LIC Bar
4558 Vernon Blvd
Long Island City, NY 11101 (718) 786-5400
- Nearest Transit:
21st St (Van Alst) (G)
Vernon-Jackson Aves (7)
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Music: Juke Box
- Best Nights: Thu, Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: Outdoor Area/Patio Only
- Coat Check: No
19 reviews
New York, NY
"Came here for a friend's birthday and really didn't know what to expect. It's like going to a movie with no expectations and without…" read more »
25 Reviews for LIC Bar
Like others have said, design gets many stars. The dark wood and outside patio gives a great chill vibe, plus there's a covered outdoor section that looks just like a continuation of the bar.
A great place for hanging and talking with a couple of friends. Not perfect if you're trying to get a party started....all that dark wood and beer makes a girl sleeeepy. Perfect for ending the night or a low key type event.
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Ahhhhh.......LIC Bar. I've grown to love this little joint. This is a real "BAR" in every sense of the word. A "Saloon" if you will. Not in that retarded, infantile frat boy/jock/dick sense of the word. A neighboorhood joint! A real old-world feel, great to go solo or with a squeeze. No jukebox, but all the bartenders have great taste in music and rock their i-pods through the house system. Ask for Paul, a fine Irish lad who you'll find yourself chattin' it up with right quick!
Now, on to the heart and soul of this LIC gem.......LIVE MUSIC!!!! Original live music by mostly local songwriters with tons of talent. A real scene is growing in LIC and it's because of the LIC Bar. Moday nights are great for the Singer-Songwriter showcase, with free pizza from Bella Via up the block! (see my review for Bella Via's incredible pie) The weekends are packed with more live music and did I mention the BACK OPEN AIR PATIO?!?!?! Smokers can puff thier cute little lungs out back here as it's not uncommon to see someone having a smoke with thier dog laying at their feet. Yes, the LIC Bar is DOG FRIENDLY! So bring Snoopy on down and have a pint of Guiness. Getcrazy. If you see me, give me a hug and buy me a drink, you won't regret it. ; )
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One of the best layouts of any bar anywhere. Spacious antique bar and inside seating area. Awesome back patio with weeping willows hanging over the brick wall. Part-time drunks, not career alcoholics frequent this place, so that's a plus when you are traveling with polite company. But the drinks are pricey and the bartender is combative and condescending. One extra star off for having no happy hour specials. Booooooo....
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I've been a fan of LIC BAR ever since I came across it on NYmag.com a few month back. Aesthetically, it's quite pleasing--fantastic wood bar, a beer garden in the back, and a fair amount of tables (inside & out). The added bonus; the staff knows their beverages.
Undoubtedly, Saturday is one of the "better" nights to patronize this establishment. By this I mean, there is typically more of a crowd.
Prices are fair and the selection is excellent.
Plus there is a photo booth (and who doesn't like those?)
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Since the first time I had a pint of Guinness in this place, I have loved it. Nice wooden bar with character, excellent garden to sit and smoke if you like, and a really nice beer selection.
On occasion, I have also had the grilled cheese and sage pressed sandwich - nice enough. Also - they are OK with ordering food in. A birthday gathering on a late afternoon with pizza was outstanding.
This week I tried the house toasted lager - good stuff, very much like the Blue Point I know and love.
Often called, "the far bar," it isn't too far for me. (of course, I live in Queens, but I've seen folks come in from Manhattan - and even Brooklyn to enjoy this spot.)
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Good place to kick back with friends, a few drinks and some old rock and roll. The crowd is chill and during summer, the back patio is a great spot. It can get a bit quiet during the winter, but in the summer, there's a decent crowd just about every weekend.
Prices are good, and they have most beers on tap. I can't name any of them though because the only beer I drink is Hoegaarden.
If you get hungry, the kitchen makes a mean grilled cheese with multi-grain bread and spring greens.
There's a photobooth, but I still haven't had a chance to use it yet. One of these days!
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LIC Bar is so much fun! It's a great spot for this neighborhood, it's not too expensive, and the crowd is a great mix of people. In the warm weather they open the back patio up, which provides a lovely space for outdoor drinking. The bathrooms are pretty clean AND there's a photo booth!
LIC Bar is way too small for my taste even though they try to make up for it with the back yard which is a nice addition but it's impossible to get in there or even walk around the bar on Saturday night.
The local music is good but @ the end of the night DON'T ask the bartenders to call you a cab(because you can't just walk out onto Vernon Blvd.to hail one) if you have had too much to drink because they DON'T.
I know that apparently this place isn't always as consistently good. But isn't it nice to get lucky and catch it on a night when it absolutely is?
Can not say enough good things about LIC. Dark wood, tin ceilings, warmly lit with large, rustic tables on the inside. The outside is what makes it worth it, though. A gorgeous patio under a couple of willow trees. The brick walls feel very "The Secret Garden". It's really lovely, and a great way to spend a warm evening. They've got a wide selection of beer and wine, decent prices (not great, and I think Dominie's, down the street, is cheaper) and hey, the photo booth. All good things. Add to that the really great playlist they had going the night I was there- lots of Otis Redding, stuff like that- perfect warm weather music- and I absolutely had a five star experience at LIC. I can't wait to go back.
I find myself leaning towards loving this place-- it's not been a destination per se, but more of an afterthought, when we can't settle on what to do. But when we tire of the same pubs in Sunnyside, and don't QUITE want to go all the way into Manhattan and definitely don't want to rely on the G to get us to and from Brooklyn, this becomes a perfect solution.
No, it's not anything "special", nor is it a dive bar. The prices are reasonable--$4 pints, for instance--there's a photobooth, there's decent decor and ambience, and an outdoor patio. I've been on weeknights and recently on a Saturday-- which was significantly louder and more bumpin'; I was less than thrilled to end up with a sore throat from having to yell over the stereo, but I can live with that. I'll be back anytime I need an easy solution to the neighborhood pubs and Manhattan. It'll ensure LIC doesn't suffer from overkill and I can still enjoy it when I return.
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This is a really old-fashioned saloon, not in a dive bar way, but in a "It's so old, it has character" way. There is a photo booth in the corner, like the ones that you would find at arcades, where you sit in the booth and take 4 pictures and they come out from the side of the booth in one long strip.
The room itself was rustic looking with a wooden floor. Tables and chairs to the back and a long bar on the side when you walk in. Black and white photographs of the neighborhood in it's early days adorned the walls.
The beer list wasn't anything extravagant, since I am a beer aficionado, but I did settle on an Anchor Steam. The rest of the beer lineup included Brooklyn Lager, Coney Island Lager (Made by He'brew Brewing) Magic Hat #9, Stella Artois, Spaten, Belhaven Scottish Ale, Stone IPA and Hoegaarden were some of the choices.
There is a small backyard but it was too cold to sit out there, but I will make another trip out to this bar once the weather gets warmer that way I can have my beer in the yard.
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Not much scenery here in this dark little watering hole. Excellent backyard area to lounge in year 'round. I've always been able to find a seat outside anytime I went.
Its a true neighborhood bar where people bring their dogs to socialize as well. One night I went they had some small event (didn't ask what) with a huge cheese platter. They have trivia nights too on Sundays I think it was.
Good beer selection, clean taps, friendly service, good people, great outdoor space, and clean bathrooms earn this neighborly nook 4 stars.
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I love the smell of a wood bar since the smoking band was lifted in New York. This place hosts beautiful old black and white historical photos of the neighborhood. It also allows the visitor to create their own portrait at the black and white photo booth. Best midweek.
This place was terrific. Like Dominie's Hoek down the street, it's a relatively quiet, albeit different type of bar, and much, much bigger back area with it's own extra roofed back area (if that makes any sense) with even more tables.
It's very dark and almost brooding, but we got right into the thick of things with a couple rounds and headed to the back to sit down.
Now, first, the music. It's old school. I was singing along to Elvis's verison of "It's Now Or Never" and I think I scared the couple people at the bar and the bartender just by the fact that I knew it. It's not loud at all.
Second, the bartender. This woman was either really tired, or annoyed at something, because she seemed to be really sarcastic as she was serving me drinks. I got a diet coke at the end and I asked how much was it, and she gave me this fake blank stare as if I just asked her where she lived or something, and dismissively said, 2 dollars. I think she was really tired.
Third, the actual bar. The best thing about the actual bar is totally the Photo Booth. I haven't seen one in a bar in a long time, it really should be a staple because it invites just too much silliness and I could do one set every bar I go to and pile it up into a scrapbook. It's big enough where there's a second bar, but it's not used.
The back is really the great part about this place, it's pretty big, say twice as big as say the Bull McCabe's patio. It's one of the nicest backyards I've been to thus far; it's actually done up well, with wall lighting straight out of industrial suburban late 1970s, dark, overhead, reminds me of the lighting at the Colonie Town Library upstate where I'm from. Tables are everywhere but orderly, skinnier ones in the middle with roundtables on the rim connecting to the benches on the wall. The back has a roof over it, and I don't know whta they do there, maybe it's a stage, maybe it's just more tables (which is what was there last night), but it's really nice.
The crowd actually started to filter in as we were ending our run, at around 2:40am. Not a huge crowd, but a couple groups filled out the back. The bar itself was dead as dilligent.
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The peeps and me found this place by accident after a failed attempt at Water Taxi, and boy am I glad. Fun, friendly, with great service and a back patio with a partial roof and an elegant decor topped off by a fireplace. Laid back and great for a big group. LIC is happening yo! Oh, and Jim has yelped.
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This bar is pretty decent, nothing special. It has a fairly good selection of beers, but they don't have a kitchen. They offer 2 kinds of sandwiches with smelly cheese, and you can tell when someone orders one (it stinks the place up). There's a nice courtyard area in the back.
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I recently met up with fellow yelper Rob L. for a "quick" drink here after participating at PS.1 Warm-up Saturdays. A very chill bar, L.I.C. is everything I want in a bar and more. From the laid-back environment to the fantastic outdoor garden in the back, the time just flies by while one sits here nursing one's drink. With promise of trivia nights and a solid variety of beers on tap, a part of me really wishes L.I.C. was closer to where I live. Like down the block close. The perfect neighborhood bar that is not in your neighborhood.
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Wow. I mean, wow. I think this is the best bar ive come across in New York yet. I know that seems like heady praise, and yes it is in Long Island City, but the atmosphere and vibe of this place is everything you could ever want from a hip but laid-back neighborhood joint. Dark wood paneling, plenty of varied seating, a phenomenal outdoor back patio, good beer prices, nice bathrooms, cool music. The back patio is outstanding, great place to chill out and catch some drinks. They even have this back part of it that is sort of built into the building behind the bar if that makes sense. It's covered and has a fireplace and tables, yet is open to the rest of the patio. Probably a great place to sit and play cards or chat with friends.
No kitchen, but they do offer a couple of sandwhiches. But they are very cool about you ordering take-out from any of the nearby restaurants or even brining food with you. Since I live on Roosevelt Island I don't really have a "neighborhood bar" but this will quickly become it i think.
What's also neat are the old pictures on the wall of the block from 50 years ago. The same building that this bar is housed in was there waaay back and you can tell its been redone. Nice exposed brick, etc. Just a great experience on our first visit.
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The great thing about this place is the back yard area that's nearly beer garden like. It features a good array of chairs and tables that are under neath two willow trees (how often do you see that in NYC?). This is a great place to go and have a beer in the summer breeze.
The inside which is darker features a photo booth for all things! The booth is 3 bucks, but you'd need that in singles as it doesn't take 5's or higher (although I guess it would take them, you just wouldn't get the change back.)
I was drinking the house brew which was good and will set you back about 4 bucks - seems like everything in this bar was generally 4 and up unlike some of the cheaper places down the street (not that 4 is expensive at all and the atmosphere totally makes it worth it.)
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I disagree with Victor L. on the Dominie's Hoek vs. LIC Bar dispute. I finally had the chance to go to LIC for Stephanie V.'s birthday party last weekend and I have to say I liked Dominie's better. While LIC does have a bigger back area and there is a nice roofed-in area in the back as well, I felt that the bar service was a bit lacking here.
They had a guy on what had to have been his first night all alone and it was really frustrating. I ordered a Magner's on the rocks...he gave it to me in a bottle with no glass. This was after a few minutes of searching through the ice chest for Magner's in the first place. He also made what had to have been the absolute worst G&T I've ever tasted in my life. Now, if it's one thing I love, it's gin. And I have to tell you, it's really hard to screw up a G&T, but this guy somehow found a way. Flat tonic water, too much gin and a rotten, dried out lime made for one of the worst drinks in recent memory.
But other than that the place is great. They had a really killer juke going and they also have one of those picture booth things. I love those. I loved it so much I didn't get my picture taken in it, but still I think they're really cool.
At the end of the day, I will go back and back and back and back, however, I will probably stop at Dominie's first.
Perfect little bar at the quiet end of Vernon Blvd. Lots of wood nicely lit and never too busy. It also has a great outdoor grotto so you can get some fresh air between drinks.
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I love bars with outdoor dining/patios. It makes the atmosphere so much more and there's also more space to explore. This isn't a paricularly noisy place which is fine with me. I love casual settings with a more relaxed feel. I love outdoor patios because: it's nice to go between the bar and the outdoors and still drink, you can light up a cigarette (!), and I like to mingle.
What also makes this place unique among the strings of bars here is that it has a real photobooth! I didn't have any change, so I didn't get to use it, though. The booth only accepts exact change/bills of $3. I definitely want to come back just to try the photobooth alone.
This bar has 6 key elements that make a bar really great. 1) Dark and cozy. It has the perfect amount of sturdy wooden tables, each with a single votive candle that create perfect mood lighting for a nice date or a night out with friends. I.e. go here if you have one or two (or three) troublesome blemishes on your chin and you don't want anyone else to see them. 2) Old woody dark bar with mirror so you can conveniently, but not obviously, see what you look like doing a tequila shot or seductively sipping a martini. 3) Clean bathrooms! 4) Outdoor patio. 5) Nice bar tender. 6) Photo booth photo booth photo booth! Also the address should be 45-58 Vernon Blvd.
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When I packed up shop and moved out of queens, this bar was one of the things that I truly missed. Try to get to the summertime sunday BBQ's, its a great way to kill the afternoon outside on a patio, listen to good local bands and catch a buzz.
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Nice except it smells like a cats toilet in there. Wheeew
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