Allison C.
Yelp
When I first moved to Manhattan in 2009, I lived two blocks up the street, and this was the Ding Dong Lounge. It was THE dive bar for the neighborhood, full of interesting characters, indeed. Since I've moved out and gentrification has trickled up Columbus Avenue even more so, Bob's Your Uncle has taken over this spot. My memories of the Ding Dong Lounge live on, but Bob's Your Uncle is an excellent replacement.
This is a very friendly neighborhood bar with little pretense. They've got a varied beer and cider list, good booze, Jell-O shots (!!!), a small bowling game and board games to share, a projection screen, and the BEST playlists EVERRRR. The first time I visited, they were playing Billy Ocean and other mid-80s pop gems. Upon visiting this past Saturday, they played middle school and high school classics. Aaliyah! Monica! Brandy! 112! I have the buzzed Snapchat videos of myself lip-syncing to always remember that night...
I do love the ciders they have (Downeast and Nine Pin are usually on tap or in cans), and I love the Pear-A-Dice bourbon-based cocktail!
I know I'll be coming back here more and more. If I still lived up the street, I would be a regular! And even though I live WAAAAY up the street now (...as in, walk two blocks west to Broadway, then walk 100 blocks to the north. Ha!), I can still see myself going there regularly.