Sunday, October 20, 2013

Murphy's Pub and Restaurant

Wow, has this place been here forever

It was at one time a "cop bar" because of the closeness of a precinct house

Let's see what Yelper's think today

It is what it is...an Irish pub in Midtown and some people are cool with that and others find it, well, boring I guess is the closest word ( you probably know already where you fit in here)

Some of these reviews are funny...one says the bar is in "Murry Hill" ( it is NOT in Murray Hill) and "typical of Murry Hill bars"..

Removed one rave because it was from back in 2009...I mean, that is just too far back


Murphy's Pub & Restaurant

3.5 star rating
35 reviews Rating Details
Categories: Restaurants, Pubs  [Edit]
977 2nd Ave
(between 51st St & 52nd St)
New York, NY 10022
Neighborhood: Midtown East
(212) 751-5400
Nearest Transit Station:
Lexington Ave./53 St. (E, M)
51 St. (4, 6, 6X)
59 St. (4, 5, 6, 6X)
Delivery:
No
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Parking:
Street
Attire:
Casual
Good for Groups:
Yes
Good for Kids:
No
Takes Reservations:
No
Price Range:
$$
Take-out:
No
Waiter Service:
Yes
Outdoor Seating:
No
Wi-Fi:
No
Music:
Juke Box
Best Nights:
Thu, Fri, Sat
Happy Hour:
Yes
Alcohol:
Full Bar
Smoking:
No
Coat Check:
No
Noise Level:
Average
Good For Dancing:
No
Ambience:
Casual
Has TV:
Yes
Caters:
No
Wheelchair Accessible:
No

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35 reviews in English

  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 3 reviews
    Ann Arbor, MI
    4/30/2013
    One of my favorite NYC pubs. Good prices, friendly staff, great music.
  • Review from

    Rochester, NY
    11/7/2012 1 check-in here
    $3 bottled beers during happy hour (which lasts until 8pm) makes me so happy I forget I am in midtown. Our group of 5 parked it at a table in the back and comfortably enjoyed round after round.

    Clean space, 1 small but clean bathroom, and attentive waitstaff. Cheers!
  • Review from

    New York, NY
    12/5/2012 1 check-in here
    2.5-3 stars

    Early 20's crowd on a Saturday night. Very divey type of feel. Draft prices were a little higher than expected for a bar in the area. The bartender was really nice and made the experience a little more enjoyable. Not a place that I would visit again though as there was nothing really captivating about the place.
  • Review from

    Duxbury, MA
    10/18/2012 2 check-ins here
    This is a cute little Irish pub with a **12** hour happy hour.. Need I say more? Didn't try any food on this visit, but I had 3 vodka drinks for only $5 a piece. Very reasonable. There was also some great classic rock playing in the background.

    Niles & Bonnie were very friendly bartenders, and I will be back soon!
  • Review from

    • 39 friends
    • 70 reviews
    Jersey City, NJ
    11/25/2012
    The only reason I gave it 3 stars is that I'm too young to be here. I't's a very nice little pub targeting on working people. In other words, this place is NOT designed for college/grad students. I came here really just wanted to get warm while waiting for other friends. Love the environment in this place. Not too crowded, not too loud. Would be an ideal place to chat with friends. The drinks are tasty and reasonably priced. The bartender was a really nice guy.
    Overall, this would A GREAT PLACE if you are more mature ;)
  • Review from

    • 57 friends
    • 283 reviews
    Brooklyn, NY
    8/24/2012 1 check-in here
    Great happy hour specials! You can get some bottled and draft beers for $3-$4! That's all that needs to be said.

    Also, while I was there, they played a couple of Biffy Clyro songs - not a well known band, but I'm a fan, so I give props.
  • Review from

    • 12 friends
    • 26 reviews
    ASTORIA, NY
    8/26/2012 3 check-ins here
    As far as pubs go in Manhattan, this is my favorite. Every trip before I lived here, and now on a regular basis, I go to watch a Premier League match.

    Here's why I love it. It is a great day drinking bar. Their Happy Hour lasts 10 hours, and $3 beers are extremely reasonable for NYC. The place is clean, and warm and inviting the way a pub should be. I have had great and friendly conversation with bar tenders and other patrons that were complete strangers at each visit, regardless of wether or not they belong to another firm.

    There is a respectable pub menu, decently priced and the kitchen is quick.

    It has that 'local' pub feel in the middle of the big city. When asking what time they would open on Sunday for a soccer match, the bartender, Jessie, told me brunch usually starts at 11 "but if the match starts before that just bang on the door and we'll let you and and get you a pint until we are open." Without hesitation she made me put the pub's phone number in my phone, (little do they know that after so many visits I may just make it my emergency contact) so if I ever had any questions of a match being broadcast or a special I could call.

    The most important thing, and the thing that really makes me love this bar, is that it is one of few pubs that still understands and honors the concept of a buy-back. Little things like that make all the difference, and in my book earn my business for life.
  • Review from

    • 1 friend
    • 311 reviews
    West Covina, CA
    8/10/2012
    After getting caught in a rainstorm, we ducked into this place.
    They had a live band going and we had a couple of Harps and dried up.

    Nice bar, attentive service, pretty decent pub food too!
  • Review from

    Manhattan, NY
    3/26/2012
    It was great fun! We went here for st patty's day and Irish exit bang opposite was charging us a $20 cover which is really stupid as this place let us in for free.

    The spirit was great, lots Of green, some great folk Irish music and decently spacious. Drinks were slightly pricier maybe because it was st patty's. But it was a great time!
  • Review from

    • 3 friends
    • 17 reviews
    New York, NY
    3/15/2009
    I always find Murry Hill bars.... interesting. Interesting in a how can there be so many people/bars here and yet it is still un-fun and lame for everyone sort of way. I just don't get it.

    Went to Murphy's on the Saturday before St. Patty's day so I was bombarded by shamrocks, flashing plastic beer glass necklaces and neon green wigs upon walking in. Some drunkards were singing at the top of their lungs and the bouncer was totally THRILLED in a very awkward, over the top sort of way. The place was full enough but not crowded and there were still some seats at the bar so I sat and ordered a Blue Moon draft ($7). The crowd was pretty.... underwhelming. Some problems arose when one member of our party didn't want  a drink but wanted to sit down. I guess this is totally understandable from the bar making money standpoint but really, they weren't that crowded, the rest of us had spent money and we were only using 4 seats between the 8 of us.

    I would probably give the place a 2.5 even thought I didn't really like it just because there was available bar seating on a Saturday night and Murry Hill puts me in the I'm too lazy to drink and stand at the same time mood.
  • Review from

    • 3 friends
    • 7 reviews
    New York, NY
    7/30/2009
    Stumbled in here yesterday (Wednesday) due to the ridiculous downpour of rain that hit NYC yesterday.

    Was supposed to meet a friend for an after work drink at Turtle Bay but the line was inexplicably out the door and I needed shelter and a cold beer so I ran into Murphys.

    Bar was completely dead. There was one drunk older lady at the bar awkwardly staring at me and a bunch of older businessmen in suits. Music was also kind of a downer. My friend ended up showing up while I was mid-beer so she ordered a beer as well... next thing I knew I was there for a couple hours. The scene picked up a little when a random Lady Gaga song came on as a corporate softball team walked in, but that was the peak of the excitement.

    Saving grace is that happy hour specials were decent. $3 bottles of domestic beer and $4 pints. Also the bartender was a good guy - gave us a free round.

    Probably wouldn't go out of my way to go back.
  • Review from

    • 21 friends
    • 68 reviews
    Windsor Mill, MD
    12/16/2011
    Location:
    On 2nd Avenue between E. 51st Street and E. 52nd Street, it has a great location.

    Atmosphere:
    Just like any other Irish-ish pub: dim lighting, tons of wood, and all things Irish decorating the walls.  Pretty jovial vibe from the patrons without being rowdy.

    Service:
    The beer happy hour special is what drew my co-worker and I into Murphy's...not to mention that the manager was outside the door greeting guests and persuading passer-bys to come into the restaurant.  When we decided to go in, he escorted us to a table promptly.  Our waitress was phenomenal!  She suggested beer to my co-worker (who wasn't a big beer drinker) and when we placed our order, she suggested that we may want to hold off before we ordered TOO much because their portions are pretty large.

    Food/Drinks:
    And boy, were the food portions large!  She and I ordered their appetizer sampler and we couldn't get through it all.  In fact, we both took some of it home to eat later.  I've never been to a restaurant where I couldn't share a sampler platter with another person.  The food was delicious.

    Definitely will go back there again.  Maybe this time, I'll actually have the fish and chips!
  • Review from

    • 5 friends
    • 22 reviews
    Arlington, VA
    9/30/2012
    Nile the bartender is good. Takes care of his customers and does a a good job. Never had the food, only drinks.
  • Review from

    Indianapolis, IN
    11/14/2009
    I like being invited into a bar/restaurant by the manager/owner who has an Irish accent. I admit it's a bit creepy at first, but I think that is just because I've been worn down by NY.

    Happy Hour beer specials are good and so are the wings. The menu is lacking interesting items, it's your typical pub fare.

    There is a jukebox, which is risky but also can be nice if you are the one controlling it.

    I left my laptop bag here and when I called an hour later, near tears, they assured me they had already moved it to the office. It's kind of mom and pop like that. I'm all for it.
  • Review from

    New York, NY
    8/19/2010 3 check-ins here
    I was pleasantly surprised by this place when I friend and I stopped in to catch a Yankee game.

    There are tons of options on this strip of 2nd Ave but I was looking for one more low key and not full of d-bags! Murphy's fit the bill just perfectly. They had a ton of tv's and offered to put the Yankee game on whichever tv we sat closest to, which was nice.

    Draft beers are $7/ea which isn't too terrible, and they had respectable options in addition to your run of the mill Bud Light.

    Bartender and bouncer were both very friendly.

    I'll be back!
  • Review from

    New York, NY
    11/21/2010
    Stereotypical, run of the mill Irish pub with not much to distinguish it from others in the neighborhood.

    Happy Hour specials are decent - $4 drafts of Yeungling or other domestic beers - and go until 8pm.  After that, I switched to Sierra bottles at $6 a pop.  Not too shabby.  Getting the bartenders attention here was rough but we did get a buy back.  The owner was extraordinarily friendly and introduced himself which was a nice touch.

    All in all, would I be back?  Maybe but not sure there's anything here that makes it stand out enough to go out of my way...
  • Review from

    • 32 friends
    • 158 reviews
    Quincy, MA
    4/14/2011 2 check-ins here
    Some friends and I got into our hotel around midnight and we were in desperate need of a drink - we wandered just one block away and there,  with a bright red facade, was Murphy's.

    Definitely a cool atmosphere... it felt like we had walked into a Manhattan outpost of our 'local.' Bartender was extremely friendly and was part of the reason we went back the next three nights. Drinks (draughts, mixed, and shots) were relatively well-priced and kept us happy until last call.

    Like I said, we went back each of the rest of the nights we were in the City and had just as much fun. Murphy's seems like the kind of place I would love to be a regular at.
  • Review from

    Manhattan, NY
    8/7/2012
    My friends and I love Murphy's mostly because the bartenders are all cute, funny, and friendly. It is a very standard Irish pub, but Niall, Hugh, and Conor all set it apart!



 

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