McGinley Square Pub

What a cute pub! Randomly dropped here Valentine’s Day night with my BF to grab a drink. Definitely a spot perfect to just hang out and chill with your friends. It’s nicely decorated and has an area to play Darts, Checkers and Chess. There’s also a back area near the bathroom to chill out too. Definitely a great place to just have a good, relaxed time with drinks, games and friends. Oh and $ 5 drafts, a definite plus!

Great bar, great music, and great beers. What else do you need to know?
Seriously though, a nicely varied clientele, polite bartenders, a dart board, and chill atmosphere make this bar an easy fit.
Love the old school décor details, such as their chandeliers. Why not make a good thing pretty too?

This is the pub I’ve been searching for. Chill vibe, good beer selection, old school décor and a dart board! I’m telling you McGinley Square is coming up in general and places like this are why.
Can’t recommend it enough if you’re looking for a place to hang in the area.
There is a fold down big screen that I assume is used for big games /​events, but past that… no TV’s! It’s heavenly.

High rate from me on beer selection alone. While technically the glasses are smaller, you’re getting premium craft beer at permanent happy hour prices. Chess and Jenga and Cards Against Humanity make for excellent ice breakers, so get off your phones, people! (Easier said than done, I’m fully aware).
Javi knows his stuff, and whoever is in charge of music is aces.
Speaking of music, they have live music Monday (acoustic) and Tuesday (jazz) nights.
DO NOT pass this place up.

This is a great spot! Everything a bar needs, and nothing it doesn’t. Great beer at great prices, friendly bartender. Lovely, warm décor! A 10 minute walk from my house! Everything good, nothing bad :-D

I love hole in the wall places and this little gem is another to add to my list. I love places that aren’t over crowded and ones that are reasonably priced. First off $ 5 DRAFTS on tap!!! (Some can be excluded though like the limited ones for example) You can not get any better than that!!! And they switch the selection so you get to try something new often. Second GAMES!!! Darts, Jenga. Third no WIFI omg the horror! Yea right! It’s about time you actually interact with the people you’re meeting up for a drink with!!! And lastly the service is always great here. They’re always friendly and interactive, as well as you get some complimentary treats sometimes if you’re there long enough.

My new favorite place. Great addition to the neighborhood. Ever changing craft beer selection, with friendly-​knowledgeable staff. Jc art on the walls and friendly/​interesting locals/​neighbors all around. every night. Why go downtown?

Love this place! Great selection of amazing craft beer and really chill atmosphere.
The bartenders are always super nice and the owner Angelo is a really nice guy.
My husband and I have visited several times and we have never been disappointed, at one point they had wine ice cream and that was so delicious!
Great beer, great price, great people, great place. A MUCH needed reprieve for this neighborhood!!!
Run, don’t walk there!!!

What a joke — $ 5 dollars for all beers — they are 10 oz really 8 oz mugs — try serving them in appropriate glass ware if you are a serious beer establishment — the neighborhood is so starved for decent establishments that people are giving it good reviews — go down the street to the bbq joint and get a 20 oz peroni for thr same price with decent food and thr game on thr tv to boot — skip the undersized beers and the checker boards

I just moved around the corner from this place from NY. Is it a change of scenery here? Definitely yes. But this place seems like a saving grace in the neighborhood.
My roomie whom is a bartender told me about this place and how laid back and awesome it is. $ 5 beers?! They also apparently have pizza, which I am sad about knowing after the fact… I bought a $.99 cent slice from the place next door.
The bartender was super friendly, though my clumsy self knocked over the ice in my drink when trying to be kind and scoot it towards him for easy reach. What can I say? I’m lovably awkward, or something.
I really dig the back room they have. It makes me think of a tucked away speak-​easy, and they have candles that give you that vibe as well.
I’m a little bit on the shy side, so I’m not entirely sure if i’ll pop in much solo, but perhaps I’ll be brave and try to make some local friends.

I pass by here pretty much everyday and finally convinced some friends to join me there. I like that they do not have any televisions. It makes the experience more enjoyable. The place wasn’t crowded at all but it was a cool vibe. You can play checkers or chess in the front of the bar. It’s a cute area. I did enjoy myself and was able to converse with other patrons.
I must admit that I was surprised that Stoli and Malibu costs $ 10. These are not top shelf liquors and typically runs $ 7-​$ 8 in other bars in downtown Jersey City and NYC. The house liquors are $ 5. We ordered two bar pies and they were really, really good.
Service could have been better. We had to get the bartender’s attention every time we wanted another round and to close the tab. Like I said, it wasn’t crowded so the service should have been better.
I will return because I feel that residents should support their local businesses. It’s also close to home! I don’t always like having to go downtown or into the city to have a few drinks.

How can you not like a legitimate local old school bar that without any remorse chooses NOT to serve Budweiser, Coors or Heineken… and doesn’t have Wi-​Fi and encourages its patrons to keep their phones in their pockets and actually TALK to each other? Come and check out their craft beers… and try to keep your phone in your pocket. It’s liberating!

This bar has everything you can want in a local pub. Great beer, good music, and knowledgeable bartenders. If you’re tired of the fancy and expensive downtown spots this is your place.

Old-​school JC.
This area is not ghetto, yet its not downtown gold-​coast-​quality.
The local residents are BNR JC’ers and thus, this bar is fulla dem peeps.
I like the patrons, the drink specials, and the bartenders. I hope visa-​chindia doesn’t make its way out this west or the lease space will hit the roof.
Unfortunately, its near Hudson Catholic, which is the beat-​down lil brother school of the best high school in JC, St. Peter’s Prep.
Go Marauders!

Excellent music, especially if you were raised in the 80’s-90’s. Beers are delicious, lots of variety. Bartender knew his stuff and was very inviting/​helpful.
They have chess and checkers. It’s the relaxing bar this area needed so badly. Also, their bar pies (pizza) are quite good for being frozen pizzas. New hangout spot for sure.

Ok, so I might be a little bit in love with this place. I moved to the area from the heights a few months ago and every.single. person. I spoke to told me to check it out. I was a little hesitant to check it out alone but Bloss gathered some of the gang and showed me the ropes. I’ve literally been back every Friday.
Drinks: Awesome. Craft beers on draft, yummy ciders, full bar.
Food: Limited but spot-​on. Sometimes all you need is a bar pie. People keep mentioning the wine ice cream but I haven’t seen anyone order it. Maybe I will one of these days.
Service: The best. Javi, the «Beer Snob» bartender is chill but attentive, keeping things under control with a watchful eye and wry humor.
Space: Cozy but not crowded. Warm and welcoming. It’s coming along nicely with the additions of a dart board and wingback chairs.

5 stars for the beer and the prices. Craft beer on draft for $ 5 Awesome selection including Kentucky Bourbon Ale, Dogfish Namaste, River Horse Tripel, 902 Black IPA, and more. The location is a bit random but again, for those prices, it is awesome. They have bar pies which are $ 10 and pretty good– most places in the area close early so you don’t have a lot of other options. They also have flights, beer cocktails, regular cocktails, and a nice bottle selection.
Apparently the owner is not interested in adding more food. I think this is a missed opportunity if they actually do not because they will definitely attract more customers. No TVs or anything either. Definitely a random spot but one I am sure I will be back to, simply for the beer selection.
Highly recommend visiting this spot if you are in Jersey City and enjoy a good beer.

I checked out the new and improved McGinley Square Pub this past weekend. First thoughts — the front bar is small and dark, the drinks are cheap and with some better marketing I think this place has potential.
While considered a local bar for me, the location lends itself perfectly to the college crowd as St. Peter’s is next door. I’m curious to see the crowd over time.
I hope they develop a (good) food menu at some point as that’s a huge missed opportunity for them.
But time will tell…

First they get a Wonder Bagel, and now McGinley Square has the McGingley Square Pub. No no no no, it’s fine. I’m not at all envious. It’s cool. MSP checked all of my boxes on my recent visit:
— Friendly bartenders
— Awesome beer selection on tap and good bottle selection as well
— A small selection of specialty beer based cocktails
— Free munchies at the bar (wasabi chick peas)
— Awesome 90’s rock music which was briefly interrupted to play a few minutes of one of the best movies ever made*
— I left with a belly full of beer without impoverishing myself
— One of the few bars in the area that’s not Cash Only
This place is an awesome addition to Jersey City and even though it’s not particularly close to me, I can see myself stopping by somewhat regularly. The décor and vibe of this bar reminded me of legit pubs in the UK and Ireland, which is really rare to find in this area. And $ 5.00 for some craft beer is about as good as it gets. Great job McGingley Sq Pub, you guys are crushing it!
*Goodfellas

‘Bringing it back to what it used to be’ is what our friendly bartender told us when I asked about this ‘old’ pub that was having its soft opening tonight.
What would that be… Well, This is a neighborhood bar.
Tin Ceilings, wallpaper, beams, long accommodating bar… all looked original to the place… well maintained if it is, nice job if it isn’t.
No tv’s, no tables.
Just barstools, an eclectic and inclusive group of neighborhood folks and beverages.
Nice selection of craft beers… I can’t remember any because I tried a few… I’ll update when I visit again.
There will be a kitchen with bar food somewhere down the line.
Ill update when that gets going too.
Fingers crossed for these guys. Its exactly what this up & coming neighborhood needs.