Inside: International Bar

Like a beloved old-school band trying to relive its glory years, the late, great International Bar has resurrected itself for a comeback tour. Shuttered since 2002 when the last of its owners died, the new International is clearly striving to recapture the days when professional drunks and the financially challenged regularly rubbed elbows with the likes of Drew Barrymore and her (at the time) rock-star boyfriend, Fabrizio Moretti. An East Village staple since the ‘60s, the International was the quintessential neighborhood joint: cheap drinks, familiar faces, a kick-ass jukebox and a smoker-dominated back patio. Among fans of no-frills dives, it wasn’t so much well respected as worshipped. And with that sort of cultish following, the bar’s new owners, Molly Fitch and Shawn Dahl, have their work cut out for them if they hope to restore the International to its former gritty greatness.

Digs: From the outside, the International is seemingly unchanged. Old-timers will recognize the arcing gold letters in the front window (minus the glut of neon beer signs) and will relish the untouched rear patio. Once inside, however, they might experience slight vertigo. For one, the lengthy bar has been moved from one side of the long, skinny room to the other. The much-loved jukebox (though not the original, it still boasts an eclectic mix of punk, classic rock and indie) has relocated from the rear of the bar to the front, and gone are the haphazardly strung lights and upside-down Christmas tree. And unlike last time around, the dim lighting, while tastefully done, is more reminiscent of a cocktail lounge than, say, a dank cave.

Drinks and service: The International isn’t the sort of place where you ask for something fancy. That said, the friendly bartenders are more than happy to pop open a $2 can of Schaefer for you or serve one of the six beers on tap. Prices for anything not in a can are average: Around $5 for a pint and $4 for a well cocktail. Bonus: Happy hour runs from noon to 8 p.m!

Crowd: From the looks of the fading tattoos on nearly every beer-guzzler crowding the bar, these actually might be the same people who populated it the first time around. Throw in a few unassuming pretty girls, and you’ve got a fairly good snapshot of the East Village, 2008.

Bottom line: While it’s a stretch to say the International has traded its former grime and grunginess for glitz and glamour, it barely resembles the celebrated saloon it used to be. As one 30-something patron put it, “Coming to the new International is like listening to the new Silver Jews record: not terrible, but a lesser version of its former self.”

Net result: what folks are saying online

[NYMag]: "The booze is still cheap—four bucks buys a shot and a Schaefer—and martinis are so full they brim over the edge of the glass"

[Yelp]: "It's shinier, prettier, and newer, but it's just not the same divey shithole that we knew and loved."

[Shecky's]: "Improvements to the notoriously tiny bar include sinks in the formerly toilet-only bathrooms..."

[NewYorkOnTap]: "Christmas tree lights, tin ceilings, cheap drinks, and the juke box to end all juke boxes."

International Bar
120 First Ave. between St. Mark’s Place and 7th St.
212-777-1643

Photo by Sam Horine