Spitzer's Corner

BeTheBall

Massachusetts

4.28/5  rDev +6.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

Went on Saturday afternoon with 3 others for lunch on a nice summer day. Frotn section has floor to ceiling windows, which were open to the air, making for nice people watching. Area is filled with long bench style tables running parallel to the street, backed by a bar with dozens of taps and a mirror rear wall making the space seem even larger.
The place was not very busy during my visit, so as expected, service was prompt and steady. The staff had big smiles and seemed to enjoy their jobs. Beer knowledge was decent, but I knew more (this often happens). Still, more knowledge than most places.
Beer selection was very good. Many American and Belgian craft beers, enough that anyone can find something great to drink. I had 3 different drafts; all good.
Food was excellent. Started with an hierloom tomatoe appetizer that was both beautiful looking and delicious. Finished with a high quality sandwich. Everyone in my party liked both their beer, and their food.
Not knowing NYC very well (I was a tourist), this has instantly shot up to the top of my (very short) list of beer bars for future visits. I loved the place. Even loved the woodwork walking down the back stairs to where the bathrooms are located. Very unique.

08-28-2008 12:19:32 | More by BeTheBall

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev +6.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

I really enjoy the feel of Spitzers, the wood and the earth tones, and the space. I like the communal tables, and watching the people on the street go by.

I also love the great beer selection. It may not be the best I've ever seen, but it's still pretty impressive. 40 beers on tap, and they're varied!

The food I can either take or leave. Not that it's not good, because it is really well prepared and presented, but I see it just as kind of upscale bar food, and not as a meal. I've enjoyed the asparagus and mussels though - a snack until heading elsewhere.

Finally, for the most part the service has been very good. I can't fault the entire operation for one or two servers and a bartender that just couldn't get it together.

If you're in the area I'd certainly recommend a visit! (Also note, although it is "a bit pricey", I think for NY standards it's actually quite reasonable).

04-27-2009 16:41:55 | More by NeroFiddled

marcpal

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Went here last night for dinner and drinks with a small group.

Atmosphere: This place was much bigger than you first think when walking in. Both the front hall and the back hall are wood based decor which is real rustic with communal tables and small tables. The extensive taps are right in the wall in a good looking bar set up. Diverse crowd and lots of Europeans lending to the overall European feel and vibe you get from this place- mainly because of the communal tables.

Quality: Food and beer were top notch. Plenty of options for food and they shined through with the appetizers mostly. The beer selection on tap was very good as were the quality of those that were in bottle. Beers I went with included Weinstephaner varieties, Southampton and was very excited to have a few in NY from the Goose Island line.

Service: Good, not great. Atttentive both at the bar and the waiter as well. The waiter knew a very good amount about the food, extremely impressive and was able to fill all requests. Didnt really get much from the beer knowledge at the bar but they seemed to know their stuff.

Selection: As noted, over 40 taps with a great variety of seasonal and standbys. Lots of local stuff as well as all the stuff that is getting newly distributed to the city. Was impressed much more than I had thought going in.

Food: A bit pricey but its downtown and worth it. The appetizers were incredible, including the duck fat fries, herbed popcorn, local pickles, and regular fries and mussels. As far as other food, very gastropub but a bit small in terms of portions. Still very good burgers, grilled cheese and salmon dish.

I am eager to get there again, nice surprise.

04-27-2008 17:19:54 | More by marcpal

JTahoe

California

4.25/5  rDev +6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

Great warm-modern atmosphere and mellow vibe. I found it worth noting that the music volume was perfect... not loud, but created good atmosphere. The front room was mostly communal table seating with long banquette along wall, limited bar seating, I didn't go to the other room. Very nice quality food menu of small plates. I like the interesting vegetable options (the broccoli rabe was simple but very good) and small plates (I had the duck confit which was a fairly small duck portion and generous serving of green salad with pomegranate and pine nuts and a crouton with fois gras butter). Service was a bit aloof, but attentive. They seemed to know their beer. They are very strict with ID's... they take it from you and scan it at the bar because of some past issue serving underage people. Their beer selection is good with a decent selection of locals, imports, and craft brews from coast to coast. Not the most amazing list I've ever seen, but pretty nicely curated. A bit pricey, but really not bad for NY. Overall a great place.

01-23-2010 06:03:46 | More by JTahoe

mltobin

Connecticut

4.15/5  rDev +3.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Spitzers is located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, which is better known for dive bars and small venues like Arlene`s Grocery.

The set-up has one smallish bar and then a handful of wooden tables and some room to sit facing outward to Rivington street on small stools. The wooden tables seem to be the best bet. A good mix of patrons from different walks of life come here.
They have a good amount of taps, 30 or so I think. I recall seeing Southampton Double White, Delerium Tremens, Brooklyn, Bad Elf, in addition to other micros and smaller Euro brewers.
I liked the bottle selection which included selections from Chimay, Lindenman`s, Westmalle.
The food I have had the soft shell crab sandwich back in the summer, which was cooked well and more recently some chicken and french fries which were also tasty. A solid place to spend some time in NYC, drinking good beer and making new friends.

12-14-2008 19:39:20 | More by mltobin

StJamesGate

New York

4.14/5  rDev +3.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$$

Small front corner among the clothing stores. Inside it's dark, brushed steel and wood, a "we're modern but not imposing" vibe like Belgo or Wagamama. Just the corner is open during the day with a back room for evening.

Beer list is impressive even for New York, with 40 drafts. Especially good is Californians on tap like Green Flash and Bear Republic which you don't often see in NY. Locals and all styles represented; Belgians too get their due.

Staff was not overbearing; strict about ID but seemed ready to talk beer. Crowd was a mix of cool kids and older professionals. Food menu was interesting and not cheap. I could see where it might get heaving late at night - signage seems to hint that the bathrooms are handy for sneaky liaisons.

Solid addition to the city, never mind the neighborhood.

12-01-2009 00:01:51 | More by StJamesGate

flexabull

California

4.14/5  rDev +3.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Cool place that I stumbled upon while my wife was shopping in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Dark, lots of wood, and really open. I sat by the big open windows and people watched the hipsters, and cars honking and yelling at each other.

Quality was good, saw lots of good taps, some Belgians, Captain Lawrence, Founders, Southern Tier, Troegs, etc...

Service was good, she was friendly, and came over and brought me a second beer without me having to go up to the bar.

Selection was great, 40 taps with lots of variety.

Didn't try the food, but it looked tasty.

Prices were about on par for NYC, but the $2 off drafts for the Noon-7PM Happy Hour was great.

Overall, a very worthy stop in the LES.

09-24-2012 20:15:02 | More by flexabull

dudecandle

New York

4.09/5  rDev +2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

A: Great place in the East Village to just relax, have a nice beer at a one of the three giant communal tables, at a bench on the side, or even up at the table against the window and pedestrian-watch. I hear the windows even open in the daytime.
No TV's present to distract you from the glory of one of the great beers you can try, so just come on a night that isn't the Super Bowl.

Q: Speaking of beer, it's a bit pricey, normally ranging from $7-9, and not for imperial pints. However, what they have is great. The strongest aspect of their selection is their Dubbels, Trippels and Quads selection. It's nice to find some St. Bernardus and Maredsous tucked away in the East Village. Not to imply they don't show respect to the locals, including Brooklyn and even Kelso.
They also keep a steady supply of pale ales, IPA's and imperials, so there's something for everyone. Off the top of my head, I don't remember stouts and porters, but I'm sure they were there.

Service: Only one guy behind the bar for the most part, with another guy floating around alone picking up orders, so not the promptest, but I was lucky that it wasn't the busiest hour.

All in all, a great selection of quality beer makes this a place to definitely return to in time, even though it's out of my way.

08-31-2009 02:03:02 | More by dudecandle

Hautacam

Connecticut

4.08/5  rDev +1.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Nice vibe in this place with the communal tables and open windows. We hung out for a while in the front area , then moved to the more quiet back....which is also nice.
Beer selection was awesome. We had Pretty Things Hegderow and Sixpoint Sweet Action. 40 taps. I have to say that whoever writes the beer descriptions on the menu either has a great palate, does their homework....or both, because the descriptions of all their beers that I've had; that being most of them, was right on the mark. Excellent.
Also had a light dinner...catfish sandwich and scallops...both excellent.
Our bartender was very friendly and had no problems giving tastes prior to ordering.
We will go back for sure.
So, kind of funny...I am over 55 years old and I was carded...so I guess you can expect to be carded too !

09-04-2011 12:47:43 | More by Hautacam

infi

New York

4.03/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped in to end a great night with a couple friends.

A small lunch-like room with community tables with long benches, as well as some stools around the perimeter of the room. Dimly lit atmosphere with the audible levels still a bit high, considering it was about 2 AM. Quality of the beers were great – 40 different taps available. Decent variety for everyone to try. Service was a bit inattentive and unusual. Bartender asked to see all 6 people's stamped hand before taking our order. If the bouncer checked our IDs for age, why the need? Anyway, we got finally got our beers, which was the always dependable Weihenstephan Hefe for $7 each. Decently priced overall.

Didn't try the food here, but Katz Deli is about 2 blocks away!

05-31-2011 22:43:10 | More by infi