New York City bars with pool tables

[Guapo]

I'm going to be traveling to NYC this week. First day there I'll be taking lessons from Earl Strickland :grin: I'm obviously very excited about taking my first lessons from my favorite pro player.

The purpose of this thread is to ask about the night life out there. I was hoping to get the inside scoop from my AZ brethren that live out in NYC.

What are some good bars that also have pool tables? I'll be staying in Manhattan. If the bar also has a dance floor, that's a plus.

Lastly, what are some good food spots?

Thanks in advance and very much appreciated!

 

[cwong79]

St Marks square has lots of food places, Mamoun's makes a killer shawarma sandwich and Amsterdam isn't too far away.

 

[Taco]

Paddy Maguire's at 20th St. and 3rd Avenue has two Diamond barboxes. Across the street is Barfly, which has one Diamond barbox. Neither of them has a dance floor, unless you count the top of the bar.

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

I'm going to be traveling to NYC this week. First day there I'll be taking lessons from Earl Strickland :grin: I'm obviously very excited about taking my first lessons from my favorite pro player.

The purpose of this thread is to ask about the night life out there. I was hoping to get the inside scoop from my AZ brethren that live out in NYC.

What are some good bars that also have pool tables? I'll be staying in Manhattan. If the bar also has a dance floor, that's a plus.

Lastly, what are some good food spots?

Thanks in advance and very much appreciated!

Asking a New Yorker about all the places to go in New York City is an impossible task. Part of being a New Yorker is being familiar with your own little niche. For me, that's everything below 34th Street and Brooklyn.

As stated by CWONG, you'll find a lot to do around St. Marks Square. You have Amsterdam nearby and sit under NYU's umbrella so there's plenty of bars in every direction and a lot of good and cheap food.

In the 20s, you have Society Billiards and nearby 3rd Avenue. Nearly every Diamond barbox is located within 5 blocks of eachother (Society, Paddy MaGuire's and Bar Fly). Needless to say, many of the better barbox players venture to all of these locations. This is also club-central although I can't really say much about any of them. I'm 40. I dance when I have to.

In the downtown area near WTC, the big spot is Raccoon Lodge (aka, "The Rac"). I've been there once in the past ten years so there's no telling what you'll find but you'll definitely find a pool table.

The East Village begins at The Edge. It's a standard barbox shoved in the corner and strangely, it's the most popular table in a five block radius.

The upper east and upper west sides both have respective pool scenes but like every other area in NYC, it's forever in flux. You can go to www.pooplaying.com. The APA schedules for Manhattan are on that site. You'll be able to see every single bar in NYC that has a team which should tell you something about how popular it is there for players.

 

[ctyhntr]

I've heard Earl is an excellent and insightful teacher. This is a golden summer in New York City, to have Earl, Mika, Tony Robles, Phil Cappelle, and other notables teaching.


Amsterdam billiards and Society have a pretty good bar.

 

[Eric.]

Jude's post sums it up well. Well, all but the link. Try this one: www.poolplaying.com. Jude's link is just nasty.

The bars listed at the site all have active amateur leagues playing out of them, so it is likely that the same players will be hanging out there, at times. The list is under "Spring schedules". If you open a schedule, you will see the name/address/phones for all the bars. Also, the listed bars are typically all near each other, in their particular neighboorhoods, in different parts of the city.

For example: www.poolplaying.com/Summerschedules2012/005___.pdf

This way, if you want to know a bunch of bars w/ pool tables, in a general area....there you have it.


Eric

Asking a New Yorker about all the places to go in New York City is an impossible task. Part of being a New Yorker is being familiar with your own little niche. For me, that's everything below 34th Street and Brooklyn.

As stated by CWONG, you'll find a lot to do around St. Marks Square. You have Amsterdam nearby and sit under NYU's umbrella so there's plenty of bars in every direction and a lot of good and cheap food.

In the 20s, you have Society Billiards and nearby 3rd Avenue. Nearly every Diamond barbox is located within 5 blocks of eachother (Society, Paddy MaGuire's and Bar Fly). Needless to say, many of the better barbox players venture to all of these locations. This is also club-central although I can't really say much about any of them. I'm 40. I dance when I have to.

In the downtown area near WTC, the big spot is Raccoon Lodge (aka, "The Rac"). I've been there once in the past ten years so there's no telling what you'll find but you'll definitely find a pool table.

The East Village begins at The Edge. It's a standard barbox shoved in the corner and strangely, it's the most popular table in a five block radius.

The upper east and upper west sides both have respective pool scenes but like every other area in NYC, it's forever in flux. You can go to www.pooplaying.com. The APA schedules for Manhattan are on that site. You'll be able to see every single bar in NYC that has a team which should tell you something about how popular it is there for players.

 

[cwong79]

if you plan to cross the bridge, come to steinway billiards and join weds tourney starts 8 pm. Cheap entry and play champs.

 

[Guapo]

St Marks square has lots of food places, Mamoun's makes a killer shawarma sandwich and Amsterdam isn't too far away.

Thanks for the tip! I'm going to make good use of the Monocle on the Yelp app. It opens up the camera screen on my phone but when I pan around it shows all the local businesses and their rating.

Paddy Maguire's at 20th St. and 3rd Avenue has two Diamond barboxes. Across the street is Barfly, which has one Diamond barbox. Neither of them has a dance floor, unless you count the top of the bar.

Diamond BB's sure are a treat! Most bars around here have Valleys.

Asking a New Yorker about all the places to go in New York City is an impossible task. Part of being a New Yorker is being familiar with your own little niche. For me, that's everything below 34th Street and Brooklyn.

As stated by CWONG, you'll find a lot to do around St. Marks Square. You have Amsterdam nearby and sit under NYU's umbrella so there's plenty of bars in every direction and a lot of good and cheap food.

In the 20s, you have Society Billiards and nearby 3rd Avenue. Nearly every Diamond barbox is located within 5 blocks of eachother (Society, Paddy MaGuire's and Bar Fly). Needless to say, many of the better barbox players venture to all of these locations. This is also club-central although I can't really say much about any of them. I'm 40. I dance when I have to.

In the downtown area near WTC, the big spot is Raccoon Lodge (aka, "The Rac"). I've been there once in the past ten years so there's no telling what you'll find but you'll definitely find a pool table.

The East Village begins at The Edge. It's a standard barbox shoved in the corner and strangely, it's the most popular table in a five block radius.

The upper east and upper west sides both have respective pool scenes but like every other area in NYC, it's forever in flux. You can go to www.pooplaying.com. The APA schedules for Manhattan are on that site. You'll be able to see every single bar in NYC that has a team which should tell you something about how popular it is there for players.

Thanks for such a helpful post! I know my original post was painting with a broad stroke. Thanks for breaking it down.

I just want some decent competition. I hate walking into a bar that has a pool table but no players. I'm not that great myself but it's not fun getting dirty looks from beginners after you just beat them handily.

To get an idea of my skill level, I only played APA one session a while back but when I play league players now, they say I'd shoot at about a 5 SL. Don't laugh at me! Haha

I've heard Earl is an excellent and insightful teacher. This is a golden summer in New York City, to have Earl, Mika, Tony Robles, Phil Cappelle, and other notables teaching.


Amsterdam billiards and Society have a pretty good bar.

That's good to hear! I'm so damn excited about meeting him. Sounds like a special time to be a local in NYC.

Jude's post sums it up well. Well, all but the link. Try this one: www.poolplaying.com. Jude's link is just nasty.

The bars listed at the site all have active amateur leagues playing out of them, so it is likely that the same players will be hanging out there, at times. The list is under "Spring schedules". If you open a schedule, you will see the name/address/phones for all the bars. Also, the listed bars are typically all near each other, in their particular neighboorhoods, in different parts of the city.

For example: www.poolplaying.com/Summerschedules2012/005___.pdf

This way, if you want to know a bunch of bars w/ pool tables, in a general area....there you have it.


Eric

Thanks! I'll definitely keep referring to this thread and the APA link when I'm out there.

if you plan to cross the bridge, come to steinway billiards and join weds tourney starts 8 pm. Cheap entry and play champs.

I'll be taking the lessons with Earl at Steinway. Unfortunately, I won't be able to play in the tourney. I'm only going to fly in late Wed night/ early Thurs morning and leave on Monday. I would have liked to stay longer but my buddy that I'm going with couldn't do it.

Thanks for all the good info! Any more suggestions for food spots? Just don't send me to the Soup Nazi :smile:

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

If you insist on playing in a bar, I would stick with Paddy MaGuire's, Bar Fly or O'Hanlon's in that order. All of them have Diamond Smart tables but Paddy's has the best set-up combined with a steady stream of players. What's more, you still have Bar Fly across the street and Society a couple blocks away if it gets dull. Both of these locations play by APA rules even on non-league nights.

I haven't been to O'Hanlon's since they got their Diamonds so I have no idea what the scene is like there. I would imagine you're not going to find very many APA players there on non-league nights.

 

[Guapo]

I'm asking about bars because my friend that I'm going with isn't into pool. This way he still has some atmosphere to enjoy, hopefully. I'm also going to try and see if I have time to check out another pool hall but not counting on it as of now.

 

[cwong79]

Food places: Chelsea Market is great, Try to find a street fair http://www.nycstreetfairs.com/sched.html, It all depends what you like to eat : def ask the locals because NY is about neighborhoods and only ppl living in neighborhoods would know whats best. As mean as we may seem, we are pretty open to tourists.
For bars, depends on your taste but downtown has one every corner. Just go into a crowded one and next thing you know it will be bright outside and you're getting breakfast!

 

[JoeyA]

I've heard that Society Billiards has some of the most beautiful women in New York. :yeah: I would definitely visit that location. Besides they have some good players and good equipment and one of the owners is an AZ Billiards Main Forum member.

 

[Bohemyth]

I'm asking about bars because my friend that I'm going with isn't into pool. This way he still has some atmosphere to enjoy, hopefully. I'm also going to try and see if I have time to check out another pool hall but not counting on it as of now.

If your in midtown you can try Peter Dillons, Cool Irish Pub, with a pool table. 40th and lex.

Have a friend who just had a lesson with Earl at Steinway Billiards and he said it was money well spent.

 

[Guapo]

How many hours did he get?

 

[Guapo]

I've heard that Society Billiards has some of the most beautiful women in New York. :yeah: I would definitely visit that location. Besides they have some good players and good equipment and one of the owners is an AZ Billiards Main Forum member.

I'll try my best to stop by...for the good equipment of course.

 

[JoeyA]

I'll try my best to stop by...for the good equipment of course.

I meant to list that first.

 

[Bohemyth]

How many hours did he get?

he got a 2 hour lesson.