- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
FSC Barber
Rating Details »
Categories: Barbers, Cosmetics & Beauty Supply [Edit]
Neighborhood: West Village5 Horatio
New York, NY 10014
(212) 929-3917
- Nearest Transit:
-
14th St-8th Ave (A, C, E, L)
14th St-7th Aves (1, 2, 3, F, V, L)
14th Street (PATH)
- Hours:
Mon-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- By Appointment Only:
- No
16 reviews for FSC Barber
Male bullshit, but bullshit for all males, straight or gay. A very comfprtable place: for some reason I show up when it's raining, and it's a nice place be in the rain. Women walk in and it's akward.
Skilled barbers asking $42 for a haircut may seem excessive, but the eucalyptus towel is worth it.
David Ball and Brent have cut my hair, very happy with both.
After countless years of searching Manhattan for a solid place to get my hair cut, my urn-religious prayers have been answered. My experience was amazing. Just amazing. Great environment with laid back attitude.
The wait was pretty short, even at 7:15pm. I had read they closed at 8 and the last appointments must be taken before 7:30pm. This was true and something to keep in mind. I was finally paired up with Carlos who was very welcoming and attentive about what exactly I wanted my hair to look when I left...That is the the idea, correct? He paid attention and made sure it was looking good to me along the way. He spent a nice amount of time making sure the sides of my head didn't have any stray hairs, something your RARELY ever find someone actually do so diligently.
He knew exactly what he was doing and did it with such precision you'd usually have to pay twice as much for.
You see, that's the beauty of FSC. It's for guys who are savvy enough to not accept a random "Supercuts" as a real haircut or get duped by that "Jean Louis David" shit. FSC is for guys that can appreciate the old fashioned barber shop style (jokes, finesse, shaving, stories, and liquor), yet care enough to want to get that "salon effect" that the women in our life are always after.
I will definitely be back. In fact, I actually look forward to it. I will ask for Carlos again, but oddly enough, walked away with a strange confidence in trust in probably any member of their staff, so I wouldn't mind someone else's service.
Check it out, for sure, but just don't tell too many of your friends, okay?
This was one of the best barber shops I have been to and I will definitely be back for another haircut next time I am in New York. This is a barber shop, not a salon. It is traditional in the strictest of senses. There are no women here, all the patrons and employees are men and the atmosphere is straight out of the 1920s. So is all of the decor. Literally. Genuine barbers chairs from the 1920s. Even the barbers were done up in a fashion befitting the era. It was great.
My barber, Michael, was quick to the punch, giving me exactly what I wanted with my only guidance being 'shorter, but still able to be pulled back'. The experience was wonderful.
Gentleman, if you want a proper haircut and shave, come here. It is an experience from a bygone era. They even have straight edge shaving classes on Sundays!
Popped in this weekend for a cut. I was very pleased and will return.
Do check-in at the front as they take your name to have a list. But then my barber called out my name and the desk guy had to walk back to the chair and see if it was really me. So the barber take their own leeway with the next clients
Yes $42 - with tax is it? for a basic haircut but you do get hat nice hot steamy towel. Chelsea Barbers in London Terrace does a nice hot shave on the back neck, but not here that I could tell. One guy got it but was not sure if that was extra or cus it was needed.
TIp is by hand in cash to the barber directly. Be sure to take the little slip of paper to the front so they know what service you got.
Hold on to your jacket and umbrella as there is a locker room type club room wooden locker in the rear to hang stuff
The place is well decorated and full of old mechanical accouterments and barber ship gear.
There is an air of a cliq among the staff in there for sure. Some are in the group and others are not and the stylist are pretty free with each other and conversation can be a bit loud at times is there is some big laughing going on.
Staff is on the younger side age wise. There is a dress code and most of the guy are kinda modern hip E Village dressy I would say. Some with tattoos. No female barbers like at John Allan's
It is totally a finance guy clientele type of place on the weekend -- those that are not fans of John Allan's go here -- One guy was reading the weekend WSJ. Everyone was getting short cuts.
I will say my expectations for going in was a bit more reserved atmosphere, but oh well.
Amazing cut in the end and that is what is important.
Not the worst place to get a haircut (cheap or expensive) in this city. There's probably a Great Clips over in Jersey that may be worse, but the ambiance probably wouldn't be as cool and you would pay $10, not $42 to look like a douche.
I came to this place because I like the restaurant and the store is cool. I thought the barber shop must be legit too. The first time I went, I was pleased. The second time I went I waited 45 minutes to see this Japanese woman. I enjoyed reading the vintage playboys while waiting, and I also noticed they were running the shop like a Chinese fire drill, moving customers in and out as fast as they could. Finally when I went to get my hair cut I asked the woman to simply clean up the back and to not take much off the top. Not specific directions, I know, but she absolutely butchered the back and took way more than I wanted off the top.
The place isn't a true old school barber shop. It's dirty and unorganized, run by a bunch of trendy hipsters who don't know anything about running a real barber shop. They need to either close the shop and stick to food and retail, or clean it up and cut the bull shit.
If you want a no bull shit old school barber, head over to New York Shaving club on Elizabeth. The younger Italian guy does a great job and is very thorough and professional. The shave was better than Freeman's, they use aftershave and baby powder which is nice. It only costs $30, and they even served me espresso. Freeman's could learn a thing or two from these guys.
This place was sooooooo much fun! My son introduced me to this place the day before his wedding. A group of us went. Now, granted, I don't have much hair to work with but it was a ton of fun. And I actually had compliments on my haircut at the wedding. (Geez! With only about 7 hairs to work with how could someone even know?). The experience really brought me back to my childhood. I haven't had a shave around the ears and down my neck for at least 30 years! (Supercuts wouldn't dare go near a razor!) Well worth the wait and the money. I can't wait to go back!
I am a really harsh critic when it comes to haircuts (my last one ended with the woman cutting my hair actually storming out of the room). So as I am planning for my wedding at the end of the summer, I decided to audition barbershops and salons for my next few haircuts to find the right one for the big day.
As luck would have it, Freeman's was the first one I tried and I can honestly say that it was the best haircut experience I have had in several years. David was amazingly consultative and the entire crew there was actually very collaborative. They are really serious pros and they set the bar really high for themselves. I'd never seen someone cut hair so meticulously (by that I mean short hair on a dude). They were really nice, too. David is definitely the one I will go to for the wedding.
Awesome.
Love this place.
I went for a haircut Saturday and ended up getting a cute AND an old-fashioned shave. René was a great barber -- lots of extensive training (as evidenced by the many certificates around his booth), super nice guy, and loves his job. This a great barber makes.
They also have another location at 8 Rivington -- Freeman's Sporting Club is what FSC stands for evidently. The one on 5 Horatio only does the barber thing and sells men's grooming products. The other location also has a line of clothes. I definitely need to check that out.
The whole visit cost me $75 -- but it's totally worth it.
For the Traditionalist.
Step back in time and experience how hair used to be cut. By hand and by professional barbers using tools that haven't changed in decades.
I followed Shorty over here from the Bowery and he's done a damn good job of creating a place with a sense of 'place'. Always an honest haircut but with that something extra that defines a truly great looking cut.
And the clients know this. While waiting my turn, a man sits in the barber chair and exclaims "My Boss's wife did this cut. Its the worst haircut I have ever had. I came here because I know you can fix it". Meanwhile hairdressers and other people that rely on looking good wait their turn. If other pros come here, could there be any stronger endorsement?
Like the old question: "A town has two barbers. One has a great haircut, the second kinda lousy. Which barber do you go to?"
So you know you are in the best of hands here. And that the place feels like a black and white film noir doesn't hurt. Half expect Robert Mitchum to come in hung over.
Funny when reading some of these Yelp reviews it reminds me of those that give low ratings to traditional sushi bars. Any sushi review that says something like '...the rolls were only ok and not very imaginative, the chef was gruff and cold...' that tells me the reviewer does not understand Traditional Japanese sushi. Only the Americanized version will make these people happy. (Check out what people say about Ino sushi in SF as an example). And for those people Super-Cuts and $15 bucks will probably do the trick. But that's not me.
I'm just not picky about my hair. I let it go three months without cutting it. But I'm in a wedding this weekend, and I had to look good. But I'm also very busy, so I went to the closest barber to my work, which happened to be FSC.
There was about an hour's wait, which was a little longer than I hoped to wait, but the place had good reviews so I decided to stay. The guy at the front counter was nice, as well.
This was hands down the best haircut I've gotten in almost two years of living in New York. The amount of attention and care that my barber (Tim) gave my hair far exceeded my expectations, even after reading reviews and waiting an hour.
I think a lot of barbers get annoyed when I say "just make it look good I don't know" (what can I say, I'm not very particular) -- if Tim was annoyed, he didn't show it. I think he actually enjoyed the opportunity to cut some hair the way that looked the best without my bugging him about it.
That's not to say he was inattentive, or didn't ask my opinion. He stopped a few times to make sure I liked what he was doing, and I did. He chit-chatted, he made jokes, he made the entire occasion enjoyable (for both of us I think).
All in all, like I said, best haircut in New York, and actually, yeah I don't mind saying it, this was the best haircut I've ever had.
And they have straight-razor classes on the first Sunday of every month, which I'm very seriously considering.
Stop reading this and go there already.
$40 for a haircut, $75 for shave & haircut, $70 for the razor classes
So, let me get this straight: a fake "no-nonsense" barber shop, styled to look all-old school, displaces what was there before - a real no-nonsense barber shop that had been there for something like 50 years. Then do a crappier job, and charge 4x as much.
This place is for people that buy sand-blasted or pre-ripped jeans, distressed leather goods, or pre-antiqued furniture. Or Wall Street masters of the universe types that are ready to pony up for an "experience".
Either way, it ain't good, nor authentic.
New York is full of either hit-or-miss barber experiences (more miss than hit) or salon services whose prices are only rivaled by women's stylists.
FSC brings an honest improvement on all fronts. With an old-school yet wholly modernized vibe, trained and up to date staff, matched with friendly service that is often too hard to find in this city.
Small touches like hanging your coats for you and complementary hot towel for the face, help lift the bar on the average hair cut.
I appreciated that I could talk through the nuances of how I should develop a hair style (cause quite frankly I know nothing about hair style, and nor did any of my short-back-and-side barbers of the past), that the only time a clipper touched my head was to create clean lines around my ears - the rest of the time being a skilled set of scissors, and that the guys actually engaged with my world rather than answering cellphones and not focusing on the job like 90% of barbers.
The price is a little more at $40 for a "haircut" which seems to actually mean no drama styling - though I noted you could get a "trim" for $25 which appears closer to a clipper cut.
I would say that this is totally worth it.
Oh and I am going to say, that other reviewers who seem intent on making generalizations about who may go here, really need to open their eyes. This is a changing city and improvements are always welcome. If like some of these reviewers you just want a $14 cut, then head to any one of the hundreds of hit-and-miss spots around the city and take your chances. Otherwise, give FSC a go and move your hair cuts to a slightly different level.
i haven't gotten a haircut here and probably won't cause i am all about the $8 cut in queens (and faithful to my guys) but man oh man i will be back for another shave.
yes, $40 for a shave not including tip is a little steep. but considering it was an hour of pure man bliss it was definitely a bargain.
first off, let me just say that FSC is a bastion of masculinity. no tv's, no playboy magazines, no sports, no photos of guidos with really bad travolta disco haircuts, and no, i repeat, no sports illustrated swimsuit issues. nothing of the sort. FSC is old school proper man-ness. white tiled walls, white porcelain barber chairs, old timey accoutrements, everything is right out of the early 20th century. clean, neat, well kept, and just the right atmosphere to chill out and let some psychopath at your throat with a straight-edged razor.
for those of you who have not experienced a barber shop shave, do it. just suck it up and do it. trust me, your girlfriend will appreciate you for it. there is nothing closer and nothing will make your skin smoother and stubble free. which is why your mate will appreciate it. ahem, ahem. you can figure out the rest.
so here are the details of my shaving manutopia.
hot towel
cream massage
hot towel
more cream massage followed by astringent
pass out and start snoring
hot shaving cream
meticulous shave
hot towel
hot shaving cream
a second pass of stubble with surgical precision
pass out again this time no snoring
hot towel
face massage with astringent
cold towel
gasp for air
cold towel
you're probably bored out of your mind but when talking barber shop shaving each step is a little slice of the total pie. and they serve up some awesome pie at FSC.
Great shave & a haircut. never had a barbershop experience that was this relaxing. definitely will go back... a bit pricey, but worth it. $40/haircut, or $75/shave & a haircut.
Wanted to like this place. I live right in the neighborhood.
First of all, for the no-nonsense barber shop meets hipster image they hope to portray, a $40 cut is absurd. I now go to Esquires of Wall St. for my cuts, which is an original non-nosense barbershhop, and I can get a cut for almost half that price.
Secondly, for the money the haircut I got was a piss-poor effort. The tatted up hipster dude seemed more interested in talking to me about music and art than getting my hair done properly. It looked fine in the mirror, only later when my girlfriend had a look did she see the big chunky lines across the side of my head where the barber didn't even attempt to blend his cuts.
I don't need to pay 40 dollars to feel cool when I get my haircut....smell you later forever FSC
