New York on Tap 2008
Archive · modern edition Every bar New York on Tap knew, as it stood around 2008, with a 2026 check on each one. This page in the 2008 edition
Arthur's Tavern, photographed for New York on Tap
Photo from the 2008 site

Arthur's Tavern

57 Grove St. · at 7th Ave.
West Village, Manhattan

In 2026

Still pouring

Checked October 16, 2026.

Show on the map Directions See the 2008 page

Overview

No cover and a 1 drink minimum means this soulful jazz and blues joint is almost always packed, but thanks to the good the service and the friendly vibe it never seems a problem.

History

Home of the Bird, no cover, ever

Charlie Parker earned Arthur's the name "Home of the Bird" in the 1950s1. The tavern opened at 57 Grove Street in 1937, just four years after Prohibition ended1.

The homepage promises live music every night since 1937; the tavern's own history page says the music started in the early 1950s and never stopped1, 2. The Grove Street Stompers took Monday nights in 1962, and the Creole Cookin' Jazz Band took Sundays in 19861.

In 2009 we liked that there was no cover, and the tavern now puts it more firmly: live jazz, blues and soul seven nights a week, no cover, ever1. It's still at 57 Grove Street, between Seventh Avenue South and Bleecker, with Aeterna Fuse on the calendar for October 16, 20262.

Sources

  1. arthurstavern.nyc
  2. arthurstavern.nyc

Researched October 2026.

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