After several weeks of gourmet nachos, we were eager to return to something a little bit humbler. Bar nachos were in order. Warren 77 fit the bill perfectly–it’s a sports bar in Tribeca with a relaxed atmosphere, bubble hockey, and glass-topped arcade game tables that allow patrons to drink and play Pac-Man at the same time.

Background
Visit Date and Time: Sunday, June 17th, 7:00pm
Nacho Style: Bar Nachos
Price: $14.00 (chicken, chili, or guac are $4 extra)

It was a beautiful evening, and neither of us had eaten lunch. Apparently the New Yorker  once rated Warren 77’s nachos the best in the city, and as faithful New Yorker readers we found this very exciting (NOTE: Warren 77 claims that this is true, but I can find NO PROOF OF THIS ONLINE).

Beers
This was a bit of a sticky spot. On paper, their draft list wasn’t bad–ten taps, with a decent variety of beer types. In reality, however, they were out of almost all of them.

Daisy: Ommegang Witte; some weird pilsner that I regret ordering.
Emma: Cigar City “Double IPA.” The menu did not say which one, which I found annoying because Cigar City has multiple double IPAs and they are not all the same. Maybe Cestero?

The Bar
A classic neighborhood bar, with reasonably plentiful seating. The walls were covered in old baseball cards, which was a nice touch. We also got free baseball cards with our check!

Ambience
Dark and cozy–perfect for a winter evening, which this was not. The World Cup was playing during our visit, so the bar wasn’t totally empty, but we were easily able to get a large booth.

Daisy’s Rating: 5/5. Beer issues aside, I really liked it here. I love a bar with dark wood (kind of like South’s), and the bubble hockey was very seductive.
Emma’s Rating: 3.5/5. This place felt a little divey to me and was weirdly narrow. I did like the baseball cards and the bubble hockey.

Beer
Several rotating drafts, including a good variety of styles and flavors. A few interesting bottles and cans as well. Unfortunately, every time we ordered something, we were told it was gone. Apparently we came at a bad time.

Daisy’s Rating: 1. I don’t know! They were out of everything! I just wanted another Ommegang, but they were out. I then went through two or three other beers that they were also out of before finally settling on a Pilsner because it was one of the few beers available. I don’t like Pilsners in general and I didn’t like this one, but I felt bad not ordering anything after all that.
Emma’s Rating: 2. This was very disappointing. When I looked at the menu I saw a lot of things I was interested in, and then they had…one of them. And although Cigar City is one of my favorite breweries, two full pints of a strong double IPA is a lot and I was hoping to mix it up.

Other Food
Typical bar food, but high quality–mac and cheese, chili cheese fries, chicken nuggets. There’s a decent burger and sandwich selection, tacos, and (bizarrely) a quinoa salad.

Daisy’s Rating: 4. I wish they had elote, but I’m not above ordering mac and cheese on a chilly evening. About both the tacos and the quinoa salad I am curious but skeptical.
Emma’s Rating: 3.5. A decent set of bar food options, though not particularly exciting. They did have fried pickles which I would definitely get if we came back.

Seating:
Massive booths, bar seating, and the two-seat arcade game tables (picture a table with a screen in it).

Daisy’s Rating: 3.5. We got a huge booth and it was great. I wonder how it would be on a busier night–there weren’t a lot of smaller tables aside from the arcade ones, and the seats on those were backless.
Emma’s Rating: 3.5. It didn’t seem like we’d have trouble getting a seat. Our booth was circular, though, vs. having two sides, which was a little awkward for two people. The arcade tables were labeled “reserved” despite being in a near-empty bar, so not sure what was up there. They did look awesome though.

Overall Bar:
Fine neighborhood bar! Hopefully our visit was an outlier and they do not regularly run out of beer.

Daisy’s Rating: 3.5. I liked the ambiance and I hate to dock them so severely for the beer issue, but it was a big problem! However, I would definitely return. I just did a show in the area and we spent a lot of time at Nancy Whiskey–if I had known about this place, I would definitely have gone here instead. Yelp suggests that the place may not normally be this relaxed–just a warning.
Emma’s Rating: 3. The beer situation really put me in a bad mood about Warren 77, but I agree that it was otherwise pretty decent. I would enjoy participating in one of the bubble-hockey tournaments advertised on the menu, or in trying my luck at an arcade table.

The Nachos
Hearty bar-style nachos–the New Yorker’s favorite?

Cheese
REAL CHEESE. Shredded cheddar?

Daisy’s Rating: 4. So glad to be returning to real cheese this week that I almost gave them a 5 just on principle. I do think the cheese could have been a bit better distributed.
Emma’s Rating: 4. Real cheese truly is the way to go. To me this cheese was solid but nothing special – I have had more flavorful cheeses in my time.

Toppings
REAL CHEESE, pico, sour cream, jalapeños, and either chicken, chili or guac for $4 extra (we got the guac).

Daisy’s Rating: 4. I enjoyed the toppings (and especially enjoyed the guac) but they were close enough to South’s nachos that I kept comparing them to those. South’s had all these toppings, plus salsa and beans. I missed the salsa and beans!
Emma’s Rating: 4. The guac portion was substantial, and these had all the essential nacho toppings with no frills. I could have used a little something extra, but am not complaining.

Portion Size
Enormous, topped with dollop of guac as big as a baby’s head.

Daisy’s Rating: 5. VERY good. South’s-size or even larger.
Emma’s Rating: 4.5. A solid entree portion of nachos. They filled me up even though I had not eaten lunch.

Flavor
Daisy’s Rating: 4.5. They lacked salsa and beans, but were otherwise delicious bar nachos. I do wish they could have been just a hair spicier.
Emma’s Rating: 3.5. Despite them checking all of the boxes, I did not love these nachos, and I am not quite sure why. I think they may have been a bit bland. Definitely tasty, but they didn’t make my top tier.

Overall Nachos

Daisy’s Rating: 4.4. I enjoyed them immensely! Very hearty, with reasonably good topping distribution. I definitely feel like I got $4 worth of guac.
Emma’s Rating: 4. This is definitely my preferred nacho style, and Warren 77 executed on it admirably. Still, these didn’t reach the level of South’s or Professor Thom’s for me. I think salsa, beans, or something else a bit more flavorful would have done it.

Summary

Our first return to the neighborhood that once was home to South’s was bound to bring back some old feelings, but the nachos at Warren 77 did not disappoint. Definitely worth a return trip to play some bubble hockey and sample a non-kicked set of draft beers.

Bar: 3.25
Nachos: 4.2
Overall: 3.725 

Next time: Taqueria Diana!

Emma and Daisy