The Wheeltapper

This place is a hidden gem. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but once you walk in the door, you can't help but feel good. The pub is decorated in a railroad theme, with lots of Irish railroad memorabilia that's actually pretty interesting. It consists of two bars connected by a longer room reminiscent of a railroad dining car. There are lots of nooks and crannies, a fireplace, and just a really warm and comfortable atmosphere. The BIG surprise is a large outdoor patio just off the rear bar. The patio is loaded with garden planters, has an outdoor bar, heat lamps, and a movable awning for when rain threatens. The staff seemed to know everybody, and by the end of the night, they knew us, too. The menu is mostly pub fare, but it was done surprisingly well. I had one of the best burgers I've ever had, and my wife had halibut that she raved about. You have your chicken wings and your mozzarella sticks, but there was also duck quesadillas and humus on the menu, too. I also had one of the best and biggest pints of Guinness I ever had - our waitress called it an "Imperial Pint" . The crowd was friendly, and the music was good and not too loud. the only downside was that the restrooms were kind of tough to get to. I'll definitely be going back. Pros: incredible outdoor bar, cozy, friendly and warm Cons: outdoor space gets crowded more

I and some friends stopped by after work for some food and drinks..I had expected a regular pub but was pleasantly surprised by the restaurant size and outdoor space, we ordered drinks which was very well priced for a hotel bar and ordered food from the menu(hamburgers, chicken fingers, sliders, potato skins and chips with a homemade cheese sauce..the food took a while to arrive (approx 20 minutes)this could be attributed to how packed the place was..the food was amazing and the portions for the price quoted was surreal..I will definitely be back and will tell others about this GEM of a find. Pros: Patio space Cons: No drawbacks more

This place is a great find, hidden away inside a hotel I would never normally go in to, but just having moved to the UN area I was looking for somewhere local to hang out and relax. ?The inside of the pub itself is OK, but the real gem is an amazing patio at the back of the hotel which you wouldn't know was there unless you walked through the pub and out the back. ?We saw their sign on 44th Street last weekend during the mini heatwave, and decided to give it a shot as good outdoor drinking areas are a bit thin on the ground in that area. ?We were so glad we did. ?The patio has a rustic look and is welcoming with some greenery and artefacts which create some character. ?The bar menu has some lite bites which are good value for money - we tried the hummus and the duck quesadillas - both well presented and good sized portions. ?There is also a full dinner menu which we plan to go back and try in the next couple of weeks. ?My companion drank Guinness (this is an Irish place but not overwhelmingly so) and I had a glass of well chilled Chardonnay, nothing out of the ordinary but just what we were looking for. ?The menu also had some summery cocktails on it which I thought was well done considering that was the first really warm weekend we have had and they were clearly ready for it. ?Service was very friendly and accommodating. ?I can see this place being a real hot spot in the good weather and we'll certainly be back." Pros: Amazing outdoor space Cons: Hidden inside a hotel more

Factual rundown of lunch hour experience at Wheeltapper Pub, picked because of its convenient location, just east of Grand Central: Pros: Location, decor Cons: Food, beverages, service more

Went out with a couple of coworkers a few weeks ago and got rowdy, doing namebrand shots (which turned out to be $10 a piece, yikes!). We were sitting outside, which was actually nice even in cold weather due to the heat lamps. The outside waitress was decent, but it was busy so drinks came a little slower than we would've liked (had to do the whole "order two drinks at a time" thing in order to not be waiting forever). Pros: nice outdoor area even in the winter, classy Cons: grouchy waitress, expensive more

I was part of the group that did our draft there and actually spoke to management prior to our event. I was lied to and the service couldn't be worse. They should fire their staff because they are rude and hostile. We were a work group of business professionals and explained to them 3 times what the event was prior to arriving. There were only 2 other patrons in the bar at the time and they couldn't care less. i guess the lazy staff was hoping for a quiet night and when we arrived we ruined their easy time. Despite the fact that we paid $2,000 for their overpriced beers and bar food they treated us like dirt. The female bartender in particular. Oh and the latin waiter flipped his lid when we attempted to move our large party to the patio which was empty at the time (you have anger management issues amigo).I have to be fair, there was one waiter who did his job and we tipped him well for it. It pains me to say this because the one responsible waiter may suffer as a result but DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE. more

So you are thinking of going to the Wheeltapper. Well it has great ambience with all its vintage train memorabilia and the back patio is very pleasant. The service was also good and staff friendly. However we have all heard of midtown sticker shock and this place takes the cake. For example an order of simple pub food dish like potato skins was $14.00 for 3 potato skins. Thats right 3 potato halves. Someone in the kitchen must be seeking revenge for the potato famine. Additional and this really bugged me - they add the gratuity directly to your bill and don't tell you when they present you with the check. Thats right. I noticed my gratuity added to the bill and I was a mere party of 2. They even had the audacity of leaving a line where you can add additional money for an even bigger tip. My tip to you is to tap on by the Wheeltapper as fast as you can. Pros: Nice Ambience Cons: Overpriced and not forthright about gratuity policy more

This was the worse dining experiance I have had in NYC. We were a large group of 30 doing our football draft. We spoke with management 3 seperate times asking if they could accomidate us of which they said absolutely. When we arrived they placed us in a small area, we asked to turn down the music so we could hear and we were told "this is not a library." Later on the US open was on in the 5th set and the bartender switched it to the Yanks game in the 2nd inning (and they are not even in the playoffs this year). We asked to switch it back until the set was over (which was all of 5 mins) and i was told by the bartender she didn't like our attitude. I could see their point if we were loud and obnoxious but we were all into the draft and very focused. The food was subpar and expensivie. We spent almost $2000 and they even charged us for every diet coke. We only had beer in large buckets so the bartender had to do no work (we were orginally told we could have pitchers but upon arrival that was denied). This place cleary does not want the business. I'm still dumbfounded by the rudeness we experienced. We could not get out of there fast of enough. Pros: None Cons: Rude Service more

Went to The Wheeltapper Pub with some colleagues after work. The beer selection was solid but the service and attitude of the wait staff was terrible. The beers and food were overpriced, and the food was average at best. The manager and bartender were rude and unprofessional. After spending over $1000 on food and drink (large group) they were still charging us for glasses of water at the end of the night! With so many other Irish Pubs in midtown don't even waste your time with this establishment which lacks character and doesn't know the meaning of customer service. Pros: Location Cons: Everything else more

I went to lunch on a Wednesday with a group of employees. After waiting for our lunch for an hour, we asked someone who worked there (managemnt) how much longer we'd have to wait for lunch since we needed to get back to the office. The flippant answer that we received was that it was our fault for ordering a well done burger and steak sandwhich, that apparently takes 45 mins to cook. Funny, considering that I had worked in a restaurant for for 12 years and had never seen a well done burger take 45 mins to cook. When we made the suggestion that maybe they should let people know that it takes that long to for certain orders to come out, since they are a restaurant in the middle of midtown w/ tons of people on lunch breaks, we were then berated for not calling in advance. Apparently a party of 10 is beyond their capability. It is amazing that this woman, maybe better fitted for a job that does not involve human interaction, is part of their management team. On top of it all, the food is... nothing special. Worst dining experience of my life. more