Oliver’s City Tavern

Went to Oliver’s a few weeks ago and had a wonderful time. So much I went back with friends only to see a FOR LEASE sign. Noooooooo. Looks like it’s closed folks.

They were short staffed so the service was a bit slow but the good was great. The inside looked awesome and the ceiling was brick which looked so cool. Look at the drink specials! If you like Hot Chocolate try the Adult Hot Chocolate!!!

Sort of cold impersonal vibe. French Onion Soup so so. Wings were over cooked and sauce a miss. Watching Sunday night football. Trying to get into the spirit of the game cheering for my home team the Broncos. Went to high five the manager when my team scored and he wouldn’t. Uptight and can understand why the place has that sort of vibe. Worst part. Left my CC there and called them back to make sure they had it. As I was leaving to go home had my Mom pick it up. She did. To Late though; CC had 1100.00 dollars in unauthorized charges on it to a place called Bodega LLC. Sleazy sort of move. Called and talked to a guy who was new to that location. He seemed to care and said he would have the general manager call me back. No call as of yet. So being that your in the Village; Honor yourself and go elsewhere.

A staple for any pub crawl. Spacious, laid back. Nice for kicking back in a corner somewhere or blending in the wide open area that makes up most of it. I’ve never had a bad time here, but I also hardly stay more than an hour or two.

Above average bartender (Pete). Decent drink specials. $ 5 for various drinks. Nice interior. Plenty of space to mill around. Could see this as a regular hang out spot

No…
Olivers can be summed up in two words… Identity crisis… with no air conditioning… Kiddie rap music, with sports on TV, Ikea light fixtures, Air France and British beer pictures, yet a vintage setting, and a name that adds to the confusion…
Great location for somebody with a better plan to take over… or any plan…

Oliver’s earned a rare one star for their brunch «deal» which included a free bloody mary or mimosa. Tiny drinks that tasted horrible, very long wait for relatively cold and mediocre food, and generally poor service all contributed.
I’m actually upset with Unilocal for reminding me that this meal happened.

Big spot! I went on the day where it was day light saving and they really want to kick us out when it reached 4am. Sucks because I put in a dollar for my song and they played 10 seconds of it and told everyone they were closing up already. (**)
It’s a really nice corner space I think. Looks very classy outside. I had on my sneakers and was a bit reluctant to go in because I thought there was a dress code, but once I step foot in there it was very casual. (***)

Rarely do I feel inclined to draft a review of a spot while I’m still in its midst, ostensibly partaking in its pleasures. But considering I’m alone and particularly turned off, here goes! The fact that this is probably the biggest bar in the Village and nearly empty on a Saturday night should be a tip-​off. The service is laughably and distractingly lazy. Both times I’ve been here the servers seemed to hate their lives (and, ergo, you) more than usual. The prices are way inflated for typical crappy bar food. And both beers I’ve ordered were either not what I ordered or both kegs were kicking… Hmm dubious. The only positives at Oliver’s are the aforementioned space, and the décor’s buttoned-​up charm.
Keep hunting, unless you’re with a really big, drunk crowd, one of whom happens to be a wealthy patron.

I’ve been here a few times, killing time before catching a movie at IFC. The food is okay, the drinks are decent. It’s really nothing all that special — other than the fact that it is huge and never that packed considering the neighborhood it is in.

Every year or so I go in here because all the other bars in the immediate area are busy and I’m either thirsty or hungry. Im quickly reminded why I don’t come here intentionally. It just isn’t a good place.
1) the french onion had a vinegar taste
2) they were out of 2 beers our group wanted
3) we were there to watch the presidential debates, the sound on one side of the restaurant wasn’t working (we asked and they told us it was broken)
4) manager had no control over restaurant. We couldn’t hear the TVs (mind you they were advertising showing the debates) and there was a single table creating 90% of the noise in the restaurant which was directly behind us and caused us not to hear the debate. Manager was totally oblivious. I said something when we left to go to another bar in the middle of the debate. She had no clue what was going on or that there was ever a problem. It made me feel vindicated that the person next to us left as well.
Not a good bar for either food or drinks. Look elsewhere.

Weird mix of patrons. I just came back from London was so pleasantly amused to see all of the London /​British references in the décor. However, it didn’t really feel like a British pub in my opinion.
I can say one thing though — awesome happy hour deal. Two for ones. can’t beat that.
That’s really all I have to say.

Eh, we were looking for 1) a happy hour deal 2) a place with seats on a Friday evening. Oliver’s delivered with 2 for 1 until 7 and empty seats. But the first beer on draft my friend tried was completely flat. The replacement beer took more than 10 minutes to arrive (and we were sitting at the bar). The food was pretty underwhelming and West Village priced. And I have to say, some of the other clientele (who were friendly with the bartender) were a little too weird/​creepy/​drunk for 6PM.

We met up with friends here before dinner recently. The music selection is absolutely bizarre (it was fully noticeable — in fact conversation stopped a few times as it changed from blurry background music to screaming death metal), but the service was good and the drinks were tasty. Pricey, but I’d love to go back.

I can’t comment on the food as we only came here to start drinking early on a nice Saturday afternoon around 4pm. We started with 4 people in our group and eventually became a group of 8 or 9. As more people joined, the manager kept adding tables and chairs to accommodate us without any fuss. We were there till 6:30 and were drinking pretty slowly it’s not even like they were getting a lot of money out of us. Full points to them for service.
I had a couple of bloody marys. They were made okay, but not cheap at $ 9 and kind of weak. They did have a decent selection of beers like Sly Fox and Chimay. Unfortunately they don’t have a HH (at least not on Saturdays), so I can’t see myself returning.

So there’s the good and the bad.
The good is that there’s a super awesome chill crowd during weekday nights. The bartender is super nice, and if you make friends with that chill crowd then you make friends with her. I ordered 2 beers and a shot of jw and she took off the beers off the bill. Of course I hooked her up with an awesome tip since it made up for the drinks.
The bad is that no one is taking care of the bathrooms, there was no tp in one of the stalls and when I warned some stranger she insisted that she’d drip dry and it was all good.
There was also a few bums that would enter cuz they left the door opened and when this guy I met gave him $ 1 to get him away he tried to order a beer. The bum was starting crap with the customers and this poor bartender didn’t know how to handle it.
And the place smelled like old wood, like old moldy wood. I probably wouldn’t eat here, but I’ll definitely be back for drinks.

Pride weekend started here, as it always does for my little group. I love this place for a drink and bites. The bloody Mary’s were extra spicy (after I corrected the mixture), the bartenders are super friendly, there’s always a seat and the shots are huge! What more can you ask for?

My husband and I were wandering around the West Village hoping to go somewhere we hadn’t been to yet with only one thing in mind– budget. We came across Oliver’s and thought it looked really cute and the sandwich prices weren’t that bad and the sandwiches even came with a side. That’s so unusual here!
So we pop in and a guy (manager? Owner?) seats us right away. The place had a few parties, busy enough to not be too dead but not too busy. The guy ended up taking our order. Husband had the burger and I had the turkey burger, we both chose french onion soup as our side.
The food was pretty tasty, I actually really liked my turkey burger. Not dry like other places’ turkey burgers. The real star though was the French onion soup. Well flavored and stocked with the right amount of onions and bread inside and perfectly melted cheese on top. Mmm.
Overall it seems like a place I would go back to to watch a game and munch on something. The only weird thing about this place was the bartender girl who was also waitressing. She wasn’t serving us but I observed how she was with the party behind us and she came off as really short and rushed– and it wasn’t THAT busy in there. But for us at least we had good experience.

I love Oliver’s. Although it’s large, it feels intimate and cozy. I frequently come here on a Friday night after work with my girlfriends for a quiet drink and a tasty appetizer. It’s a great location — and a convenient place to meet up before the night begins. It can get quite busy after 10pm, but by then, you don’t mind the extra bodies around. The music selection can be a bit hit or miss (it’s more suited for a Sam Cooke and Motown vibe, but modern hits appear as well). But those are the rules of the jukebox.
The main reason I keep coming back, is for the lovely staff. It’s a bit «Cheers» like. The girls are great, the guys are friendly and I love, love, love my regular bartender, the «one with the tats». He makes a mean cocktail, he’s always encouraging me to try his new drinks, which I inhale, and he’s a total gentleman. Sometimes I bring first dates here, just ’cause I know I have a friend watching out for me behind the bar.
I’m a regular for a lot of reasons. So, come! Just don’t take my seat.

This was my water and feeding ground for a whole year, and I gotta say this, you dont get a better bar family after working all night dealing with the west 4^th crowd. The bartenders are courteous (especially the tattooed one) and super friendly, yes, they do get swamped sometimes and you have to wait, but hey, its the village! live with it or go back to the Bronx…
Miss you creepy bartender with tattoos!