It's a great dive bar with a pool table in the back. Monday and Tuesday are the best for me. Monday is a live bluegrass jam and Tuesday is the 20s jazz swing jam. Both nights are a "in the know" musician hang and it gets going and goes really late. Don't be surprised if you loose track of time and get home in the wee hours if you go here! read more

I used to like this bar. Walked in at 10:30 on a Wednesday, not expecting much. Silent bar, crickets. We sit for a few. My date second guesses my judgment of dive bars. I decide to play a song on the juke box to cut the silence. The silence is unbearable. I play Roy and the Kinks. I sit down and the bar person finally walks up. We order 2 beers. The total is $9 and I hand my card. "$10 minimum"... the only words the bar person mutters all night. "Ok. Cool"... Ape Man ends. Silence for 10 while we awkwardly drink our beers. The bar person is playing dice w two friends. The only sound is them. We finish our beers. I try to get her attention for a few minutes, finally vocalizing that we want to close out. "You can round up to $10". She does. No words from her. I sign the receipt and we leave. I used to like this place. Wednesday was bad. read more

One of my all-time favorite NYC bars. Totally authentic New York.

Dirty, crowded, cheap, jukebox. I heart dive bars. Watch out for hipsters though.

I probably like this place more than 3 stars, but I tend to go there only when I'm in the mood for huge pints and a need for dives. Too many hipsters keeps the crowd only so-so, but weekdays is a great place to go, especially with live Irish music I think on Mondays if I'm correct. They have real KING'S pints, which make the beers very affordable. Their Guinness is superbly tasty. Cigs flare on occasion. read more

Nice enough bar w/ most people watchin the game. $4 black n tans, others $5-6. Back room w a pool table... actually bigger than you'd think.

Monday (Bluegrass) and Tuesday (Jazz) they have live music that is AMAZING. The quality of sound and musicianship is worth a weekday visit to this dive bar. It can get super hipster-ish and crowded during these performances though, so get there early and make sure your mustache is in full effect. Avenue B has a great strip of bars, and this is a good spot to start or end bar hopping in alphabet city. read more

Not sure if they have a kitchen but I had an amazing time here on a Tuesday night. They show old black and white and 60's movies on the tv and everyone loves talking about composers of movies, actors, soundtracks. Great movie lovers bar! read more

Good little dive bar. They had a bluegrass band the night I went, which was pretty cool.

Man, I love this place. Cheap drinks, some really interesting characters as regulars and a slightly odd bartender. I love that you can sit and actually talk without competing with annoying bland music or yelling youngsters (ha). There's an old-fashioned Jukebox (with CDs, yes) so the music selection is always random and interesting, but doesn't interfere with conversation. Head around the corner and pick up some dollar empanadas to soak up all the cheap booze. You won't regret any of it. read more

Perfect neighborhood bar, open later than many in the area. Cheap drinks. Decent jukebox. Friendly people. Skip the cocktails.

good, cheap dive bar - has a pool table and a hunting video game where you shoot deer. bar tenders are friendly and you can just chill out with friends and not worry about the "scene". music kept changing from cool Stones and blues-type stuff to strange garage rock that didn't seem mellow/relaxed enough. good place to get your drink on if you wanna get loaded read more

each star is for a Mona i used to know. unfortunately, none of them were laid back and cool like this legendary east village dive bar :) cheap drinks in the neighborhood with live music makes this bar great read more

You want to catch up with a friend and maybe play a billard game, this is your place. This is a great place to people watch the folks across the street going to Pouring Ribbons. read more

There were some renovations, and now it's lost its ancient charms and looks kind of like your typical sports bar.

Mona's is exactly what is seems, an inexpensive, friendly place with a pool table. The music is never too loud, so if you want to sit and hang with your friends you have a choice of the bar or the back room with rough hewn wooden tables. I particularly like the eclectic mix of people and the lack up Upper Eastside yuppies that you see at Lakeside. The best "bar" on Aveneue B. read more

guinness on special for $3 is unbeatable (thursday nights), but besides that, this bar lacks a distinguishing feature. plus, the guinness was on the poor side as far as guinnesses go. if i go back, i may bite the bullet and pay $5 for a blue point. almost no decor, but that's clearly what they're going for. tinsel and xmas lights and a few pictures in the main bar, even less surrounding the tables in the back. mostly locals and lifers up front, the younger crowd in the back - everything from finance-types to ny social sports club teams to small groups of friends yukking it up. great jukebox, but it's somewhat temperamental - i put in a dollar and tried to get two songs, but only one played. maybe the smiths disc is scratched or something - don't request "heaven knows i'm miserable now" unless you want to waste 50 cents. other than the juke, no music to be heard. a fun night, but more due to the company than the venue. nothing special, but nothing at all off-putting either. may be back when craving cheap guinness. read more

Watched the Knicks in '93 here, when they got to a game 7 in the NBA finals. Used to live down the block for a while. They had poetry readings then too that I went to. About 7 years ago went on a bender, where we said "anything with a GLEN in it." Stopped by today for few pints of Guinness, and it's a little more clean. Many fond memories her. Love this place read more

Bartender Leah with the wild curly hair is a goddess.

Pretty decent dive bar I guess - stumbled in here after a couple fancier cocktails elsewhere. Jukebox was SUPER loud. Bar was filled with a few too many D-bags for my taste this particular evening. Decent beer options, and a pool table is available. read more

This is the best bar in the east village, (a close second being Josie's and Sophie's). Julie, our bartender, had that Daria (MTV) swagger that let you know you earned her respect once she warmed to you. We did a round of white wine shots for the road and it was the highlight of our eve. They very well may have been the best white wine shots in existence. We played pool and used the jukebox and laughed the night away. Mona's remains a piece of the East Village that remains untouched as the word turns. Julie is a saint and can do no wrong. If you're not drinking here you haven't heard about it yet or you're in to lame stuff. read more

so, once upon a time, not so very long ago, the east village was cool. and Mona's is like a time capsule within which you can kind of relive what that felt like.I really love the back room. And the hard exterior/soft interior bar tenders. I like it all, honestly. read more

I'm a big fan of Mona's - it's my go-to East Village dive bar! Cheap drinks, great jukebox, pool if you want to play it, and I've never had trouble finding a seat. Service can sometimes be a bit gruff but it never bothers me. read more

A great neighborhood hole in the wall with enough personal space to have a decent time most of the time. On Mondays they have a bluegrass jam session that is pretty authentic, and Tuesday is the 20's jazz jam. Great live music on these days and the bartender seems to enjoy his work. Cold pints and your standard cocktails. read more

I love this little place. The front is very small but the back room opens up with a pool table and ski ball!! The drinks are cheap ($5) and the juke box is pretty good. I meant to stop in for one drink waiting for a club to open and ended up spending three hours in here. Overall a great time! read more

Loved this place! In from out of town, I prefer a neighborhood flavored, divey bar over any of the pretentious places I can find in any city. And the bartender Aiden was ace to me and my friend (whose accent he could peg down to the town in Ireland he was from!!) I love this part of town and now I love this bar too. read more

Regular, non gentrified bar bar. One of the last vestiges of the east village. Great Thursday Guinness special, great jukebox. read more

Great dive bar with awesome bluegrass. Bartender told us to "make up our minds" and was very rude to us, so we did not tip. He then refused service. Great place as long as you tip the terrible bartender. read more

Since Mona's and it's sister bar Sophie's are no longer the secret homes away from home that they once were, I've decided to go ahead and write a review. I'm not as much of a night owl as I used to be, but I have to say that I've had some great times at Mona's over the years. If you like dive bars(Personally, I think they're the best kind!), you'll love Mona's. The jukebox has a terrific selection, there's always a pool game to watch or play, and my favorite Irish bartenders in the city! The clientele is still pretty diverse, so there's a mix of college kids, older guys and gals, and lot's of people in ther 20's and 30's(Although it's been somewhat taken over by the college crowd). The drinks are cheap and not watered down. If you aren't shy, you can easily start up a conversation with strangers and end up making some new friends. Of course, there are lots of cuties to admire from afar(or close up!), which never hurts. All in all it's just a cool little dive where you can relax and enjoy a fun night out in the ever-reigning best area of the city to see and be seen in, the East Village. The only reason I can't bring myself to give it 5 stars is because Sophie's will always be my favorite. read more

The one of the oldest dive bars in east village. Nice selection of beer. They had a good blue-grass band playing in the corner at a comfortable level so you can listen or talk to your friends. read more

dive bar, beer, shots, bluegrass, skee ball. excellent place.

Only place to be in the East Village on a Monday or Tuesday night; if it's Wednesday-Sunday, in the words of Dionne Warwick, "Walk On By."

A dive. But their Guinness is great. A good place to visit...away from the hipsters and college kids.

Just fine. Best thing about it for me was the three older dudes sitting at the bar who sounded like they had grown up in the neighborhood. The bartender seemed like she would much rather be somewhere else. read more

If you're looking for an Avenue B dive bar with cheap drinks, check out Mona's. What it lacks in atmosphere, it makes up for in value. After a night of posh partying about town, I recommend this joint. If you're new to NYC and are experiencing sticker shock from the price of drinks in trendy neighborhoods like Chelsea and the Meatpacking District, Mona's offers a nice respite, IF you can find a seat. Be on the lookout, though - there is no signage on the outside so follow the throngs of drunken college students and disoriented 9-to-5'ers to a small door between 13th and 14th Street. read more

buck hunter, pool tables, great juke box, live music every so often, never too crowded.

I just love Mona's. Have been coming here for the past 5 years and can't find another dive bar as nice as this one. Best of all, the bathrooms are fairly clean (when it's not packed with people). I also love that I can bring my puppies with me. One of them always stop at the door waiting to go in so that he can get a treat. Also love the bartenders, always friendly no matter what time of day/night it is. read more

One of my favorite places in NYC for a casual beer and great music on the old jukebox. Off the beaten path so doesn't get all that crowded. A cool place. read more

i have friends who have probably spent years in this bar. since i don't live in NY anymore i can't go there as much as i'd like, but the awesome juke box and chilled-out vibe and cheap drinks are perfect for a laid-back night out- or a crazy one. as someone above said if you are in the mood to get sloshed mona's is definitely a good place to go. read more