Compared to all the other bro'y and overpriced bars that you can find in the UES, I think that Mad River holds its own pretty well. Drinks are reasonably priced; they've got themselves a DJ that actually knows his shit when it comes to playing a versatile mix of music; and it's always a crazy time when I go. It's the type of bar that can appeal to the late night dance crowd on a weekend, sports fans that want to watch their team & eat cheap wings, or those college students/recent grads that need a place with cheap happy hours.
Review Source:The staff was really nice and the bar was clean. We came here on a Friday evening hoping to find a happy hour special but were disappointed. They have a VIP happy hour which is a good deal if you live in the neighborhood. Membership is $10 and you receive several food and drink items at a discount.
Review Source:I always have a different experience when I come here. Most of the time, they're pretty good. The food is bar food, so it's good for what I expect it to be. They have some good drink specials on Tuesday trivia nights and 2 for 1 burger specials.
Waitresses here are inconsistent. Some are super friendly, and others have quite the attitude. The bartenders have all been super nice.
I have also been to a few special events here (open bar for winning trivia tournaments and a few charity events). They seem to do a great job organizing everything and are great at serving everyone.
**Nighttime only... like when this place decides to think it's a club**
Oh Mad River... I'm just not part of your target market. Â Still, I get coerced to come here from time to time (but don't think I don't try my hardest to avoid it). Â Now I'm not going to go into explicit detail slamming this place for being your typical 2nd ave bro-house (yeah I know it's on 3rd ave... but I can only hope you get my drift... unless you're one of those regulars at the 2nd ave bro-houses... in which case you probably won't get my drift), but I will highlight *some* of the negatives and the positive:
-after playing good EDM for all of 1.5 tracks, they inevitably switch to some shitty Top40 or cliche throwbacks like "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
-if you're me, they serve you beer in rip-off size plastic cups, and if you're shitfaced and have a pair of breasts, they serve you beer in real pint glasses. Â Figure out the logic there and let me know.
-boys in button-down shirts come here to either 1) stand around and stare at the female patrons, or 2) try to dance with the early-mid 20s UES girls who come to this bar(of all places, this also is beyond me) seemingly to let loose from a week of stressful, monotonous banality.
Positives:
-they sometimes play a MAXIMUM of 1.5 good EDM tracks.
If you like these places, awesome, please go and stay out of my good Yorkville bars.
If you and I are on the same page with regard to bars... stay away at all costs and just take a bottle of Jim Beam Black to the face at home... you'll pay less and have a better time.
Decently good place to go on the UES, depending on the night.
I would avoid going to Mad River on Fridays or Saturdays if you don't want a packed place with loud music and dancing. The crowd on the weekend is generally younger, definitely the college crowd a year removed from college. None of this is necessarily bad if you're into it, and it can be fun if you go with a good group; there is a decent dance space and 2 different bars serving fairly priced drinks.
On a random weeknight, Mad River is a lot calmer; the dance floor is a restaurant area with tables and chairs, only one bar is open, and there are decent drink specials. Weeknights I've seen are definitely low key, though they do have karaoke etc. so some nights might surprise you.
I threw a fundraiser at Mad River last week & the party went great! The entire staff was very helpful. Melissa & Mitchell were especially great! If I have another event , I'm definitely calling them. They helped make the fundraiser a huge success & everyone involved had a great time. Thanks for your help guys! I'll be back!
Review Source:Came here a few weeks ago with some friends of mine to watch the Packers/Vikings game. Pretty good spot to watch a game and a group of friends. Very good music, pretty good food. Drinks on point AND they have fishbowl drinks! Definite plus! Will be coming here again sometime soon. Only con I have with Mad River is that there is a card minimum for purchase but its not that bad. Other than that this place is definitely a go!
Review Source:This is one of the more confusing establishments in NYC. You will never, ever have the same experience twice here. One night you can walk in and feel as if you are at a frat-tastic midtown east bar, another night it's extremely chill and laid back, and yet another night the bar is filled with fan-of-the-week wanna-be sports fans. No matter what experience you walk in on, this bar is definitely a good local place on the UES. I have never tried the food, but my natural instinct is to not - and i never go against my gut.
Review Source:I had my boyfriend's surprise 25th birthday here last week and we had an amazing time! Â Melissa, Alex, and Pat were so helpful and so much fun. Melissa was so patient with me while I was planning and stressing over keeping the surprise a secret. Alex was a perfectly cordial manager and continually checked in on the party. Pat was practically the life of the party behind the bar.
The DJ kept everyone on their feet with a variety of music from dance to top 40 to a few old favorites. The sliders and artichoke dip were delicious.
I have absolutely no complaints and can't wait to come back and see my new Mad River friends! Thanks everyone!
I had a great time here both times I came. The first time I met a wonderful bartender named Lindsay like mid-December. I don't know how she was only a guest bartender. She knew her way around the bar like it was her kitchen. I HOPE that they take her on for a couple shifts. The 2nd time I came here I won a happy hour. It took a while to get a drink/get to the bar, but once I did, it was on like Donkey Kong. I had a bartender who started her first night that night. She took very good care of me. Lauren is her name. She will take very good care of you. Also, please tip your bartenders, it goes a long way. I believe they pool tips anyway. All it takes is a little word in the ear that the customer is taking care of the bartenders to make sure that you are taken care of.
The bathroom looked a little like a crime scene. I can't pretty that up. The security here is very friendly, helpful, but takes no mess. My kind of guys. I will be back here again, preferably if I know Lindsay or Lauren is working.
I can't stand this place. Â The bartenders are rude, the crowd is sloppy & gross, and the facilities in general are disgusting (don't go into the bathrooms, just don't).
I have no problem with dingy dive bars, but this place pretends to be cool and instead packs in every frat boy on UES & serves them until they vomit all over 3rd avenue.
Great place to watch the Packers play as its also a Badger bar. Games are played on the second floor with volume. Special "Wisconsin" themed bar menu cheese curds, wings, the usual. Great space, not overly crowded. Food was tasty, fried wings so they end up small and crunchy just like they should be.
Service was adequate, no servers so you have to grab your own drinks and order your food at the bar, Â we asked for water and wet wipes or extra napkins and never saw them. We also bussed our own table. Over all classy sports bar, good for watching a game in comfort.
Mad River is the Wisconsin Badger alumni bar. Â Every Saturday Sept- Nov expect there to be drunk Alumni watching the game and having the time of their life. Â Fantastic Wisconsin food on the menu...PLEASE order the cheese curds., there is nothing like them. Â Overall its a great place to watch the game. Â After the game "pretty" bartenders show up and think they are the shit. Â they are not
Review Source:Nice bar on the upper east side bar with good prices and decent food. I love that the windows in the front open all the way to make you feel like you are outside without having to be on the street. We went early in the day, we used of course our Yelp deal for a free drink which they honored  no problem with our reminder. I added a picture of my bacon lettuce tomato and avocado. It was yummy. But hey put avocado and bacon on anything and its yummy. My friend ordered the chicken fingers which were also pretty good. Nice idea for drinks and some bar food.
Did not see the night crowd but good for relaxing during the day drinks and food.
If you check in here, the second drink is on the house. They might get confused since many don't seem to use this check-in but simply show the the coupon on your cell and all should be well.
There is a trivia night here, yuppers, on Tuesday nights. Please bring your competive nature, bc it will feel right at home here on a Tuesday. For the kinda trivia game where its all computerized on the tv, come in anytime and play with regional players.
Okay, cash is KING here, try and remember your cash bc its a 20.00 min on the cards.
I only go here because a friend of mine guest bar-tends here. This place is great if you want to watch a game because they have a projector in the back area to see the games . Their food is delicious and the drinks are made strong if you know the bartender. The bouncers are not jerks which is a plus.
:::: BATHROOM ALERT::: I am not a fan of their bathroom one bit. I've came here about 3 or 4 times and it's always horrible. There is always one stall that does not work. Also what is that smell? Seriously? It's a Thursday night your not crowded and the bathroom looks like a scene out of a party movie all it's missing is the drunk guy passed out by the toilet.
I do like that there is always a table to grab whenever you go. There is an upstairs to this place not sure how the bathrooms are up there but it scares me to think about it. I find the music is good your usual top 40 and mixture of old school. I only give this place 3 stars because of the size and how nice the workers are other then that I would never step foot in this place.
I came upon Mad River one night when "Johnny Bananas" of MTV fame posted on Twitter he would be hosting a night there. I never did get to see him since he got there so late but decided it would be a fun place to host my birthday.
For $35 my friend's and I (well I got free as the birthday girl) got a 3 hour open bar with bottom shelf liquor and typical beer on tap. They have other choices with better liquor/beer but we're not high-class people so I thought that was a pretty good deal. The DJ is always good, plays oldies mixed in with today's Top 40.
The reason I decided to review this place though is the manager. I can't think of his name but the manager who was there on Cinco de Mayo (yeah I have an awesome birthday) was great! He bought my friend's and I a round of shots and asked me more than once if everything was okay. I greeted him before I left and thanked him for a great evening.
this isnt my usual part of town, but was up here for dinner on a Saturday night. Was apprehensive about staying in the UES when my friend suggested we hit up this bar afterwards since it was right across the street. Was very pleasantly surprised. The music was great (mix of 90s and top 40) and a good number of people (read not too crowded, but not so empty that you feel awkward busting out some moves). Also plenty of entertainment in the form of intoxicated patrons doing some awkwardly intense "dance" (sex?) moves on the floor.
Probably wouldnt make the trip up for this place, but would definitely stop by again if I'm in the neighborhood
Disclaimer: This review is for Mad River Trivia tuesdays more than anything else. Â I used to come here every tuesday with a group of 6-8 people to answer trivia questions. Â
Love: the format of the trivia, the reasonably priced brews, the 2-for-1 priced burgers, and the hilarious trivia lady.
I've been to a few other trivia bars in the city and Mad River's trivia is my favorite thus far. Â There are 6 rounds of 10 questions (all made up by the trivia lady). The place is quiet enough to have conversations with friends and cheap enough to get sufficiently drunk.
Also, a lot of other trivia places do "trivia tryst", which sucks because you have to get out and socialize (if you like that sorta thing... go for it!). Â The beers are cheap and the waitresses usually don't remember how many pitchers you order so they low-ball the bill. It's pretty awesome. Â Food only slightly surpasses mediocre, but you're going there for the trivia on Tuesday nights, and trivia only.
Let me be clear, I come here only to watch Wisconsin Badger games in hopes that I can relive my college (read:glory) days. Â In this regard, it does the job pretty well.
Cheese curds, jump around, Spotted Cow, blow up Bucky, fried pickles, debauchery. Â The only thing missing is the 8 people beer bong devices as were common on a football Saturday on Breese terrace, but we're probably better off without them.
Sometimes, when the Brooklyn kids are not watching football, I venture to the Upper East Side in my car and find a bar to watch said sport. ALSO, much appreciate the fact that the $20 wing and pitcher deals both are tax inclusive.
This time I met my friends from the Bronx at Mad River. 3 hours, 400 ounces of beer and 100 wings later, we left fully imbibed and satisfied with a Giants win.
The best part of the day was
1. They played the football sounds during the game
2. as soon as a commercial came on, the DJ would switch to a hot track. Impeccably timed, this would evoke a better era of commercials- one in which every commercial was synchronized to hip hop music.
3. Really good service.
4. HINT- the BBQ flavor of wings are actually pretty tasty. When they come out with a hue less descriptive of wing paste and more resembling a gravy DO NOT FRET! rather EAT, they are good.
5. THe commercial thing is really cool, Im talking back dat ass up to a honda commerical with lots of white people in it drinking coffee and reading!
What a poor bar.
A friend "won" a happy hour at the bar that was supposed to be half off for 3 hours, only to find out later that it was limited to well drinks and drafts (the drafts somehow managed to be Coors and Bud). The guy distributing the bands was telling people that the drafts (why not just say Coors/Bud???) were $3 and the well drinks were $5. $5. That's not a typo. Ridiculous. Luckily for me, the bartender was only charging me $3 for the wells. Not the greatest of drinks but it beats having to spend an extra $2 per drink.
They also have "daily" specials. On Wednesdays, according to the tv screen, $10 open bar for 3 hrs (wells and drafts - I'm assuming by drafts they mean Coors/Bud - just a WILD guess). I ask one of the guys running the show and he says it's actually $20. Later on I ask the bartender what the Wednesday open bar deal is and after some hesitation, says $20. THEN WHY THE FUCK DOES THE TV SAY $10?
Also, they only had two bourbons in stock, one of which was Wild Turkey.
Do yourself a favor and make the trip down to Stumble Inn, you will NOT be disappointed.
If I lived in the city, this is where I would frequent.
I started with the spinach & artichoke dip. Let me just say that this is the best dip I have ever tasted. Usually you get the normal "blah" spinach and cream dip flavor. Not here. It was delicious and you could taste the flavor in every bite! I'm not one for eating unhealthy but I had to pry myself away from it. It's that good.
I ordered a Guinness to start and it came with a shamrock imprint on top of the foam. I've seen this only one other time, but I'm glad the 'tender took the time for it. :)
For my meal, I ordered the Baltimore burger (which includes bacon and various cheeses) but with a turkey patty instead of the hamburger and as it came out, it looked just like a regular patty. I've never seen a turkey burger that big and that delicious. Sooo good! You have a choice for sides but I would recommend the cajun waffle fries. They are the best cajun fries I've ever had. EVER.
The staff are extremely personable and so are the regulars. When I come back to the city, I will make it a point to come here again.
So, maybe I'm biased, but let's face it..."you wanna go where everybody knooows your naaaame..."
Cheesy Cheers reference out of the way, this place is like walking into a bar on State St if you go on a Badgers game day.
Good people, good drinks (they pour them heavy, so be careful!) and damn good cheese curds! As a born, raised, and educated Badger, I'll vouch for this one - Mad River knows how to have a good time, Bucky-style.
The atmosphere is awesome and camaraderie is in the air. There's an inflated badger on the stoop and the motion W plastered all over the walls. I found the service to be quick and polite - especially considering how packed it was.
As for nights when the Badgers aren't playing, I have no frame of reference and it seems like maybe those nights might not be as awesome (but they'd probably be better if you tried the cheese curds).
But for purposes of game-day debauchery, it gets 5 stars!
Wandered into this bar around 4:30pm, grabbed a beer, and ran into a friend from college (went to school in St. Louis, so... random?) - the place seemed okay. Nothing special, but clean and quick service.
The bartender was apparently hanging around in the men's bathroom, a bit sketchily, but he seemed like an alright guy.
Apparently a Wisconsin bar? And on a smaller scale, a St. Louis bar? Well, maybe that was just me and my friend...
Went to this place Mad River. My homie told me "Bro'sky the mamas are mad hot there." Â I was like "ill, let's do this." Â First off, when we got there, the bartender was trippin' . . . I asked him for a double vodka, and he brought me a dry martini with an olive. Â The olive was all brownish and floating around in the drink like a lost turd in a lake.
Â
So then I decided to go upstairs to the VIP area and kick it with some chicks. Â Only I got up there and it turned out to be dudes galore. Â I wasn't having it. Â I bounced outta that place like a 7th grader ditches class on the day they make you watch "Miracle of Life" in heath class.
Bottom line: Mad River is mad alright . . . MAD LAME!
What kind of person goes all the way to the upper east side in their early-to-mid 20's to party? The greasy, greasy crowd of Mad River. If you go in during the week, you'll find solemn old men drinking away their sorrows. If you go in the bustling night time, you'll find the same drunken-looking men and women inside, something like a college bar without the friendship.
Outside there's a weird conglomeration of dribs and drabs. People stand around Our Place, the asian place next door, crying, smoking, talking, or trying to leave but waiting for their friend who is vomiting in the trash can.
What a lovely place! 0 stars.
Look, it's a bar on the UES. Â Some of the negativity below stems from the same reasons almost every other bar up here gets a bad rap. Â Here's a suggestion: Â STOP COMING UP HERE IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT.
Yeah, the bar is filled with twenty somethings right out of school. Â If you want to hang around that crowd, Mad River is a great place to do it with their daily specials (2 dollar domestic pints on Tuesday immediately springs to mind).
Stay down on the LES or in Brooklyn or wherever else if you want the hipster scene.
If you know me, you know: I don't hop to what's hip, which is to say I don't form tackle women on the dance floor and call it dancing. Tangent: what goes through a girl's mind when a boy starts grinding on her and she can feel his whiskey d!ck?
This is the UES meat/meet factory, conveniently serving grade A douches and clinically "alive" girls. In college we had a bar like this, a bar that my friends and I referred to as "Slam House." Slam House was a place where you were guaranteed to end up for last call to dry hump a girl and stifle the vomit as you sway to music and occasionally bathe a broad in beer while screaming "Pour Some Sugar On Me" - now that's what I call multi-tasking.
They serve the drunken masses draft beer in a plastic cup, which should be an indication of the type of establishment it is. I'm not saying that's good or bad, that's just a fact.
Sometimes a night at Mad River provides the entertainment value that American Idol does - talentless folk yelling the lyrics to Journey, and sometimes it provides an adventure like American Gladiators, in which you must dodge the vomit spewed from UES hussies. I find the most entertaining aspect of all - the fact that there's a "security" man at the door checking IDs, as a bar full of under-aged kids get sloshed to the point that their eyes roll around in the back of their skulls.
I'm not saying this bar is necessarily bad, it's just not for me.
Drinks are not inexpensive here, but for those of you that know "The Forty Year Old Virgin," this is the type of place to come to "own your instincts" and "tackle the gazelle."
A friend picked this spot for her birthday outing because it was close to where she lived. And I didn't expect much different from what we found... which was a lot of people crammed in, uber fratty feel, and loud music. The music was blaring when we came in. The crowd did not get any worse while we were there, but the volume continued to crescendo. Oyyyy. Bad.
The music they were playing was good, but the number of people slammed up in my personal space along with the mass quantities making out around me did not make me burn with love for this locale. Not bad but yeah, not worth traveling for either. Gave me some good ideas for iTunes downloads though ;-)
Charity Thursdays. Pay a $5 cover and get $3 well drinks and FREE bud light from 7-9... a good deal for a good cause.
Different charities sign up for different weeks, so the cause varies, but I like the idea overall so I'll keep it in my head as an option regardless of if I know the group or not. Four stars for good intentions in an otherwise three star establishment.
The crowd does skew young and wasted, but on these charity nights new people populate it as well, breaking up the fratty vibe.
I didn't experience the frat boy seen here, the bartenders and managers are extremely friendly which just adds to the whole experience. Â The bar area is huge so it isn't difficult to get a seat at the bar.
But, the very best part is: this bar has NTN trivia which is enough to get me to come back again and again.
I definitely left Mad River greasier than when I arrived. It's chock full of frat guys, incoherent girls who screech "OH-MY-GOD YOU GUYS! THIS IS MY -FAVORITE- SONG!" whilst falling over on the frat guys who try to buy them Miller Lights. Â
Um, but they make a strong drink, and the bar staff seems friendly enough.
"OH-MY-GOD YOU GUYS! THIS IS NOT MY FAVORITE BAR!"
Perhaps all the frat like descriptions ring true, but this place is an awesome place to watch a Cal game! Â The best part about it is that the cue up the Cal fight song after every TD. Â Its not exactly the cannon reverberating throughout Strawberry Canyon, but its good enough.
I feel pretty red statey and backwards for enjoying drinking beer and watching football, but at least its with fellow enlightened people from the People's Republic of Berkeley.
It served its purpose. Â They sectioned off the upstairs just for Berkeley fans, which worked well for me, but wouldn't work for anyone esle. Â The service was so-so, and they got the food and drinks to those who ordered, even if it didn't set any records for speed. Â The Cal crowd was friendly to Cal fans, but I pity anyone who didn't know that showing up in anything red was a faux pas. Â Nevertheless, its hard to argue with $9 pitchers, even if it is Bud Light.
Apparently after the games on Saturday, it turns into a super-cheesy club: complete with a cover, and girls dressed as '80's rock chicks.
So, what college did you go to?! I, myself, went to a small liberal arts college not dominated by frat boys and sloppy drunk girls who only ambition in life is to hook up with guys who wear their college football hats backwards. I remember something about talking to people at the parties I attended in college. At Mad River the chances of that are slim to none. Partially because the cliche "Get you ass on the dance floor" music is so terribly loud (I know I sound old there), but also partially because the gals just scream incoherently and the guys just try to grind against girls.
Added bonus to the atmosphere is the odd mildew smell that permeates the bar.
Hell, thy name is Mad River.
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