You readers remember our good friend in Metal Steve Keeler right? If you don’t for some reason, let me sidetrack a moment and remind you how Steve not only runs Rock Fantasy, an establishment that we wrote up for Metal Edge magazine a couple of years ago and expanded upon HERE, but he also has the dubious honor of being the person who recommended that we start going to Duke’s Bar on 19th Street off Park Avenue South.
For the last I don’t know how many months I had been having my friends meet us at the Watering Hole which is directly across the street from Duke’s. I liked the space for sure but in all fairness it was time to let some other people win the debate so into Duke’s we adventured. We found that Duke’s had an amazing Happy Hour which was half price on all the beers in the place and the same applied to their appetizers which was awesome in terms of the savings. Not only that, it was the perfect center between the Gramercy Theatre and Irving Plaza venues. Since I covered a lot of shows at these two places I was very interested in what this place had to offer.
Duke’s has two sections and that’s the front (and only bar) with a few tables and booths. Around the back is a larger restaurant space and there are a lot of TV’s to enjoy all the games on. My group of Metal friends and I generally stick to the front part of the place and sit at the bar. The ceiling is covered with old 45’s and some head shots of various people who must have donated them to the place. It adds to the rustic appeal of the place. Visually Duke’s amounts to a Roadhouse and while at the time of this writing needs to do a little bit more in terms of the Rock or Metal on their playlist, we still all enjoy the place and have officially made it the place to meet up before heading to either of those Livenation venues.
I’m appending this next batch of photos in a number of months after I first posted this little narrative on Duke’s. It made sense to do it like this because it was only about the other location that I was able to visit with my buddy The Finnish Ambassador when we were off to a show at B.B. King’s. Duke’s second location is on 3rd Avenue and sits between 37th and 38th Street in NYC. Check it out.
Depending on your starting point, this Duke’s might be good for you if you are heading to B.B. King’s or Nokia Theatre but be aware that you are several avenues across town from them at this location. The Ambassador and I tried it but it proved to be a little too much of a hike for us and was definitely out of the way. I think the next time I come here it will be just to do the hang. Check out some other images from the establishment.
The bar at the Murray Hill location of Duke’s is much longer than the one on 19th Street in case you are wondering about that. They also had tables in a large middle section. The day we visited it was a little louder than usual but there were some important games on that day.
Here’s a sign that is never a bad sight to the eyes.
The bar had an interesting surface to it. Maybe I will recommend this to my Dad who has a small wet bar in the family house. It would bring a cool look to the part of the house I used to call Metal sanctuary.
Of course there is merchandise for sale here just in case you wanted a shirt. I still need one of these.
Here is a very important marketing tool if you asked me about it. This is the front and back of the Duke’s Concert VIP card. It is supposed to guarantee you the Happy Hour pricing on the specials that are normally a part of the Happy Hour. Its just smart to show this to your server or bartender before you get your check. PiercingMetal actually handed out a few hundred of these to any members of The Metal Republic that we ran into. Yes I realize that we are doing the bars work for them but I also love getting people together for a good deal so don’t think any less of me. To say that I have given out hundreds of these would be an understatement.
These cards are plastic and you don’t have to give them up to the bartender and lose them. You can keep it for the next time. I suppose if they ever end this kind of coolness that you will have to redeem it but let’s worry about that when it ever possibly happens.
Closing up I want to send shout outs to those on staff who have really made The Metal Republic feel quite at home with their hospitality. So thanks to Senaida, Taryn, Kristen, Maria D., Jeremy, Tony, Cara, Maryann and should I have forgotten anyone, you know you are appreciated just the same.
Official Website: http://dukesnyc.com/