Arthur's Tavern

I use to frequent this place when the elderly lady (I think her name was Mabel & another elderly man use to keep the place jumping-I 4get his name) However, I recently returned with my 22yr. old daughter & it broke my heart. The woman behind the bar was not even pleasant. All my great memories were flushed down the drain & the Christmas lights had dimmed. I say this with great regret-if you are riding the name-SELL IT to someone who wants to run it w/o credit cards. Save this landmark-please. However, run it right, & do not touch the ambience. Just find 2 good piano players. Mabel used to play Fats Waller to Rt. 66. God Bless her, she is calling you from her grave--saying "Save My Dark Yet Homey Place-Where I was loved"- - -Wise up & start by firing ALL the help- - - & look into getting it declared "landmark status".......I am dead serious.

I am totally lazy to write this "venue", but feel like saving people from going to this place ever
shortly:
Price: not $$, it is $$$ or even $$$$
Service: 3rd world ghetto waitresses
Music: Delayed 40mins, acoustics bad, they played not even 30mins
Ambient: Not many people, rotten decoration, I understand it is a tavern,
but come on! Not clean (glasses, bathroom..)
So many places to go in West Village

You can't go right with this place. The worst value jazz experience I have ever had in my life and I have been to more than a hundred jazz bars throughout the years. First of all, the staff is the meanest, they are like a joke, the small manlike bartender wants to start a bar fight constantly doing annoying and testing you like asking you to drink, change your seat, shouldering you and not saying sorry, looking at you meanly and it wasn't only me, everyone was in shock and they were trying to smile back and look at each other, not to feel upset and they wanted to keep the energy positive. Then, she asked a guy to leave because he wasn't drinking more than two drinks and she started yelling and everything just stopped, music, people were no more speaking, she screamed and yelled, leave or I will call the cops and the guy was in shock, obviously, he was there to have a good time listening to jazz. If the manager every or whoever manages that cowboy jazz bar, they should immediately fire the black (not dark) bartender. she brings only harm to your bar and NY. What a mess!
Regarding the drinks, too too expensive, I would say Four Seasons prices.
The bar itself looks old, I understand a tavern is supposed to look old, but it only looks like noone cares. The music was ok, but it was for such a short period, 4 to 5 songs maybe, then, it was half an hour break.
Just to make sure noone makes the same mistake that I have made. Lots of other great live music venues in West Village, check the high star ones, this deserves at most 2

I went to this jazz bar even though they told me not to go and they were right. I would give 5 out of 100 and that 5 would be because of its location and proximity to all other nice bars. First of all, I don't think the owner is ever there because if he was, he would never employ the bartender or the waitress. When the bar was almost empty, they said the tables are reserved and I am sure they weren't. It took them forever to bring a beer and they kept asking me if I want to drink every 5 minutes, I said I am still drinking. When she brought the beer, she put the bottle so hard, it was like wild west. She said literally: man, this is bar, you need to drink. It was like a joke. I think they are racists, too because she was just fine with serving blonde people and smiling at them. I would change all the employees of this bar and make a full renovation because the location and NY deserves much more. By the way, music is so bad, too. Just wanted to share so that you don't experience the same

Drinks are way overpriced and the $9 beer was not even cold. The waitress was nowhere to be found and when she came, I felt unwanted in the place. Then, she needed my seat because an old lady was seatless, I gave her the seat. Then, she said I need to keep drinking if I want to stay. I said I don't want to drink any more and she said if you don't drink, you have to leave. I said I am not leaving, then she just pulled the chair under me. It was unbelievable, literally, sick. I felt like I was in a red neck truck place in the middle of west village. She basically wanted to start some incident and she was going to play the innocent woman after all. It killed my positive energy for about 10mins :) I managed a jazz bar and a restaurant before, what a mess this place is. Don't go to this place if you don't want to see the worst service of humanity. There is Bar 55 across the road, which is great by all means with great service, price, ambient and music quality