1020 Bar

Cheap drinks and chill atmosphere. Just lots of old dudes lol. One young bartender that’s normally here is amazingly nice and let us eat pizza in here! Other one is a bit grouchy but gets the job done!
During term this place is packed w Columbia students. When there’s break it’s really chill and empty: D

Definitely a divey vibe and super overcrowded with sweaty athletics after a long game. Drinks were decently priced and you could bring in food from other places.

Don’t like the people either behind the bar or in front of it and actually being able to play a game of pool there is usually so frustrating it’s not worth it.

Nice little bar. Came here with my friend for late night drink! Love the songs here and the bartenders!

It’s a real dive bar.
I’m rating it on that principal. Nothing special.
I can say it’s an okay crowd. It’s not too crowded. I’ve chatted with folks here. It’s definitely a good value. People are nice. Bartenders are solid.
Would I hang here often? No, but that’s just because I appreciate a more upscale scene. But Columbia isn’t in session at the time of this writing, so I can’t say what it’s like when the undergrads are around. It could get interesting!
Would I take a date here? Possibly, if she were a cool punk rock chick — or a college student.

This place has the audacity to have a roped off queue during primetime (Th-​Sat after 12AM), along with a sign that tells you to kindly be quiet as to not to disturb the neighbors. Sure, it’s cheap and easy and unpretentious, but there is absolutely a false pretense of exclusivity that they try to create with the line. The most disappointing part is trying to sweet talk the bouncer to let you in, fail 5 times consecutively, then FINALLY get in only to realize the whole bar is half full.

The BEST dive bar in NYC. Tim the bartender is amazing — funny, friendly and always remembers you. Beer selection is limited but good and you can’t beat the prices.

I came here on a Monday night after a long day at Columbia. It wasn’t too crowded and there was seating for a large group in the very back of the bar. It had a college dive bar feel and a pool table. The bartender was really the star of the place though. He has super memory and seems really invested in each customer. I ordered a Brooklyn IPA and he warned me when I flashed my card that there’s a 10 $ minimum. I said that’s fine, and he poured my drink quickly. When I went back to the bar after the first round, he glimpsed my face and asked another IPA? and then when I nodded, he asked my name — Sarah? — and held up my card without even me mentioning that I had a tab open, let alone my name. Definitely will be back for a fun and laid back night — that’s guaranteed to have no frustration at the bar.

Tim the bartender is amazing. You go there twice, and he knows your drink of choice…
We used 1020 as our Wednesday night meeting place, and while it could be crowded sometimes, you always got what you wanted, the drinks are cheap, and the atmosphere is incredibly weird in a good way. I have a fond memory of «Behind the Candelabra» playing in the background at random.
It’s a bar. Go here. You’ll like it.

This place was loud and crowded. It’s a watering hole for Columbia’s dumber students.

Dive bar, nothing special. They have a pool table and dart board, and the bartenders are pretty decent. The crowd typically consists of Columbia students, some of which seem pretty creepy.

A true dive bar uptown.
1020 doesn’t try to be something it’s not. It’s run down, often crowded, dimly lit, poorly ventilated. But the drinks are cheap and the staff is friendly and attentive.
Try coming here at different times and the crowd is a bit different. Weekend afternoons are great, as is trivia night.

The tone here has really changed. It’s too bad! I liked it here!
New staff just doesn’t seem to care at all about the place or the customers. I’m not alone in this opinion. I had to convince my friends to go last time. And they were right: everyone was brusque, and unfriendly. From the mega evil eye stare from the bouncer; urban outfitters «edgy» type bartender futzing with her phone instead of taking orders; and the undergrads sitting on the nice old pool table, which used to be so well kept, now it’s all covered in beer… and then they closed very early (~1am)! Saturday. No heads up that it’s coming. «Last call.»
Now in my experience last call works like: you can’t order anymore beer, but you have like five to fifteen minutes to finish your beer. Particularly if it’s without any warning at all. That’s how it works everywhere on the planet. But within a minute they’re yelling at us to get lost. Last call! Get out!
«Really? I misunderstood I guess. Can I drink this really fast? I literally just got it and I wouldn’t have ordered it if I’d known you guys were gonna close up early.»
Nope. It’s get out now or we have a problem. Straight to physical intimidation, when I complain about the awful service…
Oh well. So yeah, I’m done with this place.

Maybe I came in on an «off day» or maybe school was out but despite what other Unilocalers have said about this place, I happen to like this bar. Yes, it’s divey and there’s a significant population of older men. And no, they don’t have every sports game on their TV sets but it does have a chill and laid back atmosphere where you can have a drink and not be bothered. I didn’t catch my bartender’s name but in the dim light, he did remind me of Ed Norton with a lassiez faire attitude. Super chill. Super nice. Pair that with their happy hour specials, what’s not to like?

For where it is (a hop and a skip away from Columbia’s campus) and what it is (dive bar on a hop and a skip away from Columbia), it’s okay. It’s hard to complain about $ 3 Yuengling on tap, and there’s one bartender that I like who’s usually there when I go (unfortunately, I don’t remember her name, but she’s cute and her service is on point). I can usually get a seat to myself, and I’ll zone out to whatever’s playing on TV.
I only go on week nights; Fridays and Saturdays tend to fill up quickly with college students. While it hasn’t been that long since I’ve graduated, I’m an old lady at heart and I like being able to chill at bars on weekends rather than jostling through grunty, bro-​y guys and girls whose voices pierce your eardrums.

REALLY don’t understand why Columbia students come here. I don’t care how great people try to tell me it is. It’s so eh. It’s all college students and like 50 year old’s (who somehow still spill drinks on kids). The place is in desperate need of a renovation. You can never find seats because kids are always making out on them, or 1 person is hogging a booth all to themselves, or there are come super creepy clearly-​not-​students preying on poor freshmen, whose fake IDs couldn’t fool a squirrel. The place is grungy, sticky, the bathroom is reminiscent of a used sponge, and sometimes it gets so crowded I contemplate ending my own life. Yet somehow there is always a long line of people trying to get in. If I thought life made no sense before, I’m really dumbfounded now. But on a lighter note: they have great music after midnight.

It’s taken a while, but I’ve been going here long enough now that the bartenders can distinguish me from the hordes of Columbia students and I consistently get good old school bar service. They show odd things on TV sometimes (in a good way).
The beer selection is limited compared to some of the newer places that want to have 70 beers on tap, but I’ve never found myself wanting for beer. They usually have staples like Brooklyn Lager and (if you like it) Yuengling.
Best of all, you can get good and drunk here on a budget and still tip the nice bartenders well.
There’s a gigantic TV on the back wall that is surprisingly unobtrusive and they have a dartboard that’s dangerously close to drinkers when the place is full.
A final observation … As far as college bars go, this one isn’t the slightest bit «fratty» and has an air of laid-​backness that separates it from some of the other swilleries in the neighborhood. I hope it doesn’t get gentrified out of existence or replaced with some of the crappier kinds of bars like the ones a few blocks down Amsterdam.

I went here early on a Monday night, on a date with a girl who’s a regular here. I enjoyed pretty much every aspect of the place — from the aging bartender who was lacking in both earshot and short-​term memory, to the fact that they were playing Premium Rush, (otherwise known as the biggest embarrassment of Joseph Gordon Levitt’s career, and that’s saying *a lot*,) on the projector.
–1 stars for creepy dudes hitting on college chicks and the fact that someone stole my hat while I was playing billiards.

I keep thinking this place is the other one on the same street, one block away, whose name is also the address at which it is located. Seriously, establishments, stop doing this. Address-​as-​name is not that cool.
1020 itself is fine. New York has 90 million bars and I can’t see what draws anyone to this one over any number of others within a one-​block radius. Well, no, there is one thing. The beers are pretty cheap, happy hour specials are good. That’s pretty neat. Otherwise, there are seats and bartenders and music and they were playing a movie on mute on a giant screen on the wall. It’s really hot in there, so bring extra deodorant.

Typical grad school dive bar. That being said, I find myself here at least once a week, so something has me coming back. Probably the prices. It’s dark and dingy, as per the «dive bar» part, but drinks are nice and cheap, even when it’s not happy hour. I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than $ 15 here. And, the bartenders are friendly (shoutout to Tim… best bartender ever!). I come for trivia night every Tuesday, which is fun, although it gets crowded. They’ve got a pool table and dart board if you’re looking for some classic bar fun, and decent seating, although it is definitely a small place. There’s a nice big area in the back that can fit a big group, but you have to fight to get it sometimes.