Kelly’s Sports Bar, a popular East Village Irish pub, opened an Upper East Side location this week.
The new bar at 1154 Second Avenue (between 60th and 61st streets) opened Monday, according to the bar’s Instagram page. At this point, however, the bar is only accepting cash due to an issue with the payment application Toast.
Like its original location at 12 Avenue A, the Upper East Side incarnation of Kelly’s is just as its website says, “a great place to catch the game with solid drink prices.” Beers on tap range from $6-$9, and include Guinness, Modelo, Stella, Dogfish Head and more. The bar also offers classic cocktails and top-shelf spirits.
Advertisement
While the original bar calls itself the city’s “top hockey bar” and highlights its Chicago and Buffalo sports fandom, the new Kelly’s seems to be repping NYC sports, showing the Yankees on the tube on a quiet Wednesday evening.
The new iteration is currently in its soft-opening phase, a bartender told East Side Feed on Wednesday night; the bar’s official opening is set for some time next week. Right now, the bar is only open till 12 a.m.; but like its sister bar, the Upper East Side Kelly’s is going to be open until 4 a.m. once it officially opens. Additionally, the bar isn’t offering its full food menu at the moment and is only selling items like chicken wings, French fries and chips.
Kelly’s will also feature a downstairs area with a pool table, much like The Subway Inn, the bar that was at this address for years before closing last December. That bar first opened its doors in 1937 on nearby East 60th Street and Lexington Avenue, according to Spectrum News, before moving to 1140 Second Avenue in 2014 and then, finally, 1154 Second Avenue in July 2022.
The Subway Inn reportedly closed due to bureaucratic “red tape” put in place by the New York State Liquor Authority, owner Steven Salinas wrote in a Facebook post near the time of the bar’s closure late last year.
Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
An Irish sports bar on 2nd Ave—now there’s a thought!