Smaller than its downstairs sibling, this enduring rock venue features underground & indie bands.
My wife and I came in from Connecticut for a show on Thursday night. We got to the restaurant around 7:00, we had no problem getting seated right away. Our waiter was Alex. He assured us we had plenty of time to eat before the 8:00 upstairs show. He was very friendly and patient while he described what some of the menu items were to us. Once we finished eating the line started forming to enter the show. The doors opened and the line moved quickly. All of the staff are friendly and helpful. Inside the room there is a small stage in front and a bar in the back with a good beer and liquor selection. When the room was full it was difficult to navigate through the patrons to get to the bar. We saw Sir Woman perform. It was electric, the energy was palpable. What a great intimate space to enjoy a talented artist!
Great venue. Good was delicious and cheap, almost as good as it was fast. Took less than 5 minutes to get the kebab dinner to the table. Wait staff was really friendly and got us in and out of there before the doors opened next door for our show.
I've had two dinners here and they both were very enjoyable sitting out on the patio. I typically don't like Street based seeding. However, in this case there is a bike lane and a barrier and it feels pretty quiet. The service is lovely and I particularly enjoyed the salmon. Perhaps I would describe it as no frills but it was a delicious piece of fresh fish that didn't need them. I've always enjoyed this music venue but definitely a solid choice for dinner!
This place is a hidden gem that at 43 I just found!.. its a beautiful location, multiple restaurants and multiple places for artists of all kinds to perform for everyone. They had an option to dine in and skip the line. That was great. The drinks and apps were ordered were delicious as well. The staff was great, very helpful. The older gentleman actually walked us over to where we needed to go to see the show. Crazy this place has been open since 1970 and it's just gotten bigger over the years. It's a great place to see up and coming artists. They have everything from belly dancing, to rock and roll so there is something for everyone!!!
For the record, I never or barely ever make a review anywhere I go. But The Middle East, it's worth writing about as I never had a good experience here. Don't get me wrong, the atmosphere (according to other user reviews) has improved since put up for sale and possibly sold to a new owner sometime between now and 2020 I believe. Food has probably gotten better too, but not dramatically, but honestly, I don't really think people come for the food... They come for the shows. Now for the show, well the show I went to was absolutely amazing. I had a blast and met all the performers which leads me to meeting the main act... For one, when I entered the bouncers were just flat out rude as I always experienced in previous shows. They didn't really give an answer to any of my questions and clearly did not want to be there. I understand you guys are underpaid and understaffed, but I am too and so is every venue in America is too. But also a majority of Americans are generally a lot nicer in their workplaces then these bouncers and staff in general. Anyways, I wanted to get an autograph from all the performers and that included the main act who were only meeting those who were vip. I didn't pay for vip but I was photographing for all acts and the main band was very very kind enough to let me QUICKLY get an autograph in the VIP line. So I did. And the staff clearly hated that I did although it quite frankly took 2 minutes lol. I'm not coming back. I'm not recommending anyone to go to this venue. I'm going to be asked to email the owner most likely, but I'm not going to give them the graces. I'm very grateful for the band, I'll keep my head up, and yeah don't go here.