Van Diemen’s Bar + Kitchen

Best bar in Murray Hill! Did an open bar there for my birthday and the staff was amazing!!! Thank you to Lev and Jayme for treating us so well!!!

Van Diemens was a delightful time! Great service, great entertainment, what more could you ask for! Love this place for any occasion!

Comically poor service. On a Tuesday evening (see: opposite of busy), it seemed nearly impossible to get our orders in, not just because it was hard to get the attention of the staff, nor because half of what we wanted from the menu was not available, but also because from what we did order, some of our orders never made it to the table. I wanted to like the place, don’t get me wrong, but just a few of the «little things»:
— My ‘medium’ burger was the most gory thing I had seen all week, it was so rare.
— The French Onion Soup we ordered just never made it to the table; note it was one of the four food dishes we ordered, so it wasn’t really like there was an abundance of orders going in to get lost within.
— Out of the two PBRs we ordered, only one made it to the table. The second one found its way over a solid 15 – 20 minutes later. These were also mischarged, despite the explicit price being listed on the front of the menu.
— We were only able to ask/​receive pitchers of water a solid hour in.
— Also not necessarily a bad thing, but we definitely received someone else’s tequila soda at some point. It was too difficult/​taking too long to get the staff’s attention, so we ended enjoying it, oops.
It was also frigid inside, so perhaps the ‘melted cheese’ on my burger couldn’t help but turn into plastic immediately, so that one I’m not sure if I can really say much on.
Overall a confusing, if not sad, experience. But hey, I did get a free beer from the Unilocal check-​in offer. So there’s that.

My coworker and I dropped in yesterday and had a wonderful time. The bar food was delicious especially the wings, the drinks were enh but i did enjoy the peach smash just wish it wasn’t so small… hence the reason for 4 stars. Would def recommend the ambiance was nice and so were the staff.

Solid bar food. We only popped in quickly Friday night to eat but noticed it was packed with people watching the game. So many TVs everywhere. Not a bad seat in the house (as it should be at a sports bar).
We inhaled the pork tacos and mac and cheese. So good! Food was better than expected. Cocktails were great, too.
The bartender was awesome and so cool! I think her name is Mina? Not sure but I saw that someone posted a photo of her with the caption «Mina.» She was great! We sat at a table (not at the bar) but the few minutes that we interacted with her were so pleasant, she was so accommodating.
Even though we only stayed for a short while to eat, I wouldn’t hesitate to come back.

The energy at this sports bar always puts me in a good mood. The food though, the food is something else for a sports bar! The chicken Lollipops, beef sliders, and the mango fish tacos are all delightful. I am not a fan of veggie burgers, never was, however, my opinion changed drastically after trying the veggie slider here. They have an array of signature infused cocktails, my favorite cocktail is the Old Overholt Rye drink they have on the menu. It’s like an old-​fashioned, but with its own twist. I like the DJ here, he plays a variety of chill music on slower days and club bangers on party nights so that everyone has a good time. They also have order for pick up or delivery option. Don’t forget to check in here for a free beer! Also, the owner is very nice and will make sure you don’t leave without a full belly and a smile on your face.

Love this place. Great for everything from brunch to dinner, to football sundays. My friends and I found ourselves here more than often.
As for drinks, the beer list is relatively standard, however they always offer discounts for various drafts, events, etc. So typically, we stick to whatever is being offered. This ties into probably my only beef with the place, which is that the drinks are a little more expensive than some other spots in the area. Not ridiculous, but certainly not cheap.
As for the food. Don’t loop this place in with some of the other bars in the area. The food here is good. Their burger is very good, as are there wings, sandwiches and other items. I do typically stick with the burger, however I love getting a plate of wings with their football specials in the fall.
Don’t normally go out here later at night, but I hear it can be a pretty good time. All around, great spot and will keep coming back!

I would not go here. Only because the bar was without anybody behind it for ¾ of the time, the drinks were ill proportioned, and the music was way loud.
I know it was a weds night but there should be a good amount of people working the bar. If someone’s taking a deadly cigarette break maybe the bar back could have served us if there was one?

Great sports bar — had a blast watching the NCAA Tournament! Convenient location in Murray Hill and definitely recommend to all

I want to give a big thank you to the team at Van Diemens for the excellent job they did catering our launch party. Everything was delivered on time and the food was a big hit. If you’re looking for a professional and friendly staff to cater your next event, then don’t hesitate to contact them. Thank you again and we will definitely use you guys again in the future!

Mena is a great bar tender!!! Woo. Drinks are all made and the appetizers are great as well. Happy hour is until 8 so it wins my view on an after work spot. She is super nice and hot lol

This place is an awesome sports bar. Plenty of TVs awesome selection of drinks and surprisingly enough really great burgers. That’s what I mostly stick to when I come here. But most things on the menu are food to go as they don’t try an get too fancy. I had brunch here a few times and I was satisfied nothing overwhelmingly to boast about but the burgers are where it’s at.
Never a bad choice in this area.

This place is absolutely amazing! The food is off the hook, drinks are delicious and the people who work there are fabulous! Definitely coming back!

What happened here? Where did that laid-​back, Australian sports bar go?
There are still flashes of it in the delicious sliders, the solid wings, the excellent fries (I’d avoid the nachos though), and the flatscreens all around. But when the sun goes down and the DJ comes on, this formerly calm and pleasant bar turns into a deafening Tonic clone. If I wanted that, I’d just go to Tonic down the street.
A few pieces of advice, if you decide to head here:
1. Go early, and leave after happy hour unless you don’t actually want to talk to the people you’re with.
2. Even if you and all your friends are drinking Guinness, don’t let yourself get talked into a tower of Guinness. The pour matters too much.
3. Beware the bathroom. It’s at the end of a long hallway, and chances are the light will be dimly flickering as an unavoidably creepy attendant watches you pee. Better off just peeing into your empty tower of Guinness.
(Don’t actually do that, you idiot.)

Food is amazing
Goat cheese salad
Burgers
Lobster roll
Fish tacos is just one of the things you should try
Great selection of beers
Handcrafted artisan cocktails
I come here almost everyday
Employees are always more then great to me
They treat me as family
I recommend this place you want regret

Just walked in and the bartender starting abusing me. Mina as she is so called starting asking me for an order and then ignored me. I kept trying to give her money but she wouldn’t give me beer. Then suddenly, a beer and a shot appeared. It was like magic. Next to the beer and shot were 2 beautiful girls. Suddenly this place was amazing. Upon looking around I realized there were a lot of cute girls and things were good, even though hockey was on the TV.
I might come back

I LOVE THIS BAR!!!
Staff here is super friendly. They are very welcoming and treat you like family. The food here is awesome! Even thought this is a bar, the food here is like a top notch restaurant.
MINA is my favorite bartender! He knows what he’s doing and interacts with the patrons very well!
If you want to have a great time with positive vibes… Come here, you will not regret it!!!

Average bar. Average service. Average atmosphere.
Bunch of tv screens to watch the game.
Food: SLIDERSSSSSS & Cesar salad (homemade Cesar dressing) both totally recommend. The fries are handcut— ehh a little soggy not as crispy as I would like. Seems like these fries were just chilling before we got them.
The beer is pretty flat. With a bunch of guy friends and 4 of them complained that the beer tasted like cider not beer. I guess that’s what you get for having $ 40 special – all you can drink select beers and 2 apps or wings.
The house gin tastes pretty bad. Don’t get it.
Go for neat drinks or bottled beer!

I hate sports bars but the food and vibe here were good if that is what you are looking for. Service is good too.
Their clientele seems happy and I could tell there were lots of local regulars in there (I am not). The food is a definite upgrade from your ordinary sports bar. The fish tacos were decent and I am from the Capitol of fish tacos, San Diego. Wings above average too! And in house made bleu cheese was the cherry on top of my experience!

Murray Hill has no shortage of bars. What this neighborhood does suffer from is a shortage of GOOD bars. Van Diemens is a great spot I keep coming back to, mainly for the customer service and overall fun time.
Recently, some female friends and I went to VD’s to watch the Rangers game. The energy of the place was high, but not tense. Some guys were talking to my friends and an employee checked on us to make sure we were OK with that. The gentleman (maybe a manager or a bouncer?) seemed concerned with our well being, but not trying to «block» any action, if my friend was interested in the guy. It was a classy move.
Jayme, the bartender, gets this place the 6 stars all on her own. She is warm and engaging. She always tells you the specials. Go on a night that she’s working and you’ll definitely have a great time!
VD’s has happy hour — every day, even on Saturdays they have $ 4 drafts. It’s a sports bar, but you don’t have to even like sports to appreciate it. Their music, food and atmosphere are all top notch. In an area where a bar needs to work hard to distinguish itself, I think VD’s has.