Kemia Bar

by danielle d.

the food was okay but only the appetizers. my steak meal was gross and the dipping sauce tasted like aZZZZ! the fries were good thats about it and the ham croquettes. holla! the music was wack. it turns into a lounge. they kicked out my party off our table so to make room for the people dancing meanwhile we spend like 700 bucks. rude ass staff... the crowd was umm Indian.. lots of indians go there at night so enough said! it got pretty hot and sweaty.. kno what im saying! : ) hookah waas good though.. ehh prob not coming again.. nah im sure of it im not lol

by Ayelet I.

Mmhmm, my kinda place-sexy, unpretentious, and chill. The bouncer and bartender were both very friendly and helpful, though the bouncer asked for my number so maybe he was just horny. My drink was good, though not particularly as strong as I like, and my hummus and pita were yummy. I was even offered more bread once I had finished mine. In all, this is a great place to go either with your friends out on the prowl or with your significant other.

by Liza B.

Mandatory coat check?!?!? What? The bouncer tried to get us all to check our blazers in! Being girls and clearly having matched our blazers with our outfits we flat out refused and had to negotiate this for about 2 minutes. This should have been an indication that this place will do anything to get money out of you. In addition to a mandatory coat check everyone who walked in the door had to buy a bottle or two. Somehow I managed to talk to the door girl to let us slide and she was mellow about it. Once we got downstairs the DJ was spinning Indian music with some hip hop mixed in. It was an extreme hip hop but if you're not Indian don't expect to know any of the songs. One of the yelpers below said that there is a diverse crowd here? Nope. We were the only three white people in this place (nothing wrong with that but just corrected the other yelper). Drinks were $10 for a well drink with house liquor. They were small and super weak. Later on in the night a girl in bikini took up space dancing on the bar...good looking girl but totally not happy to be there. The space is a good size...small enough that it gets crowded but not too packed. Bring a group of friends here...def not a place for mingling. Drink somewhere else because this place will suck you dry. And be prepared to check your coat.

by Cristina V.

Sexy atmosphere. Cute, colorful, quaint, good to go on the weekend. Authentic decor..Must like Hindi/Bollywood Music to like this place..the bf is indian as well as all his friends , we went here for a friends birthday a couple months ago and had a blast. It's a small place, if you have a large group be sure to reserve. It may be small but its super fun and exciting for a fun night out. We didn't eat here, just had bottle service (make sure you get a table if you're a big crown). The service was great...i pretty sure our group took up about half the club. It was a memorable night..at one point the bartender got on the bar with an Umbrella and danced to "Rihanna, Umbrella" , it was quite amusing actually. Also they have a really good DJ and he's really friendly too, he'll play any request for the most part...and since it was our friends BDAY, atleast every 20 minutes someone from our group would go and request to speak into the microphone and say happy birthday (effects of too much champagne and black label). Overall a great experience , make sure you reserve when you have a big group..HOOKAh is a must, order Double Apple ...One more must is to  dance the night away! I don't suggest driving there if you live there...Cab it or Take a limo...parking is limited as it is every where else in NYC.

by Maria B.Heather R.Sanjay P.Madhuri I.Miao W.

Me and a couple of friends decided on a get together at a Hookah Bar. So after some research Kemia seemed like a right choice as we were looking for a great atmosphere and fun. It was a Wednesday Night. The place actually looked much smaller than advertised on their website ( good marketing strategy!!), it was pretty empty. The decor did look nice but I've seen better in true Moroccan venues. I expected a little more creativity.They had a 2-4-1 drink specials, and pretty good mezze platters. Although,we came there to have some fun, smoke some hookah and listen to the "well-mixed" music. What was weird that the DJ (supposedly sick was hanging out there all nite and DID NOT play the music). That was kinda disappointing. So if not for the three guys who were also trying to catch some entertainment, and joined us out of boredom, we would have totally fallen asleep. Not the kind of fun I prefer!My precise rating: 2.5 starsI only put one star because I had to otherwise it would have gotten MINUS 5 stars. Kemia is the WORST place I have ever been to. Never in my life have I ever been treated with such disrespect. I've worked in the restaurant business and know how clients should be treated so I was appalled by the way the manager treated me.So Saturday night my friends and I had a surprise get together at Kemia for my husbands birthday. I spoke to Ben the manager on Friday to make a reservation. He said we could have the table from 9:30-11:30 for 10 people. The first sucky thing about Kemia is when my husband and I were walking in we were stopped by the bouncer who told us we had to check our coats. HAD TO for $2 an item.So we get in, ok fine, have a hooka, some drinks, and then I get a voicemail from my friend who was meeting us there later. He tells me that the front door wont let him in unless he gets a table with bottle service. He tried to explain he was there for a birthday party which is already going on downstairs at a table. The girl keeps on about her bottle service requirement and tells him he has to wait outside. What?! By the time I got his message and ran upstairs to see where he was he was already gone. I asked the girl at the front what happened and she starts in about some bottle service crap. I had to explain to her 3 times that my friend should have been let in before she understands what I'm talking about. So I was pissed and wanted to speak to Ben the manager. I asked the bouncer if I could speak to Ben and he said "Why?"......ummm why? because I'm a client and I said so? Unbelievable. Well he never even got him so I asked the waitress to please send Ben over. Ben finally shows up and I tell him the situation and explain that I was really upset that my friend came all the way from Queens just to be turned away for no good reason. He said "So? What do you want me to say?" I said " How about an apology? I have a table in here, we are clients spending money, my friend was supposed to join us and spend more money and you don't even apologize?". So Ben continued to be a complete prick, treated me with no respect whatsoever, and walked away. I was appalled. So I told my husband who was equally pissed that our friend wasn't let in and the manager just treated me like dirt under his shoe so he wanted to have a word with Ben too. Lets just say it didn't go any better than my conversation. Ben was even more of an asshole to my husband and they called in 3 huge bouncers who surrounded us like we were going to beat them all up or something. I'm 5'1 and my husband is a tall skinny guy. Not the most threatening looking couple by any means so the bouncers were a bit unnecessary.Needless to say this place is a dump and they do not have any respect for their clientèle. Oh did I mention that when I ran upstairs to look for my friend there was a line outside yet inside the place was mostly empty? Made no sense. I think this place is trying to be a big cool club but really its a little shit hole in a basement with a staff of pretentious assholes. Trust me do not waste your time here. There are much better hookah bars where you will be treated well and not made to succumb to idiotic rules.The bouncer and the door girl are a pain in the ass.they try to hustle you to get a bottle.  been there twice and the door lady threw the buy a bottle or get out thing at us. After talkin to them for like 15 mins  we got it. Def not worth the effort to get in. The place is tiny and packed. If u into bollywood and hiphop it has pretty decent music. I Would have given 4 star if it wasnt for the hustling bouncer and lady who tries to pimp bottles.Indian music two nights a week and at a 10 minute walk from home. Yay!Bikini-clad lady dancing on the bar. Err...It's quite alright after a few shots of tequila. Just stop asking us for money for bottle service! We just want to buy drinks at the bar and be entertained. Umm, not really interested in shelling out truckloads of money, okay?The music was well remixed.The drinks were well mixed.The crowd was largely unmixed: One little two little three little Indians.There's a belly dancer on Friday and Saturday nights who puts on a 10 minute show, who flutters her scarf and shimmies her boobs and booty like the sweetest oriental giggle. But the problem was the tease met an audience two drinks too shy. They tried too hard to suck up their urge to giggle back like the most consolidated sound-absorbing wall.I was on my third drink at the time and therefore the story changed quite a bit when she came to me. The dancing after that was fun too, although there were too many girls on the floor lacking both the moves, and men. More mojitos. Sweet revenge. When our heads felt fuzzily prepared for a next-day hangover, off we took.As I'm writing this review I'm also having the biggest headache of an early Saturday morning: How on funny earth can I be detoxicated fast enough to be ready again for my all-you-can-drink sangria brunch at Calle Ocho in 3 hours?

by Michael M.

This place screams sexy and its a great date spot or rendezvous for all you midtown workers who want to discretely meet up with your co worker for some non work related activities. They also have some pretty good tapas and cocktails but go on the weekend to check out the extremely hot belly dancers. It may be a lil tough for the first timer to find but its worth the trouble.

by Gina S.

This was a really nice place with a really cool vibe.  Underground, dark, kind of sexy.  We had a hard time finding it at first - address is 9th Ave, but you have to get to it by walking through an office building lobby.  Otherwise there is a more direct entrance on 44th around the corner.Thurs night it was not at all crowded, kind of dead actually.  But still, they had a DJ playing an interesting mix.  We got there in time for happy hour, $6 cocktails until 8pm.  Cocktails were very good.  I would like to come back on a busier night, like late night Fri or Sat, to see how the scene is.  Something tells me it's a lot of fun.

by Maria B.

Me and a couple of friends decided on a get together at a Hookah Bar. So after some research Kemia seemed like a right choice as we were looking for a great atmosphere and fun. It was a Wednesday Night. The place actually looked much smaller than advertised on their website ( good marketing strategy!!), it was pretty empty. The decor did look nice but I've seen better in true Moroccan venues. I expected a little more creativity.They had a 2-4-1 drink specials, and pretty good mezze platters. Although,we came there to have some fun, smoke some hookah and listen to the "well-mixed" music. What was weird that the DJ (supposedly sick was hanging out there all nite and DID NOT play the music). That was kinda disappointing. So if not for the three guys who were also trying to catch some entertainment, and joined us out of boredom, we would have totally fallen asleep. Not the kind of fun I prefer!My precise rating: 2.5 stars

by K S.

Went there with like 15 people for my roomy's bday bash. Loved this place on the saturday night. This place played a good mix of english and indian numbers. The DJ did a great job with the choice of songs. Towards later in the night there was a belly dancer's show which was very good. She even tried to teach us a couple steps ;) Finally a little later the DJ danced with an umbrella and a lot of suggestive movements ;) He was amazing and the crowed loved every movement.The whole place is packed by 1 am and so its a little hard but it totally gets you in the mood. The leechi martini there was the best I've ever had.I went there two other times and it was'nt that great. I think it depends on the company that you are with but again the DJ was great and the choice of songs were all good.

by Funda S.

There's only one reason I go to Kemia and that is the Berry Metro. It is a sweet cocktail made of Berry Vodka, and it is out of this world. It is $6 during happy hour, half priced basically.Back to Kemia..they have good drinks overall. Most of their cocktails, especially during happy hour are a good deal. Make sure you order them by 7:30, otherwise they will make sure to charge you the regular price. Service is bad. I mean it is plain bad. Your food is usually late. It is hard to catch a waiter. You randomly see the waitress dance like a twat rather than taking orders. But if you don't let these bother you, the atmosphere is great. Oh by the way, make sure to not sit by the door, you'll be cold all night and have to constantly remind the absentminded waitress to shut the damn door! The colors, the couches, the North African theme is awesome. I'd recommend going there only on weekdays if you are over 23 or so and you want a laid back night. I personally only do happy hours there, and never stay too late as Kemia could be a hit or a miss, mostly a miss actually as Hell's Kitchen is not really my scene. Their food is actually very good; portions are perfect, not huge, on the pricey side. For vegetarians, they have baba-ganoush, leek vinaigrette, hummus, and vegetable couscous and all of them taste great. Go for the beignettes for desert, they are delish!! If you bring a hot date on a quiet night at Kemia, with the sultry atmosphere, the drinks and beignettes, you'll have the sexiest night ever!