Mulligan’s: Drinking with the Hooligans

Hoboken is a weird place. Walk two blocks one way, you’re in some old school Italian deli where the owner is chomping on a ball of mozzarella. Walk two blocks the other way, you’re at some Ed Hardy bro bar pounding Natty Ice. Walk towards any park and you’ll be assaulted by a gang of moms in Lululemon yoga pants pushing strollers like battering rams.

And when you go through the door to the building at 159 First Street, it would seem as if you were teleported to a back alley pub in Dublin. Nope, you’re still in Hoboken, you’ve just experienced , that’s all.

Anyway, a friend and I headed out to Mulligan’s with the express purpose of drinking a proper pint after a busy week. Luckily, we stumbled upon a soccer game.

“Is this bar just going to play Coldplay all night?” asked my friend, who hails from across the Hudson.

I sighed, exasperated. “Give this town a chance! Also, Coldplay are English, not Irish.”

“Whatever.”

So here’s the thing, I love soccer hooligans. Well, I love the idea of soccer hooligans in my head, where they are sloshing pints around and punching each other in the face every time someone kicks a goal. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) that’s not how they actually act. They are normal sports fans! When a guy bumped into me on accident, he apologized quickly. Dare I say that these are respectful hooligans?

Anyway, back to the review. We ordered pints of Guinness, because… what else would we order there? Otherwise, they offer the usual, with a few craft selections, with nothing exceeding five or six bucks. Not too bad.

They don’t really have events during the week, no “Ladies Night” or anything. Happy Hour boasts $3 domestic beers, and as a bar for Philadelphia sports fans, they offer $2 Yuengling’s during games. Just beer, sports and a pretty unpretentious attitude. I kind of like that.

After a few drinks, my companion left to go use the men’s room. I used this as an opportunity to note the décor. Mulligan’s looks like what I imagine my old Irish grandfather’s basement hang-out would look like, if I had an Irish grandfather with a basement hang-out. The walls are paneled in wood, and tons of sports memorabilia adorns the walls. Banners and jerseys are sprinkled around the bar, like, well, sprinkles on a cake. There’s darts and pool, too. It’s a pub, and it looks like a pub.

“There was a goalpost in the urinal,” my friend said when he returned. “You know, so you can aim and make a goal. That rules.”

I said I would note that in my review, so guys… there you go?

Anyway, I know nothing about soccer, so most of the match was spent with me shrugging and asking everyone, “What’s going on?!” 

“Not a whole lot,” muttered a guy nearby. I guess no one was scoring much. Like I said, shrug. 

But as the minutes passed and the beers were downed – dare I say, I got into the spirit? My companion and I were seen sloshing our beers around and singing team anthems (note, this didn’t happen, and I don’t know any team anthems). But either way, it was a fun night. And watching a soccer game with a bunch of (nice, friendly) hooligans, is something that everyone should get to experience.

So while I hear that Mulligan’s gets kind of weird and clubby on the weekends, during soccer games, it’s a pub that can’t be beat. If you’re into weird clubby stuff, well, uh, then have fun with that. If you’re looking for fusions cocktails made with pomegranate, then yeah, this might not be your spot. If you’re looking for pints and camaraderie, and a little slice of the Old World (Ireland? Sure), then you’ll fit in great. Therefore, I’ll award Mulligan’s a solid nine out of ten frosty mugs. Head out there this weekend, the finals are coming up on Saturday. You’ll be in for a good time.

Mulligan’s, 159 First Street; 201-876-4101. Check out mulligansonfirst.com for more.

The Bar Hopper is a sometimes tongue-in-cheek look at Hoboken's abundant bar scene. The views expressed in these reviews are half-sloshed, and do not reflect the overall views of Patch.