Looking for a dive bar? Here are 10 great spots with great eats in North Jersey (2024)

Glamorous? No way. Brightlights?Nah. Hightabs? You kidding? Suit and tie? Getouttahere.

Dive bars aren't your special-occasion,fancy food, softly lit, inside-voices-only kind of place.Heckno. They areraucous,down-home, wear-just-about-anything, eat-just-about everythingneighborhood joints. Thekind of bustling, funspotswhere the beer is cheap, the food is familiar and the stafffriendly. Who cares if the lights are dim, the TV blaring, the floor sticky, the bathroom shabby and the napkins paper? You've got alcohol, music, games, sportsand good-old, satisfyingAmerican grub — sometimes even great, can't-believe-my-luck, awesome American grub.And you don't have to break the bank toenjoy it.

Here are local dive bars that promise a good time, really good eats and lots and lots of beerfor not a lot of money.

Cheap eats: Stellar meals under $15 in North Jersey

The Grant Street Cafe, Dumont

Come to this 80-plus-year-oldspot in verdantDumont to hoist a craft beer — Grant Street Cafeoffers 32 craft beer lines that rotate — but don't hesitate tohoist a fork and knife too. Grant Street Cafe is famous for its mostly from-scratcheats, especially its thin-crust pizza, pots of mussels and its out-of-this-world prime-rib dip sandwich.

The gotta-try thin-crust pizzas, a menu staple for at least 60 years,are as good as Kinchley's, saidmanagerChris DeLaura.Hisdad, Thomas, bought the joint 43years ago.

Its most popular pie may bethe TB-Eatz, a fried pepperoni and vodka sauce concoction, named after one of the cafe's former regulars, Tim Byrne, an "online foodie guywho used to come in often," DeLaura said. DeLaura says Byrne doesn't come in anymore, but his eponymous pie regularly goes down the gullets of the cafe's patrons.

The mussels do too— "We sell upwards of 200 pounds of mussels a week," DeLaura said — bathed inatomato or white wine sauce, bothof which are homemade. Many fans usetheir pizzato get atthe sauce by dipping it in,like bread.

As for the prime-ribsandwich, a long roll slathered with horseradish mayo and stuffed with thinly shavedribeye steak andsauteed onionsand served with au jus sauce? It's so popular that the cafe goes through 10 ribeyes a week.

And let's not forget thechicken wings. "We made it through the toughest time," DeLaura said, "and our wings deserve someof the credit."

Go: 25 Grant Ave., Dumont;201-385-1705,thegrantstreetcafe.com.

DP's Pub, Garfield

Who goes to a dive bar for delicious seafood? If your answer is no one, you haven't been to DP's Pub, a proudly run-down, outmodeddive bar that just may be North Jersey's favorite pretense-freehangout. What other jointkeeps thebottle of white wine you've ordered chilled in a cheap plastic water pitcher or serves raw oysters in awell-used, dinged-up sheet pan?Or, for that matter, has an open kitchen where the chef sporting a ragged T-shirt and a dark baseball cap (worn backwards, duh)chatson his cellphonewhilepatrons sit a few feet away?It's all part of DP's charm — and it's spellbinding.

When Anthony Garcia and his stepfather,Don Warnet, bought the watering hole 2½ years ago,they listened to their customers and made very few changes. "Everyone said, 'Don't change it. Don't change it.'"

They broughtin a couple more TVs andlightened up the spacea bit. "It used to be very dark," Garcia said. "Now you can see your food." Food that is reason enough to drive right over, especially if what the ocean grows is your thing.

Why is the fish so good at DP's? It's super-fresh, it's high-quality and DP's does as little to it as possible, according to Garcia."You don’t have to do muchwith fresh seafood. We broil most everything."

The fish is reeled infrom Peter's Fish Market, the venerated fish store that supplies some 300 restaurants in the tri-state area includingchi-chispots like the Saddle River Inn, Cafe Panache in Ramsey, and theVillage Green and RestaurantLatour, both in Ridgewood.

And itsprices are easy on the wallet. Oysters cost$2/each;shrimp scampi is$6.95 as an appetizer,$13.95 entree;stuffed shrimp is$14.95; and broiled twin lobster tails are $18.95.

If, however, you're one of those people who doesn't like fish — the kind whocomplains thatfish tastes"fishy" (really?) —try theNew York strip steak with another popular item, garlic fries."People love garlic on everything," said Garcia, who sometimes can be found in the open kitchen cooking, too.

Go:732 River Drive, Garfield;973-246-7795,dpspub.com.

Maggie's Town Tavern, Little Falls and Wayne

Prepare to cool your heelsif you want togetyour hands on Maggie's Town Tavern's popular barbecued ribs or your fists around its famous Town Burger.Come Wednesday through the weekend, this funky sports bar/restaurantdraws locals, families and food lovers alike to its bar, lounge and dining room for good suds, goodgrub andgood games on TV — and often there's a wait. Maggie'shas two locations: one in Little Falls (housed in a century-old building); the other Wayne.

Be patient and you'll be rewarded withfine dishes and lovely local beers. (Reservations taken only for parties of eight or more.)

"We try to keep New Jersey beers on tap," said NickGeorgakopoulos, who co-owns the tavern with his mom, Maggie (hence the tavern's name). In Little Falls, you'll find 12 Jersey beers on tap; Wayne 24.

Graba beer and dig into those ribs that have spent seven long hours on a stove, gotslathered in barbecue sauce, and then made a quick stopoverona grill before showing up in front of youwith housemade coleslaw and spears of pickles. Or get TheTown Burger; eight ounces of freshBlack Angus steak, topped with Taylor Ham and a fried egg (a Jersey breakfast burger, anyone?)and served on a brioche roll with fries.

Go:10 Van Ness Ave, Little Falls;973-256-7708 and1082 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne; 973-256-7702,maggiestowntavern.com.

Duffy's Tavern, Paterson

This family-owned joint in downtown Patersonis an unabashed Irish-inspired dive bar,popular for its shuffleboard, dart boards, live music,the party it puts on St. Patrick's Day and its down-to-earth, heartygrub. Crammed with old-time memorabilia — sepia-toned photographs and police and firefighters plaques and keepsakes — and home to a humongous fish tank, Duffy's is where the neighborhood goes for a hot lunch, a cold drink and a satisfyingsupper.

Sit down to a bowl of homemade chili topped with melted cheese and diced raw onions,served with crisp, oversized, housemade chips. "It's fantastic," declared managerKara Eletto."I don't know what the cook does to it, but he's awesome."

Awesome too isDuffy’s well-lovedribeye cheesesteak,eight ounces of slow-cookedbeefsmothered in sautéed onions, mushrooms and melted cheese served on homemade garlic bread. If you're yearning for eats from the Emerald Isle, tuck intoa heartyhelping of Duffy's popularcorned beef and cabbage or its beer-batteredfish and chips.

Enjoy the eats indoors — or on the heatedpatio, which has its own bar and mounted TV sets. Every day, holidays too. In its 40-something years, Duffy's never closed its doors — except when it was required to for COVID-19.

Go:856 River St., Paterson;973-684-0788,duffystavernnj.com.

Sharky's Wings & Raw Bar, Clifton and Boonton

If you go to Sharky's on Sunday when sports are on TV, expect to wait and wait and wait to get in. But the wait, my friend, is worth it, particularly if you like tender, juicy award-winning chicken wings. Everyone and his brotherknows that this dark, cramped, loud dive barslingswhat arguably are the best wings in North Jersey. Choose amongthetwo dozen or so sauce options — from Thai chili and hot BBQto honey mustard and lemon pepper butter — and dip 'eminto the accompanying homemade blue cheese. It's easy to fill yourself up with those wings, but don't ignore the burgers, hot dogs, sliders and salads (indeed, some greens won't do any harm).

Go:108 Boonton Ave., Boonton;973-917-4466, and545 Highland Ave., Clifton;973, 473-0713, and Alpha,431 3rd Ave., Alpha,908-777-3610,sharkyswingsnj.com/indexs.php

The Rock Bar, Clifton

Come for the beer, stay for the wings and sports. Your choices for the wing sauces? Let's see: in the "wet" category,there are14 including teriyaki, bourbon molasses, peanut butter & jelly and mango habanero. In the "dry"?Fourteen as well; among them, Nashville hot, chili lime and7-pepper facelift. And while there, try someapple cider shots.

Regulars are also wild about the Rock fries covered in mozzarella and crispy bacon and the disco fries (you're in New Jersey; get 'em).

Also consider, working off some of those calories by picking up somedarts: The Rock may havethe greatest number of dart boards — seven — ina local bar. And if you'd rather watch than play:There are 12 seven-inch LED TVs.

Go: 414 Main Ave.,Clifton;973-916-1888,therock414.com.

Tierney's Tavern, Montclair

Two words (or is it three?): Burgers and onion rings. Add one more: fries. There are those who swear that this 86-year-old, two-story, old-school, boisterous Irish pub has the best burgers in the East. Shout-out to the famous "Buddy Burger," a half-pounderdressed with onions fried in Worcestershire sauce.

Whether its burgers are the East's best is in the tongue of the eater, however I can vouch thatitundeniably hasdive-y charm, with old wooden banquettes, a long oval bar, leaded glass windows —and no phone. That's right. If you want some suds, a Taylor ham sandwich or some cheese fries at Tierneys, you've got to hop into your car and make your way there.

Go:136-138 Valley Road, Montclair;tierneystavern.com.

In addition:

Marty Gras, Lyndhurst.Marty Gras proclaims on its Facebook page, "If you think you have an inkling about good food and you aren't eating here, maybe you don't!" Its regulars would agree. They'd strongly advise you to get the grilled cheese with bacon, chunky wings and the half-pound burger on a freshly baked roll. If you're a fan of mussels, come Fridays when mussels are always on the menu.601 Schuyler Ave.,Lyndhurst;201-842-0125, search Facebookfor its page.

Obal's Inn, Bloomfield.Bartender Mike Mercado isn't quite sure how old this stalwart dive is but he is certain that there aren't many like it left. "It's so old-school. You don't see places like Obal'sanymore." A place frozen in time, where apparentlyeveryone knows everyone. "In the daytime we get gentlemen golfers and they all know each other," Mercado said. "After 10 p.m., we get a younger crowd — and there's lots and lots of them — and they all know each other. It's like a family with many, many members." The members rave about the special ribs on Thursday (Come early though, Mercado advises; "90% of the time we sell out"), the wings and the burgers. If you manage to finish the Monster Burger, two eight-ounce patties topped with Taylor ham, bacon, lettuce and tomatoes, Mercado said, you get a glass of beer on the house. "Surprisingly a lot of people do finish it," he said. "And somehow they manage to drink all the beer too." As for the Ms. Pac Man game? It's been replaced by a lottery machine, which means, Mercado said, "people will be gambling rather than trying to set a new high score on Pac Man." 439 Broad St., Bloomfield;973-429-1943, SearchFacebookfor its page.

Krug’s Tavern, Newark. A no-frills bar owned by Jake LaMotta's family. It opened in 1932. Come for the famous burgers, ribs and seafood. Stay for the history.118 Wilson Ave., Newark;973-465-9795,krugstavern.com.

EstherDavidowitzis thefood editor for NorthJersey.com. For more on where to dine and drink, pleasesubscribe todayand sign up forourNorth Jersey Eats newsletter. Email:davidowitz@northjersey.com

Twitter:@estherdavido