Good Bars in NYC?

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bigears

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Dublin, Ireland
I'll be in New York for a few days holiday in January and I'm keen to take in some good beer bars while I'm there. I'm staying in the tourist area around Times Square and I've been searching the web for potential hangouts. So far I've found the following (listed in rough order of proximity to our accommodation)
House of Brews on West 46th and also on West 51st.
Collins Bar on 8th Ave.
Stout on West 33rd.
Blind Tiger AleHouse on Bleecker St. (Greenwich Village?)

Any comments on the bars above or any suggestions of where else to visit? Ideally I'm looking for a mixture of places that either

1. Serve both good beer and macros (to keep my less adventurous fellow travellers happy) and
2. Somewhere I can escape to on my own and talk with like minded beer nuts.

Níall, Dublin.
 
Doublecheck if Blind Tiger is still around. They lost their liquor license for awhile when I was there (left 6 months ago).

You should also check out:
Galway Hooker [next to Ginger Man on 36th St]

Collins Bar and Stout both kind of suck in my opinion. Mostly because they have the atmosphere of a meat market.

Hop Devil Grill has a great Belgian Bar. It's at St. Marks and Avenue A, I believe. Actually, if you go there, you should go to McCormack's at 6th St and 3rd Ave. It's a great old historic bar.

If you get a chance to go to Brooklyn, Spuyten Duyvil in Williamsburg is awesome.

Paddy Reilly's at 28th and 2nd Ave is a lot of fun. Good music, good times. It's an all-Guiness draft bar. They have other stuff in bottles, but only Guiness on tap.

If you're in the West Village (i.e. Blind Tiger), go to the White Horse Tavern. It's where Dylan Thomas uttered his famous last words "I've had eighteen straight whiskies, I think that's the record . . ."

All of this is from memory, so double check any addresses and make sure the bar still exists.

What are you looking for out of a bar? There's a ****-ton of bars up there, so you've got plenty of options.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, I can now add a few more to my list. It's also good to know that I don't need to break my neck to get to Collins Bar and Stout.

I'm not short of Guinness in Dublin, and European beer is accessible too - what I'd like to find is a bar with a good selection of local (or at least US) craft beer that I can't get over here. We get a limited selection of some of the bigger US craft brews like SN, Anchor, Sam Adams & Goose Island but there are so many more I'd like to try, especially on tap.

As regards the Blind Tiger, from what I've read on the web it seems to be open again.

Cheers,
Níall
 
I just happend to have this list to see which of the Top Beer Bars of the World that I've been to. You can find the list and reviews here:
http://www.ratebeer.com/RateBeerBest/table.asp?title=Best+Beer+Bars+2007&file=bars_places_2007.csv

2. Spuyten Duyvil Brooklyn, New York
25. Barcade Brooklyn, New York
40. Hop Devil Grill New York, New York
51. The Old Toad Rochester, New York
53. David Copperfields New York, New York
55. The Ginger Man (NYC) New York, New York
62. Mugs Ale House Brooklyn, New York
63. d.b.a. New York, New York
80. The Brazen Head Brooklyn, New York
88. Peculier Pub New York, New York
93. McSorley’s Old Ale House New York, New York
 
olllllo said:
I just happend to have this list to see which of the Top Beer Bars of the World that I've been to. You can find the list and reviews here:
http://www.ratebeer.com/RateBeerBest/table.asp?title=Best+Beer+Bars+2007&file=bars_places_2007.csv

2. Spuyten Duyvil Brooklyn, New York
25. Barcade Brooklyn, New York
40. Hop Devil Grill New York, New York
51. The Old Toad Rochester, New York
53. David Copperfields New York, New York
55. The Ginger Man (NYC) New York, New York
62. Mugs Ale House Brooklyn, New York
63. d.b.a. New York, New York
80. The Brazen Head Brooklyn, New York
88. Peculier Pub New York, New York
93. McSorley’s Old Ale House New York, New York

Ha, I've been to all of those that are in the City. d.b.a. is a great bar. I want to say it's 2nd avenue and 3rd Street. The Brazen Head is one of my favorites - I can't believe left it off. They have a cask ale festival that is absolutely amazing!

Peculier is a bit of an NYU meat market - not a bad place to meet a PYT for a one night stand, actually.

I've been to Copperfield's, but honestly don't remember it.

I didn't notice that you were visiting from Ireland. In that case, I'd really recommend hitting up the Blind Tiger (assuming it's back), d.b.a., the Ginger Man, and if possible, the Brazen Head. Those are by far the best bars for high quality and craft beers from around the world. They all get pretty crowded, mostly due to the fact that they're such good bars, so try to get there early to stake out a table (or show up late - they're all open until 4 on the weekends).

And while you're in NYC, make sure to get a Gray's Papaya meal - 2 hot dogs and a papaya juice for less than $3. Best. Drunk. Meal. Ever!
 
Oh! If you make it over to Brooklyn, there's a great bar in Park Slope (I think) called the Lighthouse Tavern (or something similar). They have really great craft beer and cask ales.
 
IIRC the last edition of Ale Street News had an article on some of the new beer bars in NYC including a place called Gutter that also has an 8 lane alley.
 
I went to Spuyten Duyvil for the first time last night, and it's definitely worth the trip to Brooklyn. Excellent beer and a good vibe. I really hate Williamsburg, but this place will make me go back.
 
Brooklyn Brewery on a friday night is a good time, as is Mugs.
Spuyten and Barcade I hear are great.
Stout is a hookup place (or Rangers pregame spot), but has a great selection of stouts.
Blind Tiger reopened on Bleecker and is definitely worth a visit...especially on Wednesdays.
There the Essex house, which I hear is grand.
Hop Devil is cool (F... their 55$ Westy 12 though) as is the attached Belgian Room.
Collins bar is closed, but had decent specials, despite no atmosphere.
House of brews is weak.
Ginger Man is a great time, with a decent NYC vibe and numerous taps/bottles.
Only Heartland's Union Square location is worth a visit (others are tourist traps).
d.b.a. and loreley are good times on weekdays.
paddy's is great on a friday night or sunday afternoon.
swift hibernian on sunday afternoons is nice.
 
MLynchLtd said:
I've put this up before, but because McSorleys was mentioned again...
http://www.geocities.com/thelastknght/mcsorleys.html

I can't believe I hadn't seen this yet. This is exactly like I remember it, even down to the cheese platter.

My wife's friend was pregnant when we went, and while her Wall-Street husband stood next to her, the bartender flirted with her completely ignoring the husband--what a place. :D
 
Lots of great places in Brooklyn. In Park Slope there's The Gate and 4th Ave Pub. Nearby in Cobble Hill is The Brazenhead. Up north in Williamsburg there's Barcade, Spuyten Duvel (sp?), Mug's ALe House, dBA, and of course Brooklyn Brewery. I bet I'm missing quite a few too.

In Manhattan I'd go for the Ginger Man and Rattle & Hum are excellent and just about across the street from one another. Blind Tiger is great as well as Burp Castle in the East Village.
 
check out -

1. petes tavern- in the gramercy area, very cool bar, very old, very popular, good times......

2. the brooklyn brewery - brooklyn, wicked good time during happy hour
 
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