Kettle Of Fish

New York, New York

Field Note

A nomadic dive bar is a concept that feels perfect for the dense labyrinth of New York City, congregations built around affordable alcohol navigating through the city over the span of decades. Kettle of Fish is the perfect such example, opened in 1950 and quickly associated with the Beat Generation, folk revival music and basically everything interesting about Greenwich Village and New York more broadly during that time.

The original Kettle of Fish location at 114 MacDougal Street attracted cultural staples like Jake Kerouac, Gregory Corso, Dave Van Ronk and others, the original location above The Gaslight Cafe drawing musicians between sets, Bob Dylan among them. The name of the bar comes from a catch phrase used by Laurel & Hardy, a slightly more culturally-relevant duo at that time. A newspaper review from 1965 cited even at that time a collection of “dingy photographs of former patrons,” proving out Kettle of Fish as a true dive bar even then.

In 1986, Kettle of Fish pulled up roots to occupy the former Gerde’s Folk City location on West 3rd Street before ultimately settling in its current location, 59 Chirstopher Street. Kettle of Fish’s current location bears its own historical pedigree, home to The Lion’s Head, a bar known for serving Norman Mailer and Bobby Kennedy among a host of other luminaries. Before striking it big in King Kong, Jessica Lange waited tables at The Lion’s Head.

Current Kettle of Fish owner Patrick Daley is well-woven into the fabric of the Greenwich Village dive bar’s meandering history. Daley moved to New York from Milwaukee suburb Wauwatosa in 1980, catching on as a bartender at Kettle of Fish in 1981. When the bar’s previous owner decided to retire in 1998, Daley purchased the rights to the name and opened up today’s incarnation of dive bar caravan Kettle of Fish.

Daley’s Wisconsin heritage quickly developed into today’s defining characteristic of Kettle of Fish as the city’s preeminent Green Bay Packer bar. Watching Packers games behind the bar with his wife quickly tumbled into a Daly-sourced reputation as a Packer-friendly location. Today, Packers games create massive crowds at Kettle of Fish, a fee charged at the door that allows both entry to the space and a beer, brat or both.

The New York City dive bar’s reputation as a Green Bay Packers bar is so pervasive that during the COVID-19 pandemic, ex-Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers donated to the bar’s GoFundMe fundraiser. Team trainer Pepper Burruss sent one of the team’s Gatorade coolers from Super Bowl XLV to the bar shortly after the game, signed by the training staff and Rogers both, recognizing the bar’s role in keeping New York-based Packers fans well lubricated.

On non-game days, Kettle of Fish feels like a classic New York neighborhood bar down to the wood paneling, string lights and even homemade Sangria behind the bar. Uncharacteristic of a New York dive is the square footage here, Kettle of Fish spanning two relatively cavernous rooms as far as Manhattan bars go. Even the small set of steps down from street level adds to the cozy feel of Kettle of Fish, a vibe very much in contrast with the elbow-to-elbow nature of a Packers-filled Sunday afternoon.

A pair of pinball machines, dart boards and even, gasp, a coat rack make use of the generous space. Seating options are diverse, ranging from bar stools to low tables to a casual booth-style couch against the exposed brick wall in the bar’s secondary space. Nomadic as it may be, Kettle of Fish’s current, third location feels authentic enough to reasonably connect to its 1950s, Kerouac-laden roots. Thankfully, Kettle of Fish’s cozy ambiance avoided serious damage during a July 2022 fire thanks to Daley’s quick-thinking efforts when a small blaze started on the structure’s roof.