The Westway

The Westway traded at 75 Clarkson Street on the western edge of the West Village, the stretch where the neighbourhood runs down toward the Hudson. In its working years it read as a casual, group friendly bar and lounge rather than a craft cocktail room, the kind of low key spot the West Village keeps in good supply. Its Yelp listing now shows the bar as closed, confirmed in May 2026.

We still publish this profile because closed rooms keep their place in the record, and because people searching the name deserve a clear answer rather than a dead link. If you came looking for The Westway, the short version is that it has shut. The longer version, and where to go instead, is below.

Coverage of the area, including The Infatuation and Time Out guides to West Village bars, frames the neighbourhood around dives, low lit lounges and old school taverns rather than reservation only cocktail dens. The Westway sat in that casual camp. Reviews described a divey room that worked best for groups, which placed it closer to a neighbourhood hang than a destination. It was a place to land with friends, not a place built around a single signature drink.

The good news for anyone chasing that same easy West Village night is that the neighbourhood is thick with strong alternatives a short walk away. For cold beer in a no fuss room, Blind Tiger Ale House is the local benchmark. For history by the river, The Ear Inn is one of the oldest bars in the city. For a proper West Village dive with a jukebox, Kettle of Fish keeps the lights low. All three are profiled below.

For the same easy West Village night, head to Blind Tiger Ale House in New York for the beer, The Ear Inn in New York for a riverside landmark, and Kettle of Fish in New York for a genuine neighbourhood dive.

Keep exploring with our New York dive bars hub and the best bars in New York list. Looking nearby? Try dive bars near me.