Ivy Inn

Bartenders don’t like to accept valid IDs. It’s quite the waste of the time for both parties. Invest in a scanner. People from Pennsylvania, you’ve been warned.

The manager here is such a rude person. My fiancé and I are from out of state (HI) and of course he didn’t believe our licenses. We made jokes about it because this happens to us all the time since no one sees Hawaii licenses, and he stated very angrily «I don’t want to lose my liquor license I’m just following protocol.» We stopped the jokes and thanked him for his time to make sure that our licenses were real and had a fun night. We came back tonight and brought our passports to ensure that there would be no problem in making sure that our ages were correct, and he said that my fiancé was «not stable» enough to enter and he said we would not be able to enter the bar tonight. I don’t know if he doesn’t like lesbians or if he just plain out doesn’t believe us of our ages, but he is extremely rude and I will gladly give the a&b my money instead.

Lively little joint to grab a pint or two with friends. Live music and karaōke nights are a hit. Small place but always a good time and the bartenders are super friendly. Wish they served food at night though!

The Ivy has some charm. Decent draft selection, nice bartenders, good service, cheap prices, karaōke and trivia nights, and a backyard. Usually that would keep me coming back, but their bouncer was beyond skeevy with my wife and a few of my female friends. Maybe he’s just bored and has nothing better to do, but I won’t go back til they get someone new.

They used to have the best wings in town. Then a year or two ago something changed… I think their wing chef must have left. That was a big loss for Princeton.
Other things this place does wrong is turn on karaōke during NFL games, play Yankees games during giants games, play loud music when there are no customers and youre just trying to have a conversation, the taps are often out, credit card machines often don’t work, and I’ve been kicked out a few times for no fault of my own. The crowd can be rough… I once met a gentleman who just got out of prison, where he had picked up a carnal desire for young men like myself, and had pictures on his phone to corroborate his story.
The one thing they do right is keep the beer prices low. And they sometimes have 1 decent beer on tap, but don’t count on it.

Love the Ivy Inn… But it is indeed a hole in the wall. But that’s what I like. Princeton has a lot of really nice bars, so its like coming to the hometown bar when going to Ivy. I have been to the Ivy numerous time, but usually frequent the bar when my friend/​DJ is cranking the music. I also go rather religiously to Tuesday night trivia. It doesn’t hurt that my team routinely performs well. The bartenders are friendly and eager to please.

The best staff, the best drink prices, the best karaōke! I love this place and I miss it soooo much now that I’m not in the area. I miss everyone from ivy inn crew! Lots of success for you guys!

Went on a Monday night because it’s just about the only place to play pool in the area (haven’t found any other tables which SUCKS). But heard this and that about the ivy but it was pleasantly nice on a Monday night, the bouncer/​bar guy was very friendly and filled us in on specials and his personal fav/​recommendation for beers. We had to wait to play pool as there were guys playing who all had brought their own pool sticks and things and seemed a bit intense for us; in no time we were on the table without anyone in line behind us. Pretty nice pool table it had just been refelted.
As for specials super cheap beer compared to anywhere else in Princeton and I hear the food is super good also (great price also like 8.50 for 10 wings). Had a pretty good IPA for 3 $ that was 8% ABV. Enjoyed it and would definitely go back

I miss my old rugby beer bar from upstate NY, so discovering the Ivy was quite a treat! Seems like a nice lowkey environment, and I look forward to visiting it more. A nice change from other downtown Princeton locations.

Bouncer is a real jabroni who has an arrogant chip on his shoulder. He has a jabroni’ish fu man Chu that is honestly, quite laughable. His excuse for facial hair actually makes me chuckle. He’s a poor judge of character and costs the bar money by giving people outside the bar a hard time. The bar has potential but getting a hard time by the bouncer makes me have no interest in going in the bar and people should literally go anywhere else… the library more than likely would give a patron a less hard time, and probably have better facial hair.

Best neighborhood bar in Princeton… great prices, amazing food, always a good time!
The bartenders are super nice too!
I highly recommend the chicken salad with sliced apples (see uploaded picture)

Had a great night here, I will be returning in 3 weeks when I come back to Princeton.

Local bar with cold bear and good spirits collection
Prices are well below the usual Princeton gouging that goes on at other places. Keep in mind it’s a local place. Nice terrace to enjoy the fresh air.

Cheap drinks but the crowd was too large and nuts for a «dive bar». Was out om the patio and a guy started taking a leak on the wall right behind where my buddy was sitting. Hard to take away stars on behalf of the crowd but that’s part of the experience. I’m assuming this was just a crazy weekend for some reason. I’ll go back another time and re-​assess.

Great friendly service. I come here often enough that they know my name and my beer order. They are always willing to accommodate crazy food orders that involve adding tots to any and everything!

The Ivy has FOOD?!! This is news to me. This is shocking. WHERE is the kitchen even? Underneath the building?! Jeez.
Anyway! Karaōke at the Ivy is a staple of Princeton. There’s always a bunch of Westminster kids there who can totally sing but I also kind of want to hit them sometimes.
Drinks are drinks. Service is AMAZING. I’ve never seen anything like the bartenders there. And I would love to see more things like the bartenders everywhere, if you catch my drift.
Outdoor patio is great for some fresh air or to watch people puke all over the place.

I wandered in to catch the Packers on a Sunday afternoon. The place is simple but delivers. Okay selection of ales. I tried four different beers (guess they don’t do buy-​backs in Princeton), each for $ 5. I ordered wings and was pleased to hear that they are half-​priced on Sundays – 50 cents per.
Service was fine, bathroom was clean. Non-​university crowd while I was there. Place is small but well divided into a bar area, beer garden, table area, and billiards room. Big advantage is parking. There are spaces behind and in front.

It’s a bar, it’s divey, it’s got a jukebox, and great bartenders. The crowd is chill, great spot to hang with friends, DJ comes in later, not shabby. It’s «traditional» bar food (as in basic). The burger is decent, fries have a good seasoning, and drinks are generous. Didn’t like the soup and the salads are really basic, but that because it’s a basic bar. A solid place though. Will return.

Why are people hating so much on Ivy Inn? Just by the outside rustic area and loud thumping music, you must know what you are about to get yourself into. This is a dive bar that has created a perfect marriage between cheap drinks and crazy drunk people. Now if you are appalled by that statement, you probably should go to a classier joint like Triumph, but if you just checked how many singles you have in your wallet, you can join me at the Ivy.
Hubby and I came here after fueling up on some good food at the late night happy hour at Winberies. It was around 10:30 pm and it felt like 2 am for some of these folks. Two nicely poured Vodka sodas and 2 fireball shots were about $ 12, which is just amazing. There was a $ 3 cover fee, yes, 3 whole dollars to come in because they had a live band, personally I think that’s more than fair.
The only reason I take out a star is because it was definitely a sausagefest and about 3 guys were WAY over their limit, falling all over themselves and the other was harassing girls. I guess typed out that makes this place sound awful, but I think this is bound to happen at a place that is so overly crowded with so much going on. I do think the security has to be stepped up, but there were no bar fights, no glass smashing, so all in all people were cordial to each other. It is a pretty mixed crowd of ages and even races. This is the only bar where I have seen a group of Latino men drinking at the bar.
They also have a pool table and sell beer to go. I would definitely return, but not alone and not with a group of only girls.

Karaōke Wednesdays!
Upsides — It is exactly what you expect. They have a decent selection of bar food and beer. The pub grub is standard, fries and burgers and sandwiches. Not super tasty, but decently priced and when you’re having it with some beers — it’ll do. They also have a pool alcove and a outdoor porch area out back.
Downsides — There is minimal parking. Ivy Inn itself is also pretty tiny. Not a lot of room. There’s basically just a bar, the karaōke stage, some minimal seating indoors and minimal seating outdoors. For the most part, it ranges from relatively to pretty crowded most days.

The Ivy or as it’s affectionately known «the divey», would only earn this title in Princeton. The Ivy is really just a normal bar, which is very refreshing in Princeton.
The food here is excellent, and I often come to eat here. I highly recommend the burgers, they actually listen to how you want it prepared. They also have tater tots!
They also have lots of fun events, karaōke, trivia, comedy, live music, ect. The management/​owners are also super accommodating to planning large events and ordering food/​drinks for a group.
The patio is also awesome for outdoor seating in nice weather. A Princeton institution with no match.