Rustique

Rustique used to be Sasso.  I loved the old decor, menu and happy hour specials.  Apparently, I was the minority because they closed it down and re-opened as Rustique.

I do love the staff; the guys provide excellent service and even remember you by name.  Me and a few of my friends have celebrated our birthdays here; the bartenders have always taken great care of us.  The prices are reasonable and the food is pretty good.  I haven't been dancing there so I'm not sure what the place is like on Friday and Saturday nights.  

I heard that they were opening a rooftop patio but I'm not sure if that is still in the works.  I think that would certainly help draw in more customers.  A few other suggestions to help generate more customers: theme nights, free salsa classes, improved happy hour specials.  

I really hope that this place does well.  I like the owners and I think they have a good thing going; just needs some improvement.

$2 PBRs and all Retro beers like Genesse and Natty Boh......pretty cool. Nice space up top with views of street and happenings below. Great bartenders and owners......nice local guys.

Great lunch menu and I tried the Asian rolls with sweet sauce.....

Went for HH and by the time I left good crowd in place......1) a lighted neon sign would help bring the crowds in earlier 2) Moving chairs away from BIG bay windows so people can browse and be seen 3) Someone PLEASE rent the old Night Dreams space down below 4) Crank out the website and Yelp.

I'll be back - KGB

Sasso closes, enter Rustique.

Not sure if there is a management change here or they just pulled a card out of the NYC nightlife deck and closed Sasso down for a little, made some minor interior updates and opened the place under a new name but with the same management. No matter.

Went here for NYE and actually had a really good time. Why the two star rating, you ask? I had a great time because of the people I was with, not because of Sass, I mean Rustique, itself.

So what's new? They added some flat screen TVs, there are now speakers on the far side of the room near the kitchen (man that was really needed, it was miserable at Sasso with the music coming from only one side), they added a raised floor along the back wall with table service (more on that in a bit) and I'm sure the menu changed but let's be real here, who would come to a place like this for dinner?

So back to the real major change here, the bottle service.  While there for new year's eve, I commented to my friend that the raised floor feels hollow, uneven and pretty unsafe.  I told him I bet someone would put a hole in it before the night was over. We had a nice little chuckle and commenced with the drinking. Fast forward to three hours later.  A rather large kid is dancing around like his pants are literally on fire when all of a sudden we hear a loud noise and see this kid on the ground with his entire left leg through the floor.  LOL. Best part about it? The staff simply moved one of the tables over the hole and the night went on.  

What's the point of relaying this little gem of a story?  The hole in the floor is a great metaphor for Rustique.  The place might look good on the surface, but deep down it's a dump with some makeup applied to it.  Shoddy craftsmanship, cut corners and basically the same old crowd that attended Sasso.  You're better off going to Relic.