Peculier Pub — Restaurant in New York

Tucked away in Manhattan’s storied Greenwich Village, The Peculiar Pub has long been more than just a bar—it’s a surviving relic of New York City’s bohemian past, a cozy sanctuary of amber lights and dark brews and everything in between. While so many bars in the city reinvent themselves to chase trends, the Peculiar Pub remains defiant and endearingly itself. Peculiar pub was first born in 1982 on West 4th by a couple who had previously worked in a deli that featured a number of different international beers. They certainly took that to the next level and focused on creating a pub dedicated to the brewer’s arts. When it opened, Peculier was ahead of its time, boasting a beer list that was downright audacious for the era. You see, back then most bars were slinging the usual suspects: Bud, Miller, Coors, maybe a Heineken if they were feeling fancy. But Peculier came out swinging with a selection of over 300 beers from around the globe, including hard-to-find imports like Tusker from Kenya and Beer Lao from Laos. In a city that hadn’t yet caught the craft beer bug, this was nothing short of a foamy revolution! Thus my beloved Peculiar Pub gained a cult following. In 1987 they moved to a larger venue further east, but they kept the same vibe and moved many of the wall decorations and their cult following followed. The eclectic lineup they offer reads like a passport of brewing history. Long before microbrews were buzzwords, this bar was serving Trappist ales, obscure German bocks, and curious Asian lagers to college students, poets, professors, and wayward souls of the Village. Its ambiance is still a delightful contradiction: dimly lit, slightly grimy, with walls covered in vintage beer signs and an unmistakable late-1970s energy. The tables are scratched with decades of conversations and carvings; it isn’t slick or polished—it's authentic, preserved not by design, but by inertia. Generations of NYU students have adopted it as their second living room. A place to argue about philosophy or music over a $6 Belgian strong ale, or to learn the hard way what 11% ABV tastes like after midnight. Many longtime patrons wax nostalgic about the days before the city sterilized much of its character. The Peculiar endures because it never tried to outgrow its soul. In a city that’s constantly bulldozing the old to make room for the new, The Peculiar Pub stands as a beer-stained monument to the weird, the welcoming, and the wonderfully out-of-step. It’s not just a bar—it’s a neighborhood institution, a faded flag of Village counterculture still flying proudly in the foam of a 17oz Schneider Weisse.

With the background out of the way, I will first give a list of all the countries represented on their beer menu: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Holland, India, Italy, Japan, Jamaica, Korea, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Vietnam, Ukraine, USA – and the USA beers are further divided into State of origin.

In terms of food, you are getting the standard pub fare here with extremely reasonable prices. I mean, where else in NYC can you find a $10 burger worth eating? Food isn’t their specialty, but offerings will stick to the ribs and satisfy.

If you are looking to pop back to the 80s and see what the Village really looked like… this is an excellent way to...

Oh Peculiar Pub, let me count the ways I love thee*...

1.) CHEAP craft beers (excellent original cocktails and mainstream favorites!) - local AND domestic. Their beer menu is EXTENSIVE and features everything from lagers, porters, stouts, etc (plus a great selection of fruity wheat beers...my weakness!! :D). They are listed in the order of places they come from...alphabetically. Each beer is listed with it's name, city/country of origin and a brief one-liner about what to expect. I love this and have occasionally just closed my eyes and ordered whatever beer my finger randomly lands on. This has resulted in great finds and not so great finds. Your average pint (or bottle!) here will run you $3-7 this is WITHOUT happy hour and this is 7 days a week mind you. That's fanfreakintastic for Manhattan!

2.) Food - standard bar fare really, but still - very cheap, very tasty and always warm and presented nicely. Foods I've tried here include their focaccia pizza with mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce and basil, mozzarella sticks, their burger wrap (so good!), grilled chicken wrap /club & quesadillas and their garlic cheese bread - it's a huge piece of warm, doughy bread with a garlic buttery spread and a thick, melted layer of mozzarella cheese. It's truly amazing and makes you value the little things...like bread, butter, garlic and cheese. Gives me the warm and fuzzies just thinking about it ^_^.

3.) Service - Not awful, sometimes there's a waitress - other times you have to order at the bar, but they'll still bring you your food if you let them know where you're sitting. Bartenders, waitresses and bouncers here have always been friendly. No probs here.

4.) Miscellaneous - They keep this place pretty clean, the bathroom is usually in working order and by far not the worst bathroom I've ever seen at a bar. Peculiar Pub is not too small, but not too large - kinda 'just right' sized. The music they play here can range from "indie rock" to some "top 40 pop" or your average 80s rock/bar music, but at least this place doesn't have a douchey feel to it nor does it get plowed through by annoying NYUers (you know the self-entitled/trust fund kid types, doesn't classify all NYUers but I'm not on Yelp to be all politically correct) or B&T folks (no offense to any B&Ters...but yanno...go back to midtown, makes your commute easier anyway :P).

Only real downside? They're CASH ONLY. They do have an ATM in the back though #eyeroll. Yes, I did go ahead and take off 1 star because of this. It's 2012 guys and I guarantee they'd make more money if they allowed customers to pay with plastic, start tabs, etc. With such great prices I really feel like they're missing out. Come here with cash folks or a debit card. Other than that I love...

Came here for lunch. My read: this is a bar that serves food, not a restaurant/bar combo. It's fine, good even, if you know what to expect.

No one greeted me when I walked in, I had to go all the way to the back of the bar bc that's where the bartender was, talking to someone.

I ordered two burgers and two beers, and the bartender charged me for everything when she brought the drinks (so I paid for the food before it was even served). I had to ask for utensils, and water, and a glass for my beer. Every time I needed something I had to walk to the back of the bar, bc again, it's where the bartender was hanging out. The food took a little while to come but it was tasty.

It could be that it wasn't busy yet, or not fully staffed yet, but I've been to plenty of other places with similar issues and still received adequate service, so I'm less inclined to siyte those things as reasons for the lack of service. Moreso, the vibe is just "whatevs". Not bad, not good. Just how it seems to be here. At least when I went.

I would say if you're ok with a spot that gives minimalist effort towards people sitting at tables, and you just want to eat and drink and not be tended to, then you'll be ok. If you go here expecting traditional restaurant service, you may be a little disappointed/frustrated.

That aside, it is a cool spot. Church pew seating, dope art, and fun history. I'd go back if I was in the mood for cheap drinks and maybe a...