The Punch Bowl

Went on a weekday so closing time was a little after 1. It's a nice lil spot. Drinks were very good and they have a pool table (old stool style) winner stay n loser pay for the round (~$2) Lady bartender was nice n chill too. Overall it's a good lil spot to go for a night cap.

I really wanted to enjoy myself here but every time I visit, me and my friends get dirty looks from the old farts there. Been there twice and walked right out on both occasions. Vibe is wierd and UNWELCOMING. I rather go to Keenans's on 231st which also has a pool table.

Old school bar, NO frills in the best ways. reasonable priced booze and cold ice. TVs for the games. Its a great place to disappear for a few.

Nice bar, good range of music and mostly very mature crowd

It’s a vibe! Bob Barker must have bartended here because the price is right . The taco truck outside makes this place even better.

This is a dive bar in The Bronx. Thing is, it's the real deal. People from all sorts of diversities hang out. It's all good. This place is The Bronx.

Charming, fun and lovely! Not only are the ambience , food and drinks great, but the staff is so kind and equally jolly. We brought our wedding entourage to the pub after our formal luncheon and the entire Punchbowl crew was so welcoming and accomodating to our marching band of musicians and gaggle of friends/ family. They helped us create a beautiful, memorable afternoon. This pub has so much character and is the perfect place to pop in at any time of day when in Mayfair! We'll be back :)

Great bar with some great memories. Can't wait to go back

Cheap drinks, friendly locals, a pool table, and cash only. I love places that do buybacks after 2-3 rounds, and the Punch Bowl is one of them. The bartenders are not stingy with their pours for any drinks, so tip generously. The pool table costs a dollar a game and only takes quarters. You'll easily befriend any of the players at the table as they tend to be regulars. They were nice enough to help me look for the phone I thought I lost with such urgency. Came here on a whim but had a wonderful time.

So cool to see one of the oldest bar in the area. I got to see a picture of what it looked liked before. The bar is more of a mature crowd and I believe it states that you must be 25 years or older. The place is spacious for groups. I ended it just sticking to beer and the bartender kept checking in to made sure that my beer was never empty. The drinks /prices were reasonable. They also had tv screens game to show the sports games. They also have a pool table inside and various framed artworks. I had a great time with friends.

The place smells of urine, I saw people selling drugs in the men's bathroom. The pool table is okay but bar service is awful!!! NO food service here .

Oldest bar in the Bronx, bartender and all the regulars rule. Great drinks, borderline best value-for-the-drink on the basics in the whole friggin' city. I couldn't get ahold of anyone via phone or online to confirm they were open at 8 am like Yelp said (they were, turns out!), otherwise I would have been there earlier.

Stopped in recently for a couple of beers while waiting for my table to open at Bronx Ale House across the street. They have outdoor seating with tents, in each one is a string of fairy lights. Welcoming regulars got up to sit together so me and my friend could snag a table. The woman bartender working on a Tuesday was fast and friendly. No drafts, just bottles and cans. Blue Moon & Bud are among the offerings. They have a small menu which includes (air-fried!) French fries. Great crowd, and surprisingly quiet for being next to the elevated subway.

The Punchbowl is a neighborhood staple. The building has been here for generations upon generations, evident by the black and white pictures hanging on the wall. We came here one night out of the blue when our regular spot canceled karaoke for the night. When we first walked in we didn't know what to expect because the place looked a little empty but we did hear the music and people were singing so we decided to give it a go. When we spotted a pool table in the back we figured it would be a decent night. The pool table runs on quarters and you have to buy two rounds of drinks if you want to use it. The bartender was very nice and the drinks were decently priced. The bathrooms are clean which is worth it's own star IMO. We played pool while we waited for our turn at the mike. Dawn was the karaoke host for the evening. She is very sweet and have us all hugs, welcoming us to the bar. The crowd is funny. They definitely have jokes but it was all in good fun. We had a good time that night. There were six of us and my husband was the only guy and it felt like some of the male patrons in the joint were a little weird. There were a few encounters that made us all look at each other like, WTH? Bit other than that, everyone made us feel welcomed and I wouldn't mind visiting again for a karaoke performance and a drink.

This is the kind of hellhole I appreciate. The drinks are cheap the people are a nice blend of Riverdale mutants, Manhattan College girls who want yak and people trying to get drunk on a budget and go skiing in the bathroom lol. I've had a good time in this place.

This is an old school gin mill, maybe 40 years plus and things have not change much. It is a shot and beer joint. Whiskey, bud bottle, half liter liquor bottles for service, etc. etc. Order a martini get a look. Order a frozen drink you go to the backroom and disappear. In recent weeks I have been here a couple of times for various reasons. I thought a bottle of Bud at $4 was a little high for this neighborhood and for afternoon pricing. The place has great potential with a good cleaning. While I do like a Dive Bar atmosphere, it had to much of The Bowery feel of years past, before gentrification. I guess if I lived in the area, I would stop by. It is right off the 238 Street stop on the number 1 line. It is a solid bar, but may not appeal to everyone. Irish Bartenders, lottery machine, pool table, darts. Overall, The Punch Bowl has stood the test of time. Maybe the Owner owns the building. Who knows. The bar is a bar of convenience. It is ideally located with a ton of regulars, but time will see that clientele vanish. The Punch Bowl serves it's purpose, but I would like to see the shine put back on. We can keep that gin mill charm just add some new world comforts: HD TV, craft beer, wifi, credit cards, etc. etc.

Stopped in tonight, it looks like every review here is accurate. One important clarification: the bartender told me there's no food. And tonight I really needed a burger.

Love this place.. good old fashion Dive Bar! Karaoke night always good.. come with friends. Please be aware this is a dive bar.. so don't expect bells and whistles. Drinks are great, bartenders Great especially John. He knows how to make a Martini the right way with extra olives .. yummy

When you think of the TV show Cheers.....The Punch Bowl is exactly what comes to mind! An amazing atmosphere that's supported by locals. I love this Bar. They also have a pool table, so If you wanna get your Billiards fix, this is the place. The bar has a good assortment of beers on tap, and they have different whiskeys. Overall, this is a great Bar..

This is not exactly my kind of bar when it comes to entertainment value, but it has plenty of perks depending on your needs. Sick of spending 12 dollars for a shot of Johnny Walker Black? Well drop in here, pay half the damn price, and truly enjoy a sloppy drunken night at the right price. It doesn't hurt that there are plenty of cabs nearby to escort your drunken ass home. The bar is dimly lit, with a few tables on the corner that are hanging on for their dear lives to balance properly, and a dartboard hangs on a nearby wall. It's a great way to be a total dick to one of your friends with a swift throw of a dart into his or her ass checks. There's an outdated jukebox midway into the bar, but it has enough songs in there for you to recite lyrics by Ginuwine or Backstreet Boys. That could upset the music because... Well.. It's an Irish pub. However, it does grant you the freedom to make it your night. Right by the jukebox is a bathroom that ain't the prettiest a thing but gets the job done. No pee on the floors or toilet, or maybe I was too buzzed to notice. At the very end of the bar is a pool table that I once regrettably screwed up. You remember Lebron James's signature "powder" move at pregame? Well I once did the same thing before I began a game with friends and didn't realize Id make all that damn powder sprinkle it's way back down and cover the table like a white desert. Anyway, there are good times to enjoy with the pool table. Very little to no waiting. This bar is never packed, and it has been around for quite a while due to my understanding. That means it's pretty old school and likely has its traditional and local customers. From time to time the crowd will vary, but the occasional creepy characters do stand out: The man or woman who's nasal voice and yellow teeth suggest years of endless cigarettes.. or the odd couple...a short white man in his mid 40s in crappy attire embracing a tall young bald asian women wearing roller blades. Then there are people like me who speak, sound, and look at least relatively normal and want to drop in for the simple pleasures. I've mainly dropped in here when I wanted something a bit more low key and cheap. The bartenders have always been nice and will happily make a special drink at your request. Definitely a neighborhood spot. I give it 3 stars because you pretty much make it your night.

As New York slowly chokes to death, this is going to be one of the last great home-down drinking establishments left. Older clientele, but I and my friend were 22 and 23 and they were as polite as could be, no get-off-my-lawn BS. For some reason the place is plastered with Mets stuff, as deep as you can get into Yankee territory. Those renegades! It ain't much to look at inside or out, but on the real, go here. Night-and-day different from Bronx Ale House up the road, although you should go there some time too.

My buddy and I did karaoke here and then he peed on my friends carpet in the middle of the night. One of the best nights out I've had in a while. It's a dive that makes no excuses. Sassy staff. Old guy asleep at the bar. Some lady just walks off he street at midnight and sets up karaoke without announcement. Going to a dive bar is one of life's truest pleasures and this place is a gem. If you ever need a night away from the pretensions of the classier places around, you should cozy on up at the bar and shoot some pool on the dirty-felted table in the back with a 'nam veteran. I will be back--I NEED to be back.

Stopped in with friends and family for a shot after leaving the bronx ale house and winded up staying had a great time singing and drinking really fun place to chill oh yeah and play pool

I stopped by this very friendly dive bar on my way back from the Bronx Alehouse for an afternoon-cap (afternoon-cap is when you're day drinking and need to snag a drink to keep the buzz going) The crowd is definitely on the older side. And when I say on the older side, I mean I was probably the only person there not collecting a pension. Having said that everyone is incredibly nice and it's a really low key place to drink. No frills dive bar, just as advertised. A true Bronx classic.

I respect this place more then the ale house up the road. The ale house wants to be cool and fails miserably. The Punch Bowl wants to be a dive and succeeds in every facet. I miss this place as this was my hard day at work I need to get plastered without judgement spot right down the road from me. A good pregame spot, then go out with friends, then end up here to nightcap as Im tanked. I miss it a lot. Sure its the same faces and the place stinks bad most of the time but damn the drinks are cheap (bucket of nips for 8 bucks! Thats florida prices!) I miss my blonde bartender Rachel. She was always so nice to me and always had a vodka cranberry on deck when I came in. I wouldnt suggest it for the entire night out but its a fun place to start and the best place to finish the night. Its charming in its own way and I hope it stays forever! Has live music some nights and TV's. It simply does what a dive should do. If I ever move back to the area, which I sure hope I dont, at least I'll have this place. :)

I want to preface this -- this is a DIVE bar and as such, it really deserves 3 stars. But if you were to compare this to a regular joint, i wouldn't even give it a one. As you enter, the room is filled with smoke, cigarette smoke. The bar is along the left side. On the right, there's a Karaoke machine with a hostess. You make your requests and you can belch all you want when its your turn. Some of them were really good. Towards the back there are some pool tables. One of the main reasons people come here is because you can do whatever you want and no one gives a crap, ie. smoking -- anything. lol. And also, because the drinks are super cheap. Their clientele as far as i can see, are younger or older -- not many in between. I was there for about 40 minutes or so and stunk of cigs. I doubt that I would come back again but for what it is, not bad at all.

Friendly bar staff, cold beers, simple mixed drinks, healthy pour and buy backs! Seasonal sports bring forth free munchies, a real treat and unheard of now days! St. Patrick's Day is always special, corn beef n cabbage with boiled potaties, for the paying customers! Friendly crowd, mainly mature folk, sometimes young ones venture in. There's dart tournaments, and karaoke night also. Worth a trip to patron a long standing Irish bar in Kingsbridge.

Local dive bar with deep roots in the neighborhood. More like a 4.5 stars, but only for a lack of beer options. Have returned multiple times because the drinks are cheap, the bartenders are great and the locals are very friendly. Great place

The Punchbowl is definitely a neighborhood bar...but if you're not from the neighborhood you may just fit in nicely. All of the bartenders are experienced...and in last @5 years, there are up to half a dozen beers on tap, plus many more bottled beers. There's a pool table...which I usually avoid...and a dart board (ask the bartender to borrow a set)...and karaoke on most Friday nights and bands or a d.j. on Saturday nights. They also have an internet jukebox...which can be a bit "jarring" given the wide range of patrons...and their musical likes and interests. Look for drink specials...and if you don't see a preferred liquor...ask the bartender. The old time bar has nooks and crannies. The bathrooms are OK...and especially of you find them dirty on a busy night, let the bartender know. At a minimum, they make an effort.

I am SUCH a fan of this place! Me and the best friend were walking by this place and decided to go in for a quick drink (on a Wednesday night). It wasn't packed, but it wasn't empty either. Just enough people. The drinks are cheap and the people are friendly. I was served by two bartenders, one man and one woman, and they were so nice! The music is awesome, if you're into rock and such, and the bathroom was SO damn clean. I was speechless. Multiple TV's in the joint, which was nice. A bunch of people would randomly step outside of the bar to smoke a cig real quick and come back in. People were respectful, its awesome. So yeah, super cheap drinks. Me and my friend were drinking for what seemed like eternity and my drink bill was only about $25. Fan-friggin-tastic! Go there when you can! Steps away from the 1 train and multiple buses and across the street from a 24/7 diner. You can NOT go wrong.

Went to this place last night 7/25/2015 with my friend and we had a good time. Place is a low key, smokey dive bar with a cool atmosphere. Older crowd who are there just to drink, unwind and relax. It's the neighborhood Regal Beagle with cheap good drinks. We will definitely return

Definitely a dive bar but has both karoeke nights as well as open-jam sessions, so that's a plus. My sister and I love this place when we are just looking to have a drink and play lotto. Dark' lighting, give it a shot if you're in the area and need a cheap drink ( but don't expect a lot of variety in beer ). Downside they don't serve any food but you can bring it from outside.

I LOOOOVE Punch Bowl! My husband and I are fans of local bars and this one is perfect! There's a nice dark, wooden, low-key feel to this place, and the locals are really nice. The prices are very reasonable, there are specials sometimes, the bartenders are all irish as far as i can tell, and are very friendly. This place gets karaoke nights on the weekend, has an internet jukebox, and has that QuickPick Keno-type lottery that runs every 3 minutes on the TV (my personal gambling fix!). If you're looking for a casual, sometimes iffy/crazy fun atmosphere, go here! It's right off the 1 train and a couple of different bus lines. It's better than supporting a chain- support your local Irish pub!

I went looking for a dive bar one night ... and boy, did I find one. It's RIGHT off the subway, which is nice. And I've never seen it crowded. The bartenders are always nice and there's usually an older crowd having a good time. Last time I walked in, everyone in the place was engrossed in The Edge of Darkness, which was playing on one of the bar TVs. If this place wasn't exactly what I was looking, it wouldn't have received 5 stars.

Went for the Karaoke, found reasonable drink prices, came back again only to discover that somewhere around 1am, it turns into a smoking bar (at least on Friday nights)... Despite the no smoking sign up in the corner (small one), about half the bar lit up past midnight... If you don't mind the smoke, it's a great bar, but I just can't stand it...

I saw this place with a friend one night and laughed about the name. I had to come back for a look. It's a little bit of a dive but it's cool for a couple of cheap shots and drinks. I like it. I would come back again.

Boar and deer heads on display. Good glassware, feels very smooth and pleasing to the skin of my bare hands.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this place!!! Everyone there is friendly, all ages and races getting along and having a good time.You can't beat the prices of their drinks and there's a pool table and lotto games going on. They have open mike nights on Thursdays. There's always a sports game playing around the bar and every Friday night from 11pm-3am (some Saturdays too) is the most fun karaoke around. The karaoke singers are for the most part pretty good and the karaoke has been running straight through there for at least 8 yrs or so, so they must be doing something right. Come on a Friday for the karaoke crowd and you are guaranteed a great night. I definitely recommend The Punch Bowl!

Drinks are cheap and they have a pool table. But the people that come here are unpleasant. Was sitting a table close to the pool table In which no one was playing at but 30 mins an obnoxious woman whom thought she could be rude to us started playing. Bending over and hitting my friend I the head with the cue . We were about to get into a fight. They need. Tore move that table from that area before a fight really breaks out. The place was fortunate that I chose not to break that woman's head open with my glass.