i heart nyc bars » East Village

Ella

Iheartnycbars — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 16:59:50 +0000

Ella is intended to be a throwback to the 20s. But its black walls and big chandeliers give it more of a 70s feel. Either way it’s a good option considering there is live music and half-off cocktails till 9 pm.

Happy Hour: 6 pm. to 9 pm

9 Avenue A, nr. Houston, New York, NY 10009, East Village, tel. 212-777-2233

Cabin Down Bellow

Iheartnycbars — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:57:05 +0000

Named after a Tom Petty song, Cabin Down Bellow is the indie version of a speakeasy. You used to enter through the recently closed Pizza Shop, and now you go through the ally around the corner on 7th st. The bar is small and the amount of people who go gaga over this gimmick is big, so demand to get in is high. Be prepared to be told or asked who’s private party you’re there for. Once you make it in, you find a lot of rock scene snobs and the models who date them. Don’t expect mixologists, but rather your average everyday drinks. There is hardly any music, people are mostly chatting and looking around trying to figure out who’s private party they’re at.

10 Ave. A, nr. 7th St. 10009

The Holiday Cocktail Lounge

Iheartnycbars — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:32:30 +0000

Leon Trotsky lived in the building next door (#77) circa 1917. I am not sure what one of the fathers of the Russian Communist Revolution would think of $4 beers. (he probably would reluctantly approve, after all he knew what rents are like in the EV) And who can resist a real working man’s dive bar, which also happened to start out as a Prohibition-era speakeasy? Regrettably, owner/bartender and local character, Stefan Lutak, (pictured uptop) passed away this year. Stefan fought with the Red Army and had this to stay about Leningrad: “We were sleeping in the snow, nothing to eat. Two, three, four days, a whole week with empty stomach. Kitchen? Gone! They killed the horses. Then they killed the cooks. We ate leaves, and in November the leaves were gone”. R.I.P Stefan. Maybe he and Trotsky can share a beer and bitch about Stalin, wherever they are now.

Cash Only

Hours: 6pm-2am

75 St. Marks Pl., nr. First Ave., NY 10003 212-777-9637

Burp Castle

Iheartnycbars — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:18:56 +0000

This is an odd and sorta cute medieval looking bar that calls itself the “temple of beer worship”. Beer connoisseurs certainly can revere the beer selection: 12 draft and 40 bottled beers from Europe, some of which are well known imported staples with around 10% alcohol, like Delirium Tremens, Duvel and Chimay. The music is Gregorian chants. The bartenders are dressed as monks and they will shush the crowd from time to time. But, in a place with “Burp” in its name, it’s kinda hard to take a silencing monk seriously.

Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday, 5 p.m.–8 p.m., free fries served from the yummy Pomme Frites, located around the corner.

Hours: Mon-Fri, 5pm-midnight; Sat-Sun, 4pm-2am 212-982-4576

41 E. 7th St., nr. Second Ave., NY 10003 212-982-4576

Madam Geneva

Iheartnycbars — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:13:16 +0000

I am filling this one under speakeasyish just because of their hidden entrance gimmick. (To go in you have to go through the hipster/yuppies pretending to be hipsters restaurant Double Crown) The decor is more colonial Southeast Asia, which is what they are going for. Named after the the 18th century term for gin; that is exactly what Madam Geneva specializes in. But, you can get fancy beers here too. Don’t bother going on a weekend, it gets way too packed with loud people, whom you don’t want near your personal space. Yet on a Tuesday nite it is actually quite nice.

Hours Daily, 6pm-4am

4 Bleecker St., at Bowery, NY 10012 212-254-0350

Bourgeois Pig

Iheartnycbars — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:15:38 +0000

I wondered in here one night when I was celebrating my promotion. I thought it was perfect. I love the decadent red velvety decoration that miraculously comes off as being in good taste rather than tacky. The place tries to bring french wines to American palates. But, they compromise and offer beer and wine derived cocktails too. A great place for a rainy afternoon, especially nice if you come with someone who cares to weigh in on Paul Krugman’s latest NYTs article and the general malaise of capitalistic society.

Hours: Sun-Thu, 5pm-2am; Fri-Sat, 5pm-3am

111 E. 7th St., nr. First Ave. 10009 212-475-2246

Death and Co.

Iheartnycbars — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:17:35 +0000

If you like the speakeasy thing this one has got to be on your list. The name, Death & Co., evokes the prohibition era notion (or for that maner AA’s) that to drink alcohol is to live a life shadowed by death. Really yummy bite-sized dishes. try the Mac & Cheese, which is served in spoons. The place is tiny, so the door policy is that if they’re full they will take your number and call you once space is available. Death tends to end things way too early; they close at 12 AM.

Cocktail: The Joy Division: Beefeater Gin, Noilly Pratt Dry Vermouth, Cointreau, and St George Absinthe

Hours Daily, 6pm-midnight

433 E. 6th St., nr. Ave. A 10009 212-388-0882