September 17, 2009
I swung through here during NYC beer week, was able to grab a cask serving of Hop Wallop, which was enjoyable. Can’t give much of a night time review as a swung in around 2PM on a Monday. The day time bartender was a great guy, we talked about beer for a while, then gave me my drinks for super cheap, but I don’t remember noticing the prices (though high, as PilsnerPeter noted, would not be a shock, as it is Manhattan). Anyway, they had just finished being part of the cask festival, and were setting up for a Sierra Nevada event, so I didn’t really drink anything that would be part of their standard line-up, but the selection didn’t look exceptional. Set-up looked nice though, from what I saw. I’ll try this place again.

September 17, 2009
Came here for a Smuttynose event, and they had three new Smuttynose beers I’ve never had, so that was an automatic plus. The ambiance is fantastic- dimly lit with a dark wood and stone/brick exposure. The bathrooms down stairs made me feel like I was in a castle somewhere in northern Britain. The selection besides the Smutty stuff seemed mediocre- some decent craft to fall back on- although they had the usual Manhattan taps of Guinness and Stella (as JoeMcPhee noted). That prices are also a bit steep (it’s Manhattan). Overall it’s a very nice bar environment with an acceptable selection to a beer geek.

August 7, 2009
This dark, atmospheric bar was wandered into pretty much by accident on a walk across town one day. Pushing past the heavy red velvet curtain you find a large, dark paneled Irish pub... unlike the Midtown version of the Irish pub though, this place actually has character. On the day I was in (admittedly early in the day) I found a few regulars shooting the shit with the bartender. What surprised me most was how well-selected the tap selection was. Sure, they had the requisite Guinness/Stella/Smithwick’s on tap, but they also had at least 10 handles that were local craft stuff. It’s not going to put the Blind Tiger or Ginger Man out of business, but it is a great place to have a quiet pint if you’re in the area.