Rattle N Hum

knightlypint

2.7/5  rDev -36.6%
vibe: 2 | quality: 2 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 1.5 | $$$

Something like a sports bar, a bit on the loud side. The bar area is too congested, especially on drinking nights when it gets crowded.

The tap beers never taste quite right but the bottles are usually ok.

Service is ok, younger girls trying to make a few bucks.

Tap and bottle selection is better than most NYC bars.

Food isn't up to snuff, too soggy and greasy. The menu is not extensive, standard bar slop.

Value, a bit pricey for what you're getting overall.

Additional comments:

R & H holds many events with big name micro breweries.

Dirty glassware

Not a good place overall. I've been to many beer bars in NYC and overall they're not outstanding, but R & H doesn't even measure up to them. Avoid it, you're not missing anything.

04-18-2012 19:11:09 | More by knightlypint

Sloth80008

New Jersey

2.78/5  rDev -34.7%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 1 | selection: 3 | $$

I went to Rattle 'N' Hum on Sat the first day of spring. My fiancé has been telling me how great this place was when she went. I was very very excited to go, but as a very well rounded beer drinker I'm not normally impressed by a selection it was no different here (I do know that it will change seasonal so I would have gone back anyway). But this time out I order a Rodenbach Grand Cru, I was told the keg kicked at that no one knows how to change it. Then I ordered a Southampton Double White it was flat so I went to the bar and told them she tried and told me that it was not. I now said that I didn't want anything else and wanted my check. When the check come I was charged for the beer I didn't drink and was told that ALL SALES ARE FINAL. So I paid my check and said goodbye to Rattle 'N' Hum forever, also to tell everyone I know not to go there cause it was terrible. I hope you're happy that a single server lost possibly many many customers forever.

03-21-2010 19:00:27 | More by Sloth80008

deapokid

Pennsylvania

2.79/5  rDev -34.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2.5 | selection: 2.5 | $$$

Stopped in on Thursday (9/23/2010) during a short trip to NYC with friends.

To say that my visit to Rattle 'N' Hum was disappointing would be a huge understatement. I'm sure on a different night at a different time, my experience may have been different, but nearly everything about this bar rubbed me the wrong way.

Initially, my hopes were high. We just so happened to stumble in on Allagash night (two surprise events in two nights!) and I was stoked to retry all of my favorites on tap.

The tap list was pretty solid in general. Besides the overwhelming amount of awesome Allagash beers (20 in total), there were 20 other top notch craft brews on tap (O'Haras, Fullers, Goose Island, etc.). There was also a cask ale station in the back, but I don't think it was open during our visit.

I was dying to try Confluence for a second time, but was politely notified by the bartender that the keg had been kicked. Being a seasoned barfly, I realize that things like this happen and set my sights on the Avance. I got my girlfriend a bottle of St. Louis Fond Tradition and moseyed on to the back of the bar to check out the chalkboard bottle list.

There were about 150 bottles in all and several were relatively rare or limited items (think of Stone, Founders and Goose Island's finest efforts). As things started to quiet down (around midnight), we decided to take a table in the back and post up near the bottle list. Since I'd seen bottles of Goose Island's Bourbon County and Bourbon County Coffee over the bar (as well as on the list), I was planning on passing one around our comfy wooden picnic table and kicking back. Unfortunately, our trip away from the bar would be the downfall of the evening.

Despite a small Thursday night crowd, our waitress made very few appearances. At around 12:15am, we ordered up a GI Bourbon Country, a couple Allagashs and food menus. Our waitress said she'd grab our drinks as fast as possible and that ordering food wouldn't be an issue, since they serve until well after 1am.

Roughly 25 minutes later, she returned with the Allagashs, an apology about the kitchen just closing and a question about the bottle I ordered. I knew that was a bad sign. Sadly, The Bourbon County Stout I ordered and Stone Macadamia Nut Porter I subsequently ordered were both unavailable. Neither were scratched off the chalk menu (like other out-of-stock beers had been) and I was told that I couldn't order the bottles that rested above the bar.

At the end of the night, the bar was only batting .500 with my drinks orders (3 of 6) and it really left a bad taste in my mouth. Being out of a beer is one thing, but being out of several beers and not noting it is certainly another. I can't give you props for having Bourbon County if you're not actually serving it.

Also, it's rather unprofessional for staff members to rudely remark about the Phillies' hats worn by myself and another member of my party. A joke is one thing, but being confrontational is another.

All in all, Rattle 'N' Hum should take some pointers from Blind Tiger and be friendly to out-of-towners who were certainly willing to spend money.

10-03-2010 00:13:54 | More by deapokid

JimWilliams

Rhode Island

3.14/5  rDev -26.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 1.5 | selection: 5 | $$

I was so excited to check out this new beer bar in midtown Manhattan. What I was really excited about was the cask ales that they supposedly had.

I try to make it a point not to visit most bars at night, and, especially not on the weekend, but, sometimes, that's the way it goes! I was expecting a large crowd on Friday night, but, wasn't expecting the frat party. Oh well, get to the beer!

I saw the list of cask ales on the wall and was very excited to see that they had 2 from Westerham. A brewery I was really impressed with at the NERAX festival last month. After seeing the Cask list, I looked over and saw the "Cask Bar" in the far corner, so, that's where I went. After standing at the bar for a few minutes, and, seeing multiple servers look me in the eye, and, keep walking, I finally stopped one of them, and, asked for a pint. "oh", she says, "you have to order at the main bar." So, I fight the frat boys back to the main bar.

Luckily, I get a seat at the bar, and, finally get a very busy bartenders eye. I order a Westerham Finchcock. He rolls his eyes, turns around, and, goes to the far corner to get my beer. What a bad setup. I can appreciate how frustrating it must be for a busy bar staff. He comes back with my beer. No head whatsoever, and, an inch short in the glass (I know cask ale, more on that later). I pay, and, put the glass to my nose for the wonderful aroma of... apple cider vinegar?! yep. This beer was dead, dead, dead. It probably should've been pulled the night before.

After choking down 1/2 of this slop, I decide to try another. I get the bartenders eye again, and this time, he knew what to expect, and, pleasantly disappeared to the bar in the far corner, and, came back with a truly magnificent glass of real ale. Condition on this beer, Westerham Black Eagle, was perfect. Unfortunately, when he poured it, he should've let it settle briefly, then topped off. By the time he got back to the bar, the head had settled a bit, and, the beer was, again, short. By about 3/4". Pet peave of mine. The beer was fabulous. Condition, clarity, aroma, flavor. It was a great example of a classic, well balanced real ale.

Unfortunately, I hit them on a busy night, and, as I mentioned, I don't like to go to these places at night, and, 40+ beers on tap, just seems gimicky to me. I wish service was better and the beer seems to be really hit or mis. I mean, if you claim cask ale is going to be something you focus on, it seems you should at least taste the beers hourly/daily to make sure they are still pourable.

After leaving Rattle N Hum, I needed a sure thing, so, hopped a cab to the Blind Tiger. It was hopping as well, but, service was excellent as always. Beer was in great condition, like always. And, the crowd may have been frat boys at one time, but, now they're 30's, and, have been around the block.

Next time I go to the city, I'll definitely give rattle and hum another shot, but, it'll be during the day. I'll save my nighttime beer drinking for Blind Tiger and DBA.

Oh, and, to the owners, you really need to do something about that "Cask bar" What a lame, inefficient, bad idea.

EDIT!!!!

Patrick, the owner of Rattle N Hum, sent me beer mail regarding the above review. He seemed very concerned about my issues, and, planned on solving them. How much can one ask for!!!! It certainly sounds like he is on the same page, and, is going to try to solve some of these problems. Anyway, he cared, and, that's what counts.

I can't wait to get back to the city, and, try out Rattle n Hum again. Hopefully, the real ales will be in good condition, AND, filled to the rim of the glass!

04-20-2009 01:30:33 | More by JimWilliams

keo

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -23.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | food: 2.5 | $$

Tucked tightly away on E 33rd street, Rattle N' Hum presents itself as a true beer lovers bar, but my experience there was less than spectacular. Aesthetically pleasing with a good selection of brews, this bar seems to hold much promise, but there are a number of areas which could use some improvement. It should be noted that the bar has only been operating for a year now, and and perfection can not be expected in such little time.

To begin with, a better system should be implemented which lets patrons know what beers are actually in stock. A simple chalkboard would suffice and would prevent customers like me from trying to order beer after beer that only to find them to be out of stock. This became especially concerning when it took the service over half an hour to come back and take my new order. That is way to long for any bar, no matter how crowded.

Glassware was another area in which Rattle N' Hum proved awkward. Each beer was paired with its glass on the basis of alcohol content, rather than on the basis of its style. Since when is serving a wheat beer in a wheat glass such an inappropriate idea? Further, each beer was served at temperatures which only the "Rocky Mountains" could be proud of. The bars owners are apparently aware of this problem, and cite the it as being a result of too little room for separate food and beverage coolers. Never the less, A triple served at "silver bullet" temperatures is borderline offensive.

Since the beer experience left something to be desired, I hoped I would be more pleased with the dining experience. Unfortunately, the service in this area was also rather slow. The food was mediocre and was rather greasy and overcooked. Though not pleased with my own meal, it is likely that Rattle N' Hum does serve other more appetizing dishes.

Bottom line, Rattle N' Hum makes an effort, but falls a little short in some areas. Beer availability, service, glassware, serving temperatures and food are all areas deserving of some fine tuning. The atmosphere and decoration, however, sets one up for a wonderful beer experience, and with some improvements, Rattle N' Hum could perform well in all areas. Given the short period of time since the bar has opened, it certainly deserves some time to truly establish itself. It surly is never a bad thing when a new bar decides to dedicate itself to the world of craft beers, and if for nothing else, I salute Rattle N' Hums effort, and urge them to continue improving.

08-10-2009 19:58:09 | More by keo

gory4d

New York

3.44/5  rDev -19.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

So two friends and I went to Rattle N Hum Friday night for the cask ale festival. The place was tightly packed with surprisingly loud music. We were lucky enough to get a table, but unlucky that it was near the door and got a gust of cold air every time someone came in. The waitress took orders on a little hand-held device that automatically sent them to the bar. Somewhere in the aether, though, our orders for half-pints were changed to orders for full pints (which were brought to us by a second waitress). Fine, you might say, that's more beer. Well, yeah, but this happened three times in a row, even after we'd pointed it out to the (second, rather surly) waitress, who was up front about intending to charge us for what we hadn't ordered. Eventually a third waitress took responsibility for bringing our drinks, and things went much more smoothly. The bartender, the one time I went up to fetch drinks, was very helpful. And the cask beers themselves were, for the most part, delicious -- I took notes and will be reviewing them soon.

11-25-2008 20:15:30 | More by gory4d

jamesmbirchnyc

New Jersey

3.44/5  rDev -19.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$$

I've been to Rattle N Hum a few times now and feel obligated to finally review this bar.

I like the overview ambiance and have had good and decent times over the past three visits. My overall impression is that it is a glorified Irish pub masquerading in midtown Manhattan as a beer bar.

The beer menu is very good - it is updated each day with the latest additions and well organized according to style. The one negative point I have is that the bar is too small to cultivate an atmosphere which gets one really interested in being a beer geek. But I can't fault them too much since being in Manhattan comes with cetain constraints - namely location size.

We will continue to go back from time to time, and I know I've have a good time. Probabely wouldn't recommend it for someone coming from outside the NYC area though.

09-27-2009 22:35:04 | More by jamesmbirchnyc

PGHeppJr

New York

3.53/5  rDev -17.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Enjoyed myself, but just wasn't blown away to be honest. Good selection but kitschy feel, and lackluster service staff.

Can't really put a finger on what I didn't like about the place. Other than the staff is floozies who couldn't answer my questions... wait, yes it was. I dont want to be a bother, but if you work at a place like this, have your shit somewhat together. Trying to be cute dont cut it with me. Shame on me for not sitting at the bar. From what I overheard on the way out old girl there seemed to know her ass from elbow.

Damn tasty burger though. Do yourself a favor and order it. Solid selection of draft, bottle and cask. Have regular "take over tap" nights and such events.

Again midtown, just ain't fer me.

03-25-2011 03:00:44 | More by PGHeppJr

donniecuffs

New Jersey

3.55/5  rDev -16.7%
vibe: 1 | quality: 5 | service: 2 | selection: 5 | food: 2 | $$$$

After a trip last week to the Victory promo (thanks for being a great guy and making even better beer, Bill Covaleski), I figured I would update my review of this establishment..but I was surprised to find that I had never reviewed it in the first place. Shame on me...but frankly, I think this was a fortuitous serious of events, because what follows should be a fairly comprehensive account. The quick-and-dirty is this: a once great place that has already...unfortunately...jumped the shark.

First of all, it is extremely important to point out that...on the beer selection/quality front...few beer bars in midtown Manhattan rival this place. Since I first set foot in RNH in March of 2009 (not too long after the bar had opened its doors), Patrick & Co have done an excellent job of procuring a dizzyingly diverse array of quality craft beers, and organizing fantastic promotional events, attended by, in many instances, the brewers/founders of the respective breweries themselves.

The departments where this place lags is in almost every other category, save maybe service, but it wasn't always this way. For the bulk of 2009, I was unemployed, and hence spent many a night..and day..in this establishment. The beers (as mentioned earlier) were always fantastic (e.g. Founders, Speakeasy, Nectar, Troegs, Ballast Point, etc etc etc), the prices were ok (though not glaringly cheap), and the predominantly female staff made up for any lack of beer knowledge with a great attitude. The food...traditional comfort fare like bangers & mash...was modestly above average; definitely not a selling point, but not a detriment either.

Fast-forward to November 2010. Because I am now employed and working crazy amounts of overtime to compensate for the time being out of work, I haven't been able to set foot in RNH since February. You can imagine that I was quite surprised when, upon entering, I was greeted with 'did you make a reservation?' Excuse me? A beer bar that takes reservations? I had not, but luckily, a nice server named Tracey was able to find something for me and my friends. Then I looked around the room, and I had to pinch myself to make sure that I hadn't gone to the Ginger Man by accident...as the place was half-filled with suits. Now, I totally understand that the point of owning a small business is to make a profit, and that in a neighborhood like midtown Manhattan, it's difficult to toe the fine line between the down-to-earth types with little money and the suited types with more money. In all fairness, of course not all suits are bad...only the ones that delight in the fact that they are fishes out of water, and furthermore treat the drinking establishment with an overall lack of respect. Back in March '09, the vibe was great, as it was definitely tilted towards the 'good crowd', but I definitely noted a change in atmosphere upon this most recent visit, more than likely attributable to a distinct shift towards yuppies. To be clear, the vibe wasn't bad, it was just nowhere near as good as it once was.

Then I looked at the beer prices. I had trouble finding a 16oz pour under $7. Of course the argument becomes, "it's Manhattan, stupid"...and I get it...but somehow I have found other respectable bars that seem to have slightly lower prices, and not just because they are sneaking 14oz pours. Anyway, that was surprise #2.

Surprise #3 was the food prices: $28 for 24 boneless buffalo chicken bites, and $24 for 9 sliders. That's over a buck a wing...whereas there are MANY competitors whose prices equate to about 10-30cents per wing...and, while they weren't bad, they certainly didn't taste like the best appetizer I had ever had. Ditto the sliders.

Surprise #4, though a somewhat mixed surprise, was the service. As I had mentioned earlier, a nice young lady named Tracey helped us find a seat, but whenever we ordered our beers, I felt like a racehorse being whipped by the jockey. "What else? Is that it? Are you guys done?" ..this was all repeatedly mentioned, and what was surprising about it was that...I believe...the server was Patrick's wife (Roz?). Admittedly, I found this personally insulting, given the fact that I had spent a lot of money in this establishment when I was out of work, and now felt a general sense of ingratitude. And it didn't exactly help the desired vibe of being able to sit down, relax, and drink some great beers in due time...which is what this place used to be like. Instead, this place felt like it had subscribed itself to the traditional NYC 'churn-&-burn customers' mentality. Maybe it was due to the Victory promo, but regardless, I didn't like it. And what a change..in less than a year.

In summary, the beer quality and selection continues to be outstanding, but the beer prices, food prices, food quality, service, and vibe are all lacking...at least during after-work hours.

11-11-2010 20:49:33 | More by donniecuffs

steve8robin

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -14.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$$

Went to this place with some friends on a 1 day trip to NYC. At first, we were highly dissapointed. The list on the wall was not anywhere near correct and our server seemed to know absolutely nothing about craft beer. The first 4 things we asked for, that were written on their list on the wall as having, they did not have. The server later apologized to us and let us know it was her first week, which explained some of why she knew not much about craft beer. However, the list being inaccurate and not updated was disappointing. Almost seemed like a way to lure you there to spend some money. We did get to have some Stone and Dogfish Head on tap as well as some nice vintage 07 Thomas Hardy's which were fantastic. Hope this place can get their act together, update their list, and really train their new staff on craft beers if they want to be a craft beer pub.

11-28-2009 03:49:16 | More by steve8robin