Overview
New York on Tap listed this bar without a review.
History
A speakeasy that took up soccer
The Soccer Tavern started as a speakeasy, opened by Norwegians during Prohibition, in 1929 or 1932 depending on who's telling it1, 2. It became a soccer tavern in the '50s, and it has been a bar continuously for almost a hundred years2.
It turned Irish when Colm Reilly bought the place in 19732. The man telling the 1932 version worked his first day behind the bar on July 4th, 19862.
The bar's own site sides with 1929, and says it stayed open continuously from then until March 2020, when it closed for COVID-19 and used the time to redo the interior3.
In July 2026 it drew big crowds for the World Cup quarterfinal between Norway and England4. These days it celebrates Irish, Norwegian and Chinese cultures together, with a mural in the back, at 6004 8th Avenue4, 5.
Sources
Researched October 2026.