The Fat Black Pussycat

My husband reserved a table for my big birthday party. The venue was so unique and we had an awesome time. Event planner, Gypsee was great and our waitress was very friendly. Drinks are not stingy on the alcohol either. Overall, we had a blast. One part of FBPC that almost ruined our night was the DJ in the Moroccan Lounge that had the most nastiest attitude towards my guests and almost put a damper on the whole night. My group was the largest group in the entire place, with a mix of Caucasian, Asian, and Latinos. When 2-3 people danced (hardly), he proceeded to tell not just one, but several people in our group that "AMERICANS don't usually dance to this music" and that if we wanted to dance, we can go downstairs. First of all, people in my group were lawyers, accountants, architects, and designers, all professionals who speak PERFECT English. He stated to yet another friend that Americans don't dance to this, therefore, we should stand and just drink. What a offensive and ignorant thing to say!!!!! Also, he told my guests that we cannot sit on the couches' arm because they are expensive antiques. Is he a DJ or couch patrol? If it is such a priceless antique then, maybe the lounge should have chairs that people can sit on without worrying about a DJ telling us where to sit and where not to, especially during a birthday party!!! To boot, when someone put in a request for a song, the "DJ" simply retorted, "I don't take requests." Are you kidding me!!!! He was confrontational, unpleasant be around, and when confronted about his discriminating remarks, he insisted on buying me a drink. A drink is not going to solve the problem because he just insulted half of my guests! Other than this horrible DJ, FBPC was great. I will certainly reserve the Village Underground next time. Pros: great place for birthday parties Cons: DJ in the lounge more

My friends and I come all the time. We've had three parties here with large groups and we've never been disappointed. Love the DJ in the lounge!!! Pros: martini specials, DJ Cons: somtimes a wait for couches more

I had a great night out with my friends here. The place is really huge, but it's divided up so that there are many different atmospheres. Drinks were great, staff was friendly, and the prices were reasonable. I would highly recommend. Pros: Friendly more

I had never been here before, but I had heard great things. They have a beautiful lounge with great lanterns and couches. The drinks selection was fun, and we had a good time dancing downstairs. I was not the person who made the reservation, but I heard that the customer service was amazing. Pros: Lounge Area Cons: small restroom more

Bouncers outside are always hassle free. I just wish I could say the same about the doorman and guestlist lady manning the entrance to the basement. They try to be selective as if it's an upscale club. Don't get me wrong, I was granted entrance but only after both looked me up and down, took a moment to think, and then let me through. And surprisingly, the people ahead of me were turned away, even though they had an even girl/guy ratio. Not really sure why they weren't let through but I guess it makes sense because of the uptight "security." I've been here plenty of times in the past but I can't seem to remember when I saw something like this. Place is great for an after work happy hour spot. Upstairs is also great on the weekends if you want to just kick back and relax. The lounge seating and pool table are pluses. If you've never been here, I'd recommend checking it out just stay away Fri/Sat nights and downstairs. Pros: location, size, diverse crowd Cons: bathrooms, crowded basement, in need of a reno., UES wannabe more

So, I had a blast! The Fat Black Pussycat is actually connected to the Village Underground. My friends and I went to both since it was a little too early for people to begin dancing (we got there around 10:30). FBPC has a great lounge area, but like any other Saturday night, it can get way crowded. The only places with free seating was in the couchy-areas, but you have to fork over $25 per person in drinks to sit down and relax (there were about 15 of us standing, and about 20 open spots to sit down but with RESERVED signs). FYI - This applies to both the Village Underground and FBPC. Anywhere you saw the sign 'reserved' wasn't really reserved for those who called ahead (as we discovered through the waitresses) but for people willing to pay $25 a head . My friends and I were a pretty aghast at this (since we intended to put most of our money downstairs in the dance floor), but it is Saturday night and that is probably how they make their money so we def understood. We had to stand in the FBPC for the most-part, but the waitresses were very good-natured about the situation. The music was REALLY good, and the dance floor at the Village Underground was really pumping. It's a really diverse crowd, so you're going to find some amazing dancers too! Drinks are strong, and bar service is amazingly fast and friendly. It's a great place for a birthday, or just to chill out. If you're going out on the town, be sure to stop off here because it's a really chill and fun place to visit. And we didn't get lame come-on's by creepy guys either! Pros: great service, chill ambience Cons: crowds, table service more

I love this place!!!! I had to set something up quick for my bf's birthday because the 1st place cancelled on me last minute :(! So I emailed the party planner Gypsee and she helped me out with no fuss!!! She was so helpful and put my worries to rest!! The place was so much fun!! From the music to the pool and darts upstairs for my bf's friends. Thank you Gypsee!!! Pros: party planner Cons: closing time more

Came for my friends birthday party. I'd never been to a club which took so much care to make sure that you were having a good time. We really like the choice of room/atmospheres. I really think they take nice care of you at this place. Pros: All the rooms Cons: Bathroom needs a little reno more

I went to the club part called the Village Underground for my friend's birthday party. We had a VIP section reserved and THANK GOD we did!!! The place is jam packed Saturday nights - and I mean packed to a point where people would not stop coming. There was barely any space to dance. I dont think there was any form of ventilation because there was a haze created from people's sweat alone not to mention their breath. Warning to females wearing high heels to clubs who are use to taking their shoes off while dancing!!! We had a bouncer standing on a sofa watching over us the whole time, making sure no one takes their shoes off...EVER!!! Apparently it's a health hazard - who knew...but it's not a health hazard to pack a room with an occupancy limit of 300 people with 600!!! I mean come on!!! The music was alright - i have heard better but it was a good mix of everything. However, I would not recommend this place for Saturday nights. There are a lot better places in the city to have a great time and great music without having to deal with bouncers not letting you take off your shoes for a minute or the rude people who do not let you pass to go to the bathroom!!! My advice - if you do go keep your elbows up so you can have just a little bit of space for yourself... Pros: Our waitress Ashley was awesome!!! Cons: bouncers are ridiculous!!! more

Okay, let me start off with the door man. He was great. Not only was he very polite to my ladyfriends, he introduced me to a beautiful asian bartender who hooked me up with beers whenever the waitress was too busy. We had to smoke outside, which is totally OK by me. It gave my friends and I a chance to talk with the doorman and bouncers who, as stated earlier, were really cool dudes. There were a lot of women and we had a good time dancing and talking, before I know it, it's 3 am. I had a really good experience with NY, and the scene. Pros: Great staff , good prices. Cons: too far from Virginia more

Went here on a wed night, which is much more my style- not crowded, not frantic, but a lot of fun. My friend and i hung out in the lounge are for a couple of hours (half price drinks till 8pm, so the cocktails were only $4.5ea). We snagged a whole couch to ourselves (benefit of a Wed) and were left alone.. You get a big basket of oriental mix/nut nibbles, very nice. Around 10pm we headed downstairs for live music. They operate as two seperate units, so you need to close one tab and start another. Apparently to sit downstairs there's a two drink minimum (wasn't a problem for us). Our server was Justin, a sweetie. The live music was provided by the club's owner's band...they did a mix of covers, had a great collective sense of humour, and sometimes involved the audience. We stayed till after two - again, it was a very relaxed vibe, plenty of space to dance when desired...can't speak for the place on a crowded weekend night, but we'll definetly be back on a Wed! Pros: Great happy hour, live music downstairs, nibbles with drinks, relaxed atmosphere on weeknights. Cons: Pretty loud and dark, so not a place for conversation more

I threw my boyfriend a surprise 27th birthday party in early January on a saturday night at the FBPC and I was so pleased with the way everything turned out. I had a larger than expected party (I believe at least 40 people). However, thanks to months of planning and the helpful assistance of the party manager, Gypsee, the night was a success! I initially had the VIP room (it's private but a bit tight) and 10 chairs in the Moroccan lounge but Gypsee was able to give us the extra space that we needed by accommodating us with another 10 chairs! We were able to shuttle back and forth to the Moroccan lounge ( a nice area to chill and drink) and the Village Underground club (they have great music to get your groove on to) without any extra charge or issues. Prices are very affordable especially if you are buying individual drinks. To be honest, I only had three gripes about the night. The venue was ridiculously packed (that which you cannot help on weekends), we did not have any security preventing outsiders into our private area (something that should be looked into for future parties) and I went over budget having to buy a lot of steeply priced bottles (I prepared for that)!! I wished that I had more than one waitress for the night but honestly, given the circumstance and the large number of people who showed up, the staff at the FBPC did a great job. Our waitress was a sweetheart and made sure that our party got everything they needed. And since everyone who came out really enjoyed themselves, I was very very happy. I would definitely highly recommend this spot if you want to hang out with a nice sized group of friends. It gets a little difficult if you have a large party, but you can make it happen. Just be prepared to spend some dough if your party is pretty big. I'm definitely coming back because my friends cannot stop talking about all the fun they had. And more importantly, my boyfriend was over the moon!! Pros: great prices, great service (staff and bouncers), nice club and lounge in one place! Cons: can be packed, college crowd on weekends & needs new bathrooms more

I had my birthday party on the 16th of Feb and planned to have up to 25-40 people there (RSVPing is a dying art). Communication with the events planner Gypsee went very smoothly and I appreciated all of her assistance in answering my multiple questions over two weeks of planning-our waitress Amber was great and got an extra $100.00 out of me alone added to the gratuity for her hard work-thank you, AMBER for doing such an awesome job. The vibe of FBPC was very relaxed with an upper class touch-I had the whole back section of the Morrocan lounge reserved which was very cozy, but extremely tight once the party really got going-very dark lighting wise-more candles, pls. HOWEVER, I did have a few issues. We had to fight to keep people out of our area all night long despite it being CLEARLY marked "RESERVED-VIP SECTION"-I personally would be willing to pay extra to have someone there making sure "uninvited" guests are not allowed in-I personally had to ask people to leave the area, especially after going down to dance in the club. If I pay for those tables, I expect them to be utilized by my party only, even if no one from our party is sitting there at the time. Secondly, we had a tiff with one of the bouncers about my birthday cake that luckily, got cleared up by Amber immediately. The gentleman later apologized for his behavior when I saw him again-I suggest better communication between the staff and not barking at people who OBVIOUSLY paid to be there. Third, the bathrooms are a b**** to navigate, especially when the place fills up! OTHERWISE, I and my party had a great time-the music was great, the drinks were well priced and fantastic and I really enjoyed my experience and will definitely be back. I would recommend not going on a weekend as it gets PACKED to the point of not being able to get around-but that is always a sign of a kickin' place-thank you, FBPC for a great birthday and I look forward to visiting your establishment again! Pros: Good service and drinks, great staff, gorgeous facility and good music later in the evening Cons: PACKED, tiny bathrooms, VIP means VIP only please! more

i went here with a few friends after dinner, with pretty high expectations since it had such great reviews, but i left not really seeing what the big deal is. i'm usually not picky with bars and lounges and generally have a good time anywhere i go, but i'm pretty sure i didn't have a good time here. first off, the bouncer seemed to be trying to portray this 'tough guy' image which translated into a rudeness towards me and my friends. so that pretty much started it off. it definitely lost its laidback feeling right then and there. it felt more pretentious if anything. then, inside was SUUUPER crowded and i felt like anywhere we went, we were in someone's way. standing around, getting bumped and pushed gets annoying after a while. we had to stand SOMEWHERE, because there was NOWHERE to sit. all i wanted to do was sit with my friends from college, whom i haven't seen since we graduated a few months ago, and we couldn't even do that. guess you have to get there really early if you plan on sitting anywhere. drinks were strong, i'll give them that. but other than that, i really don't see what the big deal is with this place. maybe i went on a bad night? i don't know. we had one drink and left to find another bar. Pros: strong drinks Cons: crowded more

I came last Saturday and had a great time. I loved the huge martiini selections, all the different rooms, and that I got to play pool as well. We ended up staying mostly in the red lounge, which was really nice. more

I tried to get into the Comedy Cellar last Thursday for Valentine's Day but we missed our reservation. The manager offered to bring us around the corner to their other place the Fat Black Pussycat. Really nice atmosphere and there was a really really great band playing in the downstairs. Turned out to be a great night. Thank you to the Comedy Cellar manager. Pros: Great Band Cons: Not a great bathroom. Time for a reno. more

I love this place. Every time my friends are in town(every other weekend) we try to find a new spot, but we always end up at the FBPC b/c they never dissapoint. The drinks are cheap and the music is great. more

I have spent many nights at the Fat Black and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The drinks are strong and there's a variety of environments to roam through. Last August I arranged to have my sister's 21st birthday in the VIP balcony. There was no additional charge and we had a wonderful time even though we were all different ages. The servers and extremely nice and helpful and the drinks are what they should be, far from watered down. I have sent many many people here and none were dissapointed, even fellow Columbia students and out-of-towners. Mondays are great because there's kareoke upstairs and live band music downstairs. Print out the drink ticket online for half-price drinks. Pros: very affordable, great staff, strong drinks, beautiful Moroccan lounge Cons: a bit crowded on weekends and I've seen them close off the Moroccan lounge for private parties more

I really like this place. It's very friendly from the minute you walk in, and there's basically something for everybody. Great drinks, great DJ especially in the red lounge (I don't dance much). Upstairs bathroom needs to be redone. more

This is the place that I have been waiting for!! I can leave my boyfriend upstairs to play pool and I can go down stairs to dance where they have these old burlesque videos playing on the TV screens it just makes you lose your inhibitions ( LOL). And the drinks are yummy and strong (that helps too)!!! Pros: dance,dance,dance Cons: none, none, none more