Pete's Tavern — Restaurant in New York

12/23: Two 16 oz. New York Strip Medium Rare entrees were enjoyed, one with fries and one with onion rings, both with sauteed spinach. One family member finished his whole steak and the other took half home on the train.The veal meatball starter was unbelievably good. The flavor explodes in your mouth. Only 3 of the 5 are in the photo as two disappeared quickly!

Pete's Tavern has been a favorite of mine since discovering it living around the corner on Gramercy Park and throughout nine years in the city. After moving from NYC to the west, I continued to bring friends from around the U.S. (and even city dwellers who weren't familiar with this tavern) to show them a good time here when back east. This latest visit, 1/21/23, was another fun experience with a family member who lives close by.

It was nice they still had their Christmas decorations up since I had a belated gift to deliver at our lunch. Very festive, but Pete's has this atmosphere with or without any added ornaments. It has an energy and pulse all of its own that is always present.

For example, one night having dinner here with someone who knew NY but not Pete's Tavern, sitting at a booth in the bar the doors burst open with a good six bagpipers blowing their pipes loudly and proudly to stop in the middle of the bar. In full Scottish garb, pleated tartan kilts, Piper's Plaids and brooches, feather bonnets, cross belts, dirks, horse hair sporrans and spats they finished their song. The packed bar was enthralled.

After the music, their spokesman announced they were representing a Scottish whiskey company and were offering free shots to all patrons. The crowd burst into cheers. This is one instance of the spirit of Pete's and the consistent energetic flow that keeps regulars coming back for more and new patrons to return.

This Saturday, with the tavern opening at noon, we were the first ones in but because we didn't have a reservation I thought my family member made, we were brought to a booth in the rear dining room. The bar was filling fast and with the whole tin ceiling lined in red mini bulbs for the recent holiday, the fun level was ramping high.

We ordered two special cocktails, a "Ski House" (colorful and sweet), and a "Sevilla G and T" (served in a wine glass with real juniper berries that have a crunch). Our third party joined us and asked for a bottled Heineken. The "O. Henry Negroni" was unique in flavor as most seem to be - a little on the bitter side. Bread and olive oil was served while we looked over the menu.

Telling us how popular Pete's Tavern was for brunch on weekends, our Manhattan resident came to have this meal and ordered the four cheese omelette that came with greens and french fries. After sharing some well dressed classic nachos for two with my partner, I couldn't decide between the Shepherd's Pie or the Chicken Pot Pie. The waiter said to go with the Shepherd's.

Pete's chef's version could have had a creamier mix of lamb and beef with more seasoning and less peas under the piped whipped potatoes, but this is my palate and someone else may find this recipe to be perfect.

The winning dish was the Steak Frites with Bleu Cheese Butter. It came as ordered, medium, and was tender, juicy and delicious with well-defined grill marks. The blue cheese butter complimented the seared beef beautifully. This comes with truffle fries and the Mesclun greens the omelette does. All three of us agreed we're having this dinner the next time we're at Pete's. My partner and I had two glasses of Landmark Overlook Pinot Noir with our two mains.

For history buffs, Pete's Tavern became a drinking establishment in 1864, and famed author William Sydney Porter, whose most familiar pen names are "O. Henry" or "Oliver Henry" was a regular patron here. In the bar's second booth he wrote one of his most well known stories, "The Gift of the Magi." There is a Friends of Libraries USA plaque outside by the entrance given to the tavern in honor of O. Henry's writing here as well as Ludwig Bemelmans, who worked on his Madeline picture stories...

My wife and I have been coming to Pete’s for about 8-9 years now. We go here every December as it’s become a holiday tradition. We also hit it up a few times throughout the year as well, although not always for food. Our last time in was the most disappointing time we’ve had here. They’ve removed some of their apps that we enjoyed, clams casino, oysters Rockefeller, and shrimp cocktail. Those were classics that we always looked forward to getting. I won’t comment on how busy it gets around the holiday season, that’s normal and they have a relatively straight forward wait system. If that’s not your scene then don’t go here. We love it. This time was weird though. When we went to be seated the host asked if the table was ok, it was in the middle room up against the wall somewhat next to another table. I responded with “yeah that’s fine” to which he says “good that’s all I got.” Like obviously they’re slammed but it was a weird thing to say. Owe were disappointed as I mentioned before they reduced their appetizer menu. I order a strip steak this time and my wife got Chicken Milanese. The food was great per the norm. My 4 stars on the rating for the food is for the removal of some of the menu items. It’s always cooked well. I’ve had burgers, pasta, fish & chips in years past and it’s all what you expect and well executed. The service this time around was a bit less than up to par as well. We were greeted after a while but then it took time for our waitress to come back around to get our food orders. Also I kept running out of water. She was always hovering around the room but felt like we were never being tended to which was disappointing. This is the first time we’ve ever experienced as usually service is top notch. Maybe it was a bad night, I’ll put it down to that, but it didn’t feel like that given she seemed to be tending to other tables. Overall feels like it went down a bit due to reduced menu items and also the service. Won’t stop me from going back yet but it’s...

Lower east side classic. I grew up on 19th street a couple blocks from Pete's. It was a favorite place that my parents would go to in the 1960's and it has seemingly only gotten better with more time. It has been here on 18th street since 1864.

Pete's is one of the oldest original bars in NYC. As a matter of fact it is probably the longest continuously running bar establishment overall. My mom was a big deal in NYC during the height of the Madison Avenue golden age of the advertising era (think Mad Men) and she would also take me to PJ Clarke's. PJ's has fallen into neglect and disrepair, a shadow of its former glory. Sad but is what it is. This review is about Pete's which has used its age and charm to warm visitors and locals alike.

I have not eaten here in years and not reviewing the foods this trip. We were walking through the neighborhood and decided to stop in for a couple drinks and to warm-up a bit. The holiday trimmings were still up which added an amazing warmth and welcoming feel to the place. If you can get here before they take the decorations down do, otherwise come back next year I am sure you will be welcomed as we were.

Decent bourbon selection, whiskeys and ryes a bit less. They do have a great drink menu and some good beers on draft. The pours are solid, value is pretty good, and it was great to see a mixed crowd of ages at the bar and at the tables near the bar. Bar food menu looked typical of what you might expect at a bar like Pete's. There is also a tablecloth dining room in the back that is well separated from the bar area and has its own unique feel.

Pete's is a class act tavern with well kept fixtures, a sense of whimsy, and the original woodwork is well cared for. Clearly there is pride in ownership and folks that work here care about what Pete's is; a great neighborhood place that welcomes everyone. I hope I can come back when...