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Home Sweet Home
- Nearest Transit:
-
Bowery (J)
Grand St (B, D)
Delancey St (F)
- Hours:
Tue-Sun 2 pm - 4 am
- Parking:
- Street
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Music:
- DJ
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- Yes
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- Yes
- Ambience:
- Hipster, Dive-y
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
Tessa V. said: "Thoroughly enjoy this place.. Come here all the time with my girl friend. Great atmosphere and accommodating staff. Karaoke is crack to me so I love places like this! Also, great deals on rooms if you come with a group and awesome…" read more »
208 reviews for Home Sweet Home
Review Highlights
"This taxidermy-decorated bar is the bomb."
(in 32 reviews)
"Got to love this get-down-and-dirty-on-the-dance-floor-dive."
(in 42 reviews)
"always a welcoming cocktail and always great music."
(in 8 reviews)
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208 reviews in English
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Review from Cynthia L.
Astoria, NY
1/11/2012
I have to admit something. I love dancing. I am not that great at dancing but I love to shake my tail feather. With that being said I have no problem getting down and dirty with the hipster alums at Home Sweet Home.
Sure the drinks are just average but the prices are great here and the atmosphere is always fun. Not to mention on a Saturday this place is packed with the kids from Williamsburg who just want to listen and dance to groovy hits.
Here is what I have to say about HSH:
1)It's never the same hits over and over again. I have found myself dancing to 50's music and loving every moment as much as I love dancing to 80's music.
2)There is one bartender there that is absolutely yummy to stare at here. He is adored by every female that walks into this bar and his name is plastered in sharpy pen all across the bathroom walls. I'm sure he loves that but if you ever get the moment to talk to this dude, he's really chill and a sweetheart to boot.
3)They make a strong jack and coke. I like my jack and cokes strong on the jack, light on the coke. The only downfall is that they come in such a small glass. Please, please, please give me a bigger glass for my money. But a girl really shouldn't complain too much.
4)Overall it's just a ball of fun. Go with a group of your girlfriends but don't be that group of girls that dress up and make fun of the awesome but strange dancing going down on the dance floor. This is not the place for judgment and I want the crowd to stay the same, full of hip and funny characters. All are welcomed. -
Review from melissa b.
Jersey City, NJ
12/11/2011
great spot. sometimes the abundance of hipsters can be slightly annoying but the music is great. you have to check which night you're going because some night have 70's funk or live goth, spanish pop, etc. eclectic which is a good thing but you don't know what you're going to get into if you just walk in randomnly.
i have been here many times and once i threw a party here for my brother - the bartender who was there (can't recall her name) - who typically works on tuesday's and is very pretty - (wish i could remember her name) was sooooo sweet and accommodating. she knew i was brining in a bunch of people and reserved the one big table that they have in the back just for my party which was nice considering there isn't 'bottle service' -
Review from Rory O.
Baltimore, MD
11/27/2011
This place is a sick dive bar. There is a chill bar vibe along with an area for dancing, so it's a good place if you want the best of both worlds. It's also really cheap for NYC and no cover both times I've been there.
The only negatives are sometimes it can get REALLY crowded, one time the line was really long to get in, and the mixed drinks are pretty small and watered down. Otherwise this place is paradise on the LES. -
Review from Varun V.
11/22/2011
Came here on a Friday night, got there at 10:30pm for a bday party.
Negatives? As one of my friends put it 'why is the music so damn loud?'
Bloody crowded
Positives? Dance floor, no cover before 11p and then $3 only. Yes three -
Review from Jeff W.
Manhattan, NY
1/12/2012
This place is divey and hipster and all. But I must say, the drinks are pretty good. It's pretty packed most of the time. For me that's a minus, but some other people, that can be a major plus. As a result, it's extremely hot down there (it's in a basement).
The music is a random mix of 70s music and some other eclectic stuff. I didn't recognize a lot of the songs they were playing. But there were a lot of people dancing. So that was good I guess. And the music was really loud. I was getting a bit of a headache from it. But then again, that might be a plus for some. -
Review from Darwen H.
Manhattan, NY
11/6/2011
Fun bar. Saturday has way better music than Friday (in my opinion.. but really it varies.) Let's just say I didn't even have to coerce them into playing "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." It just happened; and it was magical.
Do know that the bar itself is super crowded with reasonable prices (Blue Point at $6) and sometimes people will be throwing shade when you're trying to break in to get a drink.
Also know that the dance floor gets crowded and very hot. If you do not like getting shoved and have a short temper for dealing with crowded spaces, do not come here (yes, I'm looking at you douche from last night who had to be escorted out by his friends because he wouldn't take it). To remedy the extreme overheating dancing here can induce, you can always try what I do. Find a gentleman caller to hoist you up in front of the ac vent (or not, it's barely blowing anyway). -
Review from Mike O.
12/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
My kind of bar: divey, hidden, empty, sad, cheap.
Listed in: Suds New York
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Review from Bekah S.
Brooklyn, NY
10/6/2011
I'm torn over Home Sweet Home; the first time I went, I had a blast; it wasn't too crowded, everyone had enough space to dance their little hearts out, and I barely noticed that there's absolutely no air in the back. I couldn't wait to return.
I've been back twice on Friday nights and both times left an hour after arriving- too crowded, too bro-y, and I must have anger management because people elbowing me in the back when I'm trying to dance makes me want to elbow them in the face. And also, if the dance floor is really crowded, don't bring your full drink because it's going to end up all over someone. Like, me probably.
I'm still planning to check it out on another evening, but I'm taking a break from Friday nights. -
Review from Yp Y.
Manhattan, NY
1/28/2012
Nice hipster dive bar
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Review from Ciao H.
Astoria, NY
10/23/2011
Love that my 60 year old friend from out of town introduced me to this place. It has no sign outside, so you have to know the address to find the stairs lit by chandeliers leading to the underground. This is the kind of place I used to dream existed when I was 12 years old and stuck in suburbia hell.
Past the taxidermy diorama of a mongoose fighting a snake enter the long bar of hipsters (bartenders and patrons alike), more cool decor and the Bauhaus blaring out from speakers at ear-splitting volumes. BRING YOUR EARPLUGS.
Its true, the bathrooms are not the most sparkling, but then, what did you think you were getting yourself into when you walked past the black dusty walls and taxidermy? These patrons are obviously there to get tanked and have fun. Keeping the bathroom clean I bet is NOT their #1 priority. At the start of the night, they were fine, I'm sure by the end the patrons do a good job of making the bathrooms not so fine. That's not really something the owners can control, is it?
It was 9pm when I was there, so the dancefloor hadn't quite gotten going, but the bar was full and fun. I'm so going back another night to get my groove on. -
Review from alan l.
9/3/2011
Home Sweet Home is secretly what I wish my apartment looked like.
For a solid time this was a go-to spot for dance parties. Unfortunately HSH jumped the shark when it became so crowded that it was impossible to get a drink, let alone dance.
I have two favorite memories from HSH:
- One time we walked in and there was a Burning Angels (google it) photo shoot going on, the best part being you couldn't really tell who was a model and who was just hanging out.
- Another time my friend got into a dance-off with one of Madonna's back up dancers. I don't remember who won, or how we knew about Madonna, but details-schmetails.Listed in: Lower East Side
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Review from Andrew S.
9/26/2011
Very correctly labeled as a Dive Bar. I saw that someone said it was a 'Human Petting Zoo', which is quite right... it is. It's one of those long bars that you get into the place and have to squeeze by people to get to the dance floor, which has ample space to lay out your stuff on the sofas while you dance. Music is pretty good, drinks are OK.
The crowd is what I consider to be a hip, spending-conscious group, and not too bad looking actually (the looks department is quite mixed). Takes a really long time to get a drink. The bouncers are really cool, very nice, even when idiots like me (who just moved back from Hong Kong) forget that I can't take my drink outside...
Also, there's a cover charge of I think $5 on the weekend. I can definitely see myself stumbling back into there sometime. -
Review from Josh K.
11/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
Nice little bar with an underground (literally) vibe. Came here with a Gilt City coupon to have unlimited well drinks and draft beer for up to 5 people for 1 hour and made it worth our while. However, as we were nearing 9pm we heard the band setting up on the stage, plunking on their synthesizers to do a sound check, which made maintaining a conversation between our little group next to impossible. I can only imagine how chaotic the place is during concert hours.. not really interested in coming back here during those times. For what it was worth, it was good, but not sure I would come back here without an incentive due to the noise.
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Review from Rich P.
Cedar Grove, NJ
10/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
Hipster Central.
Mostly younger crowd dancing to pre-Beatles tunes maybe even reaching back to the 1940s. Bring your flannel, even though it's a hot sweaty mess on the dance floor. Also, the scene out in front of this place is almost as epic as it is inside. Lots of interesting people with interesting ideas, and an entirely positive crowd. Reduced it from 5 stars to 4 because it was so overly crowded that I didn't even bother to get a drink here. . . -
Review from Alison G.
Brooklyn, NY
9/8/2011
God I hate this place. The first one or two times I came to Home Sweet Home (2009?) it was really fun! They played a good variety of dance music - indie, popular, etc., drinks seemed reasonable, not horrifyingly crowded, etc. But not anymore!
The DJ is always super serious, and personally, I'm not down with the motown/soul/60s beach music that seems to be all they play now. I guess that's my fault, though. Even without my personal gripe against the repetitive, blah music, the minimum for a card at the bar is $30 AND there's typically a cover. $30 minimum seems pretty ridiculous to me, especially for a so-called "dive." And there's always a line for the bathroom that takes forever. And the bathrooms are sort of gross. And it's hot as hell in there. Maybe I just keep going on the wrong night?? OK end bitching. -
Review from Adina F.
11/19/2011
Fun crowd, great music, CHEAP DRINKS! Best staff evvarrrr as well
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Review from Rachel L.
Manhattan, NY
8/23/2011
Love the bar (the decor, the bartenders, the drinks)
Hate the crowd (hipsters squeezed together between leather couches under a disco ball)
It's so crowded you can't even walk because the size and the layout can't support even a smallish crowd. And the crowd is always the same. I've been there 3 or 4 times and it's always packed with the most hipstery of hipsters.
If it's your scene to be seen then this is the place for you otherwise I'd stay away. -
Review from Anna S.
11/1/2011 1 Check-in Here
Really liked this place! Great drink selection, fun DJ, just the right amount of crowding, taxidermied animals everywhere, and a surprisingly pleasant smell for an underground bar full of drunk people on a Saturday night. Just divey and rotten enough to make you feel like a sexy scamp, but...not actually divey or rotten. My ideal combo. Only buzzkill was the $25 minimum credit card tab.
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Review from Namik G.
11/14/2011
Dive sweat bar full of smelly hipsters. It is a definition of 'hot mess'.
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Review from lizbeth r.
Stamford, CT
7/31/2011
This bar was beyond gross...but just to give it some benefit of doubt i got here are 2ish...
1. it was hott in there, like a sauna...but people didnt care at all...it smelled like B.O people were just to close to one another...idk how this place has no thought for AC. the one guy next to me kept wiping of his sweat on his shoulder which also made it seem like he was smelling his pits...nasty...
2. the bathrooms, granted bathrooms at this time no good but it was a fucking piss party in there...ewww and the heat didnt help that situation either...
i think maybe the music did it but i say that only because i heard james brown "i feel good" which i never thought i would hear out at a club, very surprising and nice but couldnt enjoy it with situation 1 and 2.
AND IT SMELLED LIKE MILDEW!!!
My thoughts, i would not go back even if you tried to pay me...no way... -
Review from Sandy V.
Brooklyn, NY
9/3/2011
Soul Nite on Fridays is good, gets bumping around 11pm. They have a happy hour before that, 7-10, but it's kind of sparse.
There were some choice dancers displaying some good old fashioned moves on the dance floor. DJ lacked a little bit of flair but was laying down solid funk and soul. -
Review from Anna L.
Brooklyn, NY
11/28/2011
Okay sometimes I go to Home Sweet Home and it's so great and other times not so much.
Don't come here for a relaxed conversation setting come here to dance and meet people.
Personally I haven't been a fan on the DJ on Friday nights but when I have time to go Saturdays I have an amazing time.
I also tend to get there early before they start charging cover so it's worth it. Though it does tend to get really crowded I've gotten bruised from being stepped on by girls with their stilettos. -
Review from Charlie S.
New York, NY
11/27/2011
Love the music. Have heard everything from Motown to Passion Pit.
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Review from kel h.
New York, NY
8/18/2011
Music hit or miss
Lots of dancing and hipsters
You will break a sweat -
Review from Johny H.
New Brunswick, NJ
11/7/2011 2 Check-ins Here
This was a great find. Such a cool crowd. Everyone was really chill. It was a great vibe, interesting music and friendly atmosphere. I'm glad my friend told me about this place. The dive-y atmosphere and not giving a damn attitude of the patrons made it an experience. Ill be back.
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Review from Sol H.
Islandia, NY
8/21/2011
Underground
Super hot and packed.
Drinks were pretty weak. Bathroom was nasty and not really my scene. Might have to go back and give it another chance. -
Review from René G.
Drexel Hill, PA
8/20/2011
I've been here once in May/June with a few friends to see Epee Dubois play at Wierd and to dance to some dark new wave/post-punk music on Wednesday night. The bar/venue is hidden underground, but I think it is appropriate for this place. Unlike other bars I've been to, this one really stands out décor-wise with taxidermy and hanging chandeliers! I can't say anything about the alcohol selection or the bartender's service, since I don't drink often. My only complaints are the uneven and small dance floor between the stage and the DJ station (which appears to be on a slope) and excessive use of the smoke machine, which makes it hard to see sometimes. Overall, it's a cool place and I plan to come back again soon!
Pros: décor, music and underground location
Cons: hipsters, excessive use of the smoke machine and uneven and small dance floor. -
Review from Alyvia M.
4/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
1 star = sick vibe.
1 star = sweet bartenders.
1 star = crowd drawn.
1 star = old school tracks.
Dig it. -
Review from Athena C.
4/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
What a bizzare bar in LES with no sign and barely a name outside. It doesn't stop us though. The vibe is very western but it is so cool because it is housed in this trashy LES apt building basement.
The drinks are inexpensive and it is so hidden I felt so relaxed and ready to have a good time. I hope I remember how to come back here! -
Review from Sera F.
Santa Monica, CA
6/10/2011
Where do I begin:
The setting: I come to NY for this wild trip with two girlfriends to visit my gal friend who had moved- The itinerary is loose and I'm able to bunk with new faces and new friendships.
The days are long and I find out my friend from the homeland is in town. He invites me to see the only talked about art show that was a must. After running around town all night with 5 lady friends and him, I meet two new gal friends who talk about this dive which is where they are heading.
a long walk, all full of laughs and drunken slur, a little flirtation and good times. We find Home Sweet Home. Friendliest bouncer and a guy with 4 babes, who would not turn down such a night. We get inside and begin throwing back as many drinks we can. HSH, where dancing and flirting with the attractively dashing crowd, tenders, and djs is shoe fit for a home run. Laughing, jumping, making complete fools with peacock feathered yuppie and townsie friend staring down at the barnyard children...
I loved the cliche, good souled intention folk and the glaring fat cats who came from money.
IT was a good vibe, minus some pretentious babies thinking they could keep up but getting shot down...Stay near the disco ball if you cant handle a sweet, sweaty, shoe stomp rowdier wild drunk like crowd towards the front of the crowded dodgy dingy down some stairs in stilettos... bar. "It was that kind of night."
HSH, until we meet again.
TY for an ah-mazing night. The scares, tearing in my stockings, and the like. -
Review from Jia J.
3/14/2011
I am able to give this establishment a good rating mainly because, on a Tuesday after happy hour, it was pretty much empty. Therefore, I was able to appreciate the transporting experience of feeling confused at the street level (since 131 Chrystie is also an apartment building unrelated to the bar), then walking a bit further to where a chalkboard sign at the top of a trapdoor stairway signaled the underground location of Home Sweet Home. My descent to the depths was prolonged by the waddle of a hapless worker lifting kegs and cases down the steel steps.
The dank, low-ceilinged, low-lit room had the decor of a lunatic's delapidated mansion on the bayou but had the strictly urban pungency of New York City's sewer steam. Though all surfaces had been wiped down prior to opening, I imagined all the creatures and microbes that had traipsed this place before - including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Splinter.
A tilted chandelier hung from the unlevel ceiling, shedding yellow light upon plastic-covered couches and radical specimens of action-pose taxidermy (a preening hawk, a wolf with a falcon fainting in its jaws). A glass case under the bar housed figurines of owls and melted wax candles shaped vaguely like mushrooms. Most spooky of all was needlepoint art on the walls. I asked the bartender how long the place had been open. "About five years," he said. Of course, a timely response to the hipster epidemic and/or "urban woodsman" movement (a lot of overlap, we all know) in this city. Yet, Home Sweet Home has done well creating just enough grit and creepiness to cross over from the realm of the contrived to the fronter of the authentic.
At this hour, drafts and well drinks were four bucks. While this was as close to a deal as one could get in this city, I thought that a decent whiskey or bourbon was more appropriate for this environment. So I went back around the door where a dirt-caked but miraculously functioning ATM machine gave me $20 in exchange for $2.50 in fees. All this just to realize upon sitting down at the bar that I pretty much only wanted a Newcastle.
The chill bartender reappeared from his preparations and poured me the new keg's first pint into a heavyweight plastic cup that almost looked like glass. Pretentously, I tried to read Atlas Shrugged, but the dimness of the room forced me to just drink my beer and enjoy the blues coming out of a killer acoustic system at the perfect volume. A friend of the bartender's arrived, and I tried not to be jealous as he poured her a mug on the house.
The friend I'd been waiting for arrived, and I got her the hoppy selection she wanted, then switched to Guinness myself. The music started sounding better and better, and better still after an additional pint of frothy brown malt. We could barely tear ourselves away for the audiovisual production happening next door.
When the event was over, we came back "Home," mainly to utilize their fairly clean restrooms. At this point, the music had changed to something less chill, but there was still no one dancing. The lounging seats lacing the small dancefloor were speckled with long faced 20 year olds who looked bored with life (already??).
Point being, this place gets my vote for a hidden treasure amongst happy hour venues, but I can imagine how it might suck at all other hours and times...it's like a fantastical place on the other end of a rabbit hole. You're not quite sure what it'll be like when next you're there, but you suspect you'll go in case it's something like it was the day you found it. -
Review from ariela r.
New York, NY
9/28/2011
I came here last Saturday hoping to go dancing, the minute I stepped inside it felt like a sauna! My friends and I wound up just sitting on the couch closest to the entrance because the place was SO HOT! It was such a bummer because the music was so good, it would have been perfect to dance to but my friend warned me that the dance floor was even hotter and more packed than the area where we were sitting. Thumbs down! Maybe I'll try coming back in the winter? maybe it will be less humid and hot then? maybe?
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Review from Freya C.
3/9/2011
Home Sweet Sweaty Home.
Got to love this get-down-and-dirty-on-the-dance-floor-dive. Many a good Friday and Saturday night spent here shaking it out to anything from Elvis to some hot Britney-remix with a bunch friends, screaming garbled lyrics that we pretend are memorized (yeh don't lie - you know you get the Baby-Got-Back rap wrong at the end unless you're Charlie and you do know every word to every song ever written)...
Something captivating about the taxidermy creatures arranged around the room, and as Saz always reminds me, the enigmatic-long-haired bar tender, hot stuff.
I've never paid a cent in cover to make a laughing-dancing fool of myself here. I think this is normal, maybe they charge for special occasions (?!) -probably not over $10 though.
Get's so damn HOT down there, it is a shame to have to throw my sequined jacket on the side but a girl gotta be comfs to keep rocking it out... Don't tell me you want some SPACE now? -
Review from Mary C.
Updated - 12/6/2010
This place is getting too PACKED! Can we get a cap off on the number of hipsters allowed in this place?
I was here for a friend's birthday. Music was still good and had a blast dancing the night away...
My only problem was COAT CHECK. It was ridiculous how long we waited for our coats... I definitely had a mouthful to say to the girls skipping the line, the idiot in front who let them skip the line, and the incompetent girl who's only job is to take numbers and get your coat.
Stupid hipsters.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/16/2010
Do you love going to dive bars? Well I do! This hidden place is a little treasure if you like to… Read more »
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Review from Chantalle D.
New York, NY
8/31/2011
Fun underground bar with an eclectic variety of music from 80s on... kind of a hipster crowd and NYU students... really liked the decoration and would go again
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Review from liz k.
New York, NY
9/16/2011
If you like to be around a crowd that actually dances to good, classic music, and you want a Southern (KY? GA?) vibe - this is the place for you. It is humid year-round in this place - I've been in the Summer and in the Fall (late-ish) so ladies: bring a hair do-hickie and some makeup in your bag to re-apply later. The taxidermy can throw you on the way in, but once you see the people dancing in the back, you'll forget about the stuffed birds in the front. Door isn't bad; sometimes has a low-dollar cover, but nothing over $10. Good place to end a night, or a mid-night stop for re-powering-up.
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Review from Lisa H.
8/28/2011
Came here a week ago for some happy hour drinks with friends before heading over to our main event a couple of blocks away.. they have a good selection of beers on tap for $3 a pint. Not sure what other reviewers are complaining about with the sweating and the heat here.. when I came, it was cool, a bit damp and mildewy. Not an outstanding experience.. the restroom is also pretty gross.. but it was convenient and cheap for pre-drinks.
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Review from Adrian C.
Manhattan, NY
11/19/2010
Wasn't a great fan, to be honest. In fairness, I'm not a hipster but dive bars are definitely my kinda place. However, this one charges like a wounded bull considering the ambience. I've paid less for better beers in Manhattan than I did there, and if I recall correctly Home Sweet Home's were served in plastic cups.
It was empty on a Friday night when we rolled in around 9:30, but within the blink of an eye it was absolutely packed, standing room only and even then you literally could barely move. Any place that feels like 110 degrees inside is gonna lose points in my books unfortunately, but maybe that's your sort of thing?
My hipster buddy said the music was a weird choice for a supposed hipster bar, I'll have to take his word for it on that. One saving grace was that the keg of whatever the hell I was drinking ran dry halfway through the pour, so I told the bartender to top it off with Newcastle, and he was so stunned/disgusted that he gave it to me for free. That'll do!
Bonus point for the smoking hot brunette bartender with the shit-ton of tattoos. -
Review from Danielle S.
New York, NY
10/5/2010
There's nothing I hate more than an underground bar. This place feels like every Friday night I had in college - 300 people stuffed into a dark basement party with collection of random decorations that have been there since the 60s. Rotting chairs and couches that make you feel a little uneasy and unsure what's living in there or how many people have had sex on them previously. The overpowering smell of damp cellar, mixed with undertones of stale beer in stuffy, hot air that you can hardly breathe in.
Thank GOD it was so packed that someone spilled their entire beer on me, because I finally had an excuse to leave. -
Review from cait l.
2/20/2011
I really like to go out and dance every once in a while. I don't mind making a fool of myself, getting too sweaty, singing along etc... and it seems like the crowd at Home Sweet Home feels the same way. I've been twice and both times the place was completely packed. There are side effects to the crowd: be ready to wait in the line for the bathrooms (there are 3 stalls total), be ready to wait in the line for coat check, and be ready to wait at the bar (on occasion - the bartenders are cool though).
I like that Home Sweet Home is busy. A dance bar should be. But the main problem is the music, and therein lies the rub. Some songs bring the crowd to their feet and others slow the crowd to an awkward shuffle and a retreat to the bar. The djs don't seem to read the scene right.
I guess what this bar teaches New York is there should be more dance bars like it with far better music - no cover, no lines, decent drinks and good vibes. I'd totally be there.
*(wear small clothing - it is VERY hot)
