Shoolbred's
197 2nd Ave
(between 12th St & 13th St)
New York, NY 10003 (212) 529-0340
- Nearest Transit:
3rd Ave-14th St (L)
Astor Place (6)
Union Square (4, 5, 6, L, N, Q, R, W)
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Happy Hour: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: Yes
- Coat Check: No
14 Reviews for Shoolbred's
Maybe it's just the fete I was thrown there to celebrate my downsizing, but I dig the hell out of this place. Its got the ambiance I go for, and the kind of large leather-cum-faux-leather chairs I hope one day to grace my library with (of course, me having a library presumes that I will in fact be sleeping in the bathtub, but dammit, a man's got to stand for something).
The music was keen, and I find stealing away to the place after my not quite so much summer fridays (seeing as I've yet to leave before 4, half day my generous ass) to be real keen capstone to the sunshine soaked week. Plus I think they have buy-on get one, always a plus.
In the end, it hasn't failed me yet, so I say to thee, "base-braggart, and face your betters."
People thought this was:
Useful (4)
Cool (3)
Solid Scottish pub with a cozy feel and their own beer.
Prices are pretty standard for the area, service is pretty quick, and bartenders are friendly but not overbearing. Haven't eaten there, but the bar is a nice go-to.
The outdoor seating in front is cute and just spacious enough to be comfortable.
People thought this was:
Cool (1)
I had been here previously for the Bourbon tasting event hosted by Becca and stumbled in here alone after 9:30 on a Monday night (their 2 for 1 drink special ended at 9) and asked the lovely bartender if he could "help a sista out" and still give me their special..well, he said..have a seat, we can work something out. Whatever that meant...he didn't work anything out, I still got charged the same price for one glass of wine that is the regular price, I think he just wanted me to come in lol Well, I sat there at the bar chatting with whomever seemed interesting and ended up not paying a dime for any of the rest of the wine I had that night.lol I stayed until they closed. Wow..I'm a lush haha But, I had fun though! I'll be back.
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The first time I strolled into this place with a friend of mine we both got the distinct impression it was a gay bar, which would have been fine...I guess. I posted a full review on my site with link goodness below....
http://www.huqleberry....
Very chill spot. Stopped off here on the beginning of an impromptu LES pub crawl on a gorgeous Thursday afternoon. Walked in, and stumbled out after the 2fer1 Happy Hour deal, of which I enjoyed the Goose Island Matilda. These were double 9%'ers and quickly made for a blurry rest of the evening, as evidenced by the fact that it took a full four days to yelp this, and 20 minutes of searching to find the name of the bar.
One of the more interesting things to note is that the bartenders are all dressed in the German garb, with white shirt, plaid skirt and socks (picture the chick that Rusty Griswold was hooking with at Oktoberfest). So, for all of you whose fetishes were born from those particular Kill Bill scenes, perhaps you should alert your parole officer beforehand.
People thought this was:
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interesting atmosphere... i felt like i was drinking in a swanky friend's dad's study ( a good thing). good vibes, very relaxed. i was most impressed by the choice of music, which while varied, set a damn fine mood as well. we were lured in by the happy hour special, (2 for 1 drinks) which is a good deal especially when you're out drinking at 6pm...
**I'm double posting my review here and on the "Yelp Bourbon Tasting Event at Shoolbred's" listing -- Shoolbred's was host to a Yelp tasting event in March 2008, in which 15 or so Yelpers sampled bourbon and learned more on how it's made and its heritage.**
A fun time was had by all last night at Shoolbred's. We enjoyed a variety of bourbons while learning about this "all-American" spirit, sipping different brands and catching up with Yelp friends, old and new.
A special thanks to Robert from Shoolbred's, who hooked us up with a semi-private space in the back, plenty of water (to cleanse the palette open up the flavor of the bourbon itself) and an awesome deal. Andrew, the spirits rep., was knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating -- and we're an inquisitive and talkative bunch! I also enjoyed the tasty wanton-like chips -- nothin' like fried food to coat my stomach for all that alcohol!
I highly recommend Shoolbred's for its bourbon list, in addition to the intimate atmosphere and friendly service. While I didn't sample food other than the chips, it also smelled and looked delicious. I'll be back.
Last but not least, thanks to the amazing Becca S. for pulling off such an inventive and enjoyable experience. Is this girl Elite yet or what?! She's so cool...
and useful...
and funny! :-)
People thought this was:
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It's hard to figure if non-tourist bars will be full on July 3rd (no work the next day), or empty (New Yorkers leave town for the weekend.). As it turns out, at least here, neither. The small outdoor space in front was nearly full. The bar was crowded, but not packed. We took the large round table that lay half in, half out of the bar. It was empty.
The bartendress, was also the waitress, and seemed a bit frazzled. Most of the order-taking job was put on the busboy, who was friendly enough to teach us some Tibetan. That's where he's fromt, he said.
The food menu was extremely limited: fries, one salad, "lamb sliders" (Whitecastle size lamberger... tiny things, 2 for $9), pigs in a blanket (microwaved to perfection). That's it. The beer selection was slightly better... and Schoolbred's own lager wasn't bad at all. Visually, the bar was nice: lots of wood, slightly Gothic feel. Otherwise, it wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't extraordinary. --DrinkClubnyc.org is a roving group of NYC drinkers
People thought this was:
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Dark & homey German themed brew pub. It's not large, and has booth and bar space for about 30 or 40 people. The booths make for a cozy little corner to snuggle drunkenly with any combination of your attractive friends, your loved ones, and people you hope to get naked with later in the evening. There's plenty of very strong triple bochs and such for the latter, and a full range of hard boozes. I had a shot of Bushmills here, and the glass it came in might as well have been a small glass bucket. It simply ruined me. I was out the door in 20 minutes, in a cab, and boozily heading home. This minor poisoning left me with a great impression of the place, though. Maybe it's because the waitress who had so poisoned me was FINE.
Oh I also somehow managed to down a delicious burger while there. It was adorned with the largest slabs of bacon I've ever seen on a burger and served on an English muffin and also had an interesting and unique kind of spiced chutney as a dressing. Splendid. Alas, it was too late of a booze base though. Reverse booze basing doesn't work. Especially if a devlish vixen serves ou small glass buckets of Bushmills.
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In what once was a Chinese restaurant called Jade Mountain (the old neon Chow Mein sign remains high above the wooden and stained glass exterior) - Scottish named Schoolbred's (named after a department store in Scotland) offers a warm inviting wooden interior (complete with stained glass) reminiscent of a library -- complete with a fireplace and a few comfy leather reading chairs.
Ten beer taps featuring Brooklyn lager, Wild Goose IPA, Guinness and my current fave, Irish amber ale Smithwicks. They also feature 36 whiskeys/whiskys from Ireland, Scotland and Canada.
On my initial visit, I enjoyed a generous 2-for-1, friendly bar staff and a tranquil pub experience (no rowdy Murray Hill types)...then again, it was a Wednesday night...
Add Shoobred's to my list of local pubs to quaff quality beers, cocktails & whiskys - minus the attitude!
People thought this was:
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Cool spot, intimate setting (complete with fireplace). Robert behind the bar was looking out for all the Yelpers in for a bourbon tasting (holla Becca, great job!). Tap beer looked good, nice looking stainless steel juicer next to the taps makes me want to go back for some freshly squeezed juice based cocktail.
People thought this was:
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Yes, I may go back because of it's convenient location. However, I have to go against the grain on this one.
Don't get me wrong, I love the decor, and the fire place and the back booths, the beaded back back booth. It's dark, red, black, and at least tried, unlike most places in the EV. The crowd was decidedly less college and more post-college crowd, and people were either fairly normal, or fairly sharp looking, and conversation was congenial and free flowing, with some good tunes in the background.
However, skinny bar area being noted, I can't reason with the prices on this. I just can't. A mug of Stella runs me 6 bucks. A mug.
I don't have a problem with this normally, and this may sound like a dumb reason, but with certain expectations, if I was in the WV, I'd be like, it's expensive and I'll probably go to Kettle of Fish soon, so what the hell, I'll have a mug of beer for 6, sometimes 7 dollars.
But this is the EV. Maybe they are trying to bring something different to the table, with the small-ish plates and steep pricing to keep the hooligans out. But that's kinda what I want from my EV hangouts.
I guess I just have a strict impression, expectation, depending on the area or experience or vibe or all three.
People thought this was:
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Who doesn't like a bar with a fireplace? They're the perfect setting to sip on bourbon and catch up with old friends and or a good book. Shool Breds would be that place if it were located anywhere other than the east village.
The team that brought us Uncle Ming's have struck again with this new east village watering hole. The interior pay homage to Karl Ehmer's finest Rathskeller minus the quality bratwurst, bockwurst or keilbasse and add the EV hipster.
The night I visited was a Friday and their opening night so I reserve the right to with hold a fifth star, but the bartenders were friendly and the bourbon flowed heavily. This place is definitely worth a visit, but I suggest you avoid showing up on the weekends and get there before they get super popular.
People thought this was:
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I wanted to like this place after reading the reviews. Late afternoon, not crowded, actually, only 4 people. The atmosphere is a bit stiff. It looked like something that belongs on the upper east side in my opinion, not the east village. Also, the 4 people who were in there were suit wearing folk and in their 50's. Nothing wrong with that, but not usually the crowd I see at places I like to frequent. I took a quick walk around to check out the place, and yes they do have a working fireplace, which is nice. The bartender seemed very nice, but was pre-occupied with somthing that needed his assistance in the back. One of my least favorite things was a sign on all of the tables saying "reserved for the hot girl I saw on the train today" or something like that. It was a big white tent style sign, and even though I'm pretty sure it was a joke, it's not really very inviting. So between the absence of a bartender, 4 dads at the bar, and strange reserved signs on the tables, I decided to leave. I would guess that a lot of folks will like this place, but it's just not my kind of hang. For German brews and atmosphere, my choice is Zum Schnieder on Avenue C.
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