Skeeball, darts, AND a Jack Bauer pinball machine? Ace Bar, I'm calling you home. read more

Fun place! Came here on a saturday night around 12am and it was busy as I expect most popular bars in the east village to me. Skee-ball, pool tables, darts, pin ball machines, fun juke box, nothing much else to say that other reviews haven't said already! Generally pretty fun bar to hang out with friends. Pretty good crowd, mostly young looking girls and guys just looking to chill. The bar was insanely crowded and it took us 5-10 min of waiting just to get a bartender's attention. Good prices w/ beers. Will definitely come back in the future when it's less crowded! read more

The good- drinks were rather cheap and strong, they have skee-ball, rather large place The bad- don't get there too late because it gets so packed...like you can't walk it is that full. I felt like I was transported back to college and was at a frat party. I think when I was at ACE there were about 3 parties going on there...ugh The ugly- the Christmas lights around the front window were up against a heating pipe and a pile of coats. My friends and I stopped a fire right before it almost started. YIKES! read more

Was here on Sunday afternoon to get a fix for my latest addiction - PINBALL Spiderman, and a very new (in pinball terms) homage to Heath Ledger in the form of a Batman game. Both in very good condition, and right up front, not in the back near the bathroom where most bars have them. Points for the lunchbox collection. I'm not a fan of college students or anything that says "bro". I was really only interested in playing some pinball, and Ace delivered. Although, I'm not sure this is where I would go on a Saturday night, but weeknight or daytime drinking here is fun. The bartender took her sweet time making my bloody mary, but it was good. read more

A really fun little dive bar with games. It has darts ski ball pool and air hockey. The decor is vintage and has a wall of all vintage metal lunch boxes! Not super big inside but fun with the right group of people. Good for groups and to hang with the boys! Cheaper drinks and has seltzer's available read more

"Hidden spot, like an ace up your sleeve" Play this bar when you are worried about taking a group of people out and satisfying them all. Honestly this place is a blast, but for some it could embody a weird Meatpacking potential that turns you off. Poker games with the Golden Girls might be more your speed. Do not confuse with Dave and Busters either. The staff was so sweet, I think I also had the same girl that called Evan G. handsome. (you're not the only one :) ) Pool table, pinball and other game accoutrement. Place is bigger than it seems. Skee ball. is. amazing. Booths in the front that are large enough for a 10 person group. Great place to go after work. Patrons are a bit snotty and have a sense of entitlement which was dumb for the type of place it is. It's not as "fancy" as others make it feel. It's a bar close to brooklyn with games. 'Nuff said. read more

Fun, small bar with no cover or line. Darts, pinball machines, Buck Hunter & the best part: SKEEBALL make Ace a cool place. Didn't have any food but it's a fun place to have a drink with friends. read more

Skee Ball! Pinball! Beers! I like this place already. A little off the beaten path for me, but a neat place. The bartenders were really nice and made a great drink. It's a dive. A happy, brightly lit dive. There are some really excellent neon signs. The lightbulb martini one is my favorite. We came here for a surprise party for a good friend. They were super accommodating. We called ahead and they reserved a huge booth in the back for us and made sure a waitress took special care of us. Very much appreciated on a busy Saturday night. read more

The day I discovered Ace Bar was a good day. I've been there on a Sunday late afternoon with 5 people in total at the bar and I've been there on Friday evenings with 80+ people and every time it's enjoyable. The decor and vibe is definitely what makes it memorable. Darts, a pool table, skee ball and what they describe as "nostalgic decor" allows Ace Bar to be a place I can rely on to have fun and hang out with friends. The drinks in Manhattan bars including those around Alphabet City tend to be a bit pricey, but Ace Bar manages to have several drink options that make going out affordable and leaving you NOT cringing when you see your credit card statement. Snag some PBR or Miller High Life for a mere $3 or a well drink for $6 and you will not be disappointed! read more

Ace is very much a guys bar with PBR on tap and pool tables in the back. The thing that hooked me was the Skee-ball! It brought me back to my early teen days of being dropped off at Family Fun Center. Except this machine didn't spit out tickets. 3 beers and a gin/tonic came to $14! That's insanely cheap anywhere, let alone NYC. The place got pretty crowded on Saturday night, but I wasn't surprised. If anyone knows San Francisco at all...just think of Bar None in the Marina. Swap beer pong for skee ball. read more

Okay, well, clearly Ace has changed. Or, I've changed. Whatever. I went back there this summer after an admittedly long hiatus and was a little disturbed. The crowd there has always been a little erm, annoying, but I always could look past it to the cheap beer, (yay!) & the amusingness. Sadly, I think I've gotten to the point where I am less amused by the crowd and more into the I-can-drink-for-cheaper-somewhere-where-I-don't-want-to-kill-everyone. read more

I remember stumbling into this place twenty years ago. I'm so happy it's still around. Great place for a first date. It's like a playground for adults. Little disappointed that the pool table was crowed on a Thursday night. Also upset that bartender took my half full drink. However, all was made up with the Rolling Stone pinball machine and skee ball. read more

Ace Bar is aces. Now that the puns are out of the way...awesome local spot. There's plenty of places to go in the village, but there are only a few I'd make a point of going to. It's in a more residential part of the village, so it's quieter and not as suffocating as the rest of it. Cool, low-key vibe inside, decent beer selection and the prices are cheap. They also have skee-ball and darts, so if you're not sold already, that should do it. Haven't had the food yet, so this isn't a true bar review, but the service was exceptional. Fast, polite bartenders that definitely earned their tips. I was actually shocked at how fast they got to me. I'm a dude, I'm not used to being served quickly at bars. This is what girls get? It's awesome! Bathrooms were also pretty clean, considering. Totally recommend this place. 5/5 read more

This was my second time at this bar and overall it's pretty good. Went this past Saturday night with a group of 5 other people and although it was a little packed we had fun. The place is very spacious and they have a good amount of seating all around and hooks to hang your stuff if you'd like. The back section has a few TVs and cool games including arcades, darts, and 2 pool tables. The guys had to wait a while for one of the pool tables but that was understandable given the volume of people. The bar was packed but it didn't take long for us to get drinks. The bartender was nice and the drinks are fairly priced I only paid $14 for a Jack and Coke and a beer - I'm not sure if they were having some type of special. They have a waitress going around taking people's orders if you're feeling lazy. Just be mindful to bring cash for the games and drinks because they don't take cards if the balance is less than $40. read more

Ace Bar - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

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Blah. Tap list was long and boring: mostly bland East Coast micros, unless you I wanted to pay $9 for a Duvel. Service was ok, no problems there. The music was very loud. Had it been a packed bar, I'd have written off to the unfortunate state of the NYC bar scene. But, as it was dead empty, it seemed to me like a tragically bad call on the ambiance. Pinball machines were nice to see. read more

My boyfriend and I reserved a table in the back part of the bar for his 26th birthday. They were very nice and helpful on the phone, however, when we arrived they moved us to the front booth because apparently someone with a slightly larger party wanted the back table. That is not how reservations work. Don't guarantee we can have a certain table, if you are just going to give it to someone else. We specifically asked for the back table because my boyfriend loves playing pool and wanted to be able to play and talk with his friends. While expressing our frustrations with the bartender who directed us to our new table, he basically gave us the attitude of "tough shit, get over it". Really disappointed with their reservation strategy and we would have appreciated a heads up that we could no longer have our requested table, because we would have definitely gone somewhere else. read more

The drinks were cheap for the city and the place isn't very full on weekdays. Best to go during happy hour. The staff and bartenders were very nice in assisting us. I didnt have an exact drink order but the bartender was nice and patient with it. He made a custom made drink and charged only $9! There were lots of games. They had 2 pool tables, skeeball, darts, and 2 other arcade games. read more

This place was super fun, definitely seen many years of wear and tear but it does provide a bit of dive bar charm. It gets a little tight in the back because of the pool tables and skee ball setup but if your there to play some skee ball or join a skee-ball league this is your place. Or want a beer at an off time it's a fun place for a few drinks and play some games. Wish they had some skee-ball deal like buy a pitcher and get a game or two on us. But I may be asking for too much. read more

The other day myself and my life partner were looking for a place in the East Village to have a few cool ones and play some pinball. Ace Bar delivered the goods. As soon as we stepped in the joint it was good times. Old school rock, cool crowd, good selection of booze...just what we were after. It maintains the feel of a dive bar, but unlike some other gritty watering holes, you never have the fear that you may get stabbed. Such a desired balance is hard to come by! The beers aren't too exxy, between $4 - $6 each, and we found the staff to be super friendly. The manager was a legend and shouted us a couple of beers! Thanks dude! We went again on a Friday night and it was packed with good peoples, so it looks like it's the kind of place you can either have a few quiet frosty ones or turn it up a notch and get loose. The only complaint I have is with the '24' pinball. That shit is hard! Stick to the Rolling Stones pinnie, they're cooler than Kiefer Sutherland anyway...well Kiefer in '24', not 'The Lost Boys'. read more

After having what would have been a pretty good night, the service staff (not the bartenders) really killed "Ace Bar" for my friends and I. Foul language and getting aggressive with females is never okay. The guy who picks up your empty glasses had some anger issues the entire night and it is completely inappropriate to take that out on customers. There is a right way and a wrong way to treat paying customers. All in all, there are many other bars in the neighborhood who will happily take your money and serve your beer with a smile. The games are a nice novelty but after the giant crowd sets in, you can't even get close to them. A game of Skee-Ball is hardly worth watching your friends get disrespected. read more

Had a corporate event at Ace bar and it was a great space! We had the back area reserved for 30 people and the bartender Adam and management were very attentive! Highly recommend!!! read more

Terrible service, they lost my debit card from my tab and were 20 mins late on my birthday reservation. Host was unprofessional and blubbering and overall horrible experience read more

Ace Bar - Bars Near Me - New York, New York

Ace is the place, drinks are strong, the bartenders are hot and fresh, and there's skeet ball. Plus pool in the back. It's big and long, just like, um, never mind, but it's spacious so there's room for a ton of fun people. It never seems too busy, another good quality in my mind. The larger than life 3D Werewolf photo is one of my favorite things in the whole world. read more

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. read more

The bar itself? Just fine. Cheap drinks, kitschy decor, and who doesn't like Skeeball? (Though the musclebound barback pushing me out of the way every ten minutes didn't help the vibe.) The crowd, however: that's a different story. Sitting from my booth, I could see nothing but a sea of stocky bodies in ironed button-downs, untucked atop khaki shorts. Now, if that sounds good to you, you've found your place. But if you're more like me, you're thinking, "Wait, when did this dive bar turn into the consolation party for Ryan Lochte look-alike rejects?" Now, I'm sure these are all worthwhile people, racked with hopes and dreams and fears like the rest of us, but when a big dude tells little ol' me to get out of the way of his pool shot, and then misses the shot, like, eight times, that just ruins my evening. (And don't get me started on the girls who can't even hit the cue ball and then collapse into a fit of giggles because "OMG it's cute when girls can't do things!") All in all, my review boils down to three things: there was tennis playing on the television, Smashmouth playing on the jukebox, and no good people-watching. read more

This place is amazing. Skee ball, darts, pinball mixed with reasonably priced drinks and a decent jukebox (not the greatest selection, but $1 will get you 4 songs) I'm in heaven. Though crowded on Friday night - definitely not cramped. Though the majority of people seemed to congregate at the front of the establishment, there was plenty of space to stand around in the back. I could have spent all night dropping dollar bills into the skee ball machine - definitely a classic. Ace is definitely on my list of places to go back to. read more

Gambling on skeeball and alcohol fit together as well as porn stars and cocaine. Winning. While it can be really crowded on certain nights, Ace is the only place I know of with skeeball. If you're not in the mood for that, there's always pool, pin ball, and darts. Not a really exciting place, but at least your fix of being a kid again at Chuck E. Cheese. read more

Had a f***kin blast tonight!! Seamus and Joanne were amazing!!! And Stevie was making sure everyone was doing great!!! These guys are so fun!!! I love Ace bar and no one can knock me off the dartboard!! read more

1. Bring singles and be prepared to spend it all on skee ball. High score - 250. Beat that ;) 2. Call me superficial, but there was a pretty attractive crowd. I think that matters. 3. They had drink specials AND games. Score. Darts, pool table, etc. 4. Great place for groups, large parties. Didn't seem too crowded. I liked this place and I think you will too. read more

"I Love This Bar" is not only the title of one of my favorite country songs, it also describes my feelings about the Ace Bar quite adequately. It's an arcade bar, of sorts. Perfect for large groups with a wide variety of entertainment. Pool, darts pinball machines and skeeball. Yes! You read that correctly! I said SKEEBALL! I almost flipped out when I saw that but I digress. Plenty of seating at the bar and tables. They even have booths where a group of friends can cram into and slam back some pints. Moreover, the place is pretty spacious so, even when packed to capacity, you're not bumping into everyone. Add to that, excellent service. I was remembered almost immediately by the bartender (Sandra) from my previous visit. Mind you, my prior visit was in the summertime. The bouncer checking IDs tells me that they may, on occasion, get young people in there bordering on the legal drinking age but the same can be said about almost any bar in NYC. Their only real downside is that damned jukebox. It's one of those touch screen ones but it isn't connected to the internet. Totally understandable to me as any bar owner(s) have the right to the type of music played in their bars. However, if that be the case and I cannot download songs I want to hear, at the very least update the songs a bit more frequently. All of those jukeboxes store information on songs people that have put money in wanted to hear. I mean, there's only SO many times one can hear Kid Rock on the jukebox without wanting to slam one's head into the bar! Just saying. Aside from that, I loved it there. I might even throw my next B-Day party there in the fall. read more

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! read more

Let me preface this review with saying that this is my first 5 star review, so this place couldn't get much better. Where to begin with the awesomeness of this bar? My friends and I went here for my birthday, and what a great choice! We got there pretty early at 9:00 on a Saturday, which was perfect because we got our skeeball on before it got too crowded. Once 10:00 rolled around, the front room got crowded, but not so much that you couldn't get to the bar. The beer menu on the wall with all the prices is also very helpful. Very affordable too! After countless skeeball games, we moved on to the back room for darts and pool. Didn't have to wait long at all for a table, and it didn't get crowded back there. The music selection on the juke box was terrific too. All in all, a terrific experience. I may have found my new favorite bar. read more

Came in to the establishment with my friends for a relaxing friday. Came in expecting to play darts and the group there did not want to leave. Asked the bouncers/bartenders for assistance but in turn they said first come first serve and it's fine for them to stay. Do not expect to have a decent time for what is offered. Very biased with local community. Do not expect to enjoy the darts/pool/ski ball for an entertaining atmosphere. Completely understand the first come first serve rules and respect it. My concerns was once someone is there, they can choose to stay there the whole night if they please. Even after patiently waiting and asking if i can get on next, I was rejected the opportunity. I hope i get the same treatment next time. Thanks! read more

The Skeeball: 4 stars The seating/decor/vibe: 4 stars The staff: 2 stars I played skeeball here this winter and it was a great time. I was hesitant to do it again at this bar for a couple reasons. First, they don't have any food (but there are some tasty spots in the area). Second, the bartenders are generally in bad moods and not very friendly. read more

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... read more

Love the staff. The waitresses are sweethearts. Ace Bar is a summer bar, attracting less of a crowd. Any bar is a pain when it's crowded so all the reviews I'm reading decrying Ace as horrific are pointless .. The jukebox has Slayer and Kraftwerk .. The drinks are cheap .. Ace is a fun place if you aren't a sad sap wet blanket .. read more

This bar is fun. The decor is great, especially the wall of vintage lunchboxes and the 3D poster of a werewolf. Random? Yes. But I'm not complaining. Beer prices are on the cheap side. PBR and Miller are just 3 bucks and my personal favorite, Yuengling, is just 4. Everything else is 6 bucks. They have two pool tables, two dart boards, and skee ball. People complain that at 1 dollar, skeeball is just too expensive to even play, but I ask you: why play skeeball at all when you can play...wait for it...BUCK HUNTER! Yes, Buck Hunter, no bar is complete without one. Chicks dig guys with plastic toy guns. It's addicting as hell. I went Saturday night. At 9pm, place was still on the quiet side. An hour later, it was packed which makes getting a drink hard sometimes, but luckily they do have waitresses walking around taking drink orders. It's just that, with the crowd, it also takes the waitresses awhile to get back to you. But it's all good. Use the extra few minutes to sober up a bit. Fun place and will definitely be back again. read more

Ace bar is a diver, college bar. I would say you come to this bar if your looking for something simple, your with a group and you want to play darts, pool and any number of other bar games. Depending on the time of night and the day of the week, it can be a bar that tries to be a club, which can be a bit much. I have been here twice now and both times I have had an alright time. The crowd fluctuates throughout the night so sometimes there are plenty of tables and space and other times its a little crazy. The bar is stocked with beer and liquor for well drinks. I love that they have skee ball and pinball machines! read more

I really like this place. It's big. Has skeeball, pool, and dart boards. There's also this crazy hologram poster near the front too. Lots of beers to choose from and plenty of room for big groups. It's basically a dive bar without the creepy old dudes. read more

Skeeball, Pinball, Pool Table, Buck Hunter, Darts, Board Games, drink specials, shots, wide open spaces... what more could you ask for in a bar?? read more