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Carnival
Rating Details »
Categories: Dance Clubs, Lounges, Arcades
Neighborhood: Greenwich Village110 University Pl
3rd Floor
(between 12th St & 13th St)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 255-8188
- Nearest Transit:
-
Union Square (4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R, W)
14th St-6th Aves (F, V, L, 1, 2, 3)
14th Street (PATH)
- Hours:
Thu. 7:00 p.m. - 1:30 a.m.
Fri. 7:00 p.m. - 2:30 a.m.
Sat. 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 a.m.
Sun. 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Music:
- DJ
- Best Nights:
- Thu, Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- Yes
23 reviews for Carnival
You and I have both been to theme bars that bring Satan's abyss to mind. Horrible costumes, stupid shows, and prices that would make a Rockefeller blush. Jekyll & Hyde comes to mind, now that I think about it...
This bar is not one of them. Okay, the prices are high ($6-7 for bottled beers, $10-20 for their signature drinks), but the atmosphere couldn't be more fun. There are over seven or eight carnival games (dunk tank, test-your-strength, knock-the-bottles, etc.), pool, traditional carnival food, and upscale munchies for those of a more delicate palate.
Conveniently located off of Union Square, this is a great place to come with a group of friends for a fun time. It's not an everyday place by any stretch, but
BEER/DRINK SELECTION: Four-five microbrews. They make their killing on the delicious (but expensive) mixed drinks.
FOOD SELECTION: From hot dogs to pretzels to sliders to Wolfgang Puck serving you foie gras with caviar from a Ming-dynasty platter. Okay, it's not nearly THAT extensive, but for a bar, it ain't half-bad.
SERVICE: Good. It gets crowded, but the crew does their best to keep it moving. They WILL try to sucker you into some of those games, though, and at $4 a pop, that can hit the ol' pocketbook mighty hard.
A tip: check out the "Funhouse". It's really a dance floor with a small bar inside. When the front house gets way packed, this place tends to be less jammed. Course, you might not be up for dancing after climbing the five flights to the bar itself...
It's astounding, time is fleeting
Madness takes its toll
But listen closely, not for very much longer
I've got to keep control
The spot is conveniently located close to Union Square. It is a 5 floor walk up, but consider that a time to burn off calories before the magnificent corn dogs that are located atop the peak.
When you enter the Carny fest, it appears at first like a themed Vegas gambling palace. Upon further adventuring through the clowns mouth you see the second bar/lounge and dance floor. That leads you to the shooting range that then begets the open forum.
All your favorite carnival games and themes are present. The twist is the top prizes, which is of of coarse in adult fun fashion is a vibrator. The entertainment comes from juggling unicyclists, magicians, and stilt walkers. As well as some sexy and scathingly clad waitresses.
The food is located towards the front. snow cones, corn dogs, pretzels and hot dogs are key to the experience. the drinks are stronger if you get them from the smaller bar in the back. I had the sword swallower and some magic hat beers.
All in all it was a great experience. I will be planning for my birthday to be there (May 29th, 2009).
Definitely an amusing place, with all the games (with prizes) and foods that you would want and expect from a bar trying to replicate those neighbourhood fairs. Very kitsch. And perhaps worthwhile for a short time.
But I felt that my visit, any longer, would have dulled the interest in being at a place like this. Plus it seems that this bar isn't good for those on a budget. Each game is too many tickets to play for such few 'chances' to win the prizes. Beers are generally over $6 for regular fare. Though I must say it does seem worth it to shell out $25 to be the guy dunked in the dunktank. That just looks like fun!
First of all, I can't think of a worse place to spend an evening than the lamest part of the carnival/amusement park/circus. Over-priced games that provide you with about 13 seconds of fun and really crappy prizes that you don't want and are too big to keep anywhere (especially in New York).
Upon entry (and being told to take hats off) you proceed to WALK up to the 5th floor and to a semi-chaotic coat check. Inside the unpleasantly dark and loud bar/carnival forces its way into your brain with the fury of a screaming four year old.
The waitresses are over their job, the carnies are...well...carnies and the place just oozes sleaze.
Hot dogs, pretzels and corn dogs range anywhere from $5 to $8...I didn't stay long enough to find out what cost what.
Expensive, loud and completely obnoxious, you surely could find worse things to do in the city...I've yet to find out what that could be...
Interesting place! Very much like a Carnival without animals or rides.
Bottom line- if it wasn't for a certain Yelp party I probably would never come. The games here are sort of a joke, which cost 4 tickets & up. The tickets are a dollar a piece. And I'm frugal so... go figure! I love that they have a concession stand that sells carnival food (candy apple, popcorn, cotton candy etc.) which adds to its great ambiance and that's about it. But honestly if I wanted to go to a carnival, I would. And if I wanted to go dancing at a lounge, I would. But not a carnival lounge. I don't know.
AND OH!......... those stairs! I swear I could hear the rocky song going up & down it. 5 flights, I do believe. Damn, I feel bad for those employees that have to venture up & down them every week. lol
I love the idea of Carnival, an adult-only (but PG-13 rated) club above Bowlmor. The look and feel of the place is very cool, with a big top tent right in the middle of the room, a Fun House dance hall, a large bar that can be approached from three sides, and various games typically seen at suburban carnivals: Milkcan Knockdown, Win a Fish, Magic Wand, Super Basketball and even a Dunk Tank.
The only problem with Carnival is that the prizes aren't that great and the tickets to play the games are $1 a piece. So if you Win a Fish using the minimum 4 tickets, you've just wona $4 fish...not so fun then. If I want to win a cheap stuffed animal that fits into the palm of my hand I'd play the CLAW at the Port Authority or go to a carnival in Long Island. I think this Carnival could really shine by having cooler, less typical prizes. Oh, and the popcorn is not good, stale and unsalted...opt for the cotton candy instead.
Carnival is fun and enchanting for a few seconds before you realize that (1) drinks are overpriced (2) there is no dancing going on unless you're in the "funhouse" which is never open to the public (3) you pay $4 per game (4) the games are rigged and/or impossible to win.
I have had SOME fun times here (been here 3x) but once I leave I'm always mad at myself for wasting so much dough in here on bad games and horrible drinks. The first time it was a Friday night at 9 and it was fun b/c friends and I got seats at the bar. Drinks were completely overpriced and served in flimsy, tiny plastic cups. Really?!?! 2nd time, I came up on a weeknight after bowling.
3rd time I was here on a Saturday night with friends. They charged us $10 per person and imposed a no-t shirt dress code. WHY there is a dress code, I have no clue, this place isn't exactly pumping with class. Luckily my friend had a sweater to put on over his tee! There, we had fun at first (friend bought 50 tickets for $41... what a deal?!??! he won 1 scooby doll at the basket game)... until 2 things happened.
FIRST - the game where you have to knock bottles out of pyramid formation. My awesome athlete friend J knocked them out of the pyramid formation easily, yet because they were not entirely OFF the platform (the platform is MASSIVE) she did not win anything. Did I mention she paid 4 tickets... which cost $4 to play this crock game??
SECOND - same awesome athlete friend J paid another $4 to dunk the guy in the tank. Seriously 1/2 the club was watching, she hit the button squarely in the middle... everyone was cheering and hooting... but nothing happened. The whole club erupts into a chant of "b.s."... the manager comes out and the attendant tries to prove that the game works... he can't even come close to hitting the target! The crowd is ROWDY CHANTING at this point, the attendant gives J unlimited balls and she finally hits it again and the guy gets dunked.
Fun? perhaps. Worth cover + $4 per game? no way.
Every since I returned to Vegas' Circus Circus after many years past my childhood experiences, I realized - Carnivals and Circuses may SEEM fun as a child but they are oddly sad and depressing as an adult. Add Alcohol to the mix and you have a recipe for therapy.
I came here for the Thrillist 4th Anniversary bash so I don't really know what it's like on a normal night, but it seem fine since I wasn't paying for any of my drinks. The DJ was awesome, but again, not sure if that was Carnival or Thrillist. The games are a buck and you can win weird things like Goldfish.
Big Cons included walking up a zillion flight of stairs and being turned away at the coat check when I was the next person ... after waiting 20 minutes telling me they couldn't accommodate any more coats? The place wasn't even packed? What the hell..
This place definitely has a wow factor initially but like any novelty, wears off when you are run into a scary woman clown in the bathroom.
Realistically, this deserves two and a half stars.
The place was not as horrible as I might have imagined, as I did when I was invited here for a friend's bday celebration. A couple of their very expensive but very strong 'original' cocktails (flavored like twizzlers, cotton candy, etc.) helped. But this place is a neat summary of why Manhattan kind of sucks at nightlife lately.
What is actually a great concept is pretty poorly executed. The scope of the decorations and games is cool, but they look like a bunch of NYU students made them in their spare time so it's a little crusty. The faux-carnies wandering around 'entertaining' is a nice touch. But really, once you've played the games and had a couple sugar-coma $16 cocktails there's not much else to do besides bump-n-grind with Jersey's finest in the fun (horror?) house dance club room. It kind of feels like a kid's party place, which is fun at about two drinks in for 30 minutes and then you realize the floors are sticky and those girls over there spent an hour getting ready to go out to a theme bar above a bowling alley.
And what makes it a neat summation of Manhattan nightlife suckatude? $10 cover, dress code for what is essentially chucky cheese for adults, mandatory coat check, THE FIVE FLOOR WALK UP TO THE PLACE, bridge and tunnel douche pervasiveness (and I love in Brooklyn, so I count as B&T but I don't look like a Gotti) ridiculously priced drinks all served with a heaping pile of attitude (except from the bartenders and waitresses, who were nice).
This could be a fun novelty place if it were better executed and they dropped the pretentiousness. Instead it's just another overpriced Manhattan douche factory.
i went here for a yelp elite party (yes i know there's a separate review for that). you know what that means, FREE EVERYTHING. did u know free is my favorite word in the dictionary. but since i'm not writing a review of that particular party but rather the lounge itself, we'll move on.
this place is definitely the most unique lounge in the city. it has carnival games from dunk tank, to throwing the loop over bottles, ping pong balls in fish bowls, that hammer thing you hit (which is so damn heavy), knocking milk bottles off the shelf and shooting the stars off a paper with 99 rounds. i apologize for not knowing the actual name of the games but u know what i'm talking about. its all ticket based, u get 10 tickets for $10. The tickets get cheaper the more you buy. Games costs 2,4 or 7 tickets depending on how many tries you want to win prizes. prizes consist of the typical carnival ones, oversized to little stuffed animals.
There is a nice area to lounge and a full bar to complement that. There's also a fun house, where there's a dancefloor and couches to sit in.
oh, and there's no cover.
unique right? no? shut up, what do you know.
You want a new (carousel) spin to your typical bar night options? What has Britney done to us?! (I'm referring to her recent "Circus" album that could have inspired the vision for Carnival bar on University Place). Carnival is a theme bar attached to Bowlmor bowling lanes and it has carnival games complete with tickets, stuffed animal an gold fish prizes!! During the day they have children's parties with face painting and a "fun house" space dedicated to private parties. The place is brightly lit and feels circus-like. and has cocktail waitresses in burlesque attire serving drinks and takin orders. I thought it was a fun novelty to make a visit here after a few games of bowling. I also brought home a giant stuffed Tweety as a prize from the "Milk Money" carnival game. To play, tickets coat $1 each and that's no more expensive than the local street fair, you know?
I don't know how it is at night but for a stop after Bowlmor, I think it's definitely interesting.
As far as **themed** bars go, Carnival hit the nail on the clown's head. It IS Big top Circus .Complete with vaulted circus ten, fun house (aka dance floor w/ DJ), concession stand with spiked snow cones, candy, popcorn, cotton candy and more, a ticket booth, carny games & prizes, even a real dunk tank that you can pay $25 to get in (why?) No details were spared from my favorite childhood memories of the circus. - minus the animal cruelty and midgets.
Cocktails, not surprisingly, are themed as well. Including a Blue Cotton Candy martini which comes with a side of cotton candy in a cup...the Carmel apple martini has a real chunk of carmel in the glass - both run for about $15 AND of course there's the soon to be infamous Drunk Tank. $70 gets you (and hopefully 10 friends) 2 gallons of mystery punch that will kick your ass.
As far as bars go - I'm not sure how often I would be up for so much stimulation. There is soooo much going on. But it's definitely worth a visit.
This is an overhyped, overpriced bar with a few very expensive fair games. Unless you are having a private party, there is nowhere to sit down and relax.
And seriously, sno-cones are $11.95?
i am actually a 5 yr old on the inside, and i find carnival really entertaining and fun! i love that they serve cotton candy and alcoholic sno cones.
the funhouse was fun! DJ played good tunes, but i wish the funhouse had actual funhouse mirrors in there.
the dunk tank was highly entertaining, although i got bullseye and the guy didn't fall in. another guy also got bullseye and the announcer man still did not fall in. so that sucks!
it's very overstimulating and eye candy. i would def come back with friends, came here for the yelp elite event and was not disappointed. the games were fun with hilarious names (like "who darted").
i did not have to pay for anything, so i don't know about the pricing, but based on eye candy and theme alone, i am a fan, fun fun fun! worth the 5 floor walk up :-/
Carnival, carnival, carnival: how do I love thee?
This place rox my sox. Carnival games, carnival acts, carnival food and themed drinks? This Jana died and went to heaven. And I even won some stuffed animals to boot. It's a little on the pricey side (as in I won't be there every weekend, maybe every other month), but I think worth it just for the experience alone. Where else can you play carny games, make eyes at a cutie, AND get your dance on that doesn't mean a hour's ride out to Coney Island?
However, I do not recommend going on a night where there is a film premiere party and another website's open bar party happening. It was chaotic, crowded, and I was threatened after I accidentily bumped into someone trying to get through the crowd. Sorry you Hollywood types! But at least I did get to chat with Lea Thompson and Elaine Hendrix about their stuffed animal winnings as I gawked at Zooey Deschanel.
So...I might avoid the place on the weekend for a little while, until the newness wears off a touch. Then I'll be back, trying to finish the dunk tank with my friends.
Be forewarned: no coats, bags or hats allowed. They will make you check them and the line is worse than all the levels of hell combined, especially when you're ready to leave, but also long and uncomfortable as you are trying to get in. In my opinion, they need to rethink the entrance and fix it pretty quick. FYI, the bathrooms are also outside the actual "carnival" in the entrance area. Another bad idea.
Welcome to Carnival, ladies and gents! Watch as the blindfolded elephant walks across a tightrope! Immerse yourself in wet thrills as performers are released into the dunk tank! Okay, not quite, but almost.
I'm going through a major quarter life crisis. I hit 25 last month and it was paaaainful. I said to my friends, 'No going out. No celebrating. If I act like it doesn't exist, it never happened.' I can no longer say I'm in my early twenties. Oh wait, now I can rent a car. Perfect.
Enter CARNIVAL: A bar plus Coney Island plus nightclub?! By day, amusement center for all ages; by night, 21 and over. Genius. We entered the 5th floor through a hallway of funhouse mirrors and continued to the carnival games and lounge. At first I was apprehensive. It seemed too quiet and casual. Where's the spectacle, the pizazz, the sparkle?!
Enter the $70 'DUNK TANK': 2 gallons of a liquor and fruit juice concoction. The cocktail waitress brought it out and I gave it the once-over, 'Psh.. I could drink this in my sleep', except the four of us chugged and chugged and we didn't get anywhere. The never ending drink! Aaah now I'm starting to see the magic.
Enter the GAMES: $4 per game, hoowee pricey! But I played and I actually won! ME! I jumped up and down like a kid at my first town carnival and presented my winnings, a real goldfish in a baggy, to my friends. I forced the bf to take a pic of my new friend and me. But then I had second thoughts, what am I going to do with a fish?! I brought it back to the game booth.
'I'm sorry. Can I uhm... trade the fish for a stuffed animal?'
'But why? You don't like the fish?!'
'No, I do! I just... I don't think I'd be a very good fish mommy!!! I've had a drink, you know.'
The entire staff is sooo sweet and since the place was dead, we got to play many games for free. Our waitress was super hot too.
Exit DRUNK AND HAPPY: I see Carnival getting cheesy and ghetto really soon but I don't care. We stayed until closing (you can't take home the cup unless you finish the 'Dunk Tank' drink first duuuh) and stumbled onto the street - stuffed animals, a plastic 2 gallon jug, and countless 'clean fun' memories in hand. I felt like a kid all over again.
Went to this place last night with some friends as an after party. It used to be called "Pressure", and they've done some renovations.
I have to say the renovations are kinda cool and fun. The place is all decked out like a carnival, not the Brazilian, but rather the Coney Island big top kind. In fact I think some of the booths may have been sent direct from Coney Island, or at least that's what someone told me.
Another thing I liked was how you walk through this dark hallway, and you're in this dance floor area. But you feel like you're walking through a spooky haunted house or something.
One thing I really didn't like those is the gunshots. Yeah, they have the actual shooting ranges, try to hit a bottle, and win a teddy bear, that kind of thing. Works great outdoors, but is DAMN loud indoors. Dunno, kinda freaked me out the first few times. I guess one gets used to it.
What else, well they were friendly at the door downstairs, and upstairs... so yeah I'd go back. It's not bad, kinda fun. They also have pool tables, so that could work!
Certainly interesting. My friend told me to meet him there in the 'club' section, which is the dance floor night club area of the place. Walking through the Carnival area was so funny it was literally a carnival with games and lights and things. The dance floor area was fun, the music was awesome.
Didn't stay long enough (I got there late) to get a drink so I don't know about their drinks. But it certainly is a place to go see if you have visitors from out of town or you want to do something different for a night.
If you like "big top" cheese and overpriced drinks in flimsy plastic cups that taste like pixie stick mixed with rubbing alcohol, then you'll love this place. Honestly, the drinks are overpriced, the door people herd you around like cattle, everyone looks like they're 17 and the DJ? He played all the greatest hits from 2001 (I'm not kidding...when is the last time you heard DMX? Because I just did, and it was at Carnival). It's a cute idea with TERRIBLE execution. If you want Coney Island flair, go to Brooklyn Bowl...or Coney Island. A 90 minute ride on the N train is better than this.
I have been to Carnival a couple of times and I have yet to be disappointed! When you first come up to the top of the stairs (they have you trudge up 5 flights of stairs since the elevator is so small) you find yourself in a lobby decorated with Fun-House mirrors that only add to your self consciousness on how you dressed for the evening. The coat check girls are actually quite helpful and good looking too, but every once and a while, depending on how crowded it is, the simply can't accommodate any more coats. The overly large bouncers herd you through the revolving door one at a time which kinda causes a bit of a bottleneck, but hey you happened to make it in past the modest dress code of no hats and t-shirts (hey, it still is a nightclub, I don't know what anyone else expected)
Upon entry the loud music, bright lights, and obnoxious painting transports you to those favorite carnivals you used to frequent at the end of the boardwalk on your summer vacation! The bar is complete with motorized spinning roulette wheels. The bartenders are fast, nice, (and again quite attractive) and the drinks are quite good. I recommend the twizzle or the pink elephant, yeah the drinks run about $12-$18,but you do get to keep the glasses on all yard stick drinks or hurricane's. I have yet to buy the $70 Dunk Tank, but I have tried it and it is reminiscent of the jungle juice you used to suck down at the oh so infamous college parties you used to attend.
If you can manage to wind your way through the crowd of suits, unicyclist, contortionists, jugglers, magicians, and stilt walkers and make it down the two steps into what they dub "The Midway" you are greeted with over a dozen "carnies" who auction off their games to the waiting crowds (some of which serve more as performers than actual employees, I've seen them juggle, balance objects and even spin plates!) After some trouble finding the ticket booth, you get in line and buy a handful of (well yeah, overpriced) tickets and head to the games. I have played every game and while they may seem impossible to win, they are all possible with the right strategy, and if you ask the booth operators what it is, they normally will help you guys out. But what people have to remember is that THEY STILL ARE CARNIVAL GAMES! They are supposed to be nearly impossible to win and they are supposed to be expensive. That's simply what a carnival is. The nice thing about this place is, while they do have those shitty stuffed animals, some of the games (like the BB Gun Star, and the Ring Toss) offer some prizes you would never see in a true carnival. I was there two nights ago and saw someone win the 50" Plasma TV offered at the Ring Toss!!! They even give out adult novelties like handcuffs, French ticklers, and even candy themed vibrators!
And then the coupe de gras, The Dunk Tank, sits in the center of the floor opening every half hour to infuriate guests with their constant taunting. I have seen the most accurate of men hit the target in the center of the clown's face to dunk the dunkee, but as the carnies tell you, you have to hit that sucker hard!
Then you have the Fun-House. A sound proof room complete with it's own DJ and dance floor that only opens depending on how many people are actually in the venue (the place only accommodates around 600.) I have seen this floor packed to the brim with people bumping and rubbing up against each other as the music pumps on!
Sure the place can be a bit pricey, offering expensive bottle service, and very few places to sit down, but I have yet to see anybody really stop buying tickets and really your paying for the atmosphere too! There is rarely a cover charge unless there is some sort of event going on in the space, and yet despite all of the wicked vileness, the staff is still at the top of their game! I've seen drunk macho frat guys threaten the carnie staff, inebriated women coyly flirting with the operators for free plays, and even some of the customers reaching behind the counters to steal a couple extra rings, balls, or even prizes! Who can blame the carnies if they get a little uptight, I know I would if I had to deal with that on a nightly basis. I've seen guys try to throw their baseballs at the Dunkee in the tank for basically doing his job and infuriating you to dunk him. And don't get me started on the inappropriate touches and grabs that happen to the scantily clad female employees! People treat this place like it were some kind of sleazy strip club other than an entertainment venue and to top it off these waitresses aren't even getting tipped well! They endure unwanted passes by men in the venue and then don't get the tips they depend on! My hats go off to the employees of this place because they work insane hours and deal with people like this on a nightly basis, and they have yet to not be courteous to anyone who deserves their respect! This place truly is 1 of a kind!
This place is like no other I'd been to before... Imagine a night club crossed with a circus crossed with a carnival! It's a crazy hybrid and it works pretty well as a novelty. Unless they have any special programming it's definitely a place to take visitors to but not necessarily to keep going to otherwise.
I attended the Grand Opening of Carnival- and I have to say that I was completely blown away.
These guys literally closed down the street as Paris Hilton made her way down the red carpet- amidst Stilt Walkers and Contortionists. The excitement continued inside- this place is amazing.
The games, the drinks (2 gallon dunk tank= wasted!) and food was all great. This is just what we needed in the City. I can't wait to take my little nephews here during the day. And I will def be back to party here at night.
Oh- and the goldfish I won is still breathing...for now!
The first Sergio up there is right. This is one of the most interesting nightlife options in the Village. What the owners have basically done is taken the top floor of a good location (located above Bowlmor lanes at 10 University Place), covered it with a giant tent and tastefully created a night-club and carnival hybrid. The cotton-candy martini, prepared to perfection by competent and attentive bartenders, comes with an actual piece of cotton candy placed on top of the drink. That drink embodies the Coney Island-esque spirit and essence of the place. They even brought in old posters from the old attractions from the world's first amusement park. A private VIP area through a clown's giant mouth, various carnival games and performers (including a plainclothesed card magician who blew me away), billiard tables and a lounge area reminiscient of Alice in Wonderland with videos of old-time Betty Page cabaret playing on loop behind the couches. The best part is really the execution of all this. This somewhat obvious idea could have been kitsch, made so that it was cheesy and annoying, but it's not. Instead, it is done well and with class. Last week they did not have the jugglers, firebreathers and swordswallowers but it is promised from here on out, and the pretty hostesses and waitresses were alone worth it . I'll definitely be there this Thursday: something about Paris Hilton and monkeys.
http://www.nypost.com/...
