Sugar Bar New York

Soul, R&B, jazz bar

Geoffrey from New York

""Sugar Bar" in New York City is a club that features soul, R&B and jazz. It's small and busy, and I like the vibes. Great food, too, esp. the chicken."

Remember the songs ‘Ain’t No Valley High Enough’ ? "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"?

Go meet Valerie Simpson, writer of those songs, the ‘Simpson’ in Ashford and Simpson, owner of the Sugar Bar.

Nick Ashford died in 2011, but Valerie is often at the bar over which hangs a portrait of her husband. A time or two I have sat beside and talked to her when things are slow.

The bar features Soul, R&B, and jazz, all played by musicians who also play gigs in other clubs and on Broadway. It's said that even Stevie Wonder played here after a Radio City Music Hall gig.

Sometimes there is an eight piece R&B band --- 2 horns, 2 guitars, drums, keyboard and 2 backup singers.

The club is small and busy. Many patrons stand at the bar, blocking the passageway to your right. You’ll have to press your way through. At the bar I met a professor from Columbia University, a teacher of Swahili, now an acquaintance. He drinks his beer from a martini glass. He is easy to spot because his dreadlocks reach the floor.

All tables have a good view of the tiny stage. Order crispy chicken, or from a menu of at fish, pork chops, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, and lots of southern American cooking options. Anything I have ordered, especially the chicken, has been really good.

I love how patrons whoop, holler and dance when the band finds a groove, which is pretty much always.

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New York Spotter Geoffrey

About me I travel to discover how people elsewhere live, how they manage living with low incomes in expensive cities, how they grapple with hard times and failing economies, how they deal with ageing or crumbling families and how they themselves age and adapt. Knowing and loving New York comes from having lived through many of its manifestations while witnessing its changes. Why New York I love New York because of its broad cultural spectrum realized in all forms of the arts, food, technology, politics and transportation, and its easy access to the beautif...

About this spot

254 W 72nd Street

Cover charge:

US$

Website

2125790222

Social

Oct 16, 2025

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