Haunted Pub Crawl Near Me in Queens: Mae West's Ghost at Neir's Tavern

Neir's Tavern, at 87-48 78th Street in Woodhaven, Queens, was founded in 1829, and the owners call it the oldest continuously operating bar in New York City. If your haunted pub crawl near me search has only turned up Manhattan, this is the detour worth taking: happy hour cocktails are $8 on weekdays from 2 pm to 6 pm, the J train stops a few blocks away, and patrons have long said Mae West still drops by.

The ghost belongs to Mae West, who was born in 1893 and grew up in the area. Neir's own history page says the entertainer lived nearby and danced here as a child, and Forgotten New York's Kevin Walsh wrote that she is said to have started her showbiz career singing in the tavern. He added that, at times, patrons say her ghost can still be seen here. Walsh also notes that her connection to Neir's has been disputed, which makes the story better, not worse.

What makes Neir's different from a Manhattan landmark bar is that it never stopped being a neighborhood local. There is no velvet rope and no theme. The draw is a mahogany bar the owners say is more than 150 years old, an original draught beer system, and a dining room full of Woodhaven families. On a Halloween crawl, it is the stop where the age is obvious in the woodwork and the crowd is made up of people who live within ten blocks.

Movie fans know the room without realizing it. Several scenes of Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas were filmed at Neir's, and the tavern also appears in Tower Heist. Ask the bartender which end of the bar the camera faced, then order something on tap. The menu leans into the connection with Neir's Famous Goodfella Burger Deluxe, the house signature, served with fries. It is the order for anyone who came on the J train because of the film.

The weekday happy hour is the best value on any New York crawl. From 2 pm to 6 pm, Monday through Friday, every draft beer is $1 off, select appetizers are $5, and a short list of cocktails drops to $8: a Mai Tai, a Margarita, a Whiskey Sour, a Vodka Sunrise and a French 75. Start with the French 75 or a Whiskey Sour, then switch to a draft. Arrive before 6 pm and two people can eat and drink for little.

The starters are built for sharing between bars. The Hot Bavarian Pretzel comes with hot cheese and spicy yellow mustard and is baked to order, which means a short wait but a warm pretzel. Torched Mac and Cheese with three cheeses and bechamel is rich enough for two. Neir's Specialty Nachos Supreme, with house-made tortilla chips, seasoned ground beef, beans and pickled jalapenos, is the plate for a group of four. The wings are what regulars reorder.

If this is the dinner stop, go beyond bar snacks. The Classic Beer-Battered Fish and Chips and the Skirt Steak are both on the entree list, alongside a Grilled Salmon and a Classic Caesar. For dessert, the Mini Cannolis come three to an order and the New York Style Cheesecake is the neighborhood standard. Skip the plain Cheese Quesadilla; it is the least distinctive item on a menu built around burgers and pub plates.

Neir's recommends booking ahead and takes reservations online, with indoor, outdoor and bar seating. On weekend afternoons the room fills with brunch from noon to 4 pm, and Saturdays bring live jazz from 2 pm to 4 pm, which is lovely but not the right moment for a quiet ghost hunt. For the classic old-tavern feeling, come on a weekday during happy hour, sit at the bar and look along the mahogany toward the front windows.

If the bar is packed, there is a backup without leaving the building. Neir's runs a Community Hall for parties and gatherings, and the outdoor seating takes overflow on mild October evenings. If you arrive and every seat is taken, put your name down and walk north toward Forest Park, then come back. Do not try to squeeze a big costumed group in on a Saturday afternoon; book through the website instead.

The tavern's survival is a story in itself. It opened as the Blue Pump Room, took the Neir family name later on, and in January 2020 came close to closing before a last-minute reprieve, which Forgotten New York covered at the time. On October 3, 2026, Gordon held a block party on 88th Avenue for the 197th anniversary and publicly signed a new ten-year lease, QNS reported. His motto, repeated on the tavern's website, is Community Conquers All, and the place now talks openly about its Road to 200.

The crowd tells you what kind of place this is. Expect Woodhaven regulars at the bar, families in the dining room, film fans photographing the bar, and a few Halloween crawlers who came out from Brooklyn on the J. The unwritten rule is to treat it as a neighborhood bar first: say hello, tip the bartender, and do not block the front door for photos. Neir's also offers tours of the tavern, booked through its website.

Make a walk of it. Jamaica Avenue runs under the elevated J tracks a short walk north, lined with old storefronts and lit at night by passing trains. Forest Park, one of the largest parks in Queens, starts north of the avenue, with wooded trails that feel properly spooky after dark, so stick to the lit paths. Mae West's former home on 88th Street is marked with a plaque, which makes a natural photo stop on the way back to the train.

A few practical notes. Weekend brunch is served from noon to 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday. The J train runs less frequently late at night than Manhattan lines, so plan your ride back before last call. Tip the bar staff the way you would anywhere in the city; this is a neighborhood room where the bartenders remember faces.

Neir's suits crawlers who want something no Manhattan list offers: a 197-year-old bar where the ghost story is modest, the prices are low and the neighbors are still the main audience. It suits film buffs, history readers and anyone tired of $25 cocktails. It suits large party groups less well on weekend afternoons. Ride the J, order an $8 French 75 before 6 pm, ask about Mae West, then walk the elevated avenue back to the train.