Explore the wild side of Manhattan on this Hell's Kitchen Pub Crawl – New York. There is no hotel pick up for this walking tour and it starts in Times Square. You should make your way to the adult playground Dave and Buster's located at 234 West 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues where your (English-speaking) guide will be waiting.
With your guide you will visit three different pubs during the evening and enjoy one complimentary drink at each. You can easily walk from one bar to the other and the distance covered on the tour is about 1 mile (1.6 km).
As its name suggests, Hell's Kitchen has a seedy and violent past. Once a slum area inhabited by immigrants, it was notorious for its gangs and drunken street brawls. With the introduction of Prohibition in the 1920s, the gangs became organized crime rackets engaged in everything from gambling to bootlegging and extortion to prostitution. The arrival of Puerto Rican immigrants in the 1950s brought a renewal of gang violence as told in the musical 'West Side Story'.
The tour starts at a Hell’s Kitchen bar where gangsters once mingled with local artists and playwrights. You will then venture deep into the heart of what was once Manhattan’s dark underbelly, a gangland so dangerous that policemen themselves even feared to tread there!
On your journey you will learn about the bad old days in Hell's Kitchen and hear stories of prominent figures on the New York crime scene – such as bootlegger Bill Dwyer, and gangster Owney Madden. Drink in Druids Bar, once the infamous headquarters of the Westies gang where you will hear about its bloody history as a crime scene for a string of brutal murders.
Gentrification has smoothed the rough edges of Hell's Kitchen but stories of its checkered past still abound.
The area is close to the theater land of Broadway and has long been a playground for off-duty actors and other entertainers. On Times Square you will visit Caroline’s on Broadway, a premier comedy nightclub, and the Irish Playwright Celtic Pub.
Your tour ends in a quintessential Hell’s Kitchen bar - Rudy’s Bar and Grill, famous for its super-cheap prices, great hell’s kitchen atmosphere and free hot dogs which are dished out with every drink!
Your tour ends at Times Square.