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510 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014
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Employees Only opened in 2004 at 510 Hudson St and runs like a speakeasy: a psychic sits in the front window, a bouncer works the door. Per the venue's own site, reservations are for dining only, 6-11pm; the bar and every cocktail seat are walk-in, first-come first-serve. So the cocktail crowd doesn't skip the door. It waits at it.
The reported wait is short but real. Time Out's reporter arrived at 2am, found 'a line was already forming outside,' and, after an initial rejection at the door, 'waited approximately 15 minutes' before the bouncer let them in. Inside was 'shoulder to shoulder.' The Infatuation says the room is 'still packed with people every time we stop by.'
The pull is late. The venue's site lists bar service until 4am, seven nights a week, with a free bowl of chicken soup going out at 3:30am. Time Out describes bouncers counting down to close as the last guests filed out. The bottleneck here is the door, not a reservation list.
Patterns as reported by press and regulars — not measured by damnlines.
Reservations: Reservations are accepted for dinner only, nightly from 6PM to 11PM, booked through Resy.com or the Resy app, and are required for dining-room seating, per the venue's official site.
Walk-ins: Per the venue's site, the bar and outdoor seating areas are reserved for walk-in guests on a first-come, first-served basis, and cocktails/appetizers are seated strictly walk-in; after 11PM (no reservations accepted for late night) all seating is first-come, first-served.
Outdoor dining nightly 6PM-11PM; indoor dining and bar service 6PM-4AM, seven days a week, per the venue's site.
Time Out's reporter, arriving at 2am, found 'a line was already forming outside' and, after an initial rejection at the door, 'waited approximately 15 minutes' before the bouncer let them in. The Infatuation calls the room 'still packed with people every time we stop by.' (No live damnlines camera here yet — this is reported guidance, not a live count.)
Its own site says reservations, via Resy, are for dining only, 6-11pm. Cocktails and appetizers are walk-in only, first-come first-serve. After 11pm everyone is seated first-come first-serve.
The venue's site lists indoor dining and bar service 6pm-4am, seven days a week. Outdoor dining ends at 11pm and the kitchen runs until 3am.
Yes. Time Out reports a free 'light chicken soup' goes out at 3:30am near closing, served in small mugs with 'a single strand of the chicken.' Their reporter judged it not worth the late night.
We can't measure the door in real time. By its own hours the bar opens at 6pm, and the reported crush is late, with Time Out finding a line already forming by 2am, so arriving earlier in the evening is the reported way to beat it. Dress code applies: no baseball caps, athletic wear, or gym sneakers.
Yes — the venue's site states the bar and outdoor seating are reserved for walk-in guests on a first-come, first-served basis, and after 11PM all seating becomes walk-in only since reservations aren't taken for late night.
Sources: Time Out New York: Is a 3am cup of free chicken soup worth the wait at NYC's most iconic speakeasy? · The Infatuation: Employees Only review (West Village) · Employees Only: Hours and Reservations (official site)