Cafe Wha? opened in the 1950s, when Greenwich Village was the center of New York’s beatnik scene. Owned by impresario Manny Roth in the early 1960s, the basement club welcomed many young singers at the beginnings of their careers: Bob Dylan hitchhiked from Minnesota to play at the club to a rapturous audience, and Mary Travers from Peter, Paul and Mary was a waitress here.
Today the club has three house bands that alternate nights and play a mixture of R’n’B, soul, funk, and rock. The bands often welcomes celebrity guest performers, so you never know who you might catch onstage. Visit this classic venue to round off a New York pub crawl or a tour of Greenwich Village.