As far as tourist magnets go, Fraunces is one of New York’s best. It’s a stately brick colonial that overtly exploits its own history, yes, including occupancy by George Washington. But the place still works on a few levels beyond that i.e. you can get a good buzz going in a cool room with pretty good food.
The decor isn’t doing Revolutionary War-era cosplay so much as continuity. Low light, old wood, and a warren of rooms—squint and you could be in an HBO period piece. Don’t be fooled by the crowded Independence Bar when you walk in—there are several different bars to choose from if you venture further, each with its own flavor. Lafayette’s Hideout is a Whiskey Bar, there are the Tallmadge and Bissell rooms that look like museum dioramas, and upstairs there’s a Piano Bar. Reservations are a good idea if you’re with a big party; those land you in the dining rooms.
Drinks lean brown and sturdy with an Irish streak, so it almost goes without saying that you can get a nice pint of Guinness. And the whiskey selection is deep, so there’s that. If you’re not in the market, there are all kinds of other libations–they want you to stay a while. Live music seven nights a week (piano upstairs, trad jazz downstairs) gives the place a pulse. Service is highly efficient with friendly staff darting to-and-fro down the labyrinthine corridors. If you catch one of them on your way inside, they’ll direct you accordingly.
Foodwise, Fraunces is a crowd-pleaser as long as your crowd is pleased by Anglo-Fare. Fish and chips, chicken pot pie, steaks, burgers... you get the picture. No reinventions or interpretations here, and if you walked in here expecting that I’d say that your problem lies elsewhere. The plates land warm and generous and everything tastes good.
The trick here is timing. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 4 to 7pm with $1.50 oysters and a few discounted sips. The pastel workshirts in need of a quittin’ time decompressor know this well. But they tend to stick around the front bar and don’t linger too long anyway. If you plan things out, you can start up in the museum and work your way down. This is the kind of place that’ll appeal to your out-of-town folks, providing they’re not from Philly or Boston, where establishments with this kind of history are a dime a dozen.
You may not want to make Fraunces a nightlife destination but as a fun bit of living history with food and drink, it doesn’t disappoint. Finance bros choking the place’s front bar be damned–you can slide right past them.