Therapy Review

The Bottom Line
You’ll find a tonic for whatever ails you at Therapy. Since opening in 2003, this Hell’s Kitchen spot has consistently pleased an upscale crowd with clever drinks, delicious snacks, and diverse programming.

Pros
Tony interior
Welcoming to lesbians and straight friends
Reasonably priced menu serving hungry-bear portions
The bathroom’s cruising potential is legendary

Cons
The sound system booms, even when it doesn’t have to
Spotty service
Cliquish scene -- for socializing, it’s better to attend with friends than to go solo

Description
•    Therapy, 348 West 52nd Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues
•    Phone number: 212-397-1700
•    Hours: Sunday–Thursday, 5 p.m. – 2 a.m. Friday–Saturday, 5 p.m. – 4 a.m.
•    Getting there: 1 to 50th Street, or C, E to 50th Street.
•    www.therapy-nyc.com

Guide Review – The Benefits of Therapy
It’s a typical Wednesday late night at Therapy. Walk through the long ramped vestibule and into a wall of sound. Usually that’s the relentless unzt unzt unzt of the sound system. But tonight it’s the American Idol–style Cattle Call, where competitors belt and dance their way to cash prizes.

Even the pitchy queens finish their torch songs and thumpy dance anthems to applause. But what else should you expect from a bar called Therapy. The patrons seek healing through music.

Yes, this is the place that launched a thousand puns. Therapy’s drink menu encourages the humor. Consider Freudian Sip, a concoction of Ketel One Citroen, fresh ginger, and lemonade. Or the Anorexic, spiked with sugar-free Red Bull and finished with Splenda.

When to drink them? Located just steps from midtown’s high-rises and theaters, after-work hours are relaxed (in spite of the loud music) and more geared to a social drink or light dinners.

Later at night, when DJ sets and other shows hit their peak, the space is more crowded. Dancing is minimal, but the atmosphere is more electric, too -- particularly in the cavernous bathroom, whose walk-in closet–size stalls were made for cruising.  

Regardless of timing, Therapy consistently attracts professional types hovering around 35, at least in mindset. While leather daddies will find likeminded friends at the Eagle, clean-cut older guys do feel at home at Therapy. Twinks are welcomed here with open arms. It is also friendly to the occasional lesbian as well as straight-girl pals.

A tip: The bartenders are busy, and occasionally distracted. After finally getting one’s attention, my first cocktail was more tonic than vodka. So consider supervising the barkeeps’ handiwork.

You should also take note that Therapy’s menu is surprisingly good. Offering nachos, chicken skewers, and their comforting ilk, the dishes are well prepared and generously sized.

Just as any Jungian shrink will tell you, there are multiple reasons to come to Therapy again and again, from self-medicating at the bar to sating a hefty appetite. Besides Cattle Call, Sunday-night comedy, Mimi Imfurst’s Monday appearances, and other weekly shows will help you work through the pain.

And all of it takes place in Therapy’s two-story interior, which can be described -- totally straightfaced and pun-free -- as soothing, with rustic wood elements and amber lighting accenting the open central staircase and rock garden.