The Wren has occupied the corner of Bowery and Great Jones Street since 2011, in a space that used to be a Bowery dive and now reads as a transplanted Hackney pub: dark wood, brass rail, two working fireplaces, taps that lean British and Irish. The kitchen has built a reputation for one of the more dependable weekend brunches in NoHo, with a Sunday roast pulling out of season.
It is the right bar for a long Sunday brunch with a stout and a fireplace seat, or a low-stakes weeknight pint. It is the wrong bar for anyone hunting for craft cocktail technique. The Infatuation's NoHo bars guide groups it with 'the few Bowery rooms still worth a quiet hour.'
Two rooms split by the bar. The front room has the larger fireplace and the window booths; the back room is quieter and where the brunch service runs. Eater New York's most recent NoHo round-up notes the back room as 'the bar's best-kept seat on Sunday afternoons.'
Order a Guinness ($9, properly poured with the two-stage rest), a Negroni ($16, gin-forward and stirred long), or a Bloody Mary at brunch ($14). The cocktail list is short and built around classics; resist the seasonal specials, which regulars on r/AskNYC describe as inconsistent. The food menu is where the bar earns the second visit — Scotch egg, fish and chips, and Sunday roast all priced under $26.
Bowery and NoHo locals; British and Irish expats on Premier League and Six Nations days; brunch crowds on Saturday and Sunday between 11:00 and 14:00. Time Out's bar guide notes the bar fills the front room by 11:30 on Saturday and stays full until 15:00.
The Wren's own site; The Infatuation; Eater New York; Time Out New York; r/AskNYC; Google Maps reviews (n=1,800+).