Haymaker Bar and Kitchen

I was excited to try this newer, seemingly nicer, more upscale, craft beer focused place before a recent concert at MSG, but had a less than stellar experience here.
We arrived around 5, early happy hour time. The place was quiet, tables were 90% empty, the bar not even full yet, yet the bartender didn’t want to serve us or answer any questions. We asked a question about a beer, then he left for 10+ mins, seemed really annoyed that we dared to try to buy drinks and just had a crappy attitude.
A few other friends joined us, went to the bar, and were also given attitude from said bartender for no apparent reason. The bar later got slammed post-​work, so of course the waiting only got worse. Friendlier bartenders eventually took over, but they weren’t great either.
I ordered a snack for us to share, then not only did it take a while, but it was barely luke-​warm when it arrived. It tasted ok. We didn’t have time to send it back at that point, and really wanted to be on our way. They also accidentally brought out 2 dishes when I’d ordered one, and of course charged us for both when our check came, after we had already brought it to their attention. It was frustrating to have to wait again for them to refund and recharge our bill when we had immediately sent back the extra, unordered food, and had been waiting on everything the whole time.
Overall, a crappy and disappointing experience. Beer prices are also all a bit higher than they should be. My super easygoing, beer-​nerd bf was even annoyed, so I know it was bad! We love craft beer and wanted to love this place, but «Meh» covers it.

This place is a hidden gem! Spacious, relatively quiet and clean. Beer choices are amazing! I am a dark beer girl, and To Ol Jule Maelk is yummy.

Stopped here on a whim, as we were in the area and wanted a quiet place to chill out and thaw out from the cold weather.
The décor is somewhat rustic and there is an ample amount of space, which I thought interesting for a place in Manhattan. We sat at the bar and the service was on point. The burger was juicy and definitely better than burgers I’ve had at most places. I’m picky about burgers, but I would order one from Haymaker’s again.
Great place to stop for some libations and/​or food. Would certainly return if we were in the area.

Actually really like this bar, they have very good food and nice atomasphere. 3 stars is for the strange policy they seem to have. 4 of us came in at 10:30pm for drinks and food on a friday night, we were told by the hostess that we can only have a table if we plan to order entrees. Well we really love their wings and mac and cheese, so technically we are ordering apps. She told us in that case we can only sit at the bar which did not have 4 empty seats open at the time. We were really confused as to why we couldn’t sit down at a table while half of the tables were not occupied. After a few confused and kinda embarrassing moments of standing in the front looking at eachother and the hostess who was not budging, one of us had to go back and reason with her that we plan to order a good amount of food since we were all hungry, and it being 10:30 at night, was she really expecting that we were gonna get in the way of their dinner service rush? She finally took us to a table, but we felt like we had to beg to sit down and spend money here, which is not how a customer should feel at anytime… the rest of our service/​food were good and diningroom seating never filled up all the way during our meal.
anyway, hope they keep up the good work and be a bit more flexible and smarter about the policies.

Awesome spot, friendliest staff we encountered, and great beers on draft. Can’t speak for the food, but the menu sounded incredible as well. Can’t wait to go back

Two blocks south of Penn Station/​Madison Square Garden on the Eighth Ave side. Good cocktail list — I had a Jack Rose which was fine ($ 12). Several craft beers on tap. Bartender was friendly, professional.
Not a sports bar. Décor has lots of blond wood. I don’t recall the background music. Big place; bring a lot of friends. I will be back.

The three bean and quinoa chili is delicious. Beer is ice cold and also delicious

This place just nailed my lunch!
Burger was good beef, properly cooked, had way better bacon than usually ends up on a burger and the bun was toasted. Solid fries and slaw too.
Good beer menus with thoughtful, helpful descriptions.
Thanks!

A much-​needed addition to the nabe that is finally seeing a gradual facelift, Harmaker’s food is great, and its beers are just phenomenal. I’ve been here twice now, once after a show at Magnet (grab that improv crowd!) and for an office holiday lunch that I steered here.
Food:
–The chicken wings are great, with that sweet chili and crispy garlic
–Creole Gumbo****: I got this the first time and it was awesome: love the andouille sausage & okra, which I’m not usually a big fan of
–Slow-​roasted pork ribs***: pecan bacon barbecue sauce & Bourbon sweet potatoes – this was also good, a bit more filling than what I was feeling that day.
The beer list, as I mentioned, is extremely impressive. I saw picks from Other Half, Peekskill, Finback, Firestone, and breweries I’d never even heard of. Spreading the love both domestically and international. Very cool.
I’m only taking a star off for weird service both times: the first time when there were at least a couple of wrong/​late orders, and during the holiday lunch, the waiter seemed really miserable (maybe he was having a bad day, it being a Monday and all). The private room in the back was great, though.
Here’s hoping you guys rotate the menu a bit, but keep that Creole Gumbo!

This is a nice spot to grab a bite and a few beers, especially if you are looking for something in the area if you are heading to an event at MSG. It’s swanky and sophisticated yet relaxed, and a very nice place to kick back and spend some time. Very unlike many of the establishments in the immediate area, it does not scream tourist trap, kitschy theme or money grab.
The beer list is impressive. They have some great options, including items that will make your snobbiest beer snob friends happy. They also employ a genius happy and sad face stamping system to make sure the beer list is current (sad faces are all tapped out and gone, happy faces are used for items on the «up next» portion of the menu that are now available).
Food matches the place. You can get a burger, albeit a pretty fancy burger, or more sophisticated items. I ordered the meatball appetizer, which was unique since the meatball mix included pine nuts. The sauce was tomato and flavorful. The crostini were a bit too toasty for my liking but still good. Everyone else reported liking their food as well.
Unfortunately, I will say that on the particular evening we visited the wait staff seemed overwhelmed and the kitchen was tremendously backed up. As such, it was harder than it should have been to get a fresh drink. Our food came out whenever it was ready — there was no effort to serve our group all at once, and it took a really long time for the food to come out in general. And while my friends’ food was piping hot, my meatballs were just lukewarm. I ate them anyway because we were in a rush, and it was still tasty, but I wished it had been hotter. Had the service been better and the food been a little more speedy and consistent, this would have been a five star review for sure.

This was a good find! I was meeting some family over by Penn Station for brunch/​lunch on New Years Day, and it’s slim pickings in that area on a normal day, so New Year’s Day seemed like it would be a challenge. The place we orginally thought about going to was closed, so I pulled out my phone to check my Unilocal app and see what else was around. I noticed haymaker and turned around to find it was just down the block from where we were and it looked like the lights were on!
We walked down the block to find the place empty, but they were open. So we grabbed a seat in the back, and got drink and food menus. I started off with a mimosa, which was good, nothing special really. I wasn’t hungover, but I was thinking that this was my last weekend to indulge before I hoped on the healthy for the new year bandwagon, so I ordered a burger. They have a decent sized menu with plenty of things that sounded good. The burger came with a special suace, caramelized onion jam and cheese — and it didn’t disappoint! It also came with a side of fries. I definitely enjoyed it, and it seemed like everyone else I was with enjoyed their food as well.
It’s hard to find good food places in that area, so this is definitely one I’m going to keep in mind. The food was good. The service was a little slow, but it was New Year’s Day and we were the first people there, so understandable. Overall I enjoyed it, and would definitely go back.

A great addition to the area. Went before a concert at MSG with a large group. We had no reservation but they were incredibly accommodating, giving us the whole back room. Service was very fast. Drinks were exceptional. Food was just OK. I had a caesar salad which was good. I liked the cornbread croutons a lot and the chicken was good. The meatballs were just OK.
Overall it is an excellent place for a drink or bite before a show. The staff was great We liked it so much we went back after the concert for cocktails.

Exceptional beer selection.
No flavored vodkas.
Somewhat limited cocktail selection in general.
Very limited food menu.
Inviting, vibrant atmosphere.
It’s your standard NYC bar.
It’s absolutely fine. No more. No less.

This place is newer and has a great location right near the Garden and Penn Station. We came here after hitting an early happy hour in the area and wow was it popping. The place fills up quick and most people, understandably so, gravitate towards the bar so we were lucky enough to get two seats.
We came here once before at about 1 in the morning and this was a completely different and better experience. They have an extensive beer menu and will let you try anything before you commit. They have a couple beers on tap part of their part of their happy hour. After reading all the food reviews, we were committed to getting the wings. We had two orders of the wings and they lived up to their expectations. The wings are meaty and the sauce was great, especially with a nice cold beer. Would easily come back here before a Ranger game.

As someone who works nearby Haymaker offers a much needed alternative to the sea of mediocre bars in the area. Primarily beer focused, the selection is excellent and rotates frequently providing a seasonal selection of unique craft beers. There are also wine and cocktail alternatives though I did not get try these. The food is a selection of gastropub fare with the standouts being the chicken wings, burger and the bread pudding dessert (amazing).
The décor is rustic meets modern minimalism, the space feels very open and is good for large groups or an after work happy hour. There are also a few tvs placed in visible but unobtrusive areas of the bar so as to allow you watch the game if you want to but not take over the atmosphere and make it feel like a sports bar.
Overall you really can’t do better in the area. Will definitely be going back.

Went here for a reunion so it was a pre-​determined menu. Food I tried was pretty good, sliders (burger and fr chicken) and those, both, were on point. Deviled eggs were EH, but okay. Drinks were good and staff was attentive.
Since this was a pvt event it is hard to say how they may be when its fully packed.
Décor is minimalist, somewhat modern. Not as bright as some of the pics showed (which i was happy about — who wants to be in a bright bar?). Some booths and even a few tables I think.
About 4 blocks from penn station and MSG, id say a good stop for a before game or concert drink/​bite vs the places that are within a block from the garden etc.
I work about 3 blocks from here, id go back.

Definitely has more of the «kitchen» than the «bar» vibe going on. Came for a birthday gathering and a large standing group mingling over drinks seemed to be a little out of the norm. The lighting isn’t particularly low, and the tables for food remain occupied by diners well into the night. But if you’re coming for a seated happening with a set number of attendees, they definitely have the space for it as this place is surprisingly huge.
The aesthetic inside is a little hard to pin down as it’s very sleek, spacious, and modern. But I guess that’s better than the «dingy dive» or «faux Irish pub» vibe you get at post places in the neighborhood catering to the denizens of MSG and Penn Station. This place seems to cater to the improv actor set from the Magnet Theater next door, so you might find yourself hit on by the performer type drinking away their post-​class jitters. We did.
Didn’t try the food so can’t speak to that– but the drink list was extensive and impressive, and had some cider offerings I hadn’t previously heard of. And the bar was busy on a Sat night, so clearly they have their devotees.

This place is an oasis in a sea of midtown mediocrity. Not your traditional Irish pub or cheesy sports bar, but rather a sleek designed upscale bar with a solid craft beer collection and perfectly executed cocktails.
The chef is taking traditional pub fare and elevating such as grandmas meatballs cooked the old school Sicilian way with pine nuts and raisins. Another stand out is the dry rub crispy wings which are far more innovative than your run of the mill buffalo wing. Crispy, sweet, and spicy. Macaroni and cheese baked with wine and pancetta is a home run.
Lastly, the bartenders are clearly veterans to the business. All the drinks are perfectly balanced and refreshing. Highly recommend the «final ward»

We were told that the Haymaker was the place to go in NYC for classy evening of drinks and food. What we were not prepared for was the wonderful atmosphere, killer drinks, spacious upscale bar and some o the finest beers tha I found in NYC.
The General Manager Tristan greeted us as we walked in and treated us like old friends or family. The service was impeccable and very welcomed in this city of getem in getem out mentality. The wings and meatballs were to die for. Will we come again, you betcha.

The sleek Haymaker is open. A blond wood bar with recessed lighting, banquettes & mirrors. Beers on tap & creative cocktails. The food menu is made up of bar bites & American comfort.
Ate:
Grilled cheese w/​fries & slaw $ 11
The fontina & cheddar cheese with bacon, avocado & tomato relish on a multi grain roll was spot on. The cidery slaw was fresh & light and the steakhouse fries were ridiculous. Even the half sour pickle tasted local. Haymaker knocked it outta the park. Welcome to the ‘hood!