Joe’s Pub is located on 425 Lafayette Street, Manhattan, just south of Astor Place, and just west of Cooper Union. It lies amid the NYU campus, just south of Union Square venues such as Webster Hall and Irving Plaza. It is a for-profit division of the next-door Public Theater, first opening in 1998.
The entrance to Joe’s Pub is separate from Public Theater (though the backdoor is through the Public Theater), behind an iron gate and past a small outdoor foyer. The box office is a small, tight space; immediately to the right is the entrance to Joe’s Pub proper, with a maitre-d taking your ticket. Inside, Joe’s Pub is divided between the stage itself, in the far left corner, a seated dining area with tables and chairs, a bar to the right, and a strip of drinks seating between the two and past the bar (the drinks and bar area slightly raised). The décor is very ‘New York Theater’, lots of black-and-white photos of actors and singers (including a young Kevin Spacey).
More ‘dinner and a show’ than ‘coffeehouse’, the small stage and quiet crowd still leads to mostly solo performances by a diverse array of older-skewing artistés. But the double, sometimes triple-booking a night means that shows start on time and end rather quickly. While the wait staff is certainly nice as waiters, they also enforce a stricter code, from flash photography to how many people are let in. Sort of an odd hybrid of theater, restaurant, coffeehouse, nightclub and rock club, that creates benefits and drawbacks.
Capacity: 161
all ages
Address:
425 Lafayette Street (Between Astor Place and E 4th Street)
By Subway:
QRO Coverage:
-Bongeziwe Mabandla, February 19th, 2024 – live review
-Glen Matlock, June 11th, 2019 – photos
-Jo Hanson, March 28th, 2017 – live review, photos
-Rachel Mason, July 26th, 2015 – photos
-CMA Songwriters (Bob DiPiero, Brett James, Craig Wiseman, and Radney Foster), December 4th, 2014 – live review, photos
-Tecla, March 26th, 2013 – photos
-Patrick Wolf, with Woodpigeon, September 20th, 2012 – Patrick Wolf photos, Woodpigeon photos
-Scars on 45, with Anya Marina, February 7th, 2012 – live review, Scars on 45 photos, Anya Marina photos
-Sleepy Rebels, May 18th, 2011 – photos
-Black Francis, September 5th, 2010 – live review, photos
-Evan Dando (of The Lemonheads), January 30th, 2010 – photos
-Theresa Andersson, February 6th, 2009 – photos
