Heaven Can Wait image

Heaven Can Wait

Bar Night club Live music venue

Intimate, multi-bar locale featuring nightly live music, plus dance parties & comedy nights. People often mention drinks, room, great, bartender, group, people, bouncer, drink, venue, sound,


Address

169 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009

Website

www.heavencanwaitnyc.com

Rating on Google Maps

4.20 (159 reviews)

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Working Hours

  • Tuesday: 6:30 PM to 12 AM
  • Wednesday: 6:30 PM to 1 AM
  • Thursday: 6:30 PM to 2 AM
  • Friday: 6:30 PM to 4 AM
  • Saturday: 6:30 PM to 4 AM
  • Sunday: 6:30 PM to 12 AM
  • Monday: 6:30 PM to 12 AM

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: drinks (14) room (12) great (12) bartender (10) group (8) people (8) bouncer (7) drink (7) venue (7) sound (7)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 2/5 alex p. 11 months ago on Google • 32 reviews
    Really strange bar/night club… I went once before the pandemic and remembered it as a fun dance bar! Cut to the present and they did a facade change and I assume new management? I went last night with a group of friends and the bouncer was very strange. He said “I have to ask my manager if you can come in, it’s for young people only.” As a 26 year old I was a little confused, but sure I waited for him to speak to the manager and he said we could go in, problems over… or so I thought. We ordered some drinks and a round of shots and I asked the bartender if there was a “young people only even” happening and she seemed just as confused as we were! It was clear though we weren’t exactly welcomed. Not by the fellow patrons, but by staff. They kept staring at us and making weird faces. One of my friends went to the bar to get another drink, and the manager (who was wearing a sailors boy cap???) made a “cut it out” hand motion to the bartender when he thought my friend couldn’t see him. For context, there were maybe 15 people there, with room for 60. We didn’t even engage with anyone else, and the crowd wasn’t young? I hope they were at least all 21 as they were serving drinks? Over all a very weird vibe, and after the encounter with the Sailor Manager we decided to promptly leave. Curious if there was a miscommunication between the bouncer and manager or myself? But they checked our ID’s and let us in, so to then act so strange was bizarre.
    9 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Al C. 5 years ago on Google • 606 reviews
    Fun place to see bands. Ecletic Alphabet City decor. They don't have food so be aware. Bartenders are fine for pouring beers, but that seems to the ceiling for their talents - they have signature cocktails but the bartenders don't seem to enjoy making them nor do they do a great job - must've been Management's idea but they didn't train the bartenders. I found that even asking a bartender about the beers is greeted with an eye roll. Not sure if that's because they aren't familiar or don't think questions are warranted? Summary - worth seeing bands here but stick with simple beers and eat before or after.
    4 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 JR F. 2 years ago on Google • 141 reviews
    Played a show here and was very happy with the experience. Staff was incredibly friendly from the moment I arrived at the venue, and the sound crew (Tyler) went above and beyond to make sure the whole show went flawlessly. The venue itself is very intimate - there are a selection of small booths - but also plenty of standing room to get right up next to the stage. I believe the back room can also be rented out for private parties.
    7 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Samuel A. 5 years ago on Google • 401 reviews
    What a great place. Hadn’t heard of it. Has a big party. Rented out the back room. We all kept going in and out to the room and the main room. Rock/ live bands, gets a little crowded but great vibes. We had our own bar in our private room which was convenient because it was hard to get drinks in the main room. Our room had a disco ball and tables and sitting space on the perimeter. Every group within our group had their corner. We had like 50 people in our private room. It was amazing. Great drinks, decent prices. Right in the heart of east village. A gem. #SameTimeNextWeek
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Max C. 1 year ago on Google • 187 reviews
    Awesome venue with great bands. Recently saw Questa here and their sound was terrific. Tickets prices are very reasonable and bartenders do a solid job
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Natalia C. 1 year ago on Google • 5 reviews
    Found this spot when my boyfriend and I were walking around after dinner. It’s a cute spot with two bars. The bartenders Cement and Montana were really great!
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Brendan B. 2 years ago on Google
    Super cool spot and venue! My band played there last night, the sound and stage setup are incredible. The guy working sound was one of the best live engineers I've heard!! Highly recommend seeing shows here, the drinks were on point as well!
    3 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 M “moe” T. 4 years ago on Google
    My bartender was so great I think her name is Amanda Anyway I went there for show and the show is awesome the drinks were great, Unfortunately I don't get to go out On that side of town that often but if I did this would be a place that I would wanna come back and throw down
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Dominus S. 5 years ago on Google
    I came for a show, and Oh My Days; this once BAD Burger is a cute and quite spacious event space. I had an informative yet fun bartender. Levi?!? He told me of local shows and cool events happening, and he made a pretty good Manhattan. I’m only leave 4 stars because they don’t serve food.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Jackson B. 4 years ago on Google
    Awesome venue. Probably the most intimate spot to see live music I can think of, especially if you're lucky enough to be up by the stage. I saw Mike Baggetta, Mike Watt, and Stephen Hodges. Incredible performance, great sound. It was like having them over to play at my house, standing right in front of me. I practically had to duck to miss the neck of Mike Watt's bass and got to see all his funny faces while playing up close. I will always jump at a chance to see live music here.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Rebecca D. 1 year ago on Google
    Rudest Service ever! waited in line for over 40 minutes because this used to be my favorite bar but i have never experience a rider bouncer First noticed he was letting in tens and tens of peoples. Then noticed him asking for a password which I UNDERSTAND if there is a party but no one told us which ari thought was very unprofessional. We told him our group was 8 people and he told us to get the f out of line and cursed at us. The bouncer in the black tank top was extremely rude and will not return. used to be my favorite bar.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Brianna 1 year ago on Google
    bartender in back room didnt want to serve my bf drinks after not tipping for one round despite tipping for others, so we got drinks from the other bartender and tipped him double. if your bartenders are so desperate for tips they wont serve a drink maybe pay them more or hire someone with more professionalism.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 w h. 1 year ago on Google
    Racist Bar. This place is only for white ppl…. If you are color and stranger. People in this place would not gonna be friendly to you. literally one white man screamed two times to my Asian friend’s ear. and giggled. Also pretended to dance and pushed my friend.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 Reilly H. 3 months ago on Google • 9 reviews New
    doorwoman made everyone feel weird, threw off the night, nice lounge atmosphere live music
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 Kevin B. 1 year ago on Google
    Went for a party and naturally bought some drinks. Went in the back and ordered from this asian bartender with a mullet. I pay for 2 drinks and tip. I order two more drinks after and don’t tip since I just tipped for the first round. I come back a third time and this guy says “you didn’t tip last time I’m not serving you” This was frustrating but even so I told him I’d tip him for this round if it’s a problem and he replied “it doesn’t work like that here.” A tip every drink is insane Terrible bartender. Thankfully there was a bartender in the front who was more than willing to help.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Kendy B. 1 year ago on Google
    They lie to you about the cover. The bouncer said the wait was 25 so 3 of the people in my group went to get pizza to get some food into our stomachs. When it was our turn to go in, he said “you guys need to buy a bottle if you want to go in” and we were confused because it said no cover. And then he was like only your group has to do that because you were eating in line. That was incredibly rude and uncalled for. We were just trying to make sure we had food before we continued drinking. And then as we were leaving he said “if you had money then you could get a bottle”. Can we not go and buy our own separate drinks and drink responsibly (e.g., eat food before drinking more)? Never coming back here again.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Avi J. 1 year ago on Google
    Have only been once (yet) The guy at the door was nice, the DJ playing that night was great. He played a mix of deep house + pop. Plus they've got another room inside to switch it up
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 She 1 year ago on Google
    Weak watered down drinks. I’m here now and highly disappointed with my drink 🫤
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Freddy H. 5 months ago on Google • 44 reviews
    Great venue for live music. The staff was cool the sound+lights were great!

  • 5/5 Robert B. 5 years ago on Google
    Great rock-'n'-roll bar for shows! It gets less crowded after 11, so perfect to hang in and avoid some of worse bargoers on weekends. Bartenders know how to make a great drink. You can just tell them what liquor and how you strong you like your drink and they will whip up an awesome cocktail. If I have any complaint it's for the concert goers that have no bar etiquette. The worst in the crowd are rude, cheap, and ready to make a scene despite the place being mad packed. I find it best to go to concerts when you are seeing an artist you like since it's an intimate setting and the sound system is stellar.

  • 1/5 kate 1 year ago on Google
    Bouncer/owner dude in the sailing cap is so rude. Seriously so rude. My entire friend group ditched because of his service and attitude. We won’t be coming back.

  • 5/5 Matthieu R. 4 years ago on Google
    Intimate venue. Bartenders & the bouncer were nice and prices were reasonable. Perhaps the only downside was that it was not very crowded on a Thursday at 11pm.

  • 5/5 Tom G. 5 years ago on Google
    Awesome music and a great team behind the bar. One of my new favorite spots in the East Village!

  • 2/5 Derek Z. 3 months ago on Google New
    Small dance floor and the worst DJ I’ve ever heard at a club

  • 1/5 Guild176 2 years ago on Google
    This place is terrible. Bad, overpriced drinks, bad service, unprofessional ownership. They’re rude as well. Avoid drinking, eating, listening to music, or playing music here. Absolutely the worst

  • 1/5 Ashley Y. 1 year ago on Google • 2 reviews
    I have never experienced a worse admission process to a bar. I arrived with a group of 7 willing and of-age customers of this business, 6 of us allowed inside within seconds of approaching the door, yet only one of these friends was singled out and denied admission. My friend’s polite ask to the door staff about the reason for her being denied entry was met harshly and with no further expressed reason. I get it that denying entry is warranted when someone is over-served, behaves disruptively, or for capacity reasons, but absolutely none of these applied to my friend and the bar was practically empty of people. While we were leaving I heard the one of the door staff employees say “It’s fun denying people.” Talk about immature, poorly trained door staff. Will not be back.
    10 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 Francesca F. 3 months ago on Google • 1 review New
    As a few have said - very unwelcoming bouncer claiming capacity limits meanwhile once inside was quite empty. Def wouldn’t recommend if you’re looking to perform there are many better venues in the city!


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Amenities


  • Payments
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
    • ✓️ NFC mobile payments
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Food
    • ✓️ Wine
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Dancing
    • ✓️ Cocktails
    • ✓️ Hard liquor
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible seating
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible entrance
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible restroom
    • ✗ Wheelchair accessible parking lot
  • Service options
    • ✗ Takeout
    • ✗ Delivery

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