Banshee
One beer on draft, and it is Guinness. Oysters beside it, martinis at $15, and a backyard bigger than the bar.
Why go
The East Village has no shortage of rooms selling an Irish idea, and this one sells a stout and shucks next to it. The Infatuation put its finger on the difference in December 2025: Banshee is a sort-of Irish bar in the East Village, but it's not overrun by 21-year-olds only pretending they like Guinness. There is Guinness of course, that's actually the only beer on draft, it's just (heavily) consumed by regulars who actually like it.
The kitchen is small and works in the same register, running a short rotating list of cold plates alongside brown soda bread.
Order this / avoid
- Order: a pint at the bar in front of the taps, then an oyster shooter in the yard. The shrimp cocktail comes with Marie Rose sauce, and The Infatuation rates it "better than what they serve at the majority of restaurants."
- Avoid: arriving with a beer order in mind. There is one tap.
What locals & experts say
- The Infatuation (18 December 2025):
The best seat in the house is at the bar, right in front of the taps, but there's also a backyard that's probably larger than the bar itself where you should do an oyster shooter.
1 - Local rec: Jeff's note logs the recommendation as coming from Bar Contra.
Good to know
- Timing: a drinking room, so evening onward.
- Booking: walk in. The bar is small and the yard carries the numbers.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Rec via: Bar contra rec
- Note: Bar contra rec
Verdict
could-visit — A bar with one beer on tap has made a decision, and the decision is the point: Guinness poured for people who came for Guinness, oysters beside it, and a martini list capped at $15. Willa Moore wrote that the regulars actually drink the stout rather than pose with it, which is the difference between this and every themed Irish room on the avenue. The backyard is bigger than the bar, so it takes a group in warm weather. What holds it here is age and evidence: it opened in November 2025, one publication has written about it, and nobody has published anything about the kitchen beyond a shrimp cocktail.