No Idea Bar: Where your Name gets you Free Drinks

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, our Happy Hour Correspondent posts 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.

I don’t care how old you are or how much you make, hearing the word “free” is always music to the ears. As oftentimes “free” comes with a catch, this week’s post does carry a small stipulation. At No Idea Bar, each night is assigned a different first name, and anyone so named gets to drink for FREE from 5 PM – 11 PM. But make sure you bring friends, as you will not be eligible to receive free drinks if you show up alone. (They are a business, after all!). Ranging from Jen and John to Xizi and Aditi, No Idea’s Name Night allows for just about everyone to drink for free. There’s even a section on their site for you to pitch your (or a friend’s) name for Name Night.

Suggested by Sarah, our Flatiron Lunch correspondent, this place had to be explored both for you Flatiron/Gramercy folks, as well as my ever-dwindling wallet.

A standard-looking bar with an eclectically mixed twenty- to thirty-something crowd, No Idea isn’t striking at first.


Peep in a little more, you’ll find a fairly decent beer list (NO pints over $6), an up-to-date juke box, a back room with tables, a pool table and a pinball machine, and a special sure to melt your stressful day away.


Our first wave of happy hour-goers went with the “shot of whiskey and a 16 ounce can” special for $7. For those not needing the extra “boost,” $5 will get you a 16 ounce can of Schaefer, Miller High Life, Ballantine Ale, Tecate, Narragansett or Natty Light (yes, the same Natty Light we all, or at least I, remember a little too well from freshmen year of college).

Food is not served here, but they have a “holy book of a thousand menus” you are welcome to order from. Another option is to run across the street like my cousin did and return with a pie for your party, looking like a hero.

Below, check out the names for the remainder of the month. Are you on it?
•5/11/2012 SARAH
•5/12/2012 STEPHANIE
•5/13/2012 [closed]
•5/14/2012 MARY
•5/15/2012 XIZI
•5/16/2012 JEFF
•5/17/2012 DONNA
•5/18/2012 VERONICA
•5/19/2012 TONY
•5/20/2012 [closed]
•5/21/2012 JUSTIN
•5/22/2012 AMY
•5/23/2012 KIRSTIN
•5/24/2012 OPHIR
•5/25/2012 JENNIFER
•5/26/2012 DAN
•5/27/2012 [closed]
•5/28/2012 [closed]
•5/29/2012 ANDREW
•5/30/2012 LIANA
•5/31/2012 AMANDA

No Idea Bar, 30 E 20th St (nr. Broadway), 212.777.0100

9 Comments

Leave a Reply

You must log in or register to post a comment.