May 14, 2012
Curious place. Only two beers, the house light and dak, both of which are ok. Ambience marks are 5 or minus 5. If you’re in the mood for a session, and go in a group or get a nice table it’s an awesome place to pretend you’re a student again. If you want peace and quiet and a vomit free environment I’d stay away!

October 16, 2011
Let’s get one thing straight. The reason to visit this place is for the history. It’s architecture has stayed the same since it was built in the 1800’s. As far as the attitude of the employees, well, they’re trying to keep it like an old style saloon, and they are succeeding at it. The food is average , and the beer is not bad. It’s worth a onetime visit, but not for the squeamish.

September 21, 2011
Stopped by here with Streets. Great atmosphere - sawdust covers the ground, bartenders dont give a shit but are still cool, and the beer is decent.

August 2, 2011
Probably NYC’s (and perhaps the US’s) oldest continuously operating pub. Completely unspoilt and unmodernised. OK, drinkers be prepared only two beers are available, and while some have said the beer isn’t the best you’ll ever drink it is made all the more enjoyable by the experience of a visit. Something of a miraculous survival, this bar contains almost all the fixtures and fittings in place since it opened over a century ago. I found staff friendly, and made friends with a local. What you have is a simple, basic spit & sawdust boozer, with basic, cheap food and cheap beer. Scoopers and tickers will find the venue disappointing, but drinkers looking for genuine real tradition above all else will be delighted with the place. Note to UK drinkers: Visitors to the Wenlock or any pub on the CAMRA National Inventory will be impressed. I may speak in isolation about my enjoyment of the place but I stand by what I say.

July 27, 2011
Strange place. Sawdust on the floor. 2 drafts: light and dark. And nothing else. History on the walls. Rough service. Very simple cheap food. Hamburger $5.00. Still no need to come back.

January 22, 2011
A nice bit of history, but a definite level of kitchy ness has made its place in this establishment. The bar tenders and most customers are obnoxious, and it really just wasn’t a very pleasant time for me. Why aren’t the beers in the database? The Irish food was pretty descent though. Also, the beer prices are terrible. They are served two at a time for 5 dollars, but the mugs are really thick glass, to deceive the customer. Also, each beer comes half foam, half beer. Each glass I could take down in two moderate sized mouthfuls. 5 swallows of beer for 5 dollars??? No thanks.

July 14, 2010
A taste of history. An old school Irish bar with old wood, huge tables and tons of nostalgia. On tap is two house beers and two house beers only. Place is usually packed and it can be hard to get a beer. Crowd is mostly loud, obnoixious drunken guys from 21-40

October 24, 2009
I snuck into this place when I was 17 and was stupid enough to not know the significance of McSorley’s. I asked what kind of beer they had and the stern Irish bartender barked "Light and Dark". Two beers. Dark is pretty good. And you better keep drinking when its busy or they’ll ask you to leave. Or they’ll just ask you to leave because they want to. Thats how it goes. The most old school bar I’ve experienced. It gets pretty wild with some douchey people but if you get a table at the right time of day its great fun. Lots of history and nostalgia on the walls. Just a great place to go at least to say you’ve been there.

June 18, 2009
Your beer choice is light or dark, and that’s it. I actually enjoyed the dark; not loved, but enjoyed. The light beer sucked. You go here with a group to enjoy the time warp feel. You need to get there early and get a table. It’s pretty cool if you’re with the right group, having a few laughs, when your bartender comes with his hands loaded with 10 little mugs he clanks onto the table. Without 3-4 friends and a table, I’d go somewhere else.

May 9, 2009
I’ve had multiple sessions here. Stick with the "dark". Drink at the bar if possible. Beer is always two-for-one. Not the same beer as the crappy bottled beer by the same name. The frat crowd can ruin it for me, but most visits have been great fun.