Ready Penny Inn

I met local people that are awesome. The Jukebox is awesome and you can play pool. Diverse crowd and people are friendly but you can be left alone if you want to. I could go on and on how great this bar is. Check it out!

Recently moving to the neighborhood there is no shortage of places to eat, but we were looking for a place to just grab a drink and up came the Ready Penny Inn. Coming from Buffalo, we are comfortable in a dive bar setting so we were excited to go when we found one. It’s easily the thing that sticks out the most in Little India, but upon walking in it’s actually pretty clean and nice. Not dive bar at all, but rather a nice neighborhood joint with what looked to be a lot of locals/​regulars. There’s no food here, but Helen is a fantastic barkeep. She’s attentive and sharp on the draw. Prices aren’t bad either. Definitely a good spot.

This is my go to bar. Helen probably doesn’t know my name but she knows me as the Indian girl who is always ordering shots: P Nice quiet bar to get away from everything. It’s definitely a cozy place to be.

It’s both a blessing and a curse to have such a fun Irish bar so close to my home. Helen, one of the top notch bartenders at this seemingly «locals only» watering hole, makes this place the neighborhood gem that it is. She knows everyone by name, what they drink, and their whole life story. She always makes you feel welcome, and is the reason I have a slight beer gut now.
Initially, I was bummed that they don’t have a wider selection of craft beers (or any at all). But I quickly realized that would actually ruin this place. Ready Penny must remain what it is: An authentic, Queens style Irish pub. We don’t want to become like Brooklyn, do we?
They don’t serve food, but I personally feel it’s for the best. Just walk your happy ass to a nearby Halal cart.
The prices are right, football Sunday’s are super fun, I’ve met some really good people, and if you’re not careful, you’ll be a regular as well.

Great, chill Irish pub. They have a pool table, a juke box, and a machine that dispenses lotto tickets. A lot of locals/​regulars come here. A nice space but I wish they had a selection of craft beer aside from the regular stuff.
This place must have soundproof walls because you almost forget you’re in little India!

Pretty much what everyone else said. Juke box, can play some pool, cheap drinks, dark room. It’s the bar my friends in Jackson heights always make me come chill at. I can’t complain a decent spot.

Ready Penny Inn is a decent dive bar just near the Roosevelt Station. In a neighborhood full of cheap eats and cell phone shops, an Irish Dive Bar is a refreshing find.
They have a pool table and some games, but mostly a long bar and cheap beer. It’s dark and smells like cleaning agent and last nights spills, but that is really what you are looking for in a good dive.
Regulars seemed to know each other and seemed nice, but our group did not interact with the natives.

Hands down one of my favorite spots in town. Great local dive, I make a point to go whenever I visit my friend who lives nearby. Helen is a stellar bartender! She is lovely, kind, hilarious and treats patrons like family. For the folks who thinks she’s rude, guaranteed THEY are the assholes. It’s no frills, and you can engage as much or as little as you’d like. I also enjoyed conversation with the regulars. Please do yourself justice and check out this bar, it will soon be your favorite.

We had a lot of fun here. Drinks are reasonably priced and they have a dart board. All you need for a dive bar.

Ok. So the bar is pretty cool. Pool table, dart board, jukebox. Everything I like in a bar. You would think I had a great time. Only problem was the bartender. The whole time she was joking around with everyone until she got busy. And drunk. All of sudden she became super rude. Why are you in the service industry if you don’t like people? I think that you’re nothing without good customer service and that was definitely missing. If you want to hang out with your friends at the end of the bar, do it on your day off. I will not be returning and I would suggest you go to the million other bars that have liquor. And a GOOD bartender.

Man, there aren’t too many places like this left in New York. Old, dingy, authentically divey, and welcoming for just about anyone who pokes their head in. Not necessarily worth going out of your way for, but if you’re in the neighborhood and need a drink, you could do worse!

Liked the place, no cocktails but regular drinks were good and economic. Liked the music… Simple and nice place to unwind after a long day at work

A regular old neighborhood bar full of Middle aged men sitting alone or in small groups. I’m a 27 year old female, alone, and no one is trying to make casual conversation with me — I like that. A good spot to go when Duanne Reade tells you to come back in 30 – 45 minutes to get your prescription. They have a jukebox which is currently playing some terrible 80’s pop but
I suppose I could put something else on if I so chose to.
Hey, cheap booze, jukebox, clean bathrooms, pool table, and no one is trying to shoot the shit with me. Excellent.

Talk about dive bars — this is it.
Came here after enjoying some good South Indian food. It’s odd that it exists where it does, like walking through the wardrobe and finding yourself in a completely different place. Drinks here are priced exceptionally well. Bartender made me a decent Manhattan and a few friends and I shot a few rounds of pool.
With the Ready Penny, what you see is what you get. It’s the very definition of a dive bar. Do yourself a favor and stop in for a drink after a long day at work.
ps: One thing of note is that they do not take credit card and have no ATM. Minor annoyance.

Aaaw yeah. A real old-​school dive bar in the heart of an incredibly multi-​ethnic part of Queens. Get drunk off your butt for a few bucks alongside a model UN of people from all over the world and from all walks of life.
There aren’t many places like this left in the city; grab this one in while you can.
Get blasted here and then go eat momo from one of the 6 momo trucks around the corner.

You gotta love this place. The last standing dive Irish bar in Jackson heights, right smack dab in the middle of little India. Bartenders are great and the patrons are a wildly diverse group. Fun place and whatever game you want to watch will always be on.

I was unsure how many stars to give this place because it all depends on what you value in a bar. I went with four stars because the drinks were cheap, the service was good, and it was fairly clean.
My friend and I found this place on Unilocal and decided to meet up here before meeting some friends around the corner for dinner. I was really surprised to find this kind of bar hidden in the Jackson Heights neighborhood. Walking in around 6pm on a Thursday night the place was pretty empty, but it had a welcoming atmosphere. It was nicely decorated for Halloween coming up the next week, so I imagine they do have some holiday parties there. I was very impressed with the drink prices. I would definitely come back if I was in the neighborhood, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to go here.

The dive bar oasis of Jackson Heights.
We tried Ready Penny because everyone should have a go to dive bar near their apartment for emergencies. We showed up on a Saturday afternoon to test the day drinking potential of the place.
Sandwiched between an Indian grocery and a Pakistani fashion shop, the Penny is noticeable for its heavy wood doors that almost make you feel like this is someone’s house and not a business. Opening the door will take you back to every other Irish bar you’ve been to in America. It’s dark, somber and just a little sad. There are always at least four people of a certain age here, reading the paper, watching TV and drinking whiskey. It’s a place where people go so they can say they got out of the house but can still do the same things they do at home.
The lady bartenders are nice depending on which one you get, and the drinks are small no matter who’s behind the bar. Your drinks could be barely alcoholic to extremely strong depending on the mood of the lady. It’s proximity to the train and it’s lack kf convenient competition will keep me coming back but Penny won’t have much appeal to anyone outside the hood.
Have fun.
G

Best bar in Jackson Heights. All of the bartenders are first rate. Generous pours, eclectic clientele. From old-​timers to hipsters, everyone’s welcome. Helen, Maggie, and Eddie make the place what it is: a classic.

Just a good low-​key spot for drinking. You can bring in food from the carts or restaurant nearby. I do agree that $ 5.50 for a Stella is a bit much but Bud Light is cheaper and I am not a beer snob (most of the time).