Irene's Place

classic great bar will be missed for sure am sorry it had to close down, far more superior then a lot of brooklyn heights bars I been to.

I gotta tell you, one of my guilty pleasures are Jell-O shots. I like them so much, they may be part of my last meal on earth. So yeah, Irene's is my kind of place.

I can't recall a time I've ever been here for more than 10 minutes. That's not because it's not a welcoming establishment, it's because by the time one has decided the only drink that'll suffice are Jell-O shots, there's a good chance the night has been turned up to 11 for quite some time.

It's a glimpse into Greenpoint before rapid gentrification hit the neighborhood like an infectious disease, so make sure to pay your respects and hope there are many more years of gelatin-based libations ahead of us at Irene's Place.

Jello Shots.

Yeah, you heard me. Jello shots.

Aside from being an excellent polish dive bar on the cusp of Greenpoint. This place serves up a mean Jello Shot for the meager price of $1.

Also, in true Yelp fashion, they're a treasure trove of local knowledge. For example, I learned that a dude got murdered the day before in the neighborhood. First time in ages in Greenpoint. This isn't to scare you away, because this whole area is laughably gentrified, but really to encourage you to come because, you know...authenticity and such.

This place is everything I've ever hoped a dive bar could be (why don't we have ones like this in Pittsburgh!?)... and so much more.

Whilst sipping our incredibly cheap Pabst's, I witnessed my first ever bar fight between a group of Hispanic men and a group of Polish men. Luckily, a multi-lingual friend of a friend was there to translate... Basically, it amounted to one Hispanic man drunkenly pushing a Polish man off of his stool onto the ground. Then, a lot of harsh words were exchanged and men from the Hispanic group began calling their friends to come to the bar because they "wanted revenge". Meanwhile, the scrappy bartender (who may have been the owner - not sure) took a broom and started sweeping the men causing the problem out of the bar. I've never seen a 5'-nothing petite woman handle a crowd of inebriated douche-bags with such efficiency and class!

After watching two of the Polish men walk outside (with one handing the other something large and silver and that man promptly pocketed said "thing") and then seeing more friends of the other group enter the bar, my friends and I thought it a good idea to high-tail it out of there and go next door to the much less "divey" hipster-central bar. But, I will never forget my experience at Irene's. Next time, I plan on taking a closer look at that jukebox.

This place was my absolute favorite when I lived in Brooklyn and I'm so glad it's still around. When I went Irene herself was always bartending and it was a pleasure each and every time. Cheap drinks! Great atmosphere!

Cheap beer and even cheaper ($1) nasty jello shots!

What's not to like?

Was so excited to arrive in Brooklyn and have a drink came upon this n the barmaid told us we shouldn't be here cause my friend was handicap. That was uncalled for , we left and were in an unhappy place after her attitude.

The jukebox is great for dancing, the bathroom is great for pooping, and the drunk old polish guys will never succeed in stealing your girl. Sometimes Irene's doppleganger shows up and I get confused. One of my favorite bars!

This is the unnamed place at the Nassau G exit that you all are afraid to walk into. Not even sure if Irene's is the name- Signs inside read Idle Hour Tavern- But surely once inside you will- yes spend about an hour here before the Disco Polo songs from the "Compact Disc" jukebox become monotonous, and yes- be very, very idle.

Prices are very strange- beer is cheap- Coors $2- liquor is expensive- Dewers $10- but dont worry- Second hand smoke is on the house....

Irene- aka the bleached blonde bartender before it was cool to be bleached blonde- will take many smoke breaks- no doubt with each puff reminiscing how just 8 years ago she didnt have to stand by the door cracked 3 inches just to blow out the smoke, but it does allow her to keep a watchful eye on the neighborhood.

Last time we were in here, packs, HOARDS of girls flocked here this is usually what happens.

1. Girls enter
2. whispering "is this the place? i dont know, call Jonah, no I mean text him- this place probably doesnt allow cell phones" NO, i think this is the place, its one of those fake front bars with old cantankerous Polacks and then an underground bar with real underground music, see- this way- Geraldine- NO, Jonah just said Manhattan Inn is across the street. Well Jordanne, this could be the NEw CQQL Willyburg spot- so lets go check the back!.
3. After motions towards the back- the unmistakable scent of Catholic school urinal cakes turns them away and off to Manhattan Inn they go-
4. My group routinely shuffles downstairs into the secret rave! haha, another victory!
5. RIP Lech Kaczyski

It's hard to beat $3 beers and $4 mixed drinks, and there are some interesting characters in here.