I love it here and I'm not even a beer drinker (thankfully, they serve cider and don't sneer too much when I order it). I love the low-key atmosphere and the outdoor area (patio? garden? deck? courtyard? what exactly is it?). Oh, and the resident bar cat (who does not, as we learned, particularly enjoy being picked up). The bathrooms are teeny-tiny and the swinging saloon doors on the two mini-stalls don't lock, so you either have to hold them shut or just hope that no one barges in on you. This place gets REALLY crowded and it can take a while to get your drinks, so I recommend going on a weeknight and getting there early, especially if you're getting together with a group. Claim a table in the back and go get your drinks 2 at a time! read more

If you don't know the bartenders, the service can be pretty slow when a but crowded. but i've had a lot of good, drunk nights at d.b.a. Great beer selection, bottle and draft. their bathrooms are disgusting, but i just pretend they're fine. besides, after a certain number of pints it doesn't matter anymore. :) read more

d.b.a. is what dive bars strive to be when they grow up. the lower east side is where you would go to get away from the new york hipsters but it seems over the last few years its become a 'destination' notwithstanding the yuppiefication of the lower east, d.b.a. remains a great dive bar. tradition has it that if you toss a coin into trevi fountain you will return to rome, well I say if you have a craft beer at d.b.a. you will return for another. for all the years i've been going to NYC i make an effort to stop in even for just a pint (ok, two) its my good luck charm that i will return again. d.b.a. is great in the winter to get away from the cold and try the barley wines or in the summer out in the beer garden having a Paulener Hefe Weizen. They sell more than beer, they have a top shelf of single malts, rums and you name the spirit they have it. If you like this place check out Alembic in SF (see my review) read more

BEER and WHISKEY and EVERYTHING else, GALORE! They don't even have enough chalkboard space to put how many types of alcohol they had, I had to squint to see the small print...but then WOW, I was amazed with their selection! ....for me to actually see what I was ordering after a few shots was pretty amazing already, but to actually read the small print was pretty crazy! Boddingtons! That's the only thing I remember calling out to the bartender...it was A-OK! The space was ok, nothing special with the decor but the alcohol selection was definitely the highlight. read more

What makes or breaks a bar is the service and the decor. Unless you''re employing a great mixologist - liquor is liquor and beer is beer. I hardly order cocktails unless I'm going to a place that specializes in cocktails. That being said it wouldn't matter if it's a monkey or man that pours my drink because why would it? The drink itself would come out no different. What does make the difference - and requires a person rather than some kind of primate is the customer service. First, some context and a bit on decor. We arrived at DBA on a saturday. It was around 6 PM. The place was busy as it was a nice day out. The bar was packed and the garden out back was full. Beautiful east village people abound. The interior was nothing special. It was dark, there was wood. The garden had a tree or two and the ground was covered in gravel. The seating was all plastic chairs and lawn furniture. The 'fun' area seemed to be the greenhouse which you had to go through to get to the garden. The 'greenhouse' was a glass encased out door area which had a couple of long bench/tables and people there celebrating and being merry. There were two dogs running about - so yay for being dog friendly! Now everything seems perfect and nice so here is why i bitch. There was only one bartender at this huge bar full of people. Its great that this bartender will make tons of money because shes the only one serving but its shit for the patrons of the bar. It's shit because you stand there waiting to get a pint on a saturday afternoon for 15 minutes or so because they're understaffed. its shit because you dont get the attention of your bartender because its packed all the way up and down the bar. its shit because the bartender who's working their brains out stressed is not offering a high level of customer service due to the fact that shes the only one attending to everyones needs. and its shit because you have three bar backs restocking the bar and only one bartender actually putting drinks in peoples hands. I will not say our bartender was not nice. She was a professional and did her job. Am I happy that it took us 15 minutes before the bartender could come over and ask us our drinks? No. Not at all. This was poor management - do us all a favor and get another bartender for nice sunny saturday afternoons! read more

d.b.a. is a great bar for beer snobs. It is the only bar I've seen with hand-drawn beer. Okay, so I didn't like hand-drawn beer at all (I now fully understand why this method was abandoned for modern carbonation methods,) but the fact that it was available really impressed me. I'd just like to know what d.b.a. stands for. read more

There was one bartender on an extremely busy Saturday and the service was painfully slow. It wasn't because HE was slow, it just was impossible to serve that many people, collect and clean glasses and cash people out in a timely fashion. It was one of those super warm, sunny winter days where people rejoice at the weather and come out in droves. I am still giving four stars because 1)he was doing his best 2)there were so many dogs in the bar that I almost screamed out of cute overload 3)the outdoor space is great 4)great beer selection. This is a great place to go on a sunny weekend day drinking extravaganza, and I assume they will have more staff when the weather is nicer. read more

Killer selection and outside area which is a great place to lounge on a hot Thursday evening after work...here's the thing, it's the first and only place that I found that served up Arrogant Bastard Ale in New York. This is not a beer for the timid. It is heady and full of character, and can only be found out to be true, once you reach the bottom of the glass. If you get it, you get it. So d.b.a. gets the five stars for not just catering Stellas and Coronas to those who can't tell the difference, they serve beer. Oh, and for you Corona drinkers...try a Negra Modelo, Bohemia, Carta Blanca, or a Tecate. There are good Mexican beers. read more

Disregarding that I somehow always manage to leave this place smashed, this place is perfect for the attention-deficit and/or picky drinker with its impressively global array of beers, wines, tequilas, and scotches. They often seem to be out of the Canadian brews I keep stubbornly ordering, but my recent request for the sold-out "Ephemere" (an apple-flavored ale) was met with a suggestion for the Belgian "pomme"-flavored lambic instead. Framboise, peche, kriek, yes, but who knew that they made that lambic in pomme? Add in the fact that my friend was able to find a bacon (yes, bacon) flavored beer that she hadn't seen anywhere outside of Germany, and you have a winner. read more

dba New Orleans was one of my favorite places and dba EV is no different. From a fantastic rotating beer menu to....wait let's go back to the beer menu. No it doesn't have 100 taps or the most obscure brews, but dba had a well-curated list of staple and seasonal beers that would make any beer lover happy. Dimly lit, but the seats are great if you can snag one, but let's be real unless it's January you need to hie yourself tot her back porch. Sit back, enjoy a beer and give Maggie the bar cat a scratch under the chin for me. read more

Came for a friend's bday party on Sunday afternoon in the back garden & had a pretty good time. Atmosphere was very chill & it probably helped that the weather was amazing! Beer was...well, beer. But nothing wrong with that! Selection was not too bad & some unique options.... My only complaint would go to the man behind me puffing smoke circles downwind from our table. Other than that, DBA was cool & I would recommend it if you are looking for a chill spot to drink outside. Not sure how the nighttime scene works but was fun for a late afternoon! read more

Grrreat beers!!! Very local, laid back, as cool as it gets. The space is smallish in front but opens up in the back, and I would love to come back to visit the back garden when the weather is warmer. They also had a Oscar viewing party but I didn't get to go. Is it any good?? Nothing too special but definitely has its unique points and would love to explore more. Has the potential to become the ultimate local hangout if you live nearby. read more

Very nice chill spot on a Thursday evening. The weather was holding up so we hung out in the back yard. Good happy hour special until 9pm.

Happy pickleback!* Start your night here, drunk and cheap. Treated us quite well *I mean, happy birthday justine! read more

I'm not really a Yelp review guy, but d.b.a. and its staff have been so kind to me that it's inspired me to write a few in order to celebrate the excellent service I've recieved. I have continuously been charmed by the generous spirit of this bar. A couple times a week I head over with my puppy Tigg to visit the great crew of bartenders that work there. Everyone took the time to learn and remember my name, my dog's name, and the names of any friends I've brought along more than once. The entire staff is great, but if I can, I'd like to single out Dougie, their barback/porter (???). He's kind to a fault, funny, and has made a point of making me and guests feel very welcome. Additionally they have a great drink selection (particularly beer), and a great patio space. I've never bothered to become a regular anywhere else before, but this place feels like a real community. It makes it worth visiting. If you see me there, say hi (though I'm fully aware that you just want to say hi to my dog. It's cool. She's the best.) read more

This was the situation: pub crawl tickets, d.b.a. was on the list. my friend and i walk in on a monday night and try to get the bartender's attention. they didn't even try to make eye contact with anyone at the bar. the bartender finally makes eye contact with the guy next to me, helps him and then ignores me and walks away. i understand when bartenders get busy but i was also aware of when i arrived at the bar compared to the other patrons, so it was definitely my turn to order. i generally would have left immediately after this took place but stayed because we had a free beer there, why not? my friend eventually gets us beers and the bartenders act like they were doing us a favor by giving us a beer. we tipped because it is only polite. not only would i say never go to this bar, but merely because the bartenders were so incredibly rude would i say actively tell your friends not to go to this bar. there are better places to drink in nyc - don't waste your time or money and give it people who suck. read more

I used to frequent this place on Friday and Saturday nights, but I found the place to be just a little too crowded. I find that Sunday afternoons are the best times to go to dba. Sacha, the bartender whips up some fabulous Bloody Marys and Stigglyosas (A champagne cocktail with lime juice...quite delicious) The bar offers free bagels with cream cheese and lox on Sundays. Monday evenings are a good time to go, as well because they give you free cheese to go with your drink. They have a very good selection of bottle beer, mainly imports and Belgians and they have approximately 15 taps and 2 hand pumps. Out of the 15 taps 5 of them tend to be the usual standards for that place--O'Hara's Celtic Stout, Fuller's ESB, Belhaven Scottish, Old Speckled Hen, and Jever Pilsner...the rest of them rotate somewhat frequently, or infrequently depending on public consumption. All the beers are dated, meaning that they will post the date when the keg was tapped. I've been going to dba since the mid 1990s and along with the Blind Tiger Ale House in the West Village and The Hop Devil Grill over on St. Mark's Place, it makes for a great pub crawl for good beer. read more

My main complaint is that the bartender kept telling me and my friends to hang on and that he'd serve us in a minute while he proceeded to take drink orders from people who arrived after us. He even took the drink order from one of our FRIENDS who was adding her drink to our TAB. I looked at my friend and said you have to be KIDDING me and she suggested that maybe he was just messing with us. Sigh. I felt like the bartender was too rushed for me to ask him about the beers on tap and so I had my friend suggest something she thought I would like. It was good but nothing impressive. We only stayed for one or two drinks and then moved on to karaoke for the rest of the night. It's too bad I didn't like this place more since it seems like it could be good for trying out different beers. read more

every time I've gone dba has been seriously overcrowded, which is great for them but belies the sloe and sometimes witless service...many of the bartenders are wispy tatooed skinny pretties who can't tell an ale from a lager; that said, there are at times some worthy labels here, though the other drawback is hefty overpricing...sometimes ridiculously so. Very good food choices, though. read more

Awful Bartending service. Very slow and unprofessional(clearly drunk at 2pm). Saw many people leave the bar due to this.

I've been meaning to review d.b.a. for a long time, but I keep putting it off. I am actually surprised at the negative reviews for this place. I don't know exactly what people are expecting from a bar that specializes in beer other than...just that. A lot of people must have been hoping to see grungy celebrities in here or something, or have the beer taste like nectar of the gods. Anyway, it IS just a bar, but a bar that I keep going back to when in the area. I admit, it is a little over-hyped, but for what it is, it's great. I've gone here on a first date; when meeting old friends; and also on the 4th of July, to name a few. Each time, the experience was pretty much the same. They have plenty of beers from different countries, dim lighting, a line for the bathroom, and your fair share of people looking like they just rolled out of bed. Plus, they have a great patio. read more

To Ed H. You are what you drink. HA! Great selection of beers and nice little back area outside for after-work beers with your buddies. read more

I enjoyed d.b.a., along with the rest of the East Village, apparently, since there was no walking/breathing/standing room in most of the bar on a Saturday night. Obviously bars are crowded on a Saturday, but d.b.a. doesn't have the reasonable prices to make me suck it up. They have a great beer/whiskey selection but I guess I'm giving this place 3 stars because I was expecting a friendly dive bar from its vibe, but got smacked when I closed out my tab. read more

Came here after hitting 3 other spots and once again, it did its job. Job = keeping the buzz/fun/convo going with a non-trite beer selection. One thing that stood out this go-around, even in a drunken haze, was that the "bouncer" looked like Kid Rock meets K-Fed: complete with wife-beater t-shirt, cowboy hat, and 150lbs.... This place is on permanent rotation, so having a good time was no surprise. read more

Thank you, d.b.a,. for providing me with an appropriate post-birthday hangover. Was this place great for a group of 15+ people? Not necessarily, unless you stake out a spot in the back. But the beer selection more than made up for it. d.b.a. is a super cool East Village bar that may lose its charm on those who are not big fans of beer or whiskey. 50+ beers in bottles (although they were out of a few) and several quality brews on tap (along with tap dates on the blackboard). Wednesday was a perfect evening there as it wasn't too crowded. My only complaint was the service. At times, it took 10min to get the guy's attention despite there not being a ton of people belly-up to the bar. And there definitely wasn't "service with a smile". I kind of felt like I was bugging the guy when I ordered a beer which just made it a little awkward. Aside from that, great place to appreciate good beer with good people. read more

"...the odor of piss wafting in from the outdoor jakes where many a man puked up his week's wages." Oh wait, that's an opening line from Frank McCourt's brilliant book Angela's Ashes, not a reference to the bathroom at Dba. OK, not quite 100% true, but a bathroom truly in the top 10% of gross bathrooms in the city. The bottoms of my shoes wouldn't lie to you. That said, the drink menu here is pretty remarkable, the reason I came. Specifically I was relying on a recommendation from Jeffrey Steingarten's now 16 yr. old book The Man Who Ate Everything. I'd stayed in this neighborhood many times, walked right by this watering hole and never noticed it. Happy to say all these years after he's still right. Good selection, although I came really for single malts and found them to be pretty much what everyone else offers. So here's the thing. This is your classic dark, dark, kind of watering hole. If you want to disappear and relax during the day, it can be accomplished here. There's also a covered outdoor patio in the back but on a 30 degree night I opted for a seat at the bar with Mr. Semi-Surly, unfriendly bartender. Pint of Old Speckled Hen from England, why yes, that'll do just fine. If you're looking for engagement with staff, move on. It's not here. If you're looking for a wide selection of beers from all over on tap, good choice, as it is for the spirits. Can't say I'd stop in again but it was an interesting experience. Proper neighborhood watering hole but not a destination in my opinion. read more

d.b.a??? Lets see.... Don't. Bother.Annoying Depressed Bartender Attending D minus Bar Attendant Drink Before the Afterlife? I could keep going. This bar has all the right ingredients to be the perfect neighborhood liquid dinner spot for me. Great location, extensive beer list, awesome patio, solid-old fashioned no nonsense wood on wood decor, but the big EXCEPTION... The bartender was crap the bed awful. Not saying she was mean, or rude even, I'm talking SLOW...simply put it was downright annoying to order a drink from her. It's like nobody explained how a bar makes a profit...selling drinks, usually multiple ones. 87% of the time she was facing the wrong way and more obsessed with her tip jar (which was empty btw) than the thirsties behind her, and it wasn't crowed in the slightest or I would cut some slack. So given the indefatigable amount of choices in the EV, d.b.a is dunzo for now, I really wanted to like it too, had a great time at the brooklyn location. parting note-I know the beer is what this place is really all about, and the list is pretty extensive, but I struck out on 2 separate choices and there are so many comparable beer bars to choose from within a few block radius it just pushes this joint to the bottom read more

D.B.A....I love you!!! Marry me, please. Lol. Honestly, one of the best bars I've been to. Loved the beer selection. Loved the prices. Loved the atmosphere. LOVED the music! Up until this bar, I had never experienced the nightlife in NY, and this place really hit the spot. Thanks for the good times D.B.A. P.S. you may wanna make sure your bathroom is fully stocked with toilet paper. Kind of an essential. Thanks! read more

I too became a fan after attending Cookies 'n Booze. d.b.a. is a great bar with a huge beer selection, a decent selection of liquor that I can just sip if I'm in that sort of mood (or it's kinda cold and I want to just drink whiskey to warm up). Their back patio is rather nice, although I don't like that it closes at 10pm every night. It can also get pretty gross if it's the middle of the summer out there, since you're essentially in a greenhouse. The bartenders have been nice enough to me. I've only been here once when it was fairly crowded and it wasn't too bad. I don't really think of it as a dive bar until I go to use the restroom. That's where there's definite room for improvement. I feel like everything I've said has been said by tons of other yelpers. Oh well. It's a cool place! I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a bar in the area. read more

Anytime you have a bar for 'beer connoisseurs' that offers 200 brews you are going to need to exercise some patience. There will be crowds and the barstaff will be tired of playing educator. I personally feel that if you work in this sort of establishment then you should really be prepared to spend some with people who are flabbergasted/intimidated/overwhelmed by the choices, it really takes a different type of person than your average bartender. This rarely, if ever, pans out. (see Toronado & Eulogy) While d.b.a was seriously packed, the doorguy was very friendly, the bartenders quick and luckily some people left the family style table right in back by the patio, so we all scored quite well. Oddly the entire patio out back evacuated at something like 11pm, I'm not sure if there's a curfew due to neighbors or what, so keep that in mind. read more

There are only a few things better than a beer outdoors on a sunny day with friends. Add on top of that the fact that the place you're drinking in has a selection of beers that would make Willy Wonka shit himself! That is basically D.B.A.! Got a hankering for South African beer? check! How about a delicate blonde from France? Check! Hands down one of the best selections of beer and whiskey I've experienced in the city. I would've given this place even higher marks if it hadn't been for some small things that didn't tickle my fancy. Although we were in the back outdoor garden, there was smoking going on which killed the mood and the aroma of my delicious local brew. Despite this, their music selections were perfect for the ambiance and the crowd. I did feel that they could do more for Happy Hour though. I definitely will find myself here wasting away a Sunday afternoon in the garden with some friends. Check it out! read more

I've been coming to dba for a couple of months now and it has been a mostly positive experience. If you are a scotch or beer enthusiast or if you're just looking to keep more of your dollars out of Anheuser Busch's hands then give this place a chance. The aesthetics of the bar is that of a neighborhood spot. And if you catch it on a good night (Sunday-Wed) that's what you'll get. I've spent a couple of evenings with friends reading, talking and watching television as though the bar were an extension of the family room. Bartenders have always been friendly and accommodating on these nights. I wish I could say the same about Thursday and the weekends,however, as I have had two rather disappointing experiences. Some atmosphere is expected to be lost on Thursday thru Sat evening at any location but that can be made up by crowd control and a hungry bar staff. Well the bar staff was hungry alright...hungry enough to eat dinner, and talk shop with each other while you stand on the other side of the bar, empty glass in hand, helpless, lost, confused.....alone. I'm a sensible guy but at one point I considered reaching across the bar, grabbing the bartender's meatball and dropping it my glass - just making eye contact with him the whole time. I still give it 4 stars because, well, I believe in the power of positive thought. Except when you're eating a meatball on the clock. read more

Just like the Strand Bookstore, DBA escapes harsh criticism for its rude, cooler-than-thou employees because what it has on offer is so incredible. Beyond it's gigantic inventory of beers and liquours, DBA boasts nice outdoor seating in back, and doesn't overwhelm you with music or the game on TV. Instead, save for those crowded Friday and Saturday nights, DBA offers a comfortable environment to kick back with friends, and enjoy some drinks. Just don't use the bathroom. read more

DO come here if you think you might enjoy a fabulous selection of beer, average prices, decently friendly barkeeps, and a pretty chill atmosphere. DON'T come here if you have zero interest in the New Orleans Saints and it is a Sunday afternoon in the autumn. Bro-dude-central. read more

Time and time again I come here and it seems like there's always something wrong every time I do. I'm getting kind of sick of it. I've been coming here for years. They have a great beer list and usually the draft list is good too. In the past, I've come across apathetic staff who know nothing about beer down to where the hell a beer is even located in their fridge. It's really annoying asking questions about a beer when I obviously know more about beer than the bartenders in this so called reputable beer bar. Sure the bathroom situation is annoying with swinging doors that don't shut properly and an outside area that is closed at random times, but I still want a good beer - so I kept coming. The last few times I experienced a draft system that was broken. The bartender offered bottles instead but most were not cold or they were out. Blarg. And the last time I went it smelled like a pet shop. I'm not even kidding. My husband and I walked in and it took a few minutes to figure at that is wasn't a person smell but an animal smell. I worked in an animal lab so I'm well aware of what I was smelling - rats. Open a window, turn on a fan - something. It isn't healthy to breathe that shit in all day long and honestly, we couldn't handle the smell after a few minutes. We chugged our beer and left. This happened to be the one time the bartender was super nice, helpful and offered a well thought-out recommendation. Where was this bartender the last few times I went when it wasn't smelling like a really nasty pet store. I have no idea if I'll be back. I love the beer but the atmosphere is so all over the place that its a gamble the moment I walk in the door. You have so much potential, D.B.A., fix yo shit. read more

I popped into this joint for a couple brews with a friend at about 2:30 on a Friday afternoon. We shared the place with 4 other people, bartender included until the happy hour crowd rolled in around 5. Great beer selection, some exotic and some just tasty. Pleasantly dark atmosphere and decent music supplied by the bartender on duty. If I were in the neighborhood again, I wouldn't hesitate to suggest D.B.A. as an option to my thirsty friends. read more

A chalkboard with more than 20 beers (I think). Rated one of the best by TONY, NY Mag, The Goth, everyone. Just go. Ask the bar or your server for a good beer and then chase with a bourbon or whiskey. Atta girl! Sit in the back yard, smoke up, ask for the menu folder and order in. You have a bagillion choices from the area. When you order ask for the food to be delivered either to the door or the backyard. I have heard that this place is exactly like the one in New Orleans. Just without Britney! I've also had a very very good martini here. read more

They have ZILLIONS of beers! I'm usually paralyzed by choice and randomly point to something on tap, which has surprisingly worked out well for me. Also, they have a cool backyard outdoor area, always a plus for my smoker friends who've never really recovered from Bloomberg's indoor smoking ban. read more

This bar has a huge selection of beer, which is always fantastic. Why the low rating? I have to be honest, the crowd there was fratty in the worst kind of way. My apologies to the yelpers who liked the vibe at this place. I'm sure you guys are delightful, but I felt like I was drowning in douchebags. As other people have mentioned, it's really hard to get the bartenders' attention. But to be fair, this place was packed, and it wasn't like they were just standing around. Other reviewers have mentioned that the bartenders were rude, but I didn't get any attitude. My biggest annoyance is that, although it says they accept credit cards here, they told me they didn't and pointed me toward the ATM. The ATM was not working. I'm guessing the ATM and credit card machines were both down that night, but it was a little awkward ordering a giant bottle of Duvel and then scrambling to get cash from my friends to pay for it. I might come back sometime for the beer selection, but I'm definitely not going to come back on a weekend night. read more

I have been here a few times and I am a fan of both their space and their beer selection. They were one of the first to have a really good beer selection in the city and they keep having a great craft beer selection. Their prices are standard prices so not great but not atrocious either. What I do like about this bar is their backyard space which is both open and enclosed. I love that you can have big events there and bring in food from outside as they do not offer food and that gives a whole other array of options than the usual eating out. I have been here mostly for the Yelp Cookies and Booze events and those events are delicious. If you want an upscale dive bar experience with a mix of romanticism thrown in there with good beer this is the place to go. read more