McGarvey’s

Absolutely two of the most horrible experiences I’ve ever had at a bar a couple of weeks ago I showed up at McGarvey’s and I had to wait about 20 to 25 minutes to get a drink so I posted my displeasure on Facebook and lo and behold I walked in tonight and I was immediately thrown out terrible service terrible wait times not a bar I would ever go to if I was visiting the Manchester area.

The food is always on point and perfectly cooked drinks are strong, but still tasty great beers on tap this place is a must! friendly staff too

It’s nothing more than another dive bar on Elm Street, but is nicer than some of the others. They have karaōke almost every night of the week and a couple of pool tables that are fun during the week, but during the weekends there is barely standing room and is best to avoid it then.

Dump. Miserable hag works the bar. Saw a bouncer do the knockout game on a a patron who was over served. Stay away!

Fun dive bar! Went here with a group from work and this place was great! We didn’teat, so I can’t comment on the food! They have pool tables and skee ball which is great for groups. Also have a dance floor and karaōke on Tuesday nights. Bartenders were friendly and accommodating. The locals were all very welcoming which was a bonus! Cool place!

The best nachos in New Hampshire. Have you ever watched food network and wondered what it would be like if one of those celebrity chefs or execuitve chefs from bravos chopped made you nachoes or… well anything? Then taste the hidden gem the gourmet creations by Mel the closely and some would say vicously guarded secret of McGarvey’s.
I know you reading this. You’re at Mint or worse Margaritas the home of the consistently declining standards. You’ve been to McGarvey’s and seen the pizza. That is because yhe maestro has gone for the evening and your drunk karaōke loving lips wouldn’t know the diffwrent between water and a long island. Be bold, brave and original. Come for dinner. Come to McGarvey’s the secret food paradise of elm st.
Heck Mel will even chat with you about the dish and how ue cooked it and came up with recipe. A true culinary treasure

Food was great ’ friendly atmosphere. would definitely recommend it. Cheers to the chef!!!

Worst staff other than the door guy, he was awesome! Got looked at several times and not once asked if I needed anything! 30 mins at a bar waiting for a drink with three bartenders… In all seriously never going back unless i walk by and see new faces that give a shit to be a service to people!

Updating my review because the new owner reached out and that was a pretty nice thing to do.

I was going to only give three stars but then I remembered this is Manchvegas where hip only exist just above your knees and certainly not in any pubs in this god forsaken town.
If there is an oasis from the douchebaggery that is synonymous with this area it’s this place. Regulars have a bit of coolness, reminds me a bit of home in JP. Miller high life and Jameson’s is always cool.
karaōke is hit or miss, the guy that runs it on the weekends is kind of a schmuck. I thought karaōke is about self-​deprecation not turning it into a nightclub?
But as it is the only place I can get a drink and feel relatively normal here it gets an ok from me!

If you sit down at the bar and are neither a regular, nor a drunk girl in a slutty outfit, you may end up sitting there for upwards of ten minutes before being served. The majority of the bartenders have a generally crap attitude, acting as though you’re wasting their time after the finally get around to serving you. From my experience, those without said crap attitude generally are about as vanilla as they come. A dull, dreary look in their eye, disinterest in almost anything short of your drink order, which they may or may not get right the first time and a near inability to remember one’s drink order the second time around without an empty bottle to give them a hint.
The bar itself is so-​so. Clever drinking related proverbs and quotes line the walls, along with random pictures of sailboats and beer ads. And much like its slightly worse cousin Raxx down the street, it too contains small, uneven pool tables with arched cues and worn cue balls.
The crowd can be a mixed bag. Sometimes you may find an interesting stranger to drink with, other times, it feels like the sort of stand-​offish vibe one might get when they see a co-​worker they don’t know at a community clinic.
The beer selection is standard, as are the booze. Kareoke can be entertaining, if you catch it on the right night. And in terms of silly drunks, it can pretty much be counted on that you’ll see something. Sometimes it’ll be a show. Either someone so silly drunk they turn into Arthur (the Dudley Moore version, not the new Russel Brand type,) OR they may just be «on» in that way where everything they say is somewhat of a chuckle. OR then again, you may just end up with the slurring halfwit from the boarding house up the street who wants to tell you a dozen or so times about how much he or she has had to drink.
Again, like almost everywhere in Manchester to booze it up, they’ll get you drunk. The service will suck, you’ll be surrounded by a variety of people, some who outright suck, others who may not… there are better places in town, but there are certainly worse. (Namely Raxx…)

i love this bar every time i go there there is a huge fight it is awesome and they have karaōke

I saw the review here saying they have Miller high life, so I had to check it out! I came on a night a bunch of girls were getting drunk and having fun, and it was fun just watching them get crazy. More people showed up and it was really a party atmosphere. Karaōke started later and was fun also. In general I really liked this place, but the bartender was not the most attentive. Def. will return!

Always a fun place to hang out and just soak up your surroundings…

Good place to hang out with friends but don’t bother going by yourself. there are better places to drink alone.

NEVER AGAIN!
I was first introduced to McGarvey’s by my friends older brother about a year ago, several of us went out to have some drinks and play pool. It was a low key weekday night barley anyone in the bar, but we still were able to receive awful service! The same bartender every time I go in there since has not messed up my order but messed up our checks! NEVER put anything on a tab there and make sure you receive you drinks before paying for them. She has major attitude and will never fess up to her mistakes. I should have realized after that first night, when she charged 3 of us for the same round of drinks, that I should never go there again. But after I witnessed her take a mans money tonight, put it in the register and then IGNORE him and not serve him the drinks that he ordered, THE DRINKS THAT HE ORDERED FOR A MARINE VET OF ⁹⁄₁₁! and then she proceeded to still charge the marine vet (my boyfriend) for the drinks this gentleman purchased for him. She constantly double charges people for the same orders, ignores half of her bar (that is completely understaffed) and is extremely rude to her guests at the bar! I work in customer service if you cant handle people asking you for things when its your job then you need a new job sweetie and an attitude check! I live blocks away from McGarveys but I will never go there again!

I NEVER WANT TO DRINK ANYWHERE ELSE. why?
rach: may i have a miller high life?
bartender: bottle or draft?
a) you friggin HAVE miller high life? b) in a bottle OR on tap?! i’m starting to wonder why i live in massachusetts and not new hampshire. i genuinely love miller high life. it’s my destitute beer of choice. any bar that carried high life HAS to be my speed… divey, but not sketchy. karaōke aplenty. dahts, games, tvs. ellio’s-looking pizza at 12:30. good prices. rad quotes on the wall. a giant hot dog statue. good for chatting, great for drinking, excellent for shaking dat azz if need be.
my complaints? karaōke ended too early for my liking. that’s all. i’m sure it has to due with noise violations and all this, but i was told by locals that karaōke usually runs pretty late. but i really wanted to sing «i believe in a thing called love» by the darkness! :(

McGarvey’s is a typical dive bar. As you enter, you’ll see a plastic hammerhead shark on the right next to some trophys. There is also a room to the right with 2 pool tables. In the back, there is a set up area for bands and two dart boards. Basically, there is a long bar with smaller TVs to the right and tables with stools and booth seating all the way down the wall to the left. There is always loud rock or country music playing in the background.
My buddies and I stopped at McGarvey’s for some drinks and bar food on a slow Sunday night. The bar menu is very limited (hamburger, bbq rib sandwich, chicken tenders, chicken wings, mozzarella sticks, chicken tenders, jalepeno poppers, slice of pizza, fries, onion rings). The bartender took our drink and food order. We ordered some Guinness (Draft), Labbatts (Bottle), Rum & Coke (a bit watery), and Diet Cokes. The food we ordered was a Hamburger (microwaved) with chips & pickle ($ 4.25), BBQ Rib Sandwich (microwaved) with chips & pickle ($ 4.25), Chicken Tenders ($ 6.95), and Battered Onion Rings ($ 3.75). All of the bar food was actually tasty.
This place is getting old inside, but it’s good enough to have some drinks & finger food and to chill in downtown Manch.