of vodka, houkahs and gypsy punk rock. This place is a blast.
I recommend it as either a mid-​stop during a bar crawl (for the less enthusiastic person) or a wild night out.
Live music on first floor and dj & dancing downstairs. Also enough interesting things to keep you busy and entertained.

This review is about a year too late. .but I brought my wedding party here for my wedding last october. FIRST WEDDING PARTY AT MEHANATA WHOOO! We had booked their gypsy bus and ice cage package as a surprise for our bridal party. I had always liked this place for several years.
We did have one MAJOR problem. The day of our wedding they called us and said the gypsy bus was broken. The day of. So we had to spend our cocktail hour booking a last minute party bus. It was extremely stressful and disappointing. anyways whoever does the party, we negotiated a lower price for the ice cage and no entry fee, since the replacement bus had been way more expensive. We also had a problem getting a timely refund.
All that aside everyone LOVED it. the mix of music is so perfect and so diverse that one of our indian guests was so impressed and dnacing away. They play Spanish, albanian and other dance music. pretty much anything with an awesome beat. The décor is hilarious and they have hookah. The crowd is always chill and everyone loved seeing a bride in her full wedding dress in a dive bar. Everyone had stories to tell and my dress will be forever stained… with fun!
Awesome place except for the disorganized event planners.
Otherwise 5 stars! Best decision to hold our after party here.

Arrive late enough and usually there’s no cover. Sometime’s there’s random cover even at 2AM, so get your $ 10 ready.
Pretty interesting bar, especially the ice room and bathrooms downstairs.
This place is usually referred to as the «Bulgaria Bar», and is definitely a fun time! Hookah, dancing, drinks, and a variety of music throughout the night gets you moving. Definitely not your typical stuck up «posh» bar/​club that you’d find in the area, but the crowd here is chill and everyone is just out to have a good time.
Can’t go wrong with this place, especially since there’s some pretty good late night pizza two doors down.

Came here on a Saturday night for my friends birthday. We had made it just at 10:30pm to qualify for the free entry otherwise its a $ 10 entry fee.
First stepping into this place i did not know what to expect, you have to walk down a long sketchy hallway but when you open the door the bar is surprisingly large. its a 3 floor setup in which you enter on the main floor and can see the upstairs all around the main dance floor and bar. Downstairs there’s another bar, the downstairs kind of has a strip club feel with weird lights, small booths to sit at, a dance floor that looks like its out of Vice city and stripper poles everywhere.
They also have a small ice room downstairs where you can dress as a Russian and rip vodka shots as fast as you can for 2 minutes. Awesome. Definitely not as cold as the other ice lounges around the city where you need a damn snow suit for 5 minutes but its cool and will get you drunk fast if you can rip straight shots.
Music was a mix between ethnic and popular hits. Drinks were a little expensive but its NYC. Quite interesting. I thought the place had some flare for sure with the bizarre décor such as the swings hanging from the ceiling instead of bar stool etc.
I liked it. It was a different experience for sure.

Came here for my birthday party over the weekend and had an amazing time! We were told by friends it was going to be crowded on a saturday night, but only waited 5 minutes to get in. There is an ice cage on the lower level, where you can take unlimited shots in 2 minutes! I only took four, but all of the vodka is top shelf liquor and does not require a chaser, keep that in mind! There is a groupon for this thats 50% off! And you are required to wear this soviet russia military gear which made for some fantastic bday photo ops!
The apple cider vodka they have at the bar is DELICIOUS. get a cup of this for 8 $ and you’ll thank me later. They also offer hookah and poles for dancing! I don’t smoke hookah but my friend who does said it was very well flavored. They played a combination of bulgarian music and top 40s which caters to the crowd well.
So worth the $ 10 cover. One of the most unique bars I have ever visited!

First floor: pretty crowded dance floor, filled with mostly Bulgarians and their neighbors. As a New Yorker, the dance floor as a bit of an odd vibe… can get a bit crowded+sweaty, though people seem to really be dancing. During the week, they actually host Bulgarian culture events. It’s pretty cool if you or a friend are from there, OR you want to experience something different from every NYC bar.
Second floor: ice box. You are thrown into a freezing booth with 8 – 10 bottles of vodka and a shot glass made of ice. You have 2 minutes to drink as much vodka as you can. GO.
You were Russian-​looking hats and coats when you are inside, and you get pretty drunk from it. It’s fun and worth doing at least once. I blacked out pretty hard after I did this, but I had a number of drinks in me already. They sometimes do a Groupon for this, but not always — don’t count on it coming up.

We happen to be doing some bar hoping in the area & this was one of the places we stopped by.
For a Friday the place was not crowded, we decided to hang around for a little bit just because but there wasn’t much of an atmosphere here, not even loud music playing? Kind of odd considering it was Friday night.
We ended up getting some tequila shots & just hanging for a bit didn’t really last too long since the place didn’t get crowded at any point of the night.
The place was not bad I like the swing seats in the bar upstairs pretty cool & different.
The area below looking like an ice cave is pretty interesting different look I can imagine when it is crowded the stripper pole must be popular Lol.
Since there wasn’t much of an atmosphere after a few shots we ended up leaving & heading somewhere else.
Prices were not bad, service was good would have been better if there was more of an atmosphere since we were just hanging it was fine for the time we were there.

So I came to this place strictly for the ice cage.
How it works: Pay a one time $ 10 fee to open the door (regardless of whether is 1 or 4 people) and then $ 20 per person to drink. The sign says you have 2 minutes to take 6 shots, but the lady that was there doesn’t really count and we had at least 8 shots each. By the way, it is literally a cage that could probably fit 4 slim people at a time.
Ambiance: We got there when they first opened so it was empty. Downstairs looks like a place where the European mafia hangs out at. There are stripper polls as well and I couldn’t help to think about trafficked girls. I know this is an odd thing to think of, but that’s the vibe the décor gives.
Service: The bartender downstairs was still setting up when we got there but she was nice and took pics of us as we took the shots.
Drinks: So they give you a shot glass made out of ice and you have about 20 vodkas to choose from. Most of them taste like crap, but the flavored ones were ok.
This might be more fun with a larger group and it was a bit cheaper.

Mehanata is a very unique experience. Upon entering, it’s a very dim-​lit setting with seating all around. There’s a small space to stand and talk, but not too much room to dance. There’s even less space when the live band starts performing. Over at the bar, there are swings instead of bar stools. SWINGS I SAY! I was really sad I didn’t get to sit on one though. Everyone was pretty much eyeing it the entire night.
The live band that played was very cool. They started by apologizing for being late because they were caught smoking a joint (classic). There were a mix of instruments that I wouldn’t expect together: a saxophone, a bass, drums and an accordion. But overall, they sounded pretty good together.
The drinks weren’t that great. They had this special apple cider for $ 10, which looked really good. When I tasted it, I wanted to throw up. Way too much vodka, not enough taste. It was nasty. It was in a big pot and I’m sure some of the solution separated and I just got all the alcohol part.
Now, we head downstairs to the ice cage. Downstairs is a lot more ratchet. Ice cage is fun, a lot smaller than I expected. It’s a bit pricey, but if you can drink a lot, it’s totally worth it. There’s a $ 10 fee to open the door and then a $ 20 per person fee to drink. You have 2 minutes to take 6 shots of whatever vodka was in that room. They gave you Soviet Union gear and a shot glass made from ice. It was a really cool experience.
As for the rest of the basement space, it was pretty much filled with people who are trying to dance after doing the ice cage challenge. Everyone was sloppy, walking sideways, falling, etc. It was pretty funny honestly. If you’re not into this scene, stay upstairs. It’s much more classy.
Overall, had a good experience here and would come back! The only thing I don’t like is the $ 20 cover to get into the bar (think they start charging at 10 pm).

The pros: The staff was extremely nice. We got to the bar when it first opened and they were more than accommodating. The best part at the bar was the awesome swings you can sit on while enjoying a drink. Drink prices were a tad steep, but I guess the norm for Manhattan. Try the home made vodka cider.
The food was very tasty. We ordered a mixed grill plate and it was pretty authentic food and the fries with feta cheese were awesome!
Cons: After the place filled up a bit more we decided to go downstairs to do the Ice Cage «aka: ice closet». It was NOT what we expected at all. We thought it was a full ice bar where the seats were ice, countertops, etc. It was a not really cold room that we had to squeeze like 7 people into. For the $ 20 a person price tag to suck down 5 shots of random vodkas in soviet outfits was not worth it for the price. Luckily we had a 2 for 1 groupon to use so that at least saved us some money.
When we went to use the bathroom the space could fit a person probably weighing less than $ 120 pounds. It was too small. There was also only 1 bathroom since the stall door on the other toilet was completely broken off and hanging by the hinge. (not safe)
All in all I will probably not return. Was a fun night with a group of people, but the place was not up to par with what people sat about it.

Came here a bit early and so the place felt like it was all to ourselves. We made the rounds to see what the space had to offer. Wow, even empty, this place definitely the place to party hard. The downstairs bar includes a ice cage (more like a see through freezer space, where for basically $ 20 bucks, you can take up to 6 shots within two minutes of any Vodka that is found inside the cage. I haven’t seen one of those since Vegas and I would never be in one of those as I know what would become of me after drinking so many shots in such a short amount of time.
The upstairs bar has swings in front of the bar to sit down on and enjoy a cocktail, and stickers and posters all over the place that had snarky, smart-​assed comments that were all too funny! They are also known for giving a free drink if you go topless and even free drinks to gents if they go bottomless (primarily downstairs bar)… The downstairs area also includes 3 dancing poles for entertainment or for you to let loose with friends. The décor is crazy and just really makes you feel underground, dark and fun are the best way to describe this place. Kind of like if New Orleans vomited all over the place! Purely Fun!
In my time here, I had their fruity apple cider drink. Not bad, a bit too sweet. But I am sure that alcohol is not the reason people frequent this place. It can get very packed for a good reason, you will just have a blast hanging out here with friends, letting loose, and dance to the music in a crowded place. If that does not sound like fun, yup, you guessed it, this is not the place for you.
Lastly… not sure I would bring a date here… more like someone I am already dating