This is the spot if you're into metal, hardcore, industrial, ambient, noise, or basically anything that's just plain weird music. Located just a hop, skip, and jump away from the Brooklyn/Queens border, Saint Vitus hosts several shows a week featuring local acts, up and coming touring acts, or bona fide legends. Great drink specials, not to mention the delicious buns available in a variety of options (cheesesteak, pulled pork, BBQ tofu, kielbasa, veggie sausage, and veggie chili) . Even if you're not into metal, you'll appreciate the dive bar atmosphere.
Review Source:Decent bar, had a few good bottles while I was there, but I wasn't there for the drinks. The atmosphere may or may not be for everyone (hint: St Vitus is a hard rock/metal bar).
Arsis cancelled their show in the City a few days earlier and came here to perform instead. The venue portion of the bar is nice and cozy, PERFECT for a performance with a top notch band of musicians. Needless to say, was a great experience. After the show met the bands, got autographs; just a really cool place for a great show and interaction. Normally band members are whisked away in just about every venue in the city, not at St Vitus...
Only in Greenpoint: a metal/punk bar/venue filled to capacity by hipsters who came to listen to obscure geeky electronica.
The place is ready to welcome them: despite all the attributes and affiliations with metal, food (steamed buns) and drinks are already decidedly hipsterish. Out of supposedly the best bun (pulled pork), we are forced to try the other two non-veggie choices (cheese steak and kielbasa), and are left to wonder how much room there is for the pulled pork one to be an even better of a hipster substitute for the usual greasy bad late night bar food.
Craft beer selection, staff predisposition, easy in-and-outs, even access to a waterfront between the sets are all nice perks, too. It's unclear whether the totally respectful and non-fratboy-douchy audience is a property of the venue, or specifically this night's expertly curated by RedBull cutting edge electronic music, but all in all this particular experience rates a 5 out of 5.
Saint Vitus has become my home away from home over the past few months, and that's because it's quite possibly the only black metal bar in this part of the world. There are other bars that sometimes play black metal, but they tend to be hard rock bars with a metal night every so often.
In contrast, Saint Vitus is black metal 24/7, and so the experience may very well be unique to it.
I'm not a drinking man, but the prices on alcohol are quite reasonable and the selection is pretty good too. There's only one type of food, which are buns (as in the kind you eat Peking duck with) filled with a few different kinds of meats and slaws. These range from being okay to being fairly tasty, and are cheap enough that you can try a few, enjoy yourself, and not eat too much.
The sound quality at Saint Vitus for live shows is stellar, since the venue is so small. The sound engineers know what they're doing and the equipment they've got is definitely up to the task.
I've seen a lot of great bands at Saint Vitus, a bunch of good ones, a few okay ones, and a couple that were just weird. There's always an interesting mix of people, as there aren't just metalheads there, but hipsters, and sometimes older people who are interested in the new direction of metal today.
Security is not a problem, as IDs are generally checked at the door, and the bouncers that get hired are not people you want to mess with. Sometimes you get patted down, sometimes not, depending on the night, so I've never felt unsafe at Saint Vitus.
Anyway, this is a great place to go if you're into extreme metal; if you're just looking to get a few drinks, you might as well come as well. I recommend Saint Vitus with only the caveat that if you're going to see a show, bring hearing protection.
Came here after a show one Friday night... The bath room is clean which was a welcome surprise. (To some people the clean bath room is a bummer? Now that's silly)
Shout out to the friendly bartenders Bryan, Frank, and Chad! They made my friend and I feel welcome and were very attentive. Also, fun to chat with!
Go!
PS: Not Sarah, but Tracey!
Came here to see Russian Circles and the place is great. Â There is something for everyone here - plenty of space, super friendly bartenders, good crowd. Â They serve up some americanized steamed bun sandwiches (cheesesteak, pulled pork, sausage, veggie chili, veggie sausage) that were pretty tasty if you're in the mood for cheap eats without filling up. Â They also have a full stock of bottom shelf if you're in the mood for a PBR and a shot for a couple of bucks or go for one of the delicious beers on tap if you're feelin' classy. Â Cheers.
Review Source:Great venue and bar. Fair drink prices and really good sound in the back. They know what they're doing here and how to cater a spot perfectly to their crowd.
Security guards are the least fuckwithable dudes in Brooklyn which is good because some metal guys are ready to take out their frustrations on you if you accidentally get shoved into one of them and spill your beer on their Sodom shirt.
Food bun things are really good. Only expensive if you buy one. Drink a lot then get 3 of them and tell me that ain't the best $10 you've ever dropped in a bar in Greenpoint, except perhaps for No Name.
I was here last month to see United Nations for my first 21+ show. Â The staff person at the door had to study my ID for a good bit as I had only just become 21-years-old about a week and a half prior. :P
This place has a very cool, dark industrial theme but with black metal themes as well - nearly everything in the place is black and there are some inverted crosses around, and other black metal items. Â I found the restroom especially cool as the toilet, sink, walls, and floor are black. Â I decided that night that my bathroom will look exactly like that in my future home. m/
After hanging around, saying hi to Geoff Rickly, and meeting the vocalist of Primitive Weapons (who I later learned is actually one of the dudes who runs the place, along with their guitarist Arthur Shepherd, whose projects I've been following since 2004 with Instruction), I noticed it was now an hour later than the scheduled showtime. Â I stopped by the bar and asked the bartender if they even have soft drinks, seeing as this place is obviously alcohol-centered. Â He seemed caught a bit off guard by this question, but I did end up getting a nice cup of Coke with light ice - perfect. Â They also have some food there which smells really, really good, but I skipped on it that night. Â Next time I'm there I will definitely try something.
I then decided to head back to where the stage is, coincidentally right when the first band was about to start. Â The sound quality here is phenomenal...so good. Â I don't think this show was sold out but the floor wasn't cramped at all. Â There's obviously no barricade, but the first thing I learned about 21+ shows based on this one is that the crowd is far more civil and there isn't much shoving and flailing at all - something that'll take me a while to get used to!
All in all, I can't wait to return to this venue. Â They book some really great bands here, and the staff is also friendly.
St. Vitus is a breath of fresh air!
What I mean by that is skanky sweat and liquor soaked air.
Not to sound like a dick, but the bartenders are surprisingly pleasant at St. V.
I don't say this because it's a metal bar, but because they're bartenders. Fucking nice guys actually. No attitude whatsoever, and that's a fucking rarity in this shit-bag city, particularly in Brooklyn.
As a venue this place is the shit. Really great stuff happening there pretty much any night of the week. Whether punk, hardcore or metal is your poison there's something here for the rocker inside of all of us. In addition to this: cheap, strong drinks and a hipster free crowd. Although, recently I've not been a 100% certain what it means to be a hipster anymore - there are so many shades of gay (gay in the lame sense of the word, not the queer sense). Could metal folk qualify as hipster, simply by virtue of their facial hair and BK geography? I think not.
Yo, the bartenders here were (and most likely still are because it was just the other night) awesome! When I went out for cigarettes, the one dude would watch my drink behind the bar. Â None of that pretentious biz-nass. Great dark bar and if you're into doing dark deeds, good place to do that too. Â Came here to see a show and it was packed. Â Go here and get boozed up on the cheap.
Review Source:This bar is excellent.
First, it's a metal bar. It's dark, lit by red candles, and decor includes dead flowers, stained glass, inverted crosses. The music selection is great, and not obnoxiously loud so that you can't talk over it. There are sliders available for cheap, include vegan kielbasa ones (which I tried and were delicious).
The drink specials are excellent, and the house Saint Vitus draft is a good buy for $4. The bearded, tattooed bartenders are friendly, and there are lots of fancy spirits on hand if you want something special.
There are shows in the back; I most recently saw Dragged Into Sunlight here. The sound is excellent, and the room is small enough to be intimate without being crowded.
I think what I like best, though, is that Saint Vitus isn't a dude bar. As a metal fan who happens to be female, I really loved that I felt welcome there, and not like I wandered into some secret guy club from which I was excluded.
You'll like this place if you've ever wondered what it would be like to visit a vampire bar. Also, if you enjoy beer/shot combos. When I asked a friend who likes metal if they had ever gone to St. Vitus he told me he was disappointed because it wasn't enough of a dive for a metal bar. Sorry, what?
Review Source:Vibe is awesomely evil but accessible enough where you're not overpowered by it on a random Thurs night. Slick décor is great--who says it has to be dirty and nasty to be appropriately "metal"? Do most of the detractors of the place not realize that with their moving here and rents going up that the "authentic" rat hole bar style NY is rapidly disappearing??? You can like metal/hardcore and like having a bathroom you can use without a tetanus shot in the same venue, it's called being an adult.
If you crave filth, this is not the place for you (the bar or the parts of them"cool" City you will deign to frequent) however:
- The bartenders are serious and not some scruffy fluff head pals of the owner who can crack a PBR. This place bothers to stock artisan vodka without being pretentious and annoying about it and still offer a special called The Pope which is a Coors Banquet tall boy with a pickle backed shot of Tullamore Dew--AWESOME.
- Yes, the music is loud. It's an effing bar, that plays metal and nothing but metal. What part of that doesn't make sense?
- Anyone who doesn't like that they serve veg options can suck it. First of all, it's less messy to prep that stuff and this is not a full restaurant type set up to be making all this meaty stuff. Secondly, the entire neighborhood is full of new places that are smart enough to cater options to the influx of "hip" (and hipster) folks who yes, like tofu and yes, make places like this possible. Vegans like metal too, and we really like when a place bothers to include us in the food offerings bc 99% of the rest of the culinary world ignores us, so when places do offer it we bring our money there and everyone wins. You're welcome.
- Sound quality of the back room is great. Comfortable space, well designed so that sound isn't distorted by having a sloppy speaker set up. Seating if you want it, a ledge to rest your drink if you don't.
They get some good bands in--saw Woe there, will be back to catch more shows. m/
Great, especially if you love metal! (DUH!) I was pleased when I entered this bar and enjoyed the great sounds of the Melvins and Jesus Lizard. Holy cow! Loved it! And they have their own beer selection!
Bartender's were excellent! My buddy's birthday extravaganza was there, and I could be found drinking "Pope's" all night. It's their $9 deal with a shot of Tullamore Dew, Pickle Juice and a Coors (worst part about that deal). A little tight, but great for the crowd we were with. I had way too much fun myself. A little disappointing with the separation from the show area to the general bar area. I would prefer a bit more "closing off." Will return. One day. Some way. Some how.
This bar is very aesthetically pleasing. Minimal and dark. Not cheesy or overly kitschy as other metal bars. It is also near the very top of greenpoint and you can look at LIC and the creek. The storefront is also very minimal and can be missed if you are already wasted.
They have very good prices for beers on tap and in bottle/can. $4 for a few selections. My bartender was also nice. I need to try their buns. It seemed like there were a very good assortment of fillings but anything tastes good in a bun.
Oh and they have clean bathrooms.
Quite the hidden gem! Hidden in the outskirts of Brooklyn, with not much of a store front, Saint Vitus is a place that remains undiscovered for most. So go discover it! I am not into metal, but this metal bar was a great time. It's a big place, full of hipsters, and bartenders with long metalhead beards who seem like swell guys. We came for live band karaoke with Infinity Spaceship. Not only was this the best karaoke experience I've ever had, it was probably also the best concert experience I've ever had. This was basically a free, full-fledged rock concert with vocals provided by random Brooklyners. And I got to take part! Yay!
They had some sort of bun/bao food offering, but I didn't get to try that. I will have to come back!
i had the best time here! i have to admit, i was a little nervous at first. I am not exactly a metal kind of gal and wasn't really sure what to expect. What i got was a great bar, awesome music, awesome food, and super nice people. Seriously, everyone was crazy nice. Plus, for $6 (i think) you can get a shot of whiskey with a pickle juice back. Delicious!! Pickle juice makes everything better. word to the wise: no live music on Fridays.
Review Source:Full disclosure. I love metal. Therefore, I am biased.
I don't typically like "metal" bars (Lucky 13 and Duff's I'm looking at you), as the clientele is a bit cliquish and as an outsider you can feel a bit alienated.
I don't get that vibe at St. Vitus. The bar itself is beautiful, albeit the decor is a little hokey, "ooh dried roses hanging, how goth, how sombre". Not filthy, grungy, dive-y like you would expect a metal bar to be. The bathrooms are clean, but I do have to gripe about the lack of mirrors (how am I going to check my make-up, guys? Seriously... I'm a vain metalhead).
As one reviewer said, the bartenders can most definitely be rude and petulant. Â My first time at St. Vitus, the bartender was pretty aloof, acting like me ordering a drink was an inconveneince for him. Other bartenders seem unattentive as well, but I'm still trying to determine whether it is a personality flaw or if some of these guys are just under the influence of something illicit....
But, you know what? I can overlook all that. You know why? BECAUSE THE DJ PLAYS MORBID ANGEL. And not shitty Illud Divinum Insanus Morbid Angel, but Altars of Madness. And Obituary. And Cannibal Corpse. Where else am I going to find a bar that plays death metal? It's heaven!! Well, maybe Hell would be a more apt description, I guess it all depends on your perspective.
Not only do I get to indulge my metal obsession, but I get to drink picklebacks while I'm at it. Clearly, the most amazing pairing of all time, a shot of whiskey followed by a shot of briny pickle juice. FUCK YEAH! If you've never tried it, I implore you... I was skeptical at first, because I'm not a whiskey drinker, but goddamn does that shit go down nice.
Live music in the back room, caught Disma and Coffinworm there, pretty badass, and I know they have a lot of great shows coming up (very sad I missed Drawn and Quartered :( boo hiss!) Â
So rock on St. Vitus! I am very grateful for your existence.
WHOA.
Probably one of the best bars in New York. Great if you're into metal, punk, hardcore, and most importantly, chinese steamed buns.
These buns, or baos, are so damn good. What more could you want? You're standing there watching sludge metal like COFFINWORM live and munching on a vegan sausage bao...it's like living the DREAM.
I would also like to note that this isn't a venue where you'd expect a metal band to play. It's not a total dive (Tommy's Tavern, 2nd Chance Saloon come to mind) but actually a really nice bar. If your mom is into funeral doom or rocks life wearing a Pentagram shirt, then hey bring your mom here.
Anyhow, this place is highly recommended. They'll play Danzig I in its entirety while you chug a beer.
I seriously can't get enough of Saint Vitus. Â Fulfills all of my metal/gothy fantasies with the tastefully spooky (and not cheesy--my favorite touch--black subway tile in the bathrooms! Â Want!) decor. Â Plus, the owners/bartenders are the nicest guys and completely prove my theory that metal dudes are all just giant teddy bears inside. Â
Amazing happy hour deals--great way to spend a few hours after work before a show. Â I've only seen one show thus far, and it was a non-metal show--it's great that they're putting on a wider range of shows. Â Tickets were cheap, and the sound was fantastic.
The buns are extremely tasty (esp the pulled pork) and the pickles are SPICY! Â
Basically, it comes down to this: Metal bar + cool employees + great drink specials + good shows + pickles = swoon. Â
Slightly concerned that the guys are going to get sick of me. Â I'll see you there until they do!
A little too slick and polished for my liking in the front. The narrow hallway sort of had me thinking (hoping? praying?) that what lay on the other side of it matched the metal that was playing appropriately too loud in the space. But it was sort of... Vegas-y. (Trust, I'm a vegas expert mmk) Yea... sort of a let down. I wanted and expected divey. Though just like having expectations for men, I should learn to live by the same rule about "new rock bars". But the people at the bar were nice and it wasn't insane for a Saturday. (Maybe because of the distance into Greenpoint...)
I will go ahead and give them the benefit of the doubt in terms of it being brand new... thus the cleanliness and new home smell... but like.. the bathroom is already all dingy and graffed up... faux "ny certified punk bathroom"? But that's sort of like people who buy denim with holes already put in em for you, no? ;)
The venue in the back was a whole other story though. Great sound and it seems like the right people are booking for the spot.
If you like PF Changs goes mall goth inspired decor, I guess you found your new favorite bar.
Guh, I'm struggling with this review. Â I'm not the biggest metal fan, but I do appreciate older stuff and more melodic new stuff. Â They seemed to play a steady stream of death metal, which pained me to no end. Â The only relief came when I stepped outside to make a phone call. Â My friends like metal a lot, but even they were not feeling it. Â It's a really cool looking bar, and I bet hardcore fans would have no problem giving 5 stars, but as a casual fan of the genre, it gets 2.5.
Review Source:I don't know whether to be happy or annoyed that this excellent spot is all the way down Manhattan, between Clay and Box streets.
I want them to succeed, but at the same time...I want this place to myself. Matthew Maddy did a GREAT job  designing the bar. I feel right at home. At the metal bar. From the roses, hanging from their stems around the bar to the dark leather booths...I could see myself drinking here all night. I've been yearning for a classier metal/rock bar, and I've found it. I'm anxiously awaiting their first shows. The stage is big, and I could see the gears working in my friends brains. "WE HAVE TO PLAY HERE," their eyes screamed as they stared into the back room.
But what of the prices? All over the map. They've got some nice cocktails, but they've also got some nice beer+shot combos for you to choose from. I'm pretty sure I got a tall boy and a shot of Tullamore Dew (!) for $8. I had several of them. The details? Understandably fuzzy. But I woke up feeling very strongly about this almost secret. And feeling a lot of gratitude towards our charming bartender.
Even my friends who are not as into the sweet sounds of metal had a good time. One of them is even considering having her birthday party here. I'm encouraging it. I could use a few more beards in my line of sight these days.
I was so excited about a new metal bar right down the street.. and even more excited that it surpassed my expectations! I don't mind Duff's though I've always thought of it as the Planet Hollywood of metal bars. A bit gimmicky but still a good bar. Saint Vitus lacks the gimmick factor and is really a great place to have a drink or four. The Saint Vitus cocktail is delicious and their buns (especially pulled pork) are fantastic. I can't say enough good things about the music, the interior, the bartenders.. even the crowd. Great addition to North Greenpoint! Can't wait til to see a show here.
Review Source:The far northern outposts of Greenpoint has given birth to an excellently executed rock/metal bar.
It's hard for me to express how excited I am about Saint Vitus. My experience last night began like this -- I opened the doors and walked into a small corridor of black and silver, with Metallica's "Phantom Lord" reverberating through the walls. I turned the corner and entered a sincerely beautiful bar -- dried red roses hanging from the top of the bar and along the walls, dark red candles adorning every table, and a beautifully designed bar. It's so new you can still smell the paint.
Then I walked to the back, where I was surprised to find a spacious venue and plush black leather booths to sit in. Even the bathrooms are beautiful -- complete with black tile and black toilets. And of course, no TV to be found anywhere.
It's clear someone put a tremendous amount of thought into every detail of this place, not to mention quite a bit of money. If you can't already tell, I'm honestly blown away. I can't believe a gem like this exists in such northern reaches of Greenpoint.
I just hope it remains the place that I experienced last night -- true fans of metal running the bar, playing the best old school and new school music with no compromise. I believe that's their intention, and I hope it remains so.
Once word spreads, it will undoubtedly become a destination.
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