5801 Formerly: NYNY

Thirsty Thursdays

** YES, THIS IS A GAY BAR*** I don't get why some people think it's not!!!! 5801 is my personal favorite - but only on Thursdays when I join friends for happy hour. 6pm - 8pm BOGO appetizers and $3.50 Long Islands. It's good fun! It's one of the very few gay bars that renovates and brings forth a fresh new look. The new upstairs bar/outdoor patio is great! The only flaw is that the lower entry bar isn't smoke-free. Hope we can work on that. Out-of-towners, remember, PA anti-smoking laws are different than in other states, hence, why some of them still allow it. I don't like the Friday and Saturday nights - too clicky and snobby. Not cool. I don't understand some peoples' negative reviews. Reading them, it's clear, you have too much going on in your lives and you need to chill out. Their new patio is beautiful enough, you say? Wow, you have issues. Go to Lucky's, Brewers or Blue Moon and i guarantee it, you'll love 5801 much better.

Not worth the trip

My partner and I heard this was the place to go while visiting Pittsburgh. First off, it's not gay. It's gay friendly. Also, when we walked in the door all you could smell was cigarette smoke. We made our way to the back bars(s) to escape the smoke and the place reminded us of a ski lodge somewhere in Colorado. Bartenders were not friendly. Crowd was mixed, Mostly uptight people. Very strange vibe. No dance floor. Muscic was ok and old school.

RUINED MY SATURDAY NIGHT

This bar labels itself as a Gay bar and it really does not have Gay patrons. I visited the 5801 Video Lounge on Saturday, August 31, 2013 during Labor Day weekend.  80% of the bar's patrons were straight - heterosexual couples.  There were a few Gay people scattered throughout the bar but in no way would I call this place a Gay bar. The place looks good but not all that special.  It kind of reminded me of Applebee's for some reason. It could use a good cleaning. The carpets for example were dirty and even sticky in some places. At the upstairs bar, for 20 minutes, I tried unsuccessfully to get a drink from any of the bartenders there. They were ignoring me. It was as if they were avoiding myself and my partner. We don't smoke and really were trying to avoid the downstairs bar because they allow smoking but since we were being ignored by the bartenders upstairs who were too busy serving the straight couples we reluctantly went to the downstairs bar to try and get drinks. At the smoky downstairs bar, the bartender did approach me but when I asked for Black Velvet, they didn't have it. So then, I asked for Canadian Club and again they did not have it.  I really felt as though this bar did not want us there and weren't going to serve us.  Black Velvet and Canadian Club are both fine Canadian whiskeys that are staples at almost all bars and I found it unbelievable that they did not have both of them. The bartenders ignored us or told us no. I never want to walk into an establishment and hear the word "no".  They should always say "yes" and that did not happen for us. I also observed the bartenders using those automatic shot measuring devices.  I absolutely hate that.  How do I know I am even getting a full shot of booze with those things.  If they need to measure, I want to see them use a shot glass so I can see what I am paying for.  Anyway, after seeing the automatic shot measuring devices, I was pretty sure the drinks were very weak. There is a patio on the backside. It is not a beautiful patio as described by some of the reviewers.  When I was there, it was jam-packed with smokers and there was standing-room only. The patrons were not friendly in 5801 either. AND, worst of all, because of inaccurate reviews on Yelp, Urban Spoon and Gay Cities, I ended up visiting this bar and wasting my valuable vacation time on a Saturday night when I could have gone somewhere else. There is no dance floor. Other reviewers mention that there is a dance floor. I could not find one anywhere. Perhaps, it used to be located where the dart boards are now. I was ignored by the upstairs bartenders.  The drinks they do make are weak.  I was unable to get my drink in this bar.  The bartenders and the patrons were unfriendly. It is not a Gay bar.  I do not recommend it.

decent

cool place to hang

Nice Neighborhood Bar

We went there a couple of times for Happy Hour. For the most part, services was good. Buffalo chicken wings were great. There was a poker tournament going on (Wednesday night.) Looking forward to patronizing this bar.