I just moved to the neighborhood in October, and in trying to get the lay of the land, I heard about this bar. None of my friends who lived in the neighborhood had been here, and only half had heard of it, so I decided to scout it out since its only 2 blocks from me.
I instantly saw why so few of my friends knew/heard about this place. It's hidden almost down an alley at the back of a building that appears to have no business containing a bar. Shaking off the feeling I may soon be stabbed, I went in....and I'm glad I did.
The space is small, but didn't feel crowded. Heavy, HEAVY, nautical theme that's aging, but not so in your face as to detract from the experience. Its obviously a place that caters to regulars, but hey, what RO-PA bar doesn't? Half the place was 40-50 yr old gents watching football while the rest was the local hipster set, who actually seemed to mix ok.
The bar is small, but well stocked. A nice mix of mostly German imports and mid level locals were on draft. Bottle beer selection looked ok, and mixed drink options looked respectable. The highlights for me were that the bar tender could actually pull a Guinness pour the way its supposed to be pulled, something that I hadn't found yet since the move. The bartender also randomly ordered a pizza for the whole bar on him, and random patrons actually asked me to have some. How many places have you been of late that do that?
Not trying to oversell the place. Its shabby, and super hole in the wall, but in a good way. Like your favorite uncle's basement den you hung out in on holiday's while the adults had there time upstairs....except now there's beer.