Blue Donkey Bar, Upper West Side

Overview

An adult offshoot of Homer's Malt Shop next door, the Blue Donkey Bar attracts a neighborhood crowd with a décor a notch warmer than the many nearby beer and shots joints.

Why you should go

Out back is one of the better neighborhood beer gardens

$3 Stella on tap. Always.

When Homer's closes for the night the leftover donuts are often liberated into the hands of Blue Donkey Bar patrons

What you should know

You can reach Homer's Malt shop through a passage in the back.

History

The malt shop's grown-up sibling

Our old listing called the Blue Donkey an adult offshoot of Homer's Malt Shop next door, with a décor a notch warmer than the many beer-and-shots joints nearby. Its owners had opened it five years before it closed¹.

The end came in August 2011¹. The police shut the bar on a Wednesday, and on the Friday its owners struck a deal: if they ceased business on their own accord, the charges against them would be dropped¹. As the bar put it, the police had "slapped us with a Nuisance Abatement case," which "means we are a public nuisance"¹.

Sources

villagevoice.com

Researched October 2026.

What's nearby

George Keeley under 0.1 mi Still pouring

Soldier McGee Tavern under 0.1 mi Closed; now Florentin Bistro and Bar

Hi-Life under 0.1 mi Still pouring

Fred's under 0.1 mi Still pouring

Moonlighting under 0.1 mi A different business is licensed at this address: E's Bar

Dead Poet 0.1 mi Still pouring

Gin Mill 0.1 mi Still pouring

Jake's Dilemma 0.1 mi Still pouring

Brother Jimmy's (West Side) 0.2 mi Closed; now Crave Fishbar

The Parlour 0.2 mi Closed; now Crossbar