A Great Bar — for Leaving Penniless & Sober

It’s not really the place itself that I see as the problem here…it’s the fact that they charge $8 for a Stoli and soda that gnaws at you. We’re talking about city prices at a relatively non-descript bar (I could see, for instance, if they had a Corvette half-sticking out of the wall, or a couple skee-ball machines…but they don’t) in Hoboken. It really doesn’t make sense to me. And it shouldn’t to you, either. Especially considering the bar’s location—at the corner of Tenth and Willow. Pushed back in the grid of Hoboken (far, far away from the PATH train and the main strip of bars), it can’t even justify itself with the “rent is high because of our plum Washington Street location, so we have to push the cost on to you, the consumer” excuse. And although I have never had a necessarily bad time there, I have walked out on several occasions, semi-sober and wondering just where all my money went.

I will, in fairness, say a few things in its favor. First, the crowd tends to be peppered with attractive girls, and the layout is pretty conducive to both talking to (or at) and dancing with them. Second—and probably just as important as the hot girls—the food is amazingly good. 10th and Willow can serve as a more-than-decent place to get something to eat with friends before heading elsewhere to enjoy cheaper drinks. And not to belittle their main menu by any means, but the bread and flavored butter they bring out when you sit down probably stands out in my mind more than any I’ve had elsewhere. For food, this is still a hidden gem; for drinks and a night out, it’s kind of a faux hidden gem—people already know about it, but act like they don’t because it is tucked away and not on Washington St.

As far as their specials go, they tend to range from “eh” to “not bad.” Tenth and Willow boasts the old Hoboken fallbacks of half-price martinis (Thursday) and Team Trivia (Wednesday…but beware, as the bar patrons have a serious cheating problem), but mingle it with the enjoyable “free wings” on Mondays—the catch, of course, being that you’re still paying $8 for that Stoli and soda. On a Monday, no less. Friday’s special is the ever-exciting “DJ Music,” and Tuesday has half-price appetizers.

Overall, if you’re looking to be wowed by an amazing interior and sound prices—on the bar side—you’d be better served to walk down Ninth on your way to the back of Hoboken. However, if you’re looking for a place to eat, or stuck designated driving, and just want to maybe meet a couple girls and drink cranberry juice all night long, you can do much, much worse within the Mile Square.

10th & Willow Bar & Grill
935 Willow Ave
Hoboken
(201) 653-2358

— by John Busco
John Busco, originally from upstate NY, has been living in NJ for several years, and currently calls Hoboken home.

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