Live Bait

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Always great... the old burger was better before Chelsea got so chi chi... still a good lunch spot in the hood

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!

a must for anyone visiting NYC - a great value for you $$$$$$$$$$.

The service was quick and I enjoyed the food. it was a noisy atmosphere but it was a chill setting to just come and eat. Nothing to over the top.

but I guess I should have tempered my expectations. It is NYC after all and not Charleston.

Great food and service, noice level from the bar combined with loud music made almost impossible for talk....besides that...great place

Live Bait is a scruffy sports bar with a menu that emphasizes seafood. The food's preparation and presentation have no distinction, but service is pleasant. I have nothing to recommend about the place.

Nice vibe as a divey bar. Cool decor related to, obviously, fishing. Fair variety of beers. Oysters were $1 a piece and they were quite good. They said they come in fresh daily and it tasted like it. We got 2 orders. Also ordered the fried pickles. Yum.

Great place to kick back have a reasonable meal and some good drinks.

This New York City restaurant claims to serve food from the "low country"....i.e. Charleston, SC and vicinity. Well, Live Bait has missed the mark and I say this because I know the SC low country well. I ordered the salmon platter with collards and hush puppies. They were out of salmon so I asked to substitute crab cakes. Well, they did, but it came with no hush puppies because (according to the server) when I asked for the crab cake substitute that meant that I got a crab cake dinner and that one doesn't come with hush puppies. Also, the collards they served were bland...cut in strips and tasteless, but the crab cakes were good. I also ordered a Diet Coke to drink and had to wait and wait for a refill after asking for one.