The OG spot! If these walls could talk... THEY WOULDNT... they would keep their mouth shut cuz they know better. Check it out for the sheer flavor of Midtown NY.

This place is awesome been going there for years the bartenders are amazing very old school New York

Over 50 years of existence/ Dominican owned and a great Latin vibe with a awesome selection of liquor!

One of the best dive bars in NY (meant in all the best ways) and beautiful bar maids!

Awesome dive with 60/70’s tiki lounge theme. Lots of fun and cheap strong drinks!

This place is fun. Soccer on all screens. Friendly bartenders and fun south American vibe.

Great place to grab a drink. And the Bartenders are Amazing.

Best dive bar in time square. Affordable and quick drinks.

Nice bar. Great service. Paola is the best.

Good beers, great music Very sexy staff.

Great bar, great atmosphere!!! It’s a nice place to enjoy a few drinks with friends. Definitely recommend.

Always have beautiful girls working there..if u know how to speak Spanish, ur good....drinks are the usual price for a bar in the city

Good pours in plastic. Old style dive bar. Outside seating. Closes at 10:30pm

Tracy and his staff were excellent .They ensured my grandaughters safety back to her hotel,they were kind and reassuring many thanks Xx

My cousin 1st took me here when I was 16 years old. 54 years later I have coming on and off. This will always be home.

Hunter Abbey

Is the food good…no. Do the bartenders know how to make a drink… also no. Is it a comfortable, clean atmosphere…nah. Is there a chance you’ll somehow be involved in a felony…yup. Should you go for at least one night in NYC… of course.

Buttons

If you like a nice dark cozy bar, Wakamba is your place. The cost of my Ciroc Apple was $16.

JC C

Awesome dive bar. Definitely a place to hang out any day of the week. Nice music Spanish style. Definitely will be back for some drinks.

+2

A fun little dive bar in the midst of midtown.

Do not come here for a craft IPA. You will find only stella, corona, heninken, ect. $5. The bartenders don't speak very good english. The crowd is sort of pickled and obnoxious. What else can you ask for? Right near Port Authority.

One of our favorite dive/tiki bars in all five boroughs. Start at 8am with the old men or come later for great jukebox tunes, trashy barteders and a lot of dancing!

Cool spot to have a drink. It's open late night. Nobody bothers you so you can enjoy the company of your friends and a beer.

A true dive. Way nicer inside than the outside. This place makes a mean cosmo according to some sources. The bartender is requisitely rude.

Great place to watch soccer. Hispanic bar and all liquors are $10. (Exception is walker gold and blue label)

fun...locals and tourist mix..hot ladie bartenders..drinks usual priced for city..juke box..

Ok place where they all speak Spanish and you can watch the barmaids fight it out for tips. Mean girls eat your heart out. Mirrors on the walls but quick service on the bar

Prices have gone up along with measured shots which has dampened the value of this place. Bartenders can be hit or miss.

Stopped in for a quick drink with a buddy before he caught his bus to Boston from Port Authority. This is a good spot from a price and vibe standpoint. They play a great hispanic/reggaeton playlist, the drinks are decently priced, and it's not so loud that you can't talk. Nice spot to grab a drink and catch up or for the music....

Very memorable. Not the friendliest of vibes on a Wednesday night, in terms of the doorman and clientele, though the bartenders were pleasant. As others have noted, they don't seem to speak English, so dust off your Spanish for "how to order a drink".

Best dive bar in the area. Easy to miss with its dark red awning but cheap and friendly on the inside. Don’t mind the older guys nodding out at the bar. It’s the kind of place where you make the most of it at any given time. Cash only. I wouldn’t come here by myself. Ever.

Not very welcoming. In a high foot traffic area

A bar full of men.. Because the 2 bartenders are Brazilian and hot... Weird.. just weird...

Fun bartender and all-around great vibe. But, shots are insanely overpriced. $13 for a shot is ridiculous for this type of bar.

it is not a tiki bar or a cocktail bar. it is a bar that sells only unimaginative bottles of beer for $8 a piece. you might as well be on roosevelt ave in jackson heights queens.

Exenpsive for what is really a dive bar. Drinks electronically measured. Are we in Utah??

Bartenders are hot, but $10 for a shot-glass measured gin (Beefeater was the only option) and tonic seemed pretty steep. Especially since I could have sworn I saw her ring $6.00 on the (old, manual) cash register and brought me ten singles as change for the $20 I gave her. And only reluctantly placed them on the bar, as if she wanted it all as a tip. Scantily clad as she was, it's not like I got a lap dance from across the bar. Maybe I'm a born skeptic, but the whole thing seemed fishy. I cut my losses and left after the one drink. Use caution if you're curious about checking this place out. Addendum: back tonite because bar I wanted was already closed by 1 a.m. Turns out that a gin & tonic IS $10 here at Wakamba. Just hope the $5 worth of songs I picked on the jukebox come on before I need to order another drink. Tired of listening to Spanish "music". Oh, here are my tunes now!

Unfortunately we don't plan to go back. It was too expensive, 18 dollars margarita and we went there thinking it was a dive bar. Staff was friendly and quick, but the price was too much.

Nic T.

Smells like dirty mop water, way overpriced liquor. I feel duped. Wish I would have stayed at Rudy’s.

P Montana

Rude bartender they don't serve well here. I literally had to wait a while to get another beer. It seem they treat the older customers better. Their pricing is sus, so don't stay long

Mike Graham

What I thought was a dive bar absolutely wasn’t. Overpriced measured drinks, my beer was warm. Even though I’m not a tourist this bar is not tourist friendly. Most if not all the bartenders do not speak English or know how to make any drinks that consist of more than 3 ingredients. In order to hear music you have to play the jukebox. Although the women are beautiful you can’t interact because all they know in English is how to count money. The manager Mike however ensured I had a great time. It’s sad that all the women in this city they always manage to get the imports. I will stick to beer if I come back.

They charged me twice for the one drink i ordered

There are many other places. Probably not worth going here.

Came here to enjoy a some drinks before going home. Brought 2

$30 for two well whiskeys? There's no way that's what the owner charges. Bartenders are scamming. At least the service was bad.

Nice decor but bartender couldn’t understand a simple drink order. Should have trusted prior reviews.

Awful bartenders who don’t care, $20 well drinks with tip. Bye

Horrible super super pricey paid $30 for 2 drinks n was 6oz cups. More ice the anything else. Never again

This place is a scam they ask for money and than charge you multiple times for the same service and never deliver ir

Nothing even close to a Tiki bar as presented in the articles. Walked in and walked out.

Our credit card got hacked here! Beware!

Way overpriced drinks only got one margarita because it was like 20 dollars without tip. Then the bartender said that the machines weren't working so only cash payment. Never going back

Bill for 1 margarita + 2 presidents beers came to $39 without the tip. When asked about the price for margarita, was given different price than what we were billed....RIP off. Will never go here again. BTW...drink was awful! And weak!

Worst bar I’ve been to in nyc.. rude service and very basic drinks, bad music. Also $15 for a cocktail at a dive bar is ridiculous

Horrible place. Outrageously Over priced drinks. Bartenders will ask if they should take a shot. Then charge 30$ on your tab and claim you said you were paying for their shots. Clearly a front for drug money.

Not tourist friendly. Terrible service. Neither bartender spoke English or knew anything beyond very basic drinks.

Not a friendly place the owner or manager seems to be watching new customer and makes them feel uncomfortable. the entire group in that bar seems to be regulars and they don't appreciate new people going there they have tried to start trouble with me but I did ignored them, as I was leaving the Bar their security attack me outside on the street for no apparent reason.

Can I gave them a zero? Terrible pathetic. The owner was drunk and didn’t allow us to go in. We were 9 of us and wanted to make a friends bday memorable. Please avoid it!

Bartender will put you on a tab after you had a couple and then over charge you. Cought one charging me 20 and then charging 10 on the register. If I fight it, i will lose cause I'm the drunk one and they don't wanna check the cameras....

My friends were discriminated against because they're lesbians and were forced from the bar. The owner threatened their lives and fled before the cops could apprehend him. Do not support this bigot's buisness

Just don't. The women bartenders over charged my friends. I was watching over them. They double charged them. Do NOT go there!!!

Not sure if it was because I didn't lead with "habla Ingles?" or if it was because I'm an obvious tourist, but we were treated like trash by the bartender. I get it, but also, be better.

What a scam! This bar has no menu, the bartenders do not know how to make the most basic mixed drinks, do not speak English, and prices are outrageous.

Not welcoming! Rude! Just wanted to get drunk and the answers I got made me walk straight out. Not smoking inside

This is NOT a dive bar. They don’t have well drinks they measure all drinks with an electronic pourer and it’s $17 for a drink. The staff are not allowed to drink and the atmosphere reflects that.

I try not to write negative reviews but this place just charged me $32 for two rail drinks. Most I've ever paid in my life! Went in on the Bourdain recommendation and the space was cool but nah. She made a point to pour the tequila in the shot glass in front of us before pouring it in there too, 32 bucks for 2oz of tequila. A fool and his money are easily separated indeed. The guy in all the photos here even told me the drinks weren't cheap?? Would rate 0 stars if possible but that pic of Bourdain having a shot is nice. If you are in the area go to Rudy's down the street for a better time at a fraction of the price!

Very unfriendly... very unwelcoming.... bartender was very rude... didn't greet me... tried to kick me out after I ordered... when I ordered my drink and asked if it's refillable where it's not an unfair question none of the waitresses spoke English... then the manager demand I pay now or get out. I went across the street and they gave me amazing service and I happily spent double there. I will never sit in a place and not pay. He thinks that because that is the inferior kind he is! Not my fault that they can't speak English and refuse to see what I mean. You want money before I order you get a 1 star review!!!

BEWARE: Terrible prices. Also the staff treated us condescendingly, holding the receipt as if assistance was needed as we signed. We asked for two rail/well/bottom shelf drinks and it was $32. They poured Patron. Not what we asked for, and way overcharged.

Like the rest of the reviews on here, we were hosed by the bartenders for 4 Negronis $90, pure extortion. It's a shame because I haven't been here in years and I remembered it being a fun dive with reasonable drinks. Never again.

This place is awful. The beginning was normal enough but then the bartender took a shot on her own accord, we though it was just part of the experience. Then she charged us for the shots which was surprising because we did not even ask her to. If you go here expect that the servers will be completely unprofessional and will overcharge you.

The drinks are way over priced. I got one neat poor and was charged $15, I tipped a dollar for several other reasons. When I reviewed my bank account the bartender added a $5 tip for herself.

This place definitely has something else going on. They charge $17 for every drink, cash only, and theres something up with the girls that work here....

Someone I know had their DRINK SPIKED here and ended up in the hospital!!! Very shady place. Stay away!

Worse place ever!! Everything was watered down even the coke. They were 4 trying to make a margarita that ended up tasting like bad limonade . Never thought people could be so rude. Worse customer service. They didn’t want our group to sit together. DON’T WAIST YOUR TIME GOING IN.

Not good. Really bad, in fact. Popped in for some cocktails after having seen a Bourdain recommendation from years ago. Asked for a cocktail menu. Don't have one. Okay, how about a negroni? "We don't have that alcohol. We have vodka, rum, whiskey..." ahhh okay, guess she's never heard of it. "How about a mai tai?" "We don't have that alcohol either. We have whiskey, rum..." Holy smokes. I then spoke in Spanish, listing the ingredients, which didn't seem to help in the slightest. Asked for equal measures of gin (okay), Campari ("oh, we have that too!"), and sweet vermouth. "We don't have that last one...ver-moo?" I'm looking at the bar and it's fully stocked - hundreds of bottles - surely they have vermouth. I literally walked over and picked out the vermouth, then let them find the gin and Campari. My wife couldn't get them to understand anything either, even giving them recipes in Spanish. Fine, make her whatever you want. She ended up with a "blue cocktail." Seemed to be made with lemon juice, tequila, and blue curaçao. Oh and also with a lime wedge, which was bizarre because they assured me they had no limes/lime juice when I tried to explain a mai tai. Whatever, one round and we bounce. Get the bill - 30 bucks! I said surely there must be a mistake, we only ordered two (very lousy) cocktails. "no, es correct. 15 y 15..." Avoid this place like the plague. If you must go, just get a beer.

This is the most expensive bar I’ve ever been to in nyc and I’ve lived here for 20 years. Ask how much the drinks are before ordering.

Be careful with the bills, the girls will overcharge you

Apurva Reddy

She didn’t understand well shots and we ended up paying $75 for four shots. Complete rip off. Would avoid at all costs

Jake Gemunder

They charged $35 for 2 drinks and after we finished instead of asking us if we wanted anything else they decided to just hand over the check and mutter random nonsense at us until we left.

John Dadda

Loud place - the bar tender has no clue about liquor - seems like a shabby place - for late night hookup in NYC. Good location - service could be better …. And overpriced liquor.

Heather Harrison

Other than a good story to tell, I wouldn’t recommend this place. The review below hit it spot on, $100 for 4 drinks, yowza!

Cheryl Luo

Please save your money and do not come here. They mysteriously “do not have a menu” and you will pay $35 for a shot of vodka (and I’m not talking about in a fancy cocktail) Plus it’s a sausage fest.

Troy M

Just like everyone else has said, way over priced for drinks. 3 of us had 3 drinks each and spent $160 each. Their profit margins must be great. I would avoid at all costs (pun intended)

Calvin Jenkins

The bartender was worried about her Boyfriend! Not only that I had to withdraw cash! The bartender didn't pay attention to what they were doing when it came to closing the tab. Asked who I thought was security to help with my tab. Dont don't go if you have the option or chance. I will not be returning. Do not respect me or to busy eating.... my bartender had a red dress eating pizza the whole time I was there.....talked about me in Spanish but I am fluent in Spanish.

T S

Not a dive bar…at least price wise. $15 for a shot of Jim Beam?!?!? FYI, it costs $5 up the street and you get a hot dog with it! Will go to the other place moving forward!

Thomas Cardenas

I had 1 drink of Patron that was supposed to be $15 as told by a nice guy who was maybe the bar manager there. A woman bartender (who didn't seem to know what Patron was), gets the drink after some help then proceeds to charge me $22. I noticed and said the guy told me it was $15 but she had already swiped my card. I asked if she can cancel it as she charges me again for $15. I asked again if the $22 was canceled and she says you didn't sign it so it's not going to be processed 😒... Well now I have 2 finalized charges, one for $18 ($15 +$3 tip) and one for $32? Looks like she just add a $10 unauthorized tip on the incorrect charge of $22 that should of been canceled. Shaddy...The 2 girls behind the bar were clueless, didn't know their way around the bar, or even what spirits they have or didn't have. They didn't seem to have much if any experience bartending. They seem to just enter a cost(based on memory or what they feel like) into a basic card reader rather than using a POS (point of sales) system like most bars and restaurants use. I just wondered in, but I wish I had seen the reviews as overcharging seems to be the theme. The number for the merchant is not in service, and I couldn't find a website to contact them. I was visiting NY and this one place I know I should have just left when the bartender didn't know what Patron was... If you go just pay cash.

A Wassamire

$45 for two tiny vodka sodas made with store bought bottled club soda.. even though the tab said $30, so the “bartender” added $15 to an already overpriced bill. Trashy bad bar.. and not in the fun way.

Pleasant Pisces

Very hot inside, prices way too high, waitress tried to over charge me luckily I caught it. Bathroom had no paper towels, flies buzzing around my drinks. Would not recommend. I was grateful the man adjusted my bill although the waitresses had already left.

Scott Crawford

Do not come here. I wanted to give them a chance but they really don't deserve it. Incredibly over priced and awful service. Literally the only person in the bar and still took 15 mins to pay the bill. I usually would be cool with that in a dive bar. But then I see the 16 dollar bill for 1 drink. You can't charge that much and call yourself a dive bar. Fair warning pick another bar

Dylan Felix

It's a dive bar but they're pretty quick to start overcharging for drinks once they decide they don't like you. $38 for 3 drinks served in tiny little plastic shot cups that were mostly ice. Horrible service from the start, and we're not even yuppies. Reading the other reviews, it's probably best to pass this place unless you speak Spanish, because you're gonna pay tourist prices if you don't.

Vanessa Santiago

Warning… Not a typical dive bar price. Rum and Diet serve in a 6oz plastic cup with a bunch of ice $15, and 1 shot probably 1-2 oz $15… this picture it was $30… just for that. For that price, I’ll prefer going to an upscale bar. Dive bars are supposed to be cheap drinks. For sure not worth it. The Owner was drunk, sitting at the bar making a scene. There was a group of 5-7 guys super drunk stumping around the bar. You have to pay to listen to music. Which unfortunately I if you didn’t, you’d be stuck listening to 80’s Spanish love songs. The bartender was friendly; she kept bringing us drinks. We wouldn’t be done with one that she would be asking us if we wanted another round. Of course, with those prices. Based on other reviews I have read here, the bartender changes the drink prices depending on how they feel. Guess she thought we had money 🤷🏻‍♀️ Not even sure how this place has a 4-star rating.