Friday, October 4, 2013

Spin New York

Easy to miss this place...

NYC has all kinds of businesses related to fitness and sports-related things 

This place, however, is based on a combo of Ping Pong playing and sports bar

Mostly enthusiastic reviews

SPiN

4.0 star rating
188 reviews Rating Details
48 E 23rd St
(between Avenue Of The Americas & Madison Ave)
New York, NY 10010
Neighborhood: Flatiron
(212) 982-8802
Nearest Transit Station:
23 St. (4, 6, 6X)
23 St. (N, R)
28 St. (4, 6, 6X)
Hours:
Mon 11 am - 12 am
Tue-Thu 11 am - 2 am
Fri-Sat 11 am - 4 am
Sun 11 am - 10 pm
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Price Range:
$$
Parking:
Street
Good for Groups:
Yes
Good for Kids:
No
Outdoor Seating:
No
Music:
DJ
Best Nights:
Thu, Fri, Sat
Happy Hour:
Yes
Alcohol:
Full Bar
Smoking:
No
Coat Check:
Yes
Noise Level:
Loud
Good For Dancing:
No
Ambience:
Casual, Trendy
Has TV:
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible:
No
Jennifer B. said: "This gym is pretty damn amazing.  Great staff, clean and spacious with oodles of amenities (pool, roof top deck, childcare, rock climbing wall, cafe, basketball court, outdoor track, spin, cardio and yoga studios, etc.) and enough…" read more »

Review Highlights   What's this?

  • "Great fun spot to play ping-pong and drink a beer." In 148 reviews
  • "Table tennis and a bar tucked away in a spacious basement." In 25 reviews
  • "I especially loved the Fried Risotto Balls and the Beef Empanadas." In 73 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
  • A Yelpy Insight: 20- and 30-somethings both posse up at this place. See more places they like.
Sort by: Yelp Sort | Date | Rating | Elites' | Facebook Friends'

188 reviews in English

  • Review from

    London, UK
    8/24/2013 2 photos
    With the USA's pre-eminent position as the world's only global superpower under serious threat by the unprecedented speed of China's development, Spin is probably the most practical way I've of denting their burgeoning confidence

    What better way to strike back than to deliver a blow in their most sacred of sports. Like baseball to Americans, table tennis is China's national sport and their domination of  global titles has extended deep. What a blow to the psyche it would be to interrupt their domination

    To this end, it's fantastic to see Spin deliver all things table tennis. From the rows of tables with people of all ages trying to improve their skills and take the gentle pastime of ping pong to the ridiculously fast and insanely tactical sport of table tennis right through to TVs showing how the pros do it in tournaments

    Watch it, China! Here come the Americans!
  • Review from

    Brooklyn, NY
    9/10/2013 1 check-in here
    One day post Serena's US Open win, it was only apropos to channel my inner black girl ping pong goddess skills.  I loved everything about this place but the price.  40 bucks for an hour?  OMG did we speed walk to that table and start playing our a$$es off immediately?  Ya damn right we did.

    Our waitress was very friendly, drinks were regular Manhattan prices, cheezy but danceable top 40 hits from waaaay back were played, and the facility was super clean.  And of course, you gotta love that they have folks picking up your balls.  Boop!
  • Review from

    • 1 friend
    • 12 reviews
    Rego Park, NY
    8/11/2013
    Before coming here I had only been to one other ping pong place out in Flushing. I have to say that I will always come back to SPIN to play. I went during a Sunday afternoon so we walked right in and were able to get a table. Loved so much that you were given a bucket of ping pong balls and you didn't have to worry about running around the table to pick up any dropped balls. The people swept up the balls from the floor and would refill your bucket as you played.

    Also liked that there was a small table next to the ping pong table where you can sit and eat/drink. They also had couches around the perimeter of the area for you to relax and watch others play.

    We played for an hour and it cost about $30. Will definitely come back here to play some more ping pong.
  • Review from

    Forest Hills, NY
    8/6/2013 1 check-in here
    I came here with some girlfriends on a Sat night (no reservation) and put our name on the waitlist (25min) at 10pm and we had a great time! You have a waitress for your table, you don't pick up your balls, and there's a bounty of seating for socializing when you're not playing. The atmosphere was great and it was a fun time for all.

    We stayed a little longer than we anticipated and didn't have to fight for a seat at an overcrowded bar for the night! I know for sure we'll be back, we just have to keep practicing!

    Surprisingly, the mix of ladies to men was pretty even.
  • Review from

    Colonia, NJ
    7/28/2013 1 check-in here
    Came up the 4 train and what do we see through the window?  Ping Pong nirvana. We scurried up the subway steps and found the entrance to this place a few storefronts away.  Down the stairs we went, into a retro-looking ping pong den.  I just LOVE the idea of a ping pong hall because yup, you guessed it, I LOVE ping pong! The room was lined with tables and people playing and balls bouncing everywhere. Pure heaven for a ping pong enthusiast.

    We went around 4 on a Saturday.  $15 for a half hour of ping pong madness. You get a bucket of ping pong balls that is refilled constantly by workers who collect the stray balls with a net device. That means you don't have to chase down your stray balls, so you can enjoy playing your full allotted time without wasting time chasing balls.

    Bottled beer is $7 brought to you by a waitress.  Service was good but they do stop you exactly at the half hour mark, which is understandable and expected. We still had drinks to finish, but the waitress asked us to abandon our table next to the ping pong table so they could rent it out again, which makes sense. There were fairly comfy couches to use on the perimeter of the room where you could finish your drinks and watch other people play.

    Loved it and would definitely return if/when in the area.
  • Review from

    New York, NY
    7/24/2013
    SPiN is an interesting place full of interesting things, and maybe one visit per year is plenty. You'll walk downstairs and into a cool (temperature-wise) basement-like area with black lighting and a sea of ping pong tables. Reserving one might be pricey to people who do not enjoy ping pong very much, but it's certainly a good place to relax and just pick up a paddle with a larger group of friends. The drinks are actually pretty inexpensive, and there's nothing wrong with a cold beer after an intense ping pong match.

    The most entertaining part of this place is the table in the middle. It's a makeshift ping pong arena where there's an emcee/commentator hosting matches among very capable ping pong players. Players sign up to play against one another, and these guys come dressed in gym clothes -- to a lounge. It's fun to walk downstairs and see a guy dressed in warm-ups jogging past you, ready to take on all comers.

    Aside from the ping pong bit, there's nothing particularly special about this place. Come once with some friends to check it out, but I imagine that'd be enough.
  • Review from

    • 2 friends
    • 39 reviews
    Jersey City, NJ
    9/21/2013 1 check-in here
    Went here for a company outing. Awese place to ah some table tennis, grab a drink and hang out with friends. The food was great. I would go again for sure.
  • Review from

    Rego Park, NY
    6/16/2013
    Fun place.  For a large group on weekends, definitely make a reservation.  It's $100/table/hr.    Drinks are a little pricey (but not exorbitant), and it's a fun vibe.  Coolest part might be just watching the pros/semi-pros at the "main" table (with surrounding 2-3 rows of bleachers).  They do some challenges like "beat the pro" for prizes.  And it's pretty nice not to have to pick up ping pong balls --- you get a basket of balls at the beginning, and as you're playing, workers there sweep up the balls on the floor and drop them into your basket.  Super-convenient.

    And the bathrooms were clean.
  • Review from

    South Pasadena, CA
    5/14/2013
    I can't say, as much as it's an interesting concept, I really get this place.

    First off, I was there for a corporate event....so pretty much forced into going.  Whatever, that's ok.  But when I descended into the bowels of Spin, I was greeted by the most foul odor.  Like dirty feet.

    "It smells weird," I said to the hostess.
    "Oh we just painted."

    Ick.

    Unfortunately, I was also not impressed by the wine selection.  I wanted a good light white, but no can do.  Cheap pinot grigio it is.

    I ended up ordering a little pizza which was the highlight of my evening.  ONe star for pizza and one star for the ping pong.  Which the men of my group played to their hearts content.
  • Review from

    Brooklyn, NY
    3/18/2013 1 check-in here
    I always knew ping-pong was cool. I'm just not sure if the ladies of my high school did, because for some reason they didn't respond to my studly spinning prowess (or anything else I did, really).

    Well, SPiN has done it. They've made table tennis sexy, and not just with the shirts proclaiming that Balls Are Their Business. Let us count the other ways:

    1. They've got a DJ spinning Biggie, Pun, and Ms. Mary J.
    2. They've got a guy manning the coat check wearing a NKOTB visor.
    3. They are unconscionably overcharging for mediocre food and disgusting sounding drinks.

    All right, so the last one doesn't sound that great, but you probably shouldn't be coming here to eat. And if you really want to drink $9 cans of Sixpoint and horrifically sweet cocktails, that's your prerogative (if you want a decent bourbon, it's going to run you $14, and a club soda will cost you $3), but you probably want to stay light on your feet. Because if there's three things I've learned at SPiN, they are these:

    1. I'm not as good at ping pong as I used to be.
    2. I was never as good at ping pong as I thought I was.
    3. I will never be as good at ping pong as a guy that brings a change of clothes to play.

    Seriously, some of these guys are the illest ping-pongers I've ever seen. I could actually just sit there and watch them play and be completely entertained, which is probably why they get to play on that center table where all the guys want to be with them, and all the girls want to be them. (Did I mix that up?)

    So sure, everything is overpriced, including the tables. But there are guys who go around and do nothing but pick up the balls for you...and for us lazy bastards, that means there isn't a better place to play pong anywhere in the city. Come out, work on your game, and you can aspire to greatness. For instance, someday I'm going to be that creep shuffling in, bald AND long-haired with a potbelly, carrying my own paddle (that I've named) in its sheepskin lined case.

    A guy can dream, can't he?
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 6 reviews
    New York, NY
    8/10/2013
    Is a good environment to enjoy with my friends. Make reservations , because they will have you waiting for more than an hour.  I had a good time just having drinks and playing ping pong.
  • Review from

    • 105 friends
    • 82 reviews
    New York, NY
    3/5/2013 1 photo 1 check-in here
    Pros:
    - Great place for a group of friends or even a casual date
    - Drink and play
    - Play FREE ping pong on Tues & Wed after 11:00pm
    - Tournaments (if you're into tournaments)
    - Open LATE 11am-4am on Fri & Sat.
    - Option for membership

    Cons:
    - Long wait time on the weekends
    - Double the price at night
    - Only members have the ability to make reservations in advance (unless you have a group of 10 or more)

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I'm all for unique places like this. Came here with some friends to play some ping pong after an early dinner but the wait time for a table was about 2 hours on a Saturday at around 6pm. Try to come during the day because at night the prices double. It's right off the 6 train and just a skip and a jump from the train exit. Right across the street from Madison Square Park.

    Don't worry about attire. You'll see people in all ages dressed in different types of attire, from casual shorts and sneakers...to couples in sequenced dresses and suit & ties obviously coming from event or date. So come as you are.

    I see comments from people saying the place is "EXPENSIVE"....well, it depends on what you consider to be "expensive." Put it this way... the price does double at night, so if you are concerned with prices and on a budget, then play during the day (BEFORE 6PM). It's just like any other place where it be playing pool at the Billiards, Bowling Alley or watching a movie at the theatre...it's always cheaper during the day than at night. But if you really are on a dirt cheap budget, then come play for FREE on Tues & Wed at night after 11:00pm.

    --------------------------------------------------­--------------------------------

    ** PRICES**

    Walk-in rates BEFORE 6PM!!!!
    ********************************
    - $5 per 1/2 hr per table for members (with membership)
    - $10 per 1/2 hr per table for general public (no membership)

    Walk-in rates AFTER 6PM!!!!
    ********************************
    - $10 per 1/2 hr per table for members (with membership)
    - $20 per 1/2 hr per table for general public (no membership)

    WEEKEND rates  BEFORE 6 PM
    ********************************
    - $15 per 1/2 hr per table for members (with membership)
    - $30 per 1/2 hr per table for general public (no membership)

    WEEKEND rates  AFTER 6 PM
    ********************************
    - $20 per 1/2 hr per table for members (with membership)
    - $40 per 1/2 hr per table for general public (no membership)
    • Play some Ping Pong - 2 hour wait on a weekend
  • Review from

    Baltimore, MD
    3/21/2013 1 check-in here
    SPiN is a pretty fun place founded on a pretty nifty idea.

    Nerdiness + Alcohol = Tons of Fun

    That is the main gist of this venue. I never thought ping pong can be so much fun until I came here with a good crowd and sealed the deal with an unlimited wine/beers night.
    Listed in: Enjoying Life

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered