Gunther's Pub

One of...if not the best bars on long island.  Gunthers is more than a bar...its a state of mind.  The highlight of northport village...do yourself a favor and come here....unless you are pretentious and hate having fun...then just stay home.

Most bars in this town, my Hometown, range from horrid to barely tolerable.  This one is nothing less than an American Classic.  One of the most perfect dives anywhere.  I mean c'mon it was a favorite of no less than Jack Kerouac himself, surely one of the most legendary booze hounds of all time.  His spirit lives on here, as well as the spirit of a much more funky and salty Northport that vanished decades ago.  I have heard legend that in the 70s Northport was a rough and tumble artsy fishing town, but I only knew it as the uptight insular yuppieville it had unfortunately "progressed" to by my formative years.  Well grizzled fisherman, straight from a hard days work on the boat can often be found here during the late afternoon, along with other similar often borderline shady types who seem out of place in this village.  Nights the place gets rowdy and crowded with even more shady types as well the cooler people from here, around my age and younger that I actually wouldn't dread to run into when back in town. I have been here on every Christmas night for the past 10 years straight now, and it is often the highlight of my holiday. The decor is dingy & perfect, servers are world class & still acknowledge and practice the dying art of the BUYBACK!  One of the best Jukeboxes anywhere, and live music is played in cramped corners on occasion.  Prices are also cheap which is nothing less than an anomaly on this Main Street, home to some of the most absurd rip offs on the Island.

Good place to stop for a drink if you're shopping/strolling around Northport shops.  Very quiet bar, with a couple of small screens to view the games.

Seems like it's full of regulars there which I saw people walk in and the bartender referring them by first names.  The thing that really surprised me was the cigarette vending machine.  I have not seen one of these since the early 90's. I could've sworn that these were all taken out because minors were able to purchase these without showing ID.  But I guess since it's a bar and you need to be 21 to drink anyway, you should be old enough to smoke.  

Overall pretty decent bar, but I think it's a little too quiet for me.
3.5/5