Gregg and Mark (and the other owners) did it right, unlike that bar across the street that refuses to update or change ...but let's not go there right now...
Pros: This place is packed on weekends, has a tiny dancefloor , fantastic music videos and decent drinks at a decent price. The staff is friendly and both bathrooms are attended and (relatively) clean.I hope this place is around for a long time and doesn't make the same mistakes the other bars are making on the drive.
Cons: can't really think of any
Comment: Â The pool table takes up a ton of floor space. When this tiny bar is packed no one can play pool anyway, so I'm not really convinced that having a pool table is a major or necessary draw for this place. Maybe they should consider removing it.
I love this place but I must admit to being completely and utterly biased. I have known  Greg and Mark for almost 20 years. I was thrilled when I learned they were going to take a leap and buy their own place. It's not often you get to see someone make their dream happen. It was risky and scary but it's paying off! Its really fun to watch.
What's to love about The Village Pub? The people. The bartenders. They are truly good people. They make everyone feel so welcome. This is my Cheers. This is where I go to let off a little steam after a hard day at the office. This is where they know your name.
Its not pretentious like some of the other bars on the drive. One in particular mammoth place that seems to have an identity crisis IMHO.It's not full of smoke. Â Nope. Village Pub knows just what it is. A fun place to hang out with friends. And that's all right with me.
PS You can't beat the drink specials. And go here often enough Greg and team WILL remember your poison. Now how's THAT for service?
Minus one star for parking but - hey - at least you get a drink for your parking fee!
A few weeks ago a group of us were in Wilton Manors on a Friday night doing the usual Wilton Manors "crawl", visiting a few different bars along Wilton Drive. When we got close to this pub, we saw that it was absolutely packed with patrons. Â In fact, there were so many people that they actually filled the sidewalk in front of this place. Â I thought it must've been their grand opening or that they were giving away free drinks or something, judging from the crowd here vs. most of the other bars along the strip which were relatively quiet by comparison.
Fast forward to this past weekend - I met up with a friend on Saturday night for dinner and we decided to try this place afterward. Â While I don't recall what businesses were in the 3 or 4 storefronts now occupied by Village Pub, one can tell that the owners of this place (supposedly the former owners of Georgie's Alibi across the street) took multiple storefronts in this building, removed the walls that separated them and removed a few of the large display windows, installing roll up doors in their place.
While they have a lot of tables and stools near the entrance, which made it look like this bar must be packed, once we worked our way past them, we found that it wasn't actually very full inside at all. Â When you enter, there is a large, full bar to the right which is adorned with banners and signage for UM, Dolphins, Marlins and Heat. Â On the left, there is another large, full bar. Both bars have several screens on the wall behind them for watching sports or other programming. Â In the large open space between those 2 bars you'll find a pool table and a dance floor. Â They offer valet parking around back for $5, but if you present your parking stub at the bar they'll give you a free draft beer or well drink, which offsets the cost of valet. Â They have complimentary WiFi here, but it should be noted that they do not have any food offerings.
My overall rating of this pub for now is just "A-OK" as 3 stars on Yelp signifies. Â This place is very busy, but it's also very new (In fact, the official grand opening hasn't even happened yet). Â While other bars such as The Manor and Alibi have different spaces or rooms offering different themes, the Village Pub is one large and open floor plan. Â Where those 2 other bars and places like Bills feel more "cozy" to me and make me want to sit at their bar and have a drink, Village Pub is so large and open inside that it doesn't quite have that same kind of intimate feel to it. Â Also, with the dance floor being in the middle of the room and the 2 bars in that same open space, there doesn't appear to be anywhere to get away from the music if you just want to have a beer and talk with someone. Â Beers on this Saturday night were $4.50 each, when many other bars on "the Drive" were running 2 for 1 or other drink specials.
As others have said, time will tell what clientele will congregate here or how popular it will be in the long term. Â I'll update my review once it's been open for a few months and has been in regular operation for a while.
Though I didn't expect much in what has generally been a place of past failures, I was pleasantly surprised. Even though it has yet to have officially opened, it appears to not only have potential but a lot already going for it. Indeed, I recognized a few familiar looking faces of staff members seemingly having been recruited from the Alibi whose experience and training were obvious.
The interior, completely redone is, when they have the metal window screens open, bright and pleasing to the eye. They have a good happy hour with nightly drink specials, a small stage set up to be used for upcoming entertainment, a central pool table and two good sized bars.
I'm not sure exactly what group or scene of the gay community they are targeting as it generally appears to be of mixed use, part sports bar (possibly a version of "sports bar lite") general chat, drink, a place to mix together or pick up.
In any event, it will be interest to see what and how it develops, but for now it looks to be more than just another Wilton Manors flash in the pan establishment.
As for how many stars to award, since they haven't even officially opened, really too early to say.But, unlike Wilton Biers which opened up by hiring what seemed to be a bunch of inept street vagrants for bartenders and wait staff, Village Pub seems to be doing things right.
As with most things in Wilton Manors, however, parking is of course a problem.
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