Midtown Lunch

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so every Friday afternoon we post about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap.

Féile first came to my attention during NY Craft Beer week when they were one of the participating venues. I noticed Mamacita has never reviewed this place (although she did bash their sister bar Maggie’s not too long ago) and even though it was in the overcrowded area of Penn Station, I thought I’d stop in for a brew.

I learned the word féile means festival in Gaelic. Perhaps I was too early, but there wasn’t much of a party here. There were a few groups of people at the tables up front and along the long bar, but most people present seemed to be interested in the flat screen TVs on the wall. There was a very dark, cavernous feel to the room – it was quite large – and it was designed almost like a dungeon. I felt like I was waiting to board one of the Adventureland rides at Disney World.

Of course, since this is the Happy Hour column, I was expecting to take advantage of their Happy Hour. Unfortunately, it was not that simple. I asked the hostess when I arrived about happy hour and she said they offered $4 Bud Lights and $4 well drinks. When I approached the bar, the bartender said there were no Happy Hour specials. When I informed her the hostess told me differently, she said, “Oh, yeah. We do $4 Bud Lights.” So basically there is no Happy Hour.

Bud Light is not my beer of choice and does anybody really think $4 is a bargain for that?? The rest of their draft beer selection was pretty standard, with a handful of interesting Belgian and German beers. I ordered a Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfest for $7 and checked out their menu. I wasn’t planning on eating, but their menu looked pretty decent. In addition to a $1 oyster deal every weekday, they also have pizzas from Sullivan Street Bakery. If I wasn’t on my way to dinner, I may have ordered their Sausage Roll or the Burger dipped in Frank’s hot sauce and topped with blue cheese and onion rings.

I’d probably only come back here to try their food. The atmosphere was rather cheesy and the beers were both unimpressive and too expensive. No wonder Mamacita’s never been here. She knows better. Does anybody else come here or have tried their food?

The Plus + (What someone who likes this bar would say)

• Large room, lots of space
• The food menu looks decent
• Hip indie rock music playing
• Convenient to Penn Station

The Minus – (What someone who dislikes this bar would say)

• Close to Penn Station
• Feels like Disney World
• They charge $4 for Bud Light at Happy Hour??
• The staff are friendly, but don’t seem to know what they’re talking about
• Not many interesting beers on tap

Féile, 131 West 33rd Street, bw 6th + 7th Ave, 212-695-1122