Monday, February 18, 2013

Coming Soon: Banter Irish Bar and Kitchen

Old Vienna Cafe will be reopening by St. Patrick's Day as Banter Irish Bar and Kitchen. According to one of the owners, "we are aiming for a higher end Irish-centric menu with quality drink and excellent service. I think the people in this neighborhood will be pleasantly surprised by what we have in store."

He adds, "We are currently doing a little bit of work but are remaining open for the time being before we are completely ready to return. At which point we will be closed for a little while to put on the finishing touches."

15 comments:

  1. I never tried Old Vienna Cafe but obviously it wasn't too good and didn't last long.

    Having an Irish place makes more sense for this area especially since there are a large population of Irish which are underrepresented in this community.

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  2. An FYI: Aer Lingus, the carrier for Ireland will be moving into T5 at JFK next month at the JetBlue terminal.

    Irish pubs are nice and are found in lots of places but none here before so long live the Irish. May the Banter Irish Bar and Kitchen find success. But with a name like Banter, it doesn't seem authentic Irish and I will wait for others to judge how good it turns out to be.

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    1. The Irish Cottage has been in Forest Hills for many decades now, so the neighborhood does have an Irish Pub!

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    2. yes but the service in the irish cottage is rude and the atmosphere is stuffy and cold. Not my cup of tea. Plus the steak was undercooked and sitting in its own blood. Looking forward to trying this new place.

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  3. This is great news. Banter bar, Flying Pig, and Station House all opening up within the next few months. But I'm sure the longtime Irish Cottage is probably not very happy.

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  4. I truly hope they get this right. It's actually a terrific location yet each restaurant iteration has missed the spot. If they're going to make this spot in to a comfortable Pub, they're going to have to do a fairly large over-haul to the interior space.

    Hopefully the menu follows with some true Irish Pub offerings - bangers and mash, shepherds's pie, fish and chips, lamb stew.

    Keeping my fingers cross that they're on the spot.

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  5. Was never a fan of the gloomy feel of the Irish Cottage (though I understand the premise of it being indeed...a cottage). It'd be a nice to have a more upscale Irish pub in the hood. Though the recent introduction of numerous bars (and potential for more) raises questions about the overall health of the neighborhood in the long-term. I'm hoping it doesn't turn into the Lower East Side where after 9pm, you'd be hard pressed to find someone over 23 who's not sloshed at bar 3 of 5. Have you ever walked the neighborhood after 10pm? Its a madhouse of college aged party goers, one step from being a weekly Mardi Gras. I mean, I'm still in my late 20's and love going out for drinks, but I like knowing that I can do that in the city, "dirty" the place up, and come home to the tranquility that is Forest Hills. It'd be a shame to walk Austin Street on a Sunday morning trampling over garbage, beer cans, and left over glitter. On the flip side, we do have an overall older demographic so hopefully the FH lifestyle will continue

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  6. Went to Irish Cottage once with friends. The owner was completely hammered! And to top it off she was a really sloppy and mean drunk. Creeped me out so I never went back.

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    1. i couldn't agree with you more!

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  7. An good Irish pub would be a welcome addition to the Forest Hills scene. I agree with above that Irish Cottage isn't my cup of tea. I'd love a place to have a good draught and some bangers and mash.

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  8. Nice scoop drake. I wonder if all these new bars being built at the same time is just a coincedence or it says something about the demo of the nabe or what

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  9. People in the area like to eat and drink.

    Even the former Staples location is being converted into a Food establishment as per permits.

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  10. In a recession, pubs tend to do well. Where else can you drown your sorrows? :)

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  11. Hopefully the place doesn't suck.

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  12. I was in Banter tonight and loved it. Had the Scotch Eggs appetizer, which was delicious! I enjoyed the decor,ambiance and crowd. I will be back again!!!!!

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