The Harp & Bard

So we just left Harp n Bard and I must say, everything was pretty fabulous. The food, the ambiance, pretty much everything was great. Had the opportunity of meeting the owner Melissa who was the sweetest person ever. Great bar, great food, great music.

My coworkers and I went to this dive after work on St. Patrick’s day to have a quick Guinness. When we got there they wanted 5 bucks to get in. Really? Do you understand you are a dive bar and the only reason people go there are it is proximity. We laughed at the woman and left. I had been here years ago and vowed to never come back because of the bad service. So the review is not based solely on the admission charge.

Very comfortable and easy going place for a good drink, great food, and fun time. Came on a Friday for happy hour and was greeted by Anthony the bar tender who was extremely friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. There was live music that added to the airway joyous atmosphere.
We had chicken tenders, which were tasty and crispy! The Reuben was great! And the Dani burger was out of this world!
I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a good evening, bar, place to kick back.

Both times I went to Harp & Bard I had a fun time. They serve good draft beer and get good bands.

I will only eat a Reuben sandwich at The Harp in Bard! ! Not only does owner Melissa take pride in her establishment, she always serves A+ food! Her staff is very friendly as well. I love going there on Sunday Fun-​day to watch the games on TV!
Anything I ever ordered out of that kitchen is A+ Top Notch! EVERYTHING !!!
Live music on weekends is also very entertaining. A nice mature crowd. Never any hassles. Just great food, drinks, and fellowship. What more can you ask for?

Good tap selection, ok service (its a dive, I know what I’m getting into) but for an Irish pub you’d think that «fresh cornbeef» wouldn’t yield dried out and questionably edible beef jerky.

Great bar good music playing all the time. They have a ton of great beers on tap and some good well drinks. Never try the food but I heard it pretty good. I love the mini pool table and it fun great time with my buddies.

Used to be my pre and post St. Paddy’s day go to spot but it has lost more than a step in the last decade

Not sure what happened to this place, but I recently had a craving for some Rogue Dead Guy’s Ale on tap, which this place has, and is usually good, but this time I was extremely disappointed.
First off, I’ve been to this neighborhood friendly bar many times through out the years. The bar maids here are usually friendly, approachable, talkative, and provide fast and great service. This was not the case this time around. It took about 5 mins to get her attention as she sat at the end of the beer watching television. Once I did get her attention, I ordered my Rogue beer on tap. The beer was not only flat but it tasted like vinegar.
I explained this to the not very talkative bar maid, which I had never met before and she offered me something else. I settled for just a basic Heineken bottled. She did mention that she would need to go downstairs to change the tap, but she never did.
As I was drinking my Heineken and watching the London Olympics on the TV in front of me, the bar maid changed the channel. I am unsure exactly why, since I was the only patron in the bar, and her and her friend were watching the TV at the other end of the bar. So, on top of the initial flat Rogue beer, the very distant /​non-​sociable bar maid, drinking a bottle of Heineken (which I didn’t want), she decides to totally turn off the Olympics, which I was watching.
At this time, another patron walks in. He orders something on tap, I forgot what it was. He takes a sip, and also has the same disgust that I had. He calls over the bar maid, tells her the beer is not drinkable. He orders something else, but bottled this time, just like I did. He barely finishes the beer and walks out.
The bar maid still at this point has not gone downstairs to change the tap.
I don’t know what it was, but the energy of this bar maid made everything worst.
Maybe the owner wasn’t around, I don’t know what it was. I’ll keep coming back to this watering hole, since it’s walking distance. However, depending on who’s working — I may just walk out right off the bat next time.

An Irish bar. Guinness is very good. The staff and owner are laid back easy going. There’s a pool table darts and a few video games. I like how the playing grounds have their own space away from the bar. The HUGE tvs have a nice picture and come in clear also at eye level. Very comfortable. Drinks are good and food is home made. Very low key and everyone keeps to themselves and are friendly. This is the only bar I prefer to go to in Passaic County. The Guinness is fresh with the shamrock stamp. NICE!

This is a great little dive bar. The happy hour prices (drinks and half off apps) are awesome and you can usually find plenty of seats by the bar. The nachos were very very good — lots of toppings and loaded with beef and cheese. They don’t skimp on the food portions just because its happy hour prices.
I don’t go here often enough but it’s barely ever busy when I pass by and its usually the same locals. However, this is a really busy place for St. Pattys Day. You should stop by and experience this Irish pub! They could use some revamping on the TVs. I’m sure that would draw in a larger crowd for games.

A local bar with Irish theme. The service is friendly with limited food menu. The bar food is decent. They have lot of beers on tap.

Great little local bar! I went there with one of my girlfriends to see a band, which was awesome BTW, and we had a great time!
It’s a cute little bar, somewhere that I have never been before but felt at home, if that makes sense.
We had some Guinness and bar food — chicken fingers and fries — all of which were great! The fries were surprisingly good — and I *loved* that they had vinegar on each table!
I hope to go back soon :)

if i could give this place zero stars i would. I used to go here back in the day for skels shows when i was a kid, i guess that was before the current nightmare owner took over. it used to be packed, with a fun crowd, but it was completely dead. the prices have skyrocketed, there are no buybacks anymore (probably because the owner sits in the corner and watches like a hawk) there are a few decent beers on tap but if i want to go to an actual beer bar i will go to andys corner in bogota… why pay $ 6 for arrogant bastard/​dead guy ale when i can get it for $ 4 elsewhere??? its not like those beers are hard to find. the food there is decent but not worth the price. i had 3 beers and a sandwich and my bill came out to $ 30. there are many better bars in clifton, that will make you feel at home… save your $.

Love this place! Great crowd, great music, great Staff, and great Beer!

This is a little local place. Pretty cheap. It wasn’t very busy, but we just stopped in on a sunday afternoon for some quick snacks and a cpl pints.
This bar featured: On tap– Allagash White, Stone Pale ale, troegs, guinness, arrogant bastard, yuengling, pabst, and rogue as well as Bottled Corona/​corona light, bud, coors, sam adams, amstel, red stripe and heinekin/​heineken light as well as belhaven in a can. This place has a full liquor selection.
This place isnt very big with a long bar area, a couple booths and a small dance floor. They have 1 big screen HDTV as well as a couple small TV’s for when games are on. There were a couple video games and a digital juke box on the wall.
The service was very pleasant, friendly, and attentive as well as talkative… its a pretty nice neighborhood type place.
We ordered some snacks (Motz stix and chicken fingers) which were good… nothing special tho.
We had the Allagash White ale to drink, which is pretty hard to find, especially on tap. It was VERY fresh, which is even harder to find… on top of that, it was only 5 $ a pint! I’ve never had that beer on tap so inexpensive before. That right there makes it worth going back!
From what I understand this place rotates its taps regularly and changes its featured beers so dont be suprised if you go for allagash and its no longer featured, I’d call ahead to see what they have on tap before going.
Overall, I’d definitely go back to this place for a few beers and a quick snack, I’d like to see what the place is like when it gets busy.

I live 3 blocks away from this place and have enjoyed many nights there. I hope Brian F. is correct because the last couple of times there it wasn’t the same. Heavy metal music? That shouldn’t happen.
I remember many nights listening to Irish bands play there and having lots of Guinness (with clover in foam).
I eagerly await this change.

Fitzgerald’s Harp & Bard is the updated version of the original Harp & Bard. This is not McGovern’s in Newark, or even the usual and sundry «Irish» pubs in Manhattan. It’s a neighborhood bar with a theme, and an ambitious menu, and not much clientle
Sure, five years ago you’d be hanging out here Thursday to Sunday and have barely enough room to move. The irish Wake was hilarious and possibly the best night of the year, including New Year’s Eve. Under new ownership, the good Shepherd’s Pie has been replaced with a pale, tasteless imitation. The bartenders don’t buy-​back any more. Forget a shamrock on your pint, that’s a lost art.
Coming at the place with a fresh eye, it would suit for groups and kids most early evenings. The long bar is a beautiful relic and you’re sure to catch local sports on the three televisions, but it’s nothing more than a neighborhood bar with a dwindling crowd. Some weekend nights you might see a neo-​Irish punk band play, and that usually gets it jumping — if you can tolerate that kind of music.
The potential, however, is still there. A good young group of newcomers could take it over, make it theirs, and get things rolling again. Sadly, that ain’t me.
–C