Gene McCarthy's Tavern / Old First Ward Brewing

Gene McCarthy's Tavern / Old First Ward BrewingGene McCarthy's Tavern / Old First Ward Brewing
Gene McCarthy's Tavern / Old First Ward BrewingGene McCarthy's Tavern / Old First Ward Brewing
Brewery, Bar, Eatery

73 Hamburg St
Buffalo, New York, 14204-2719
United States

(716) 855-8948 | map
genemccarthys.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.82
Beers:
18
Ratings:
37
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.86
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
16
pDev:
12.44%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by jimbotrost:
Photo of jimbotrost
Reviewed by jimbotrost from Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +16.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4
This is definitely a gem in a part of Buffalo most people don't visit. Even though it is off the beaten path, it is worth your time to stop there. This is a typical neighborhood bar that every neighborhood had years ago. Wooden bar, wooden floors, old stuff (not retro) on the walls and one major difference, good beer. when I was there last, they had Guinness poured properly, Hook and Ladder, Michigan Brewing, and others. The bartenders stated taps rotate constantly, which gives you something different everytime you go in. I saw someone order the Beef on Weck and it looked and smeeled good. This is a must stop for me everytime in Buffalo.
Dec 25, 2008
More User Ratings:
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.6/5  rDev -6.7%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.5
First stop of the day in Buffalo. Old school NY tavern right in the neighborhood. Parking may be difficult. Food served. Really homey feel. Friendly staff.
Feb 14, 2023
Photo of slander
Reviewed by slander from New York

3.88/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.75 | food: 4
We, who travelled through Dodgytown and Shadyville Heights and came out clean on the other side. For beer, these things we do. We parked in front of over there (me, pointing) and walked over to the here, knowing that we’d be heading back over for the second in the easy one-two on this jaunt. Looming grain silos and abandoned train tracks, what are we doing here? Richard says this is the one, first ward, all that, and that this old Buffalo bar is Bill’s place (I did not know that). I don’t know what he’s talking about but I suppose we’ll soon find out…

It’s an old renovated house looking place. Entered and waded to the rear, the floor slanting slopeward down there. Wood panel walls, large front windows with neons, lino tile floors, pressed tin ceiling with crown molding over the bar and panel pieces further back. Spinny fans & wall mounted lamps. Lots of Irish décor & Buffalo play. Stained glass accents, framed collages, flaggings, a toboggan, signage, ad pieces, framed sports jerseys, a canoe suspended from the ceiling in the middle room and a crew boat running through 2 rooms. There’s a ‘No smoking’ sign up front. Curious. About a dozen tables high & low. We sat at a round table to the rear as men do.

Split wood bar with a panel base; straight here and an ‘L’ there seating 6 & 6 on leather cushioned wood chairs. A large horizontal mirror on the barback wall center with tiered booze to one side and growls & glassware stacked & countered to the other side. Flats, framed prints, pics, license plates, a clock, a bell, & a swag display mounted across the wall above. A pair of 12 logo handled tap towers sunken on the bar, each holding 10 beers at present. Mug club mugs on the end with glow lit green lighting, and a cooler just past there pasted with stickers; I almost didn’t know it was there.

Tap list board on the back wall (beer, brewery, style, ABV). 9 house beers (Ofest!, Octoberfest, 5.2%; Chill, Kellerbier, 4.6%; Nota Pale Ale, 5.8%; Cotter Red Ale, 6%; Red Clover Irish Red Ale, 6.1%; Crikrat Kolsch, 4.8%; Barleywine, 11.1%; Cremated Remains, Rauchbier, 5.4%; Heisenberg, Imperial Hefeweizen, 7.5%), + guest tap Guinness. The Chill, Kellerbier was pretty good; thought the Ofest! Octoberfest was, too.

A few Adirondack chairs set up out front, and a tent set to the left in a penned beer garden for sitting at during these Covid times. Although to be fair, fuck that, it’s November in Buffalo. I did wings, mild. They were mad mild. Like, I probably could have survived medium, dare I say (I know, not a town where you tempt the wings to be hotter). Was good for a quick few but we’re moving again. Not a bad scene. It’s one old old old school house in Buffalo, yo.
Apr 07, 2022
 
Rated: 3.64 by Taphouse_Traveler from Florida

Feb 12, 2018
 
Rated: 4.04 by Knotman58 from New York

Jan 31, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by beerswillingIPAfan from New York

Jan 15, 2018
 
Rated: 4.21 by generallee from Virginia

Aug 13, 2017
 
Rated: 3.39 by DaveCash from New York

Mar 18, 2017
 
Rated: 4.06 by nater919 from New York

Sep 03, 2016
Photo of coombski
Reviewed by coombski from Maine

3.74/5  rDev -3.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.75 | food: 4
Of all the places that we visited in the Buffalo area, this place turned out to be the best! We were a bit worried when we first arrived at noon on a Friday by the quiet atmosphere, but by 1pm the place was packed with locals having lunch. The Streaker IPA was the best IPA I had anywhere in Buffalo as well. This Is Not A Pale Ale was also very good! It just goes to show that you don't need fancy decor to produce a good beer.
Aug 05, 2016
Photo of Dankenstein716
Reviewed by Dankenstein716 from New York

3.94/5  rDev +2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Great establishment. Really enjoy their beers. One of my favorites locally. Stop in everytime I'm in the area. Only had one beer brewed there I didn't enjoy (Cremated Remains). The rest is solid.
Mar 14, 2016
Photo of Almasi_
Rated by Almasi_ from New York

3/5  rDev -22.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 1 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Terrible service, great food, decent brews.
Jan 05, 2016
Photo of Jayk527
Reviewed by Jayk527 from New York

3.2/5  rDev -17.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3
Nice little local place. You can definitely see that it has a a solid base of regular customers. When I was there, there were a lot of people that rode their bikes there. Bicycles, not motorcycles, just to be clear. There were 10 beers on tap, but one was out. The food was ok, and the waitress tried her best to keep up. She was the only server for the outside patio, and while it wasn't packed, it was still more than enough for one server in my opinion.

Out of the beers that I had, the Sacre Bleu was fantastic, as well as the Streaker. The others were good as well, but those were the two that stand out. The food was ok. The beef on weck was standard, the pulled pork ok, the wings were good, and the deep fried portobello fingers were fantastic, but very greasy. It was nice to try a new place (not new, but new for me), and I might go again.
Aug 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.83 by LXIXME from New Mexico

Jun 26, 2015
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Rated by Lincolnman from New York

5/5  rDev +29.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5
Oatmeal stout is a very good beer. My favorite. The Mccarthy's sauce is amazing. Worth checking it out!
Jan 09, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by trxxpaxxs from New York

Oct 06, 2014
Gene McCarthy's Tavern / Old First Ward Brewing in Buffalo, NY
Brewery rating: 3.82 out of 5 with 37 ratings