"This is an awesome bar! Call it
the sports bar/Irish bar for the 21st century. It doesn't look like
much from the outside, but once you walk in, you are immediately
comforted by the dark wood floors and walls, the flat screen TVs,
the couches and recessed seating area. There's even a second level,
which I'm assuming is for renting out. The food is wonderful, the
one bartender serving us was adorable, and it was just overall
awesome. I've already recommended it to many friends, and I even
plan on having a birthday party there! This bar gets an A++."
- L.M.
Editorial Rating: Recommended
"A cavernous Irish bar, more popular than authentic.
The Scene
The leading edge of the East Village isn't edgy at all.
Formerly Pageant, this sparkling, two-story giant comes off as an
Irished-up version of Heartland Brewery or a downtown spoof on a
Dublin pub. While the aesthetic isn't bad--dark wood walls and
tables, arched ceilings and elegant glass partitions--the overall
effect feels contrived for the masses. And masses it draws.
Pint-hoisting 20-somethings from the NYU business school shriek over
the din, their shots lined up at attention. Oscar Wilde, on the wall
in pictures and quotes, looks like a stranger in a strange land.
The Draw
Late night, the upstairs lounge opens up. It's a carbon copy
of any downtown club's chill-out lounge, and a complete departure
from the frat music-filled main floor. Pillowed benches beckon and
spotlights dot the ceiling. More intimate and romantic, yet with
loads of space and its own separate bar, this is where the meeting
and greeting gets a shove toward sophistication."
By Lisa Marie Rovito
"This place may lack the charm of those
nicked-up ash and whiskey stained bars that won’t come clean despite
the best efforts of the chummy ol’ Irish bartender, but at least you
know the bathrooms are safe. Whether they do it with Celtic spells,
4-leaf clovers, or scary bedtime stories we don’t know, but The
Central Bar manages to keep the kiddies and the filth at bay
(coincidence?). If the main bar’s flat screen TV’s aren’t your
thing, step into the backroom, order some Irish sausages, and chew
in time to the live guitarist."
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