This place has taken a dive. Get it? I used to stop in a couple times a month for years, after working dinner at a nearby restaurant and it was usually a very affordable and laid back place. I haven't waited tables in a while and tonight while walking by, my friend and I went in to sit down and have some cheap drinks. The first thing that happens is I order two gin and tonics with the very miserable looking bartender with the Russian accent. He pours one, puts it down and looks at my friend like "Waddaya want?" My buddy says he wants the same and the guy looks visibly annoyed and shrugs as if to say "Why didn't you order two?" which I did. We owe it up to the guy having a bad shift or something. Coming from the service industry we both understand and don't think much of it. He comes back and I give him my card, asking him to leave it open. 20 minutes pass and I go up and order two beers. With a sulking stride he goes and pours them and returns. I smile and nod towards the back of the bar, telling him to put it on my tab. "Whats the name?" he says. Having a very long and complicated last name I tell him that my last name starts with R and my first name's John. I go back to my table and after a couple seconds he's waving at me to come back and saying I didn't give him my card. I'm thinking, "It's not crowded in here, I just gave you my card not even twenty minutes ago, and I'm sitting right across from where you seem to like to stand. You really don't remember that?"Instead I just tell him the color of my card and the bank name. I go to sit down and he yells over to my table, "You tell me your last name John!? Why you tell me that?" I try explaining to him that my first name is John and he waves me off with some kind of kingly disregard. Honestly, I thought that was pretty funny, as he was obviously a really angry little guy, but the fun really starts when I go to close my tab. I get up there and tell him I'm closing out and he hands me back a small piece of paper with some totals written on it in pen. I go back to my buddy and ask him if this is normal for them to do because I've never encountered this before. My friend doesn't know why this is happening so I go back up to politely ask him what to do with this. And seriously, you know when people say they politely asked -insert question here- yet you have a feeling they had a major attitude about it? This isn't one of those times. I was celebrating my recent engagement and was having drinks with my closest friend who I just told right before entering the Sly Fox and I was in a great mood. So, I go up to ask him what I'm supposed to do with this piece of paper he just handed me when he mumbles something about me "giving him an attitude," and how I even "told him the wrong last name." He storms off down the bar and goes through the door at the end of the bar. I'm standing there confused at this point and I have no clue as to what this guy is doing. Why did he run off with my credit card and why does he seem to think everything that happens between us is some kind of slight against his reputation? He comes back and throws my now closed out card and receipt down while scolding me for something or other that I really didn't pick up on. At this point I just want to leave because this guy is out of his mind, so I start putting my jacket on when he motions for me to come down to the end of the bar with him. The first thing I say when we get down there is that "I wasn't trying to give you a hard time man. I think there's a miscommunication here." At this point I just want to give him the benefit of the doubt and LEAVE. He's made the hour very weird. He actually brings up the fact that I "gave him the wrong last name" again, like it was something I did to him on purpose just to mess with him, and that I should "get out!" I tell him that not everything that happens to him is a rehearsed insult and maybe that's the reason he has that twisted miserable mug that turns customers off as soon as they approach the bar. He tells me to "get the fuck out," which I'm already in the process of doing, and that ends my story. I like a little mean streak in a dive bartender but this weasel looking guy with the Russian accent and chip on his shoulder isn't cut out for bartending in NYC. He's the type of guy who shoves at least three people yearly because they "talked shit" or something stupid like that. Who wants to drink at a place where interacting with the bartender is like trying to placate the crazy guy on the train who's demanding money? Seek therapy my friend. It worked for me. Cheap drinks or not, this place is like pulling teeth with that nut behind the bar. Not only does he honestly suck at his job (you can't keep track of the 5 customers with tabs open?) he has the personality of a wolverine and should be stuffed in a barrel and sent out with the Black Current. read more

Great romantic date spot. The moment you walk in, you are greeted warmly by the friendly staff. The atmosphere is colorful and very reminiscent of post-war France. We started with some coffee, which in my opinion was the best in the city, we had the Pabst Blue Ribbon blend, which was dark but over-roasted like you would get at Starbucks or Dunkin. The decor was phenomenal, sophisticated but not too stuffy. If you are a bourbon lover, you will love the selection, they have multiple options to keep even the biggest bourbon fanatic satisfied. read more

This is my favorite dive bar in the East Village. Ah "The Sly Fox"......what a bar. The dinghy smell of stale beer and deteriorating wood interior likens back to a day when murder, rape, and pirates had relevance on earth. No I am not referring to the 1994 Andy Van Slyke, Barry Bonds Pirates.... I am talking about scurves with wooden legs, eye-patches, precursor to doo-rag, doo-rags. It is also so dark inside you are wondering whether or not that is so you can't see the weevils crawling around. Yah you may think it is gross, but i think this is a good time. Cheap beer (8 dollar pitchers), ample stalls in the bathroom, women who definitely get hotter the drunker you get (due to dim lights), and a really cool bartender. It is also quite clean as well despite its rugged ambience. The only reason it doesn't get a 5 is because the toilets sometimes break which leads to a flood.....but that is ok as long as you don't wear sandals, and who really wears sandals into a dive bar anyway. read more

I can't believe I actually went back to this place after all these years. I remember going here back in high school. The ceiling mirrors helped me remember. Not a great beer selection. Very beat up looking booths. And a bathroom shared with a Ukrainian restaurant. Definitely a place where you bring the good company with you. Otherwise it's a sausage fest, albeit a more low key one. They take credit cards but their signature system is weird. They give you a handwritten receipt to sign and then they swipe your card. read more

Great low key spot to meet friends for casual drinks. Looks like a bomb shelter from the outside, but inside feels cozy with several booths. I'm really lazy and hate having to stand while I drink, but somehow me and my friends are always able to snag a booth and sit comfortably. A pitcher of PBR is $8, which is a really good price. There are a couple TVs. They play good rock songs, but its never too crowded or overwhelming. I think you may be able to order food as well, but only during the hours that the restaurant in the Ukrainian centre is open. Also, as everyone mentioned the bathrooms are a special journey. read more

Bartender ignores me for five minutes then after a friend finally gets some service and gets me a diet coke she insists on me presenting ID or leaving. Beyond that the only positive thing people are saying about it is that it is a dive, but those are pretty much a dime a dozen so why bother with this joint? read more

Cheap drinks. It's a place people come to when they're already wasted/getting there. It's pretty crowded. Lots of young college-aged folk. That's all I've got. read more

I shoved my wallet into the bottom of my bag and someone stole it and my makeup case within 30 seconds. My bag was between my legs hanging at the bar. If you come here, keep track of your belongings. The regulars here like to steal. The bartender was as helpful as possible, but the people who come here are not trustworthy. I was hysterically crying at the bar and he didn't do anything besides insist he doesn't know the person who definitely stole it. I left the bar crying. read more

I gotta say, I always thought the name of this place was Sly Fox. I mean, that's what my friends and I knew it of freshman year at NYU. I would like to point out that they DO card and would always talk to us about all the underage kids who go there (what can I say? We got on their good side). Since I used to go there it has changed owners, I believe, and is definitely "nicer." There are mirrors on the ceiling now, for instance. It's definitely a dive bar but it is definitely cheap. Not really my thing anymore (hardy har as if I'm really old now) but a good enough place to grab a drink. And you can always go to Veselka afterwards! Of note: in 2002 we ran into Liev Schreiber here and he signed a sheet of notebook paper for us that said "you guys are drunk." We met his "Australian girlfriend" who kissed my friend on the cheek and we now wonder if it was Naomi Watts. Who knows. We were 18 and at a bar...we weren't paying attention. And I second and third everything said about that bathroom....damn scary walking down those stairs after a few drinks. read more

Good Eastern European Food, nice jukebox, And the price of beer on Friday was great. read more

This Ukrainian bar has a wide selection of vodka and a charming staff. The ceilings are paneled with mirrors which makes it feel larger than it really is. The bathroom is shared with the neighboring businesses and you have to go out the back door and down a set of staircases, then get buzzed back in on your way up. On two occasions, I encountered people having an...encounter down there. Seems to attract a frisky crowd. Anyway, if that doesn't scare you off it's a decent east village dive. read more

Not as Ukrainian as I would have liked and I felt like I could be arrested at any moment for drinking around what seemed to be minors. No seats or anything either. The $2 drafts were the only redeeming point. read more

Great prices, great tunes, great decore, slightly questionable ukranian nationalism. The nerds giving this place bad reviews just aren't sly enough. read more

Alright so my friend and I walked in here last night and while drinking at the bar enjoying a beer I see the biggest roach in my life crawling on the bar. I leap out of my chair grab my beer ofcourse and just astonished on how this place is running. Gross. The bartender swats it and says "it's a water bug nothing I can do" man you guys can call exterminator. That's freaking disgusting. And at that moment my friend and I knew we will never come back here ever again. read more

Love this place, along with Milano's on Houston, my favourite dive bar in NY now that O'Connors closed. I work in the area and this is a great spot for pre or after work drinks. The staff are great, prices awesome, few too many douchey frat boys but just ignore them. Tip well and you always get served before everyone else. Love the long walk to the far off bathroom, turns into an adventure when you're drunk. read more

Cheap Beer Good Music I come here often read more

Super divey, super cheap. If you go to the bathroom, behind the door is this weird alternate reality which features a cool little Ukranian restaurant that I need to try. This place is magical and dreamlike. I'm a huge fan. read more

Came here one Saturday night with a group of friends, 6-7 of us. We were standing at the front of the bar enjoying a pitcher when we got a lime thrown out way. Coincidentally (not) we were the only group of all people of color at the bar. I could have brushed it off as just normal assholes at any crowded bar, but it happened again twice more. Talking to the door guy and bartender were useless as they accused us of making it up. All in all, horrible service and racist treatment. Do NOT come here if you're a person of color and value your dignity. Can't believe this still happens in 2016. read more

This is my absolute favorite bar in St. Marks. First point to make is: it's very cheap. Perhaps one of the cheapest bars in the city that I know of (minus Tuesday nights at the 13th Step for $1 beers). Sly Fox has $2 PBR's, $4 Dollars Shot and PBR Special. Second Point: Always good music, varying from 80's throwbacks to 2010's Indie hits. Third point: Always a good crowd, I have only ONCE seen this bar get very crowded on a friday night when the school semester is in and all the college kids flock to this bar to pre-game. So it's always perfect to grab a few friends and drink a few beers and talk. Fourth point: It is a dive bar. I love dive bars. Just take note of that. read more

I haven't been back to Sly Fox in a while and the reason my rating has gone down is because they have a new bartender who is absolutely grating. They normally have a $20 card minimum, but with the regular bartenders I know they usually let is slide for me since they know I'll be back another day. This new girl was a complete hard ass about it. Normally I'd understand, but I know for a fact that they don't follow that rule all the time. So instead of staying at Sly Fox for just a short period of time I was forced to stay there until my card had been charged enough. A difficult feat considering everything is super cheap. My boyfriend and I had arrived sooner than our friends and she didn't bother to check our ID's, again, something I'm used to at Sly Fox as a regular. Then one of my friends arrived and she's a tiny person, guess who wound up getting checked? Her. This was just amusing to me considering my friend is YEARS older than I am. And no one else in our group got ID'd. Since my boyfriend and I were a pitcher ahead my friends decided to do shots to catch up to us, and although I didn't see it firsthand, they relayed it to me the second they came back to our booth. Apparently midst their shot taking my guy friend had received a phone call, and without moving from where he was standing he answered it. The bartender then said "Can you just pay me already?" He literally hadn't gone anywhere. When we were all grouped up at our booth we could tell that she disliked us, she was huffing and puffing while glaring at our general direction. We had no idea why she was acting like this. We'd all ordered drinks and had three pitchers at our table. We weren't even being loud. Because I had my card open my friends and I put everything on my card, just so we could get out of there faster. Because of her poor service I admittedly gave her a shitty tip, but she hadn't deserved anything better than that. The second she saw what I'd given her, her attitude got even worse. She started slamming things onto the bar. It was like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Usually they have good bartenders are Sly Fox, but if she's the new regular bartender I highly doubt I'll be wanting to come back soon. Yes, they have great deals. But not great enough to deal with that much attitude. read more

It's a dive. the the drinks are tall, the bartenders are chill, and the booths are big. Exactly what you'd expect. Great place to start the night. read more

This used to be one of my spots. The "Filthy Minx" is what we used to call it. I loved the extremely cheap bottles of beer, the bitter looking owner who never said anything and the crazy bartendress, Alice, was always so happy to see me and give me a bunch of astrological mumbo jumbo...Ahhh, the East Village! read more

there is a ton of space here if you want to come with a big group. to say the least the crew members of trader joe's have taken over this bar on more than one occasion. Beers are usually around $5-$7 region cocktails are strong and there are plentiful amount of bathrooms but you have to travel through the back doors into a lobby shared with an E. European restaurant and down a flight of stairs to get there. Good thing is they are always clean and i've never had to wait in a line. As a female that's the best news ever. read more

It's a dingy, cheap, sketchy bar full of college bros. The bartenders are great except for one female who is just rude. I want to buy her a shot so she can loosen up. They should definitely have a food menu, but I think they let you order or bring food in which is pretty cool. Don't pay with card here because it takes forever since they don't have a credit card system in front- they have to go in the back where there is a random restaurant attached. Bathroom area is down the hall and down the stairs and is also pretty sketchy. This bar is never, ever going to be my first, second, or third choice- but if you only have 10 bucks you can buy a pitcher of PBR and get wasted, so you can't expect much? read more

You either love it or you hate it. I love it. The bartender(s) are awesome, the spiced vodka that most people find repulsing but reminds me of home is a plenty, the music is good, and I think hipsters overlook this place which is a relief because the east village is unrecognizable these days. read more

Formerly Lys Mykyta, the Sly Fox is in the Ukrainian National Home on second avenue, and shares the innerbelly of its structure with a Ukrainian restaurant/ catering hall. It has sweet, long formica tables, oversized chairs, and mirrored ceilings. Cheap beers (obolons & pilsner urquels). Friendly bartender, young foreign crowd. Last time I was there, maybe a weekday, it was dead quiet with some game shows on the tv. It can get lively, though, and on one occasion it escalated into a bout of shirtless arm wrestling with some Eastern European dude. . . but don't get too wasted, as it makes for too far a surreal trip to the mens' toilet, which is far in the back, through a foyer, doors, down a staircase and to the right, and feels wrong the whole way. read more

Sly fox has incredibly inexpensive drinks ($5 for a vodka soda) and is a great place to pregame before you go out in the lower east side. Also, there's an interesting polish motif happening that I've never seen elsewhere! read more

This might be the best dive bar around Manhattan. $2 PBR that isn't served by a guy with a bowtie or well-waxed mustache. Sure, going to the bathroom means walking down a hallway where you may be either stabbed or receive a forced handjob, but...$2 PBR. The other beers are cheap as well. Come if you are looking for a drink that you can pay for in cash that won't leave you broke. Don't come if you are a beer snob, looking for people to pick up on, or have a need to see and be seen. read more

Nothing about this place makes any sense. A large dive bar that caters to local college youths that is also somehow connected with the Ukrainian cultural center that somehow manages to serve extremely cheap pbrs and shots and somehow this is one of my favorite bars in the city. When you descend the stairs into Sly Fox below, what would appear to be a pee pee soaked heck hole on first inclination is actually a fairly low key bar that knows the bare essentials- cheap pbr and shots and the rest fills in the blanks. This of course attracts frugal college students, but also some pretty creepy old people who are young at heart. Regardless this is a place where people become less sly and more sloppy as the night progresses. Normally, I would hate a place like this, but this bar doesn't beat around the bush. Quick service, usually respectable people, and a really cool Ukrainian restaurant in the rear. Also there is a glass ceiling that harkens that makes you think of American Hustle or Goodfellas. They do take cards, but there is a minimum of 10-20 bucks. If you reach that minimum you will have an incredibly good night, and possibly find your future ex-wife through the mirrored ceiling. So relive the good times and create new memories that you will have to incrementally put back together the next day over a bloody mary and a lot of asprin and water. read more

A friend of mine has been staying at his uncles apartment for a month or so now, and when I went to visit him last weekend suggested we go to this bar. He was turning it into his "spot" and had already made nice with the bar staff. Honestly I was reluctant, it doesn't look like much fun from the outside. Never being the pretentious type though, and after a few rounds elsewhere, there I was. It was Friday, and the first thing I noticed when I stepped in is that it has a pretty good crowd, certainly a plus. Beyond this, I always like it when a place serves pitchers, its more cost effective for us consumers, and really why not. I was going to order a pitcher of Stella but it was 20 bucks, I would suggest going with the PBR at only 10 dollars its a good value. Good place to pregame downtown in the middle of it all. read more

I love free beer. And when you can't get free beer, cheap beer is the next best thing. Karpaty has $2 PBR all the time, which is why I will be back. I could do without the 19-20 year old crowd that make me feel creepy and old, but where else can you go in the East Village and get $2 beers on a Saturday night? read more

This is what I like to call "My East Side Spot". $5 rum and cokes? $2 PBR's? $4 PBR with a shot? What else is there to say?! It gets packed after 11pm so I would suggest coming before then to chill out and get your pre-game on. But all in all it's a good place to drink with friendly bartenders, and a nice place to watch a sporting event. read more

$2 pints of PBR, an awesome bartender with a great mix of songs on her ipod, and an interesting mix of people provide for a rockin' good time on the cheap. Just watch that first step past the main door into the inner lounge- it will fuck you up. :) read more

Good sort of hole in the wall in the East Village. Weird walk to the bathroom but good for quick drinks and only if you can get a seat.

This is my favorite dive bar -- a true gem. The Sly Fox is an unlikely hang out in a neighborhood that once was filled with all sorts of grime and grunge but been taken over by overpriced upscale cocktail bars. This is the real deal EV throwback. What a dive bar should be. Ambiance? not really. $4 beer + shot deal, yes. Get sufficiently drunk off $8 and have yourself a night, PRICELESS. read more

This is a friendly, unassuming drink. The drinks are cheap, and they have a selection of Russian (and Prussian) beers. You can order food from the Ukrainian restaurant here. Also, they have one of those jukeboxes that downloads music. Make sure it's plugged into the sound system before you use it though. read more

Went out here for drinks last night. It was super busy because of Ukrainian festival right outside. The vibe is like groovy dive. Mirrors on the ceiling have a cool effect. Drinks were cheap. Also like that there's a Ukrainian restaurant in the back. We didn't eat there but it looks very chill and private. read more

Good place for cheap drinks, not the best music. Bring cash, there's a $20 credit minimum.

Great atmosphere and cool, open-minded stuff. Ukrainian personality is great! Also enjoyed the music. One of the best places to chill after the hard day! read more

You want a cheap drink and poorly dressed college kids/people who miss the Midwest? You've got your place. $5 liquor drinks woowwowowowoww. But I'm not broke so I won't be coming back. read more