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Live Bait

3.7
3.7
16 Reviews
$30 and under
Low Country
14 E 23rd St, New York, NY 10010

About this restaurant

Live Bait is a lively restaurant located across from New York's Madison Square Park. The restaurant is decorated in a sort of "dive-bar chic" styling. All of the d�cor looks as if it was taken from a garage sale or older restaurant, like the neon signs and corrugated steel, but it is all arranged in such a way as to be very visually appealing. Live Bait's menu is devloped using the flavors of coastal Carolina. Between this and the restaurant's name, guests should be expecting lots of seafood options, specifically boiled crab and shrimp. Live Bait also features a raw bar where diners can order oysters, local littleneck clams, or peel and eat shrimp as either an appetizer or as their meal. It's not all seafood, though, Live Bait has several other great menu items like the fried chicken and waffles with collard greens, bacon and smoked jalape�o honey.

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Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Low Country, Comfort Food, Creole / Cajun / Southern
  • Hours of operation
    Lunch: Monday - Sunday: 11:30am - 5:00pm Dinner: Monday- Sunday: 5:00pm - 12:00pm
  • Phone number
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Neighborhood
    Flatiron District
  • Cross street
    Near Madison Avenue, between Park & Broadway
  • Parking details
    On street parking available. Private garage available on West 21st Street.
  • Public transit
    6 Subway to 23rd Street.N, R Subway to 23rd Street.F, M Subway to 23rd Street.1 Subway to 23rd Street.C, E Subway to 23rd Street.
  • Additional
    Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Beer, BYO Wine, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Delivery, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Late Night, Non-Smoking, Takeout, Wheelchair Access, Wine

What 16 people are saying

Live Bait reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

3.7
3.7 based on all time ratings
  • 3.9Food
  • 3.5Service
  • 3.4Ambience
  • 0.1Value

NoiseModerate

16 Reviews
  1. Dilbretta VIP

    Frankfurt73 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on September 19, 2015

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    I decided to give this restaurant a try since I haven't had a lowcountry dish before. I ordered sweet shrimp burger and eggplant fries. They were so delicious! I enjoyed checking out the wall in the restaurant. The service was great during the lunch hours. Highly recommended!

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  2. rmbpearson

    New York City49 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on August 26, 2015

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    This is my go-to happy hour with friends where you can get $1 oysters and $5 for a glass of wine. And if raw is not your style, there are uber-tasty fried ones that come as sliders. Hush puppies are southern style, deep fried and tender that is true southern style. The chicken and waffles with the spicy cranberry sauce is incredible and the I would definitely like to replicate their deviled eggs at home. If you are with a group, get a table in the back so you don't have to shout at each other as the place tends to get noisy, particularly up at the bar area.

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  3. AlanW

    New York City35 reviews

    2.0

    Dined on August 4, 2015

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 1
    I haven't been to Live Bait for the past few years because it was just way too noisy, even on a weeknight right after work. But when I had the opportunity to dine with a family group that included two 20+ year olds, I thought they would like Live Bait. Well, they liked it but the rest of us hated it (the oldsters) because you couldn't hear the person sitting right next to you....even in the back at a table away from the bar. Needless to say, we are never returning...even with kids, teens, or anyone who cares about his/her eardrums. Oh yes, the food is quite good. The service was rather inattentive, probably because there was a table for about 20 folks right behind us....and naturally that table got all the attention.

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  4. ThorNYC

    New York City30 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on May 29, 2015

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 3
    Southern/creole/cajun food is pretty good, but between the raucous bar scene and the tin ceiling, the sound level goes to 11! The four-tops are small, and we still had to shout to and strain to hear each other for 90 minutes. I'll try and remember to only go in the mid-afternoon, or late on weekdays. My husband loved the shrimp and grits, although the portion was small. My shrimp po'boy was not traditional -- shrimp is not breaded and fried, but grilled, and roll is way too crusty and chewy. It was still tasty but I spent most of the dinner just chewing the roll. Our companions enjoyed their apps of tater T's and mac and cheese; the fried chicken was tasty but not the waffles. The sweet potato fries were way oversalted. We couldn't take the din any longer, so retired to Madison Square Park for frozen custard from Shake Shack rather than try any of their desserts.

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  5. 84Restaurantgoer

    New York City1 review

    2.0

    Dined on May 15, 2015

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 2
    The food was not great. As an appetizer we got the tater tots and it came with a dipping cheese on the side. They were flavorful but came to the table cold. The dipping cheese was cold so you couldn't even use it as a dip. Also received the mac & cheese and it had no flavor and tasted watery. As an entree I did the chicken and waffles completely horrible. The chicken tasted like oil, as if they just left it sitting in a batch oil. The waffle didn't taste great either. I never left so much food on a plate before. My friend had the Shrimp burger and she liked it. And it came with eggplant fries that were good also. Looking around the restaurant I saw a lot of people ordered burgers so maybe just stick to that if you decide to go.

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  6. Gjrrox

    New York City15 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on April 4, 2015

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    We love LiveBait, have been annual visitors for about 12 years on our trips from London. We always drink at the bar. We love the vibe, the tunes and the feel of it being a local place, even though it's in the middle of Flatiron! This time we ate out back as we had our teenage kids with us. The food was good and the vibe still great. The service was a little erm..... Nervous?hesitant? But my real gripe was ...... Warm white wine!!! And when I asked for an ice bucket it seemed to surprise?!? ...but look it's a minor gripe. Still love the place

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  7. KBLop

    New York City11 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on March 13, 2015

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 2
    We came for happy hour. Enjoyed the oysters and drinks then happily stuffed ourselves with calimari and sandwiches. Everything was good so our one regret is that we didn't leave room to try the sliders which sounded delicious. Live Bait is very loud. The ambiance is dive bar cafeteria diner. Happy hour packs the small bar in the front and you can only get a table in the large back if you make reservations and plan to order food. Table service is quick and there is always someone out on the floor looking to take away your detritus.

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  8. bakethis

    New York City12 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on March 12, 2015

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 3
    Always great... the old burger was better before Chelsea got so chi chi... still a good lunch spot in the hood

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  9. otsarabeth

    Charleston12 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on December 6, 2014

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    The gumbo and chicken and waffles were delicious and a lot of food for the price. Atmosphere was a bit divey but in a good way. The only complaint I have is the collards which were overloaded with red onion and there was no pepper vinegar in sight. Malt vinegar on collards should be a crime!

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  10. OpenTable Diner

    New York City2 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on November 21, 2014

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 3
    a must for anyone visiting NYC - a great value for you $$$$$$$$$$.

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FAQs

Live Bait offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (212) 353-2400.

Live Bait is rated 3.7 stars by 16 OpenTable diners.

Not available on OpenTable

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable booking network. To check availability, please contact them directly.

Is this your restaurant?
Claim this listing
Google Map for Live Bait

14 E 23rd St, New York, NY 10010

Additional information

  • Cross street
    Near Madison Avenue, between Park & Broadway
  • Neighborhood
    Flatiron District
  • Hours of operation
    Lunch: Monday - Sunday: 11:30am - 5:00pm Dinner: Monday- Sunday: 5:00pm - 12:00pm
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Low Country, Comfort Food, Creole / Cajun / Southern
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    On street parking available. Private garage available on West 21st Street.
  • Public transit
    6 Subway to 23rd Street.N, R Subway to 23rd Street.F, M Subway to 23rd Street.1 Subway to 23rd Street.C, E Subway to 23rd Street.
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Additional
    Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Beer, BYO Wine, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Delivery, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Late Night, Non-Smoking, Takeout, Wheelchair Access, Wine
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