Overview
This Afro-Caribbean dance hall is hot, sweaty, and sexy.
History
Candlelight, salsa and usually no cover
Bembe's cover charge has barely budged: in 2011 Time Out said it cost nothing to join the dancers at this candlelit spot under the Williamsburg Bridge, and in 2024 BK Reader found it usually still free1, 2. Time Out's 2011 guide also promised music every night until 4 in the morning, from Latin and salsa to reggae, Afrobeat and soul1. By 2014 its windows had worn Kristina Kozak's delicate metal security grills for years3. In 2017 Time Out called it "an unmarked hideaway," with DJs spinning everything from reggae to bachata and drummers and local musicians often playing too4.
Sources
Researched October 2026.