Grassroots Tavern
(212) 475-9443
20 Saint Marks Pl
New York,
NY
10003
40.729
-73.9888
Neighborhoods: East Village, Downtown
What People Are Saying About Grassroots Tavern
The Editor
Contributor
Citysearch
The Scene
Stable-like beams above, beer-seasoned wood floor below, Grassroots' warmly lit subterranean surroundings invite hibernation, not just happy hour. Hole up for a late-afternoon pitcher and pow-wow with friends (at a table carved with two decades worth of hieroglyphs) or try and coax the reticent bar cat from among the stacked pint glasses behind the bar. There's even a small backroom where three dartboards line the wall and dusty trophies inspire players from a yellowing display case.
The Draw
While some grizzled patrons boast they've patronized Grassroots since it opened in 1976, this low-ceilinged dive's central East Village location also attracts New York's endless cadre of 20-something after-workers. Its grunge tends to filter out the fashionista set, its classic-rock jukebox the hipster snobs. That leaves a friendly cross-section of humanity packing the joint on weekends.
User Reviews
BrienJ
November 18, 2008
In town as tourists who always do the "touristy" sites during the day, and hunting out dive bars by nite, we were sent to the East Village by a couple transit authority cops. After a short walk from the subway, we found ourselves outside what looked to be just what we were hoping to find: the Grassroots Tavern. While overdressed from our previous dinner engagement, we walked in and were practically treated like family by owner (Doug) and bartender (Maria). We stayed for hours, conversing about the bar, the neighborhood, the Village, and the city in general. Two yokels from Denver could not have found more accomodating and knowledgeable New Yorkers to talk & drink with for hours. Planning for an upcoming trip to NYC, I pulled up some reviews about Grassroots and HAD to interject against some of the negatives. Even if we have to stay all the way out in Jamaica for Thanksgiving weekend, (due to lack of room availability), we are making Grassroots a stop on at least 3 of our 5 nights in NYC. Highly recommend this place, if a no frills/little embience/no BS dive bar is what you're looking for. And, from what appears to be happening to the neighborhood, better enjoy it soon; places like Grassroots may be on their way out due to the "Disneyfication" of the East Village. In our experience, the best way to find out about a new city is to visit its dive bars, and Grassroots offered an excellent cross-section of its particular area of Manhattan. We will be there again soon!!
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jmbrandt01
February 04, 2008
I've been here lots of times, and have always enjoyed my time there. Granted, the bar tenders aren't the nicest, but the atmosphere is usually pretty cool and it's cheap. What truly ruined my taste for the place happened this past Saturday. I was there with a bunch of friends of mine, and we were having a great time. We notice that under the table there's an empty bottle of beer, so to be nice, we put it on top of the table for someone to take away. This bald guy (who's usually the bouncer) comes over and takes the empty glasses and that bottle. Five minutes later he comes back, YELLING at us to get out that they don't deal with people who bring in outside beer. We try to tell him it was already there, and he said he doesn't care - the bottle is on our table. Then he said he wants us to tell all of our friends about our experience, so I said that we will. We'd just ordered a new pitcher (I'm a big tipper and had just gotten a free drink from the bartender and a discount on the pitcher) and so I chugged my beer - which isn't something I like to do with tasty wheat beer. He yells more and says we'd better get out NOW, that he's not kidding. So we say, we're just finishing our pitcher, and then he says "No you're not, you're getting out". Then he slammed his hands on the table, got right in my friends face, and yelled at her - which included saliva splatter - and he said he never wanted to see us there again.
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phishyeel
November 17, 2007
Grassroots is one of my favorites. Whether I'm there on a Saturday afternoon or for after-work beers, I have a great time. It's great for going with friends (bring darts!) to share pitchers, or to go just to meet new people. The old-school bartenders are awesome. And how does that popcorn always taste so freaking good?! And great jukebox. Love that I don't feel like people are sizing me up when I go - seriously a great atmosphere as opposed to the rest of Manhattan, which seems to be getting out of control. What makes this place ever better is Mamoun's right next door now! I love Grassroots!
read full reviewThe Details on Grassroots Tavern
Save Money:
Head over between 4pm and 8pm Monday through Friday for $1-off pints and $2-off pitchers.
Category:
Bars & Clubs, Bars & Pubs, Neighborhood Bars, Restaurants, Taverns
