Ace Bar
531 E 5th St
(between Avenue A & Avenue B)
New York, NY 10009 (212) 979-8476
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Music: Juke Box
- Happy Hour: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: No
- Coat Check: No
62 Reviews for Ace Bar
Friends of mine rented out Ace Bar for their birthday and it was AWESOME. Not that I'm a fan of exclusivity (lie) but the bouncers even made you say a password we all got from the Evite. I thought that was hysterical.
Maybe it was the open bar... maybe it was the skeeball and Buckhunter... maybe it was the Guitar Hero our friend brought and left there... maybe it was the open bar... oh wait, I said that already.... but I had a GREAT time here. Definitely would love to go back.
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This place has pinball, buckhunter (i typed buttfucker before buckuntuer), and skeeball. Pretty badass.
Too bad all of it is 75 cents or 1 dollar. 1 dollar! For skeeball! For real!? For real. Also, gets pretty crowded in here.
If the games were cheaper itd be 4 stars. They do have a sweet 3-d photo of a werewolf or something, thats worth checkin it out.
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Some people can't get drunk and have a good, slurred conversation. No, these drinkers don't want to converse with their friends. They would rather get bombed off $5 Miller Lights and play darts or skeeball or pool. Meat-heads in the East Village, rejoice. You can now drink your American piss-water and flirt with the few ladies (who are so big it's like getting double for your money!) outside the dirty-ass bathroom and lie about what NYU seminar you're in WHILE playing bar games. You lucky, lucky kids.
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It's crowded, noisy, crazy on a Saturday night.
The pool tables are constantly being used, and used well.
Tons of people, super cheap drinks. We're talking $7 for a Ketel 1 and your choice of mixer.
Pretty people, ugly people, tall people, short people...lots of people, lots of cheap booze. And you didn't want to come here because why??
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I really liked this bar. I went on a Friday night for a birthday party and it was my first time there. Definitely very crowded but I enjoyed the cool, diverse crowd.
I loved this place... it's the kind of bar that makes me miss living in New York City. Incredible selection of drinks, lots of comfy seating (including a huge bar and several booths). Pool tables, pinball machines, a few arcade games and a huge collection of antique lunch boxes.
We got sloppy here. And then I got us kicked out. I tried to put a hat on and hide from the guy, but it didn't work. Oh yeah!
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I can't sit around drinking at a bar for long. I get antsy so games are a great way to pass the time. Ace has pool tables, dart boards, skee ball and pin ball machines. Game on!
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Miller Lite on Tap, Skee Ball in Back, Buck Hunter up front. 'Nuff said?
Great dive bar, lots of room for a large party. Apparently, you can have pizza delivered here, um yay.
Only problem...my ML was $4.00, which I feel is pricey for my ghetto beer. Have I become jaded about cheap booze? Probably.
I will be back as I didn't get to partake in skee ball, so y'all better watch out!
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Normal bar in the E. Vill, proximal to Minca (a plus), peopled with hipstrologists (meh, could go either way on that), pretty cute bartenders (schwing), nice selection on tap (inching towards excellence here).
But wait.
SKEE BALL.
That's right. Your paltry averageness just got 4 star'd thanks to your SKEE BALL machine. Venue owners take note!
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This place would be good, but they let way too many people in (to the point where you can't move around at all), plus it seems that most of the patrons are about 17.
I've been here at least 10 times and usually can't stand to stay more than 5 minutes.
Pretty standard East Village bar, which while larger than most doesn't really offer anything else. Lots of gaming going on here, darts, pool, arcade games, so if you're looking for a place to hang out with some friends I guess this would be it, just not exactly my kind of bar.
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People seem to like Ace. It has skee ball, arcade games, darts, pool tables. It has a small but effective selection of beers on tap. The bar is nice. The place is big and there are booths in the back. The lighting is good too.
So why only three stars?
It's because the place is boring.
Sure, if you're a frat guy in your late 20s or early 30s, you are going to like this place. Ace reminds me of the divey college town bars that grew up. As people work and have income, they want to relive their college experience but in a more upscale setting. The place is a frat boy / soriority girl hang out. It's also a sasuage fest with few single people. I could tell that the guys were looking for girls but none of them were willing to actually go talk to someone. Strange that.
Also, there is no lock on the bathroom door. I find that disturbing on several levels.
Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of good here. There are lots of servers and bartenders who have no problem harassing you asking you to buy more drinks. The lighting is good so you know you won't go home with a ugly mcfugly. The music is awful but when are frat kids ever into anything half decent? I really think the heavy metal / rap trend in personal musical taste right now is something that should be restricted to iPods and not broadcasted publicly. If you want to pretend to like twisted sister and public enemy, go nuts but don't assault me with your weird sense of musical trends. Play what's good - not what's trendy.
But I digress.
If you want to relive your college years and you're in your late 20s and you're male, you'll like Ace.
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Went for a friend's Bday Get Together. I'm not a Dive Bar kinda person, considering the last one i went to was Welcome to the Johnson's (yuk). But this place was decent.... and I only say that becuz:
SkeeBall
PinBall Machines
Shoot-the-Deer Arcade Game
Pool
Darts
oh yeah- and the random lunch box display on the wall. It gets VERY crowded in there.. and the music is on full blast. So much so, u really need to SCREAM to talk to someone. Full of college guys and gals. I had a good time... minus the dude who tried to talk to me about living in Brooklyn..... sorry guy, but just because I am brown does't mean i have stereotypical perspectives about white people......
but besides that... go hereif you want :
to get cheap-ish drinks, play some games, and lose your voice the following morning from trying to conversate with people.
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After I learned with dismay that Bouche Bar across the street had been closed, I wandered in here with some friends after seeing a movie at the Pioneer Theater.
The place has a little bit of activities overload going on. There's pinball, two pool tables, darts, Big Buck Hunter, even skeeball! Whew, I'm exhausted just writing this! Methinks they would get a better use of the space by limiting it to only a few of said activities, thus creating a few more places to sit, but that's just my opinion.
Some good beers on draft - I had a Boddington's - and a full bar. Definitely a big, divey, East Villagey kind of place, but therefore, not really my kind of place. But why am I in the east village so often again these days!?
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Yes people, I'm giving this place 5 stars because I LOVE DIVE BARS and Ace Bar is my favorite! So it's loud sometimes. Dive bars are supposed to be loud. So there's a few jerks trying to recapture their frat/sorority days much to everyone else's dismay. Big deal. But that's the beauty of Ace - everyone is welcome!
The first night I ventured into this unknown territory was on a date (cringe!) and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why my suitor would bring a nice girl like me to a place like this. Well, let me tell you, after the first round of drinks and skee ball, I had to hand it to the guy. He was a genius! We laughed, we drank, we skee-balled, we pooled - it was a great date. I fell in love - with Ace, not the guy!
Since then, I have continued to date Ace Bar and have introduced it to many of my closest friends. They all agree it's a perfect match although I suspect there's some cheating going on when I'm not around...
I don't like it when Yelpers take a place and berate it because its not what THEY want.
This bar is doesn't take itself seriously. You come in, see the 3D hologram Werewolf movie poster, skee-ball, pool and darts and instantly realize that this isn't your standard watering hole. Lively East Village crowd ranging from hardcore regulars to first time locals who are relatively harmless don't make this the "bad college bar you went to because your friends were there" at all. I get more of a "I want to go out and drink in a somewhat divey place but I don't want to be bored while doing so." Or "I want to go out and bet a winner-take-all-sex bet over a game of skee ball" type place (smooth move, right?!?!).
Natasha the bartender was awesome. Lots of solid beers on tap (I had a different beer for each of the five pints I ordered last night), all for good prices.
The bathroom is sketchy, though. It's clearly meant to be a one-person-at-a-time bathroom, but there's no lock on the door. Imagine my surprise when I'm taking a piss at the urinal and some guy comes in and just starts pissing at the toilet next to me. Hey, I'm no pee-shy-guy, but still...
Having said that, this is still a solid bar. A dive bar is just a dive bar until you make it more than a dive bar, and they've pulled it off well and given it character. I'm foreseeing a looming 'regular' status for myself at this place in the near future.
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I almost forgot to write about this place, which I literally stumbled upon when travelling between Manitoba's and 3 of Cups during my B-day week in NYC.
After all, how can I NOT love a place called ACE BAR? Are you kidding?
So, I walk up to the joint, and casually announce that my name matches that of the establishment. One of the guys hanging outside turns out to be a barback, and he invites me in to check it out. When I also tell of my B-day, I'm offered a drink as well.
How cool is that?
So, I saunter in, and am immediately floored by the killer collection of lunchboxes. Very impressive indeed.
Then there's the really far out 3-D monster that just leaps out of the frame on the wall. Uber-cool.
Lastly, I noted the skeeball, which was the inspiration for Buckshot in SF to get one. Also nice.
The gang here made me feel welcome, and I was invited to stay for a bit after hours to hang out. That was pretty awesome too.
Next time I'm home, I'll probably do a piece for RCTV. I wanted to do one during my initial stay, but they said they had to get permission from the owner, who's in LA, apparently. They didn't get back to me, and then I had to come back to SF, so maybe next time...
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Ok, so I'd give it 4 stars if it were not for the fight I witnessed here last night. I mean, come on... who the hell fights these days? It wasn't even rambunctious/drunk college kids. Anyhow, I digress... the best way to describe this bar is that it is what it is. It doesn't pretend to be anything other than a kitschy, dive bar with skee ball, darts, pool tables, and of course a 3D werewolf greeting you as you walk in.
It's a fun bar with a good mix (usually) of people. A fun place to have some drinks and shoot the shit as well as some skee ball. Just watch out for the punches flying around.
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I was visiting a friend in NYC, last week and he took me to this place. They had a good selection of beers on tap, but thats not even the half of it. It was just like a rec room. They had 2 pool tables in the back, 2 dart boards, a coupla pinball machines, but the coolest thing was the skee-ball lanes they had. We couldn't even get on them, because there was a league tournament or something. We ended up shooting darts. I don't know of too many bars where a waitress gets your drink of choice when you are shooting darts. But this seems to be the only bar I have encountered where this is the case. I had a blast here. I hope to go back here next time I'm in NYC.
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My friend had us all pile into Ace Bar for her 23rd birthday and it was an absolutely fantastic night.
The bar isn't huge (our friends managed to take over pretty much the entire front section of the bar), but it didn't end up turning into a disgusting sweatfest where you can't get to the bathroom or a bartender without 5 clammy arms and backs touching you.
The drinks are almost too reasonable in price. I'm pretty sure every beer I bought was under $5 and I'm pretty positive I only paid $6 for my friend's birthday Mind Eraser. Can't complain there.
Ace Bar is definitely my type of place. Some days you just don't feel like sitting around, drinking, and talking. Some times you want to dance, other times you want to sing karaoke, and, man, sometimes you want to play effin' Skee Ball. Oh, and look at that, you can. At only a buck a turn, that's well worth the cost too.
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A definite dive bar. Often filled with annoying NYU kiddies.
Go check out the wall of old school lunchboxes. And it's fun to get drunk and play skee ball, pin ball, darts or pool. They allow dogs and I love dogs (probably more than most people).
Best to go during the week, stay away during the weekends.
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This place is fun. Best friend Bates and I come by often for skeeball, where she kicks my ass. Sometimes we will come in the early evening so I can return the favor on the pool table, but usually we stumble in around midnight on a weekend when the rest of the EV scene has become too much and we long for familiar surroundings.
The jukebox is a little obscure, I'm a classic rock and mainstream punk kind of gal, but who really pays attention to the music when you're only 20 points off the skee ball lead!?
The bouncers are great guys, if you stay on their good side...yell a lot outside while smoking and they'll call you names...
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NOT my kind of bar but I definitely had a great time here. It was our last stop after a long Saturday night... we didn't get there til about 2:30 AM. It was packed to the max, filled with belligerently drunk people, and smelled kind of like Down the Hatch on a saturday night.... but there was lots to do besides drink! There are about 4 pool tables in the back and a darts area that no one seems to take advantage of! Besides the fact that playing darts after a long drinking spree may be dangerous, my friends and I put together a little tournament and made it through without serious injuries. And how can I forget the skiball and pinball machines in the front, if this is your thing. Its a very laid back atmosphere, the drinks are cheap, and its a good crowd.
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PINbALL Alert ! ! ! Stop 4...
Thanks to John - Mr. Daytrader/Pinball Player for this spot. ACE has:
Spiderman (see: http://www.ipdb.org/ma... )
The Family Guy (see: http://www.ipdb.org/ma... )
It was essentially dead on a Tuesday night. Only 5-6 patrons in this large space, compared to HiFi, Lucy's, and Vazacs Horseshoe.
Other distractions:
+ 2 Pool Tables in the back
+ 2 Dart Boards in the back
+ 2 Skee Ball Lanes in the Middle
It's a nice space with basketball-like hardwood floors, however, it smelled kinda lockerroom funky in there...
Check out my NYC pinball list here: http://www.yelp.com/li...
Pix laters...
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Its like a game room for adults. I personally did not partake in any of the fun, but if I had I would imagine there to be a bit of a wait - especially for skee ball. That would be my biggest complaint. Other than the games there is a fairly decent selection on tap and as others have mentioned I do appreciate $3 high life's. If I return I would definitely try to take advantage of the games as that is probably Ace Bar's biggest selling point.
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This East Village establishment puts on all 16 pieces of flair to attract crowds seeking more than just an evening of getting hooched up. At the front you'll see a collection of lunch boxes glassed off like a museum exhibit - no touching. In the back, throw down at the dart boards and pool tables. The real star of the bar is the $1 per play, nostalgia satiating skeeball. Jump in for a round or join the skeeball league for Wednesday night competition. Skeeball is a lot of fun, but a little expensive and the machines should really dispense redeemable tickets for cool stuff that adults want like beer, massage coupons, and 401k retirement plans.
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If you're looking for a bar with more than just beer this is a good place to go--with Ski ball, darts, pinball and pool, it's pretty much a billiards paradise and makes active drinking a good time. It can get busy on weekends, and crowded towards the front--but booths are usually available in the back. Watch out for the bathrooms, though, since the scientific labels often mean dumbass dudes end up in the ladies room.
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It's like that really awful bar you went to in college. The one you thought was terrible, but went to anyway because your friends were going and you wanted to hang out. It's like that, except without the appeal of having all your friends there.
Packed to the gills. Too loud to hear anyone at all. People were definitely there looking to hook up, but there would be no basis for that ever happening except a lot of drinks. It's the kind of place where people were just waiting to get drunk enough to maybe take someone home.
I got a really bad vibe from this place.
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This is an okay place to wind up after a drink of drinking when you're too wasted to realize how lame it is, or how tacky the guys are that frequent the place. I sat down at a sticky table in the back with my girlfriends and was hit on by weirdo after weirdo who didn't get the hint that we weren't there to pick up frat guys.
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ace bar is a lot of fun. i didnt get to stay too long (and ive only been once) but i felt compelled to write this review after a friend so eagerly brought us here. this bar has darts, pool, skee ball, big buck hunter, pin ball etc--. there is a scary hologram poster of a warewolf/bear thing, which i didnt love, but hey it probably gets people talking (im talking about it... sooo case and point)
i didnt get to play the games yet, but you can win free beers at skee ball so i'm likely to return. we got there early, at 9:30ish (i think) and we got a table which was really nice, but even if you dont score a seat you wont care. they have awesome deals on all their beers (including yuengling on tap for $4) you wont care where you are as long as you can get to the bar.
ambiance is cool--there is a whole wall dedicated to vintage lunch boxes. points for originality, right? good music for the most part--although i did hear the same amy winehouse song 3 times in a matter of an hour and a half. bottom line, VERY excited to go back
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Hmmmm, what to say about Ace bar? Gotta love the skee ball. Why does everybody love the skee ball? Well, I enjoyed myself, but skee ball in and of itself does not endear a bar to me...so it must have been the company :) BTW, bartender didn't seem to know what went into a lemon drop...but was happy to "fix" it for me. http://www.bardrinks.c...
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I love this bar, but the nights are hit or miss. Its got a great punk/biker crowd some nights, and then some nights its curiously filled with more button down shirt types. The skee ball is great addition (also remember it pre-skee), and the beers are cheap. good for groups, sometimes its really dead, and sometimes its packed to annoying levels. Hit or miss, it never hurts to stop in for a drink and see if the vibe is good. The jukebox tries to keep up with a few newer records, but at least its never dull and has a few good albums always up.
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It's divey, beer is reasonably priced, and they have skeeball. Minus one star for not being across the street from me.
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Been here twice...and both occasions were not really very fun. I can't blame the company, so that only leaves blame for Ace Bar. While all the games (darts, pool, skeeball) are kind of cool...the space is weird as if the place is stretched out, but the bar area takes up such a small part of it. That makes it a little hard to get a drink. The clientele is young...college-aged to post-graduate, except for this one weird older hippie guy who always seems to be hanging around the pool tables. Oh, and it's always freezing inside. I probably won't be back to Ace Bar anytime soon.
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At first glance Ace seems like your typical college, post-college bar. It's got 2 pool tables, 2 dart boards, 2 skee ball games, 2 pin-ball machines, and 1 fantastic game of Buck Hunter Pro. Any bar that carries Buck Hunter gets a rave review from myself, but as for Ace, you reeeeeallllly gotta love Skee Ball to call Ace "your" bar. $3 pabst and hi-life's are the old standby's. Crowd seemed to be young, college aged and post grad with a good mix of dirty t-shirts and button downs. It's a big, open bar with lots of room for the games. I dug it, and will be back. 3 stars b/c they make you pay every single time for Skee Ball. They really should work out a deal so you can play more and pay less.
This is where the MAGIC HAPPENS.
And by MAGIC, I mean SKEEBALL.
Aside from the sheer awesomeness of two regulation skeeball lanes, the bar is a great spot to kick it with your crew. Just skip it on Saturdays 'coz its a nuthouse. PBR on tap, along w/ a solid selection of beers, cider, bottles of all kinds, etc...not too shabby...but what's up w/ the Duff beer can they have on display? Can you actually buy Duff beer?!?!
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I will do anything for anyone who can help me obtain a version of the werewolf hologram poster in Ace Bar - the one that says "He Only Comes Out At Night".
I used to go here when I first moved to NYC 5 years ago - pre-skee. Since the skee it's gotten a little hectic - balls are flying everywhere all of the time. I mean, the skee makes people a little crazy. It's like crack - but way more expensive.
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Located in alphabet city, ACE is a low-key bar if you want to just kick back with a few friends. Optimal for a Thursday night or a lazy Friday night, this place had not disappointed me of all the times I've went.
There is a little of everything for everybody at the ACE bar -- darts, skeet ball (YESSSSS), pool tables, and the obligatory big buck hunter, oh my oh my... As a social derelict, I've also took advantage of their draft specials on numerous occasions. The bartender is very friendly and I am fond of their potent mixology. What also keeps me coming back is the dart board and the skeet ball machines. Make a high score on skeet ball and the next drink is on the house. Ballllinnnn...
If you ever find yourself bored on a weeknight and itch to go out, grab a few friends and head to ACE bar. Adventure awaits.
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Ace can get crowded on weekends making it impossible to have a conversation, get a drink or play some Skee. It can be fun on off nights, but the crowd plays a large part in this bar's charm. I've been there when people are hopping around the bar and having a fun time and I've also been there on the elbow popping, drink spilling nights. This is the kind of bar you can get a read on from the first minute you walk in the door. Drinker beware, hopefully you'll find your good time as the wooden balls clank, clank, k k k k and the scoreboard numbers do a dance before you send your offering to the Skee gods of Ace.
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Darts, skeeball, a relaxed atmosphere, pool tables, fun decor, and cheap booze make Ace Bar a nice hangout. Often crowded, but not TOO crowded. Clean bathrooms and friendly bartenders a plus.
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