Vintage Barrooms in downtown New York City

There are some beautiful old watering holes in the city, loaded with character and history. These are my favorites, and they're of course mostly downtown, since New York City once used to only mean the area roughly below Houston Street. I like taking out-of-towners to such places because you can't beat them for authenticity.

Ear Inn
326 Spring Street (btw Greenwich and Washington)

Founded circa 1871, the Ear served as a halfway house for runaway slaves during the Civil War. It's now a beautiful historic landmark building, open for late-night meals. The crowd is rowdy and eclectic, and spills out into the sidewalk in the summertime.

Fanelli Cafe
94 Prince Street (at Mercer)

Definitely on the finalist list for one of the oldest and best taverns, nothing beats that original dark wood paneling and a bartender who used to be a prizefighter in his youth. It served as a speakeasy during Prohibition, and the days is best enjoyed late at night, once the tourists and shoppers have gone to bed.

The White Horse Tavern
567 Hudson (at West 11th Street)

Also a former speakeasy and hangout of artists like Jack Kerouac, Norman Mailer, and Bob Dylan. Dylan Thomas drank himself to death right here in 1953, for whatever that's worth to you. Good for beer and a tuna melt on lazy Saturday afternoons.

Chumley's
86 Bedford Street (btw Grove and Barrow Streets)

Sawdust covered former speakeasy where you can carve your sweetheart's name into the tables. Early evening it's overrun by frat boys, but late and on snowy evening nights you can cozy up to the fire and enjoy a pretty great selection of local and imported beers.

McSorely's Old Ale House
15 E 7th Street (btw 2nd and 3rd Avenues)

This place hasn't changed much in the last 70 years or so. It's still dark and gloomy and a good place to get a little melancholy with one of two beer selections available: McSorely's own light and dark.

Old Town Bar and Restaurant
45 East 18th Street (btw Boradway and Park Avenue South)

Sweeping view of the mahogany bar is part of the opener on Late Night With David Letterman. The serious drinkers go early and sink into one of the intimate booths opposite the bar.

Pete's Tavern
129 East 18th Street at Irving Place

Yet another bar that claims to be "the longest continuously operating saloon in New York". Two staples of American literature were created here, O'Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" and Ludwig Bemelman's "Madeleine." What is it with beer and writers?
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15 Comments

hhusted 2yrs+
I'm not a drinker so I do not attend bars, but I do know about McSorely's Old Ale House. I had to meet a client there once. Not bad place to be. Great atmosphere.
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BroadwayBK 2yrs+
Ah, McSorley's! Used to frequent that place quite often when I worked at a restaurant nearby. I'd completely forgotten about it. Really cool spot.

Interesting that Bob Dylan drank in the same establishment where his chosen namesake drank himself to death. Call me morbid, but I'm intrigued. Next weekend just may find me there.
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hhusted 2yrs+
Yikes. Maybe his spirit or ghost is there hunting the place. You never know.
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Uraniumfish 2yrs+
@BroadwayBK So, not to pour beer on your new found enthusiasm, but Dylan Thomas had one too many vodkas at the White Horse Tavern, not at McSorley's.

However, I've pulled up a couple of fun facts more about McSorley's as a consolation prize: famous customers include Abraham Lincoln and Woodie Guthrie. It used to be a "men only" bar so we can all be grateful for a woman's present right to imbibe there. Until as late as the 1970's their motto was: "Good Ale, Raw Onions and No Ladies."

Yeah. I see how that might have made for a winning recipe.
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BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@uraniumfish I was taking about White Horse Tavern in the second paragraph, in reference to your statement that Bob Dylan and Dylan Thomas both went there? Suppose I could have made the change of subject a bit more clear....
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hhusted 2yrs+
Is the White Horse Tavern a typical hangout for celebrities today, or was it just for that time period?
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Uraniumfish 2yrs+
@ BroadwayBK Oh! Now I get it, on re-reading.

How come it's only the former speakeasies that survived to modern times to become bar classics. Did they just know more about being bars by being illegal bars?
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BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish They most likely just knew more about making gin in their bathtubs? Though there IS something impressive about surviving Prohibition.
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Uraniumfish 2yrs+
Yeah, it's either the gin in the bathtub or else it could just be the quality of the bartending. The bartenders in these old speakeasies knew their drinkers, you know what I mean? They're true professionals, as opposed to bartenders in more generic modern places who more often than not are some kind of moonlighting struggling actor or something. Probably makes all the difference with the Ale-Onions-and-No-Ladies crowd.
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DBlack 2yrs+
This is a great list! Isn't there also an old bar somewhere near the Brooklyn Bridge? I don't remember what it's called but maybe someone here knows?
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Uraniumfish 2yrs+
Maybe you mean the Bridge Cafe? Yep, I checked, it was another former speakeasy. What is it with these places?

Bridge Cafe
279 Water Street at Dover Street

Features a gorgeous view of the Bridge, beside some strong doses of Irish whiskey in your cocoa.
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Uraniumfish 2yrs+
Just remembered Pete's Tavern "the longest continuously operating saloon in New York". Haven't we heard that claim about the others, too?
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BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish From what I understand, bartending back in the day was a bit more of a respected profession than it is now. I'm sure you're right about the fact that the more professional/knowledgeable bartender is more likely to work in a bar with a long standing reputation, such as the ones on the list.
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I'm a big fan of O'Neals Grand Street, and have been for a while. Ignore the lame Sex and the City cosmopolitan tours - I've been going there since long before that show even aired! - and kick back with some great food and a lovely Old New York feel...
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Uraniumfish 2yrs+
@ ajadeidealist Never been to O'Nieal's. It belongs in this thread for sure, but I hesitate to include it in the list at the top because it doesn't have that 1800's speakeasy pedigree. Gotta have standards, you know?
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