International Bar 102 1st Avenue, Manhattan, New York 10009

"Used to love this place and it’s staff and popped in all the time when I lived nearby. Got cussed out by the bartender while I was in line to take a leak because my friend supposedly did not tip enough and we did not bring our empty bottles back to the bar. Guess this bar expects their patrons to bring their bottles (or "sh*t" as the bartender so succinctly put it) back to the bar. Would have happily obliged if I was asked, no clue that this was a thing here. Bouncer offered to clean up our table about an hour before but they did not end up taking all of the bottles and glasses. I do not care that the bouncer did not clean up our table and I would never hold that against a bar, but unhesitatingly cursing and yelling at your patrons for things that other members of your staff said they would do is absolutely uncalled for. Got tossed from the bar by the bouncer when I tried to clarify things with the bartender. Thankfully the bouncer was gentle :)) but nevertheless believe they should not have grabbed me when I was just trying to talk to the bartender. I hate to write this review because I have had good experiences with the previous bartenders. Plenty of other dive bars in the area with staff that treat you with basic respect."

"DO NOT GO HERE. My friends and I were there on December 25th, 2023. We patiently conveyed our order to a blonde bartender (it was a combination of mixed drinks and beer). She was upset we didn’t group our order together(meaning we didn’t say 3 beers and 2 gin and tonics for example). After we got the drinks and paid for it, we were at our table and she came over (clearly very intoxicated), and proceeded to empty all our drinks on the floor in front of us and kicked us out. By the way, she got half of them wrong and overcharged us for them. We didn’t try to correct them because she was being combative. We are bewildered and genuinely confused about the interaction, our only takeaway from the situation being that she was drunk and took out her frustration on us. The manager came over and proceeded to do absolutely nothing. I’ve been in New York for 14 years and have never had an experience like this."

"A genuine, no-frills neighborhood dive of the best kind! Had so much fun one afternoon with friends visiting from California who really loved the low-key vibe of this bar. One of the friends had lived and worked as a photographer in NYC 30+ years ago, and mentioned that he misses being able to walk around and just pop into authentic local bars like this one."

"Famous dive in the east village, where you can still find the New York of your old dreams - the fun, ragged, dark, twilight city of neighborhood friends and toughs, a little haunted and lovable, full of drinks that hug and send you rocking, trying to get around the next corner."

"Another definitive dive bar. I had to stop here just because it looks old and scary from the outside with various beer neons blazing away. So I took a deep breath and tried to open the door and nothing….the door was locked right. As I stood there with a puzzled look on my face, the door buzzed open from somewhere remote. I walked in and looked around the dimly lit bar while wondering how I got in without knowing the secret password….lolz. Actually there is no password but the door is locked and the bartender has to buzz you in. I suppose that’s a safety feature since that part of the city could be considered “rough”. With that said, I found it was nothing but nice friendly people inside. Mostly if not all were locals. The bar has good prices and a really neat back open porch area that is covered in really cool graffiti art. The bathroom is equally festooned with similar local scribbling. I say take your chances and go here. You don’t see too many places that are original and irreverent like the International Bar."