The floors at Nancy Whiskey Pub slant noticeably toward the back wall — not from design but from a century and a half of settling into Tribeca soil. This is one of the last unreconstructed drinking rooms in a neighbourhood otherwise synonymous with converted lofts and celebrity sightings. The shuffleboard table dominates the room with the authority of an object that has absorbed ten thousand arguments about whether the puck crossed the line. The crowd is regulars, off-duty firemen from the station around the corner, and people who wandered in from Canal Street and decided to stay for three beers. The jukebox leans classic rock. Nobody is here to be seen; everyone is here to drink.
Location
Tribeca, New York
Map
Insider Intel
Cheap draft beer — whatever is on tap and coldest. A shot of whiskey if the shuffleboard demands it. Nothing complicated, nothing precious, nothing that requires a shaker. The shuffleboard table is the centrepiece; play a game and settle the tab later.
Evening from 7pm when the after-work crowd fills the room and the shuffleboard table becomes contested territory. Late night for the committed regulars. Weekends can get surprisingly packed for a bar this unpretentious — the secret has been out for a while.
1 Lispenard Street, Tribeca. Canal Street station (A/C/E/1). Beers $5-7, shots $6-8. Cash preferred, cards accepted. The slanted floors are genuine — the building has been settling since the 19th century. The shuffleboard table is communal and competitive; ask to join a game. One of the last bars in Tribeca that has not been renovated into unrecognisability.