Julius

My hubby and I go to Julius nearly every Sunday afternoon (and I miss it when we can’t). As Stephon says: «It has everything!» Danny is the best bartender — charming and erudite. He knew our names and drinks after one visit and always is glad to see us. The regulars are nice and very interesting — always willing to chat if you like, or leave you to your drink if you want. Music selection (usually curated by the same gentleman on Sunday afternoons) is excellent and not so loud you can’t converse. It has exactly the atmosphere you’d expect from one of, if not the, oldest gay bar (or just plain bar) in NYC. It shows it’s considerable age — but don’t we all? It’s just part of Julius’ considerable charm. The drinks are delicious, we love the food on Sunday afternoon and both food and drink are ridiculously cheap.
It’s not for everyone (thank God), but if you are looking a neighborhood bar that’s laid back, friendly, and always welcoming, Julius is for you. Looks for us on Sunday afternoon!

What a great gayborhood bar. Daniel, the bartender is super friendly, ask him about gay history, mattachine & stonewall history. Big plus, they have great burgers and fresh cut french fries.

Great spot! Cheap drinks and food! $ 3 cocktails during Happy Hour!
Definitely going to go back!

It’s not located on a popular street, it’s kinda hidden, but it’s a very divey bar. Drinks were okay, the crowd was mostly mixed with lesbians, bears, twinks and otters or all ethnicities and races. Music is mostly by the music box, in which you pay to have your song on. Oh, and it’s cash only!

This bar was super old inside and the bartender was beyond sweet. The beer selection was pretty standard, but still really worth going to for atmosphere and service!

Apparently yes they are the oldest gay bar… with the oldest beer lines and soda guns as the tap beer tasted like crap… clean that stuff guys.
I’ve been here a few times and it’s always pretty chill, older crowd of drinkers. The old guys are nice although some probably should be opting for an AA meeting instead. Depending on the cook the food can be good or terrible. I’d just stick to the burger. It is definitely not the cleanest place in town.
On my most recent and probably last visit I came in for a quick beer and burger for lunch and there was no one there. The bartender and cook were complaining how this day was the least busy they have ever had. Well maybe it’s because the bartender and cook were completely unfriendly, and the cook was the worst I encountered, giving me the shittiestly cooked burger and undercooked greasy fries that I ever have been served anywhere. Maybe that’s why your guy’s shift doesn’t pack in the crowds. A smile and a greeting does wonders for making people come to your bar shift instead of the 100 other bars around the area. Good luck.

Great oldest gay bar in NYC.
This is not your typical place where you have loud Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Beyonce songs blasting through the speakers (unless you play those songs on the jukebox). This is a no frills dive bar with decently priced (around 5 – 7 bucks) drinks. Just note that the bar is cash only. The bar is pretty spacious and not too crowded on Sunday nights. Plus, the bartenders that work on Sunday afternoons/​nights are pretty funny.
Even better, the bar has an onsite burger pit where one can get a variety of fried and greasy food.. . perfect to absorb the booze from your alcoholic beverages. I have not had the food but I have not heard any complaints.
Most of the people are pretty friendly and the patrons’ ages typically are the 30 and up crowd.
All in all it is a great bar hidden away on W10th street.

I will never come back on a Monday night. They close the bar early (last call at 2:15– kick you out at 2:30), the bartenders are singing the gross semi-​truck stop blowjob radio music as you drink your beer you drank instead of the one you really wanted.
Really– the bartenders bitch about their «brotha» they can’t stand while not being able to talk to each other with jovial fluency.
I’m grossed-​out. I go to the John Cameron nights when they happen here. I come for a promising second date here. I won’t do Monday’s again.
I don’t think Edward Albee would approve of the lackadaisical practices happening at Julius currently. Or would he?
But I love this place.
Get it together, guys. For all of us who care about the historical integrity of your place and just want a good ol’ beer to boot!

I’ve been here so many times with friends, that it’s hard to count. For being perhaps the oldest gay bar in the city, it shows on the walls filled with awards, decorations and kitch from decades beyond and in its cozy and laid-​back demeanor. Julius, which I feel could be the «Cheers» of gay bars in the city, continues to bring people in from all demographics on every night I come here. The staff really does know your name and is so friendly. They also serve some delicious greasy food should you have a craving. One of my favorite places.

I love Julius! Prior to this I’ve never been to a gay bar, so I didn’t know what to expect. The crowd was mixed and everybody was chill. Everybody made me feel welcome here. This is a great bar to unwind and have good conversation, all while enjoying low cost drinks. I will be coming back whenever I’m in town!

A dive bar with a place in history. Smells like a bar if you’re into that.
I’m sober and the bouncer wouldn’t let me bring my coffee in. Doesn’t make any sense if they’re not running an espresso bar…

Enjoyed the historical atmosphere then we see the three blind mice make their way from the rear of the bar into the kitchen as it was an evening ritual. It was a disgusting sight and were so glad to have not ordered anything to eat. We couldn’t even finish our draft beers, now understand why their rating is pending.
If you decide to come here just bring rat poison and hand sanitizer.
We did report this to 311.

Hooray for Julius and its gay dive bar awesomeness! Julius is one of very few gay bars that is at once affordable, laid-​back and full of friendly personalities.
We’re talking $ 3 wells, $ 5 beers any day of the week — where else in the West Village can you find prices like that? Their food is perfectly suited to the bar atmosphere: greasy, delicious, and unpretentious. At just $ 5 for a burger and $ 3 for fries, you have all the makings of a place that really is a home away from home.
What really makes Julius special, though, is the history that permeates its walls. They say this place is older than the original Stonewall, which gives some sense of the breadth of gay history you can encounter here. The crowd here is typically older (like AARP members), but patrons of all ages are made to feel welcome. If I were a gay tourist visiting NYC for the first time, I would make Julius my first stop, whether as a launching pad for a night in the Village or as a relaxing destination in its own right.

Came here on my lonesome (new to the city) because I wanted something laid back, cheap, and cozy.
Julius delivers on all fronts. The bartenders are all so nice (they called me «young man» and gave me a drink on the house). There is an interesting mix of regulars and random people dropping in. I’d say it’s mostly an older crowd, but it was fairly mixed when I was there. Cheap bar eats (burgers, hot dogs, mozzarella sticks, etc) if you’re hungry.
Prices are more than reasonable. $ 3 well drinks until 9pm is probably one of the best deals you’ll find in the West Village!
Crowd is very down to earth… don’t need to worry about cliquey, pretentious queens staring you down here. People will chat with you or let you do your thing. Basically just feels like a nice gay neighborhood bar. Check it out!

Good price, hamburgers and music (even jukebox).
Unexpensive and very well located.

Stopped by for the happy hour and was pleasantly surprised. Not only were the drinks great, the prices were very reasonable. It was a laid back atmosphere with quick service. They had an open kitchen with a decent bar menu. It’s a bar that I will visit again.
It is a gay bar, but I went with my wife and did not feel out of place. Everyone was friendly. The bar had a homey feel.

I didn’t spend much time here, but I always appreciate a bar where you can have a conversation without straining. Laid-​back, quiet, and social — that’s how I’d describe this place.
Drinks were pretty good, not well-​liquor but not finely crafted either. For the price, it’s exactly what you’d want and like to have. Horray for meeting expectations.
There’s a lot of places to sit here, too, though it’s not too large of a place. It helps with conversations and getting to know someone.

I’ll get right to it — the burger here is a shocker, through and through, churning out for six bucks for the kind of burgergasm that one would happily shell out for over double the price at PJ Clarke’s.
But this is no PJ Clarke’s; it’s an ultra-​divey gay bar (for those of you who might have thought these two concepts presented an oxymoron) with a menacing/​charming bouncer at the door and a couple regulars like fixtures in the foyer.
On weekend nights and the random weeknight when someone throws a party, this place is packed beyond capacity, with a crowd four people deep choking the narrow hallway that passes by the old wooden bar and has a convenient but further space-​constricting rack of large, strong coathooks where you can hang your god awful winter coat or purse full of crap that you defy anyone to steal.
Drinks here aren’t particularly cheap or innovative, but if you get a mixed one, it’ll put hair on your chest.
Beyond the bar is a slightly elevated spillover seating area the size of a Village studio, leading to two tiny water closets which aren’t as traumatizing as they could be considering the traffic.
And then here’s the best part; facing off with the front half of the bar is a grill, always manned by a cook who is attractive or capable or both. There must be a menu chalked out somewhere, but all I know is cheeseburger that INCLUDES lettuce and tomato for 6 bucks, and a heap of fries with some of their skins still on for a few more bucks. You give your order until you hear your name in the din, then happily pay up for your burger cooked to order.
I’m not sure why these burgers are so good, seeing as they’re assembled en masse by greasy hands over a non-​discriminating industrial griddle. But if you ask for one rare, it will actually be rare (or medium rare for the less adventurous), and it will Knock. You. Out.
The first time I had one, I was 2.5 sheets to the wind, so I thought I just had Irish Car Bomb goggles on my tastebuds, but another near-​sober visit confirmed that this is one of the best burgers to be found anywhere, especially considering the speed, the ease, and the value, especially in the type of place where you would normally think you couldn’t even find some peanuts.
Julius is an unsung hero of New York City, singlehandedly solving a ton of West Village problems by providing a non-​pretentious, low maintenance haven of familiar drinks with CHEAP & GOOD food where all gays and non-​gays and everyone in between can bask in the edgy but oddly secure-​feeling (don’t forget the bouncers) nook. Julius is a watering hole through and through; quenching the body and soul with humanity’s most favorite poisons.

This is an awesome throwback gay bar in NYC that not only serves up some delicious, cheap cocktails, but they have some rockin’ food, too! Supposedly this is the oldest continuously operating gay bar in New York… and, sure, while it has been open since 1867, it wasn’t always gay! But, it sure is now… and has been for much longer than I’ve been alive.
So, what can you expect if you head to Julius’? Well, the bar’s been around for over 100 years – so it’s divey! But, that’s cool, right? For me it is because I love me a dive bar! In traditional dive bar fashion, the front part of Julius’ features a long bar with stools and some tables. The back of the bar has tables only and is set up so you can grab your bar food and relax a bit while eating.
As for drinks, they have an awesome happy hour from Monday to Saturday that goes from 4p to 9p. Yep, you heard right, 9p! Awesomeness! During this time, they feature half-​price well drinks and beer.
The food at Julius’ is awesome, too! Get the Julius Burger with cheese and bacon and the works! It’s super tasty! The onion rings and fries are good as well. Take it from me – they do greasy bar food right!

Julius is the gay version of McSorely’s but with more faaaaabulous beverage choices. Well, not really, but they offer more than dark or pale ale.
Old as Hell, grimy dive bar catering to what looked to be all gay men, me and my curious friend, Louis R (it was his idea to hit up this spot… hmmmmm).
I guess I would come back?