D S.
Yelp
I am updating my review of this bar after having visited it a few more times.
First, I'll repeat the positives:
Broadway Dive is a breath of fresh air in this neighborhood. In an area being overrun with pointless Chase Manhattans, Pinkberries and boring yuppie bar & grills, this place kicks it old school. There's food, but hardly anyone orders it. There are occasional live bands, but they're mostly just background ambiance. There are a lot of TV screens, but nobody really goes there to watch sports. The main point of this place is to sit, drink, chat with friends. That is the kind of bar we need around here.
The vibe of the place is very well-considered. Cozy, but with just the right amount of New York "edge." The extra balcony seating is a cool touch that makes the bar really feel like a clubhouse. The music's generally fine, mostly from the 20th century rock and pop canon, but with some more modern stuff as well.
The legal max capacity for this place is about 75 people. On a busy night the attendance seems to be roughly half that, which is perfect in my mind. I really like that the general turnout in this place is robust, but not overbearing. It's rarely depressingly dead, but it's also rarely so packed that you feel uncomfortable. The patrons are what you'd expect for the area, an unpretentious mix of stragglers and students covering a pretty broad age range. Ethnically it's slightly less diverse, being mostly white, but again I chalk that up mostly to its location. There are a lot of eccentric characters in this place, but most of them are benign.
My original review was five stars. I have to subtract a star based on some of the negatives I've come across since then. While none of them are deal breakers, I thought they'd be worth noting.
The first issue is with the bartenders. With some exceptions, they are not the warmest or most enthusiastic bunch. The general vibe is "meh." They often look spaced out, numb, or mildly annoyed. Occasionally they've been overtly grumpy, though thankfully not often in my direction.
I'm not making a big deal out of this aspect, because I get that the service industry is tough, and none of the infractions were bad enough to bother recounting here. But I am still giving you my general impression for what it's worth. And I don't need my bartenders to tap dance or recite poetry, but at least fool me once in a while.
The only other thing I'll add here is that although the place feels safe, I've noticed a higher volume of bartender/patron drama than usual here for some reason. Whether that's due to the neighborhood, the staff or some combination of the two, I'm not sure. It mostly just makes for morbid entertainment, though.
There is a pervasive musty, salty odor that becomes slightly stronger as one approaches the bathrooms in the back, but it's not unpleasant...per se.
The temperature situation is kind of quirky--the overhead fans are perpetually on, even in the dead of winter, and sometimes the AC will even come on intermittently, blasting everyone with an arctic gale. This has become less of a problem in the past few months so maybe someone got the memo that cool isn't always "cool," but it still is an occasional factor.
Back to the positives.
Save for the bottled Epic beef jerky, which I love, I have not tried the food. It sounds like basic bar fare. I could definitely see myself ordering some if I were in the right mood.
The well drinks that I've had are all pretty good and varied. Popular selections get tapped out pretty quick, usually before 9 pm, but there are always other decent options. I had an interesting uncarbonated cask ale and an Akashi single malt one time, a few rounds of basic pale ale the next, and liked both times equally.
As far as I can tell, they keep their taps clean. While I haven't ever ordered anything that I felt was mind-blowing or even particularly notable really, that isn't what I'm here for anyway, so it's okay. And to be fair, I haven't tried ordering any of the myriad craft brews that sit bottled for individual purpose (either to stay or to go) in the surrounding display fridges. I plan to soon, since some of them do look very enticing, and I'm very glad that this novel aspect is a part of the bar.
I've lived in this neighborhood on and off for decades, and I remember when even seemingly stodgy old places like Malachy's or Dublin House were fun, lively scenes; this place picks up the ball they apparently dropped years ago.
Overall I still say check it out!
