November 12, 2009
Mexican style place that has a great selection of craft beers, both domestic and imported. It was odd that there weren’t Mexican beers on tap given the bar’s theme, but oh well. Servers were more of the young/cute female stereotype that knew little about the craft offerings. Luckily they have a little binder with laminated pages about their beers, and they’re generous with little samples so that your choice is the right one. Prices were reasonable for NYC and it’s close to d.b.a. if you’re making the trip to the East Village. Did not try the food on my visit.

August 3, 2009
Been here a few times, and I remember when it was Stingy lu lus. I’ll prob stop for a beer this trip. It was a cool place relatively speaking when I last went.

June 7, 2009
Updated rating...man, this place has fallen apart. Faux Tex-Mex decor with a much shorter beer list than they once hosted. Food is pretty poor and the service in here has really fallen off substantially. I pop in occasionally to see what’s on tap, and there are still sometimes a few new things, but this is a shell of the beer mecca it once was. If you’re going to rebrand yourself, you might want to at least change the name... WTF does "Hop Devil Grill" have to do with tequila?

Yeah, this place was awesome. Located in one of the cooler spots in the city. Very nice tap list and an even larger number of bottles. The Belgian room was pricey but I got my hands on a bottle of Drie Fonteinen Schaerbeek (tasty). The food was well done and very well priced, a burger, salad/fries, and a pint of any domestic draught for 10 bucks is a good deal anywhere, especially when the tap list is as good as this one. Great place to people watch as well. A 4 S 7 Sel 13 F 7 Ov 17

May 8, 2009 [ Updated May 16, 2009 ]
WOW. This place was a biiig let down. CONS: Waited 20-30 minutes to be served, food wasnt great, beer selection average. PROS: Lionshead on tap. End of story.

May 8, 2009
I came to Hop Devil looking for good food, good service and of course good beer. Sadly none were fulfilled. Service was borderline terrible… it looks 20 minutes just to get our beer order in. It took another 15 minutes to get the beer. No rare beer but several safe craft picks on tap. They had Lionshead on tap which is the first i’ve seen. Had a pint of Guiness 250 served not using proper glassware. Left as soon as I finished my sub par burritto. Highlights: Good alternative rock playing, good prices on food, pretty spacious for St. Marks. Overall, I’m upset that this place is reviewed so high, else I would never gone out of my way.

February 28, 2009
Quite a disappointment. We went there on a Friday evening and there were several available tables to choose from. Now I know why. Our friendly server was quick to take our orders. I asked for a 10 ounzer of Southhampton Double White, which they couldn’t do since "they only do pints".Normally that is totally acceptable with me. In this case it wasn’t since the Northcoast Red Seal Ale my friend ordered came in a 10oz (still priced at $6,5). That is a lot of money for a standard pale ale. When we asked why it was so expensive we were told it was because it "was so strong". (its 5% ABV). The food was tex-mex and I got the Hop Devil Burrito. When a dish carries the place’s name it better be pretty good. It wasn’t. It was a microwaved mess without texture or clearlly defined flavors. Conversation was hard, since eighties style rock was played at insane volume. The beer selection was fair without any rarities - if you do not count "Ozark Blues Dales pale ale" [sic]

January 12, 2009 [ Updated September 9, 2009 ]
major downhill alert. formerly among my favorite all-around beer bars for years, having a very wide selection of drafts and usually a relatively quiet atmosphere, along with above average bar food. It never gets so crowded that it’s uncomfortable (dba, blind tiger). The staff is knowledgable and helpful; I have been hanging out here for years, and never experienced the rudeness or incompetence that some other reviewers report. But things are changing: clearly the management wants to attract larger crowds. 1 Most important - Less Beer- They reduced the number of beers available by the bottle. The adjoining Belgian Room used to have 5 Belgian taps, now eliminated to make room for a margherita lounge. 2-Worse Food- changed the theme from a beer-lovers bar to a southwest theme, raising prices across the board and adding higher-priced and totally average tex-mex fare, and specials on sangria, ladies night, etc. Downhill but still good

January 3, 2009
Visiting NYC on a cold January weekend, so this place was a warm oasis. I do not see what the high ratings are all about, though. The beer selection is okay but nothing to write home about. It is somewhat expensive for beer. The place was blaring hard rock music. The ambiance is dark (at night) and bleak, more of a night club than a good beer pub. The Friday night special is cheap shots, for example. And the manager was standing around watching at all the staff (mostly attractive young women whose beer knowledge was not great--hiring bias?) like an off-putting control freak. I do not know if I would recommend it, but given that New York City is a wasteland when it comes to beer (10 million people and the best they can do is Heartland brew pub?) it is better than nothing...

October 26, 2008
A cool little joint with a good micro tap selection, friendly service and a good pulled pork sandwich. Prices are good for NYC. They have an Happy Hour with 3 taps for 3$. A really nice place to spend an evening. Visited Nov. 2006.

October 18, 2008
Service was a bit slow and they were out of many of the beers that I was excited to rate.