Public House

Horrible. Went here for an alumni event and they were really biased on how much they charged for a beer depending on your race. (Guess it makes sense to charge asians more). Furthermore, they charged people for cheap domestic beers at our closed off area the same amount they charged imported premium beers at the bar. When I walked outside, I found out it was happy hour and they were supposed to charge us $ 4 on the domestic beers and $ 6 on the imported premium beers but they had charged us a premium to these prices the whole time. I’ll make sure to never come here again either with friends or clients.

A typical example that I would never want to visit a second time. So our school held an alumni event in one of the rooms however it was simply way too small to fit in everyone. Food was also mediocre. Beer priced at 7 dollar per bottle and they only accept cash. I felt like nothing but in complete chaos. There are way more options in midtown area.
No, never again. You should blindly pick one other place and still better-​off!

Came here for an alumni event, but found the place a bit disappointing… Very noise and crowded with a bit pricy drinks ($ 7 a beer, $ 20min for credit card…). All the being said, I enjoyed my gin and tonic tho.
Will not come back because the place is too crowded with NYC visitors.

Great atmosphere and the top floor (open air!) is the most fun. The waitstaff was great and I enjoy their house wine and the spinach artichoke dip. The downside is it gets SO crowded. For evening dining on the top level so you can get sun, enjoy the crowds and still get a seat, you absolutely have to go early.

We had welcome drinks for about 50 of our guests at the Public House on 41^st between 3^rd and lex. We were so pleased. We had the upstairs mezzanine area with a private bar and had a great time. The staff was very attentive and nice to work with. The drinks were good. The prices were fair. The only complaint is that it got pretty warm up there with so many people! We will definitely go back to Public House for any gatherings we have in the future.

I come here for lunch often and don’t understand why everyone is knocking on it so hard. It’s busy because it’s popular so if you don’t like waiting when places are busy don’t come here. Lunch is great and I usually sit at the bar because Spinelli is an awesome bartender and all the staff I’ve met so far are wonderful. I had one bad experience sitting in the dining area but besides that it’s awesome. Reasonably priced food and a good atmosphere.

Great atmosphere. The chicken tacos on the appetizer menu were amazing. The chicken was mixed with a spicy BBQ sauce giving the tacos a nice rich flavor. The beer selection was very pedestrian. Don’t come expecting a list you think you’d get with a name like Public House. Service was friendly and attentive. Great TVs with different selections.

We hosted 2 company events at the Public House. They have a huge bar. There are 2 floors, and we always reserve the bottom floor. The space is spacious and filled with booths. We fitted a additional bar on the open floor, and there was a big screen right above the main floor, we could easily put on a game or the election. Their bar food was decent, we ordered sliders and fries, a platter of fried stuff including fried Mac & cheese in cubes and wings. We also ordered a buffet that included food such as lamb chops, chicken, pasta, potatoes and fish fillets. The food came out hot and they were decent tasting. I also like the abundance of booths, so we could form into small groups and chat among ourselves. The staff people were very accommodating, they found out that one person in our group had a birthday, and they brought out a bottle sparkler to celebrate his birthday. However, the bartenders seemed a little unenthusiastic, and we often had to wait so long to get their attention for a drink refill (even though we’re their only customers since it’s a private event). Their location is close to the Grand Central station, so it’s easy for people to get home after getting drinks at the Public House. For a company event, this place does its job; however, if I was to pick a place to hang out with friends, I probably would not pick the Public House out of all the choices in midtown.

Came here during my lunch break with a friend and it was a pretty basic/​forgetful experience. The staff seemed completely overwhelmed and I’m pretty sure I could see only one waitress trying to serve every table.
The reason I won’t be coming back here is because the service was really terrible. The food was decent, nothing special. The atmosphere is gloomy and has no style at all whatsoever. Looks like a sports bar version of Dave&Busters. The waitress didn’t help us at all, would never come to our table, and messed up my friends order.
This place is just blah. I don’t recommend it. I was going to give it 2 stars but I thought that maybe I’d be nice since it seems like they already get a lot of shitty reviews on Unilocal

We had a fundraiser event here this past week. The bar is huge! There were at least 5 other groups having events at the same time.
The staff was very accommodating, and even provided the space for free. Happy hour specials were great. Food was decent for bar food.
Overall, great for work events/​fundraisers but for normal happy hours/​dinner, I would opt to go elsewhere.

Two years later, and I’m even less impressed by Public House than I was the first time around. They still suffer from the same identity crisis that they were experiencing two years ago… and honestly, I can’t decide whether they would be better off as a sports bar or a club. They fall flat on both fronts. Although it looks like they’ve spruced up the décor, the acoustics are still AWFUL. We were all yelling at the top of our lungs and still couldn’t hear what the next person was saying.
It’s great that they care enough to do fundraisers with academic organizations, but on the flip side, you have to wonder why they are one of the only bars in the city that would do so… so take this as you will.

It’s a bar and the apps weren’t that great. The mozzarella sticks felt more like mozzarella logs.
Disappointing choice of beers for a company event and the place smells like stale beer. Not impressed.
The location and size of this place can make for an awesome bar but this was just boring.

Public House is your typical bar. Kind of an upscale divebar. It is usually pretty busy during happy hour, good space and always room for a group.

The free wine upon check in was a huge draw for us, so we swung by.
The bartender was awesome. Instead of most servers who would be annoyed that you are showing up for a freebie, he was aware of the check in deal and was really polite in taking our order. And it was a big glass!
I really liked the atmosphere! It was more upscale than the dive places we visited in the area. A lot of suits show up for happy hour after work.
While people were dining in the center area, the lights were still dim enough to create a great space for happy hour socializing.

Stopped by here with a friend on a Friday night while walking down the street and it was a nice surprise. Checking in on Unilocal gets you a free wine or draft beer which was great! Good atmosphere with a lot of fun, friendly people dressed nicely after work. Nice bartenders too. Didn’t get any food here but would definitely come back to try some wings and things.

Weird layout, but a pretty good happy hour.
Think of a square, then cut some of it off. Line the right side and most of the top with a bar, and barstools, and throw in a few booths across the aisle. Layer a lot of people in, first to sit, then to hover, then to just stand in the middle.
Then put a lot of tables in the rest of the empty space.
If you are eating at a table, good work. It’ll be easy for you to get where you need to go. If you are drinking at the bar, meeting someone for happy hour, etc., you’ll likely have a tougher time getting anywhere if you get there anytime after 5:01pm. Everyone layers in… and it gets narrower by the minute.
That said, there is an excellent event space on the other side of the L and up the stairs, where you are far from the crowds below with plenty of places to sit and stand.
The drinks are a decent price, and even with the crowds I’ve always been able to get someone’s attention rather quickly.
This isn’t a place to travel great lengths to get to, but it’s convenient location near Grand Central Terminal (and my old office, shout ouuuuut to Mount Sinai!) makes it a really easy place to meet up.

I arrived around 8 on Sat night to meet up with some friends. We all were able to get drinks relatively quickly and chatted a bit, music was at a decent level. My friend and I ordered chicken nachos to share. While we waited for the nachos we chatted and I noted they had a lot of tvs to watch games and such. When the food came out I couldn’t help but think Omg they were huge, if we finished half of it that’s pushing it. The music started getting louder around 10 pm and people started pouring in. I headed out at 1030ish and I had to push my way out because no one would move when i would say «excuse me» smh. It was ok to me, maybe the night life is better.

I came here to meet up with some friends, we got here around 8pm on a Saturday and the place was pretty empty. My friend and I shared the chicken nachos and they were huge, we ate probable about half of it.
Around 10 the place started to get really crowded and the DJ started playing some good hits. By the time midnight came you couldn’t move and this place because like a mini club. Everyone was dancing and having a great time.
I really enjoyed myself and ended up staying until they closed.

I came here a few times for happy hour.
More recently, work friends threw a party for me. They gave away our table because we were late. However, it was pretty easy finding a new one on our own.
Good-​sized bar, good drinks, good atmosphere, pretty chill and attracts a pretty decent crowd with a good mixed of people. I’d go back and recommend this place those interested.

Pretty crappy layout — it’s just too narrow. The L shaped bar area is far too cramped. Our firm has a lot of happy hours and/​or little birthday parties. The last one I attended was just last Friday after work. I got there at around 5:45pm with colleagues and my bf and all the dirty feelings about this place came back as I stood in line to get carded. Most people are here after work for a drink but with no real happy hour in place, I just don’t get why anyone would choose this, but for the close proximity of the bar to certain office buildings (one being ours).
The bathrooms were fine and about 5 girls who looked totally out of place in their shirt and circulation clotting tight shorts were running about at the very middle of the L shape of the bar. Nothing wrong with wearing what you’d like, but just know the crowd.
Screw the convenience of walking across the street after work — I don’t like paying $ 16 per drink only to get my toes stepped on and drinks spilling onto my shoes. just not a pleasant experience — EVER. I’ve never had a good time at Public House and nevermind «personal space” — there’s barely even any breathing room.
The girl bartenders think they’re hot shiet — seriously, stop it. That doesn’t warrant having an RBF — you’re in the service industry. SMILE.