Billymark’s West

I once Unilocaled for dive bars in Manhattan and found this place. 5 years later, I come here every time I am in NYC, and Billy remembers me every time. You won’t drink any cheaper, and you won’t have any more fun anywhere else. This is the place to be, and shots are often on the house. I will come here forever!!!

Can’t imagine a better Saturday afternoon bar. mark is INCREDIBLE. He talked to me, asked me about my life, and he bought me a shot. This is what REAL New York is about!

Billymark’s is a divey dive dive. No two ways about it. Cheap beers, sticky floors, pool table, stale smell, and of course, interesting characters. That said, it’s a cool looking place both on the outside and in. Not the most high brow, but hey, sometimes you need to rough it.

Amazed that this place has such good reviews (don’t believe them).
Felt like I wasn’t wanted in there. The décor is outdated, the smell is bad and the bartenders treat you like vermin. I met the owner (he was bartending) and he was incredibly rude — he has a very unwarranted large ego. There are only a few places open late in the area and so one can get desperate but honestly find somewhere else for a drink.

Nice dive, nice bartender, pool table, darts, bar, booths, and chill reggae music (bob m) with the right volume in the background, so you can chat without problems. Prices not so divey, shot+beer for $ 8. But great atmosphere. If you’re around chillin’ then dont think it twice and enter.

Seriously?! 4 stars (at the time of this posting…). It’s filled with old people and hobos. I’m think Chelsea has better dive bars to offer.

If you’ve read my reviews, I love dive bars. I’ve been to several in the city and have yet to make the acquaintance of one I didn’t like. Well, there’s a first time for everything. Came here last Friday night after work for a few drinks with a work friend. The un-​lit bar isn’t well stocked, with a paltry offering of half empty liquor bottles in the shelves. There’s nothing on tap, just bottles. The bartender was hardly even behind the bar, which is never a good sign for a Friday night. This place feels like the bar version of a McDonalds. There’s no life in the people here and there’s no life in this bar either. What sets dive bars apart from its pricier brethren besides the cheap drinks is the character that comes from the history of the bar, those that have passed through and shaped it into what it’s become. This place is just run-​down. With so many other places to go in midtown, this spot off the beaten path is beaten up. Skip it.

My wife and I stumbled upon this place while waiting for family in NYC. We met Billy and some regulars and had a great time. I had a shot of Tequila and she had a shot of Jameson. $ 8 in total! My kind of place!
This is not a place for cruising, sheek or posh entertainment. This is a place to get drunk after work and go home. Seriously. In addition, the glasses aren’t so clean… LOL. It’s pretty sleazy but you get a bang for your buck.

Not the cheapest dive you’ll ever go to, but it works. I’m glad I went early on a Sunday afternoon when a few older gentlemen took charge of the jukebox.

Need more places like this in NYC. Always a good night when I end up here.
Always great patrons inside as well. Staff is overly friendly. Amazing.

I wish we could give zero stars.
Glad I was sober enough to catch the bar tender when he made my drink using a glass from the person next to me.
He grabbed a mug someone just finished using at the bar, ran it through the ice drawer and served me a drink. When I pointed it out he said I could leave if I didn’t like it.
Definitely the dirtiest joint I’ve been in.

This is my go to West Side dive bar. Very cheap, good beer and shot combos. Weird décor, not too loud, convenient location, open late.
Poor selection of craft beer, but no reason to expect anything different

Spectacular old school dive bar. Overhead lighting, questionable clientele and cash only policy is a great throwback to pre — Gulliani NYC. Despite the ruff façade the joint was clean and the regulars were friendly. Bought a round for our group for $ 25! Perfect stop for a weird and adventurous evening.

I’ve been treated harshly before but this place takes the cake! I walked in here on a Friday around 7pm with 11 friends. There were probably 20 people in the place. I had never been there before. I went up to the bar and asked how much it was to play pool. The bartender said «It’s 2 bucks. What do you want to drink». I said nothing right now, but my 11 friends probably want something as I pointed them out so what does he do? He came out from around the bar and screamed at all of my friends to get the fuck out. That was that. We walked in and within 30 seconds he threw us all out. How do you explain that? I don’t know. Enter this establishment with caution. =/

Great if you’re looking for a cheaper place in an otherwise cost prohibitive neighborhood. Not THE cheapest place ever, but in context of Chelsea it is.

Honestly one of nicest dive bars I’ve ever had the privilege of drinking in, and I’ve seen many in my decades of adulthood. Frankly, I think it’s more dive-​influenced than an actual dive, and the place was still a lot cleaner than you should expect from a place that seems to want to occupy the seedy niche.
Billy and Mark are two incredible hosts, though we spent more time with Billy early in the day before heading off to a food festival at the place that used to be The Tunnel. Billy was generous with the shots as well as with the jokes, and my whole crew had a great time.
The crowd is mixed, and no one seemed interested in making any trouble, so it really was an idea place to spend both the pre-​game and after-​party. If I’m in the area again, this is going to be my first stop.

I love Billymarks. It is the perfect NYC dive bar. It is so good that I had to compile a Top 5 Best Billymarks West Unilocal review lines to summarize why it is so great:
1. «Is it a dive bar? Yes. Did one of the bartenders pass out flat on his back in a booth at 1030pm? Sure»
2. «Beyonce song comes on. Who paid for that tune, we asked ourselves. Scanning the crowd, we noticed a guy slumped over a table in a drunken stupor suddenly jump up. He proceeded to the dance floor and sang the song with gusto.»
3. «Billy is a great guy. His coked-​up, sociapathic, hateful, bigoted brother on the other hand is one of the great lowlifes in new york. Jekyll and mother fuckin hyde with these two.»
4. «The clientele was extremely sketch. Like decrepit cougar wannabes macking on younger men. It was a very strange vibe.»
5. «I imagine its the mark of a fine, fine dive bar when their glasses have a different bar name on them. Its like «our bar can kick your bar’s ass.»
To sum it all up… Billymarks is a gritty place, but it is a real place. Things aren’t sugar coated here. People come as they are. Yes, you should genuinely be concerned about anybody you think is «sketchy» there. Try to get to know them and see what happens. They probably won’t murder you, but they might steal your coat. I know this because my coat was stolen there on a cold winters night. But after my coat was stolen, Billy did not even think twice about giving me his coat to wear home. Good job Billymarks, please don’t go away.

Dive heaven or haven, it’s all semantics, baby. This place rocks!
CK & Marc N. have been talking this place up for some time now so I was excited knowing this is the pregame destination for the yearly «Beer Bourbon & BBQ» event at the old Tunnel (see review for details). Funny because it turned out to be the pre & post game hang out.
Now the word Dive conjures different images and meaning per human. For me it’s home. Warm fuzzy and inviting and of course lived in, which means less than a clinical level of cleanliness. It also means affordable or as the French would say «cheap». Billymark’s West is all that and more.
From the outside you’d think it’s a scrounge lounge for sure. Once you enter those thoughts are still omnipresent, but then the gracious & sincere greeting of either Billy or Mark (Brothers) or the tender or a complete stranger welcomes you aboard for the ride. Being that the typical clientele is off center you won’t receive those «so who’s this guy looks». Did I just admit to being a lil less than normal… hhmmmm… well if I walk and quack like one… lol.
Pictures of celebrities with the brothers grace the walls from days gone by along with old school memorabilia. The floor probably still has scuff marks from a few 80’s break dance offs, lol. A dart board in the corner to keep you busy as you wait for a bus or train along with several flat screens and a kick ass modern bluetooth jukebox.
$ 4 bottles of the champagne of beers all the time and if you don’t know what the champagne of beers is without google, then this isn’t the place for you. Paddy’s Irish whiskey happened to be our choice shot this day and boy did the bottle runneth over time and time again. Don’t be surprised if a buy back comes your way because they appreciate your business just as every speakeasy did and should today.
Now you may want to bring your own supply of antibacterial just to be on the safe side. Definitely not a date destination and food isn’t served nor would you want to eat here under any circumstance.
This is one magnificently friendly and homey come as you are dive of dives. A beer and a shot watering hole extraordinaire. Good times with new friends are guaranteed!

I wish there were more bars like this left in the city. The only one I can kind of compare it to is Mars bar, which is sadly no longer around.
Great dive bar with an interesting and good mixed crowd. You have your regulars, preppies, people just wandering in, and some interesting characters all thrown in together looking for the same thing… a good stiff drink.
The bartender is one of the owners, really nice guy who chatted with us a bit and made it a point to know our names, I def liked that. I also noticed a lot of regulars chatting it up with him and it looks like he truly enjoys getting to know his patrons. Plus points for that! As for drinks, we had a couple rounds of their $ 8 special which is a shot (your choice of poison) and a beer. Good stuff.
There’s a jukebox, for those that want to throw on some tunes, and a pool table in the back. They also serve pizza should the munchies creep up on you.

I came here last Saturday night for a charity event and had a good time. Very old school bar in Chelsea, which, I believe, opened in 1956. As others have noted, the jukebox was filled with classic rock from America to Steely Dan, and the crowd was digging it. My guess is that our event filled most of the bar, but there did seem to be some locals here. The area is really nice. I’ve drank up the block on 30^th and 8^th at the Molly Wee, and it is a whole different vibe just one block away. Townhouses and tree lined streets were not what I expected. I do not really get down this direction much, so it was interesting to see the neighborhood.
Billymark’s is a no frills joint. $ 8 gets you a bottle of beer and a shot. No draft beers, only cans and bottles. My guess is just well drinks too, only had beers. I’m a Guinness drinker, and the cans were actually fine and poured into a 14oz glass. Not a full pint, but not a problem. Correct temperature and $ 6 a pop. My friends had bottles on Bud Light and Stella, which, I believe, we’re $ 5. No credit cards taken, only cash. I would say all three of us had about 15 or so drinks combined, but we didn’t get one buy back. I tipped after each round and even left a tip at the end. Very strange. The young guy behind the bar was friendly enough, but, as someone who knows many bartenders here in NYC, it is usually the policy to buy back after the third drink. Not tonight, strange.
Anyway, if you’re looking for an old school NYC bar away from the vagrants that wander 8^th avenue near the Garden, check out Billymark’s. Just bring cash and don’t plan on any buy backs.