Old Town Bar

45 E. 18th St., Gramercy, NY

7.3

map & more

Neighborhood
Gramercy

Cuisine
Bar Food
Burgers

Nearby
Irving Plaza

212-529-6732

Official Website

By Andrew Steinthal
October 16, 2009

Respect. We’ve got a lot of it for Old Town, a straight forward burgers, beer, and whisky kind of place. Over a century of Big Apple history lies within these walls, saturated into their prohibition-era marble bar and stained all over their vintage urinals and toilets. Old Town’s no frills formula has been working for generations. It’s all about the company you keep and beer you drink. It worked back when my grandfather used to come here for a game of checkers. It worked when my father used to come here with his law school buddies, and it works now when I want to grab a low key burger and beer with friends. Old Town is a true throwback. One of the few old-New York bar/restaurants that still exists in its original form from the 1800′s, unfazed by NYC’s always changing trends and fads.

Old Town sports a full menu of salads and sandwiches, all of which I’m sure are relatively tasty in their own right. I wouldn’t know though, because I come here for one reason and one reason only: burgers. Stick with what they do best and you’ll be just fine.

Food Rundown:

Burger Platter
This isn’t one of these fancy short rib or dry aged rib eye burgers that get all the headlines these days. Not even close. Simplicity in their beef patties is the key to Old Town’s success. Served on top of a toasted sesame bun, these puppies aren’t much to the naked eye, but they get the job done right. You can taste the grease from their old-school grill, and that’s a good thing.

Buffalo Wings
I can’t help myself from ordering wings even when I know the chances of them being good are slim to none. Don’t get overly excited, unless you dig wings that taste like they were frozen 20 minutes before arriving at your table.

Fries/Onion Rings
Shoestring fries that are typical pub quality, you’ll happily house a whole side order without thinking twice. The onion rings are nice and big, but a tad over-breaded for our tastes. Stick with the fries.