Upstate Craft Beer & Oyster Bar - Owners Shane Covey and Jennifer Gavin in East Village

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Upstate, opened by a guy from Utica, is a cozy bar in the East Village, lots of wood and brick, dim lighting kind of place. Despite trumpeting its Upstate background, not much on the menu would give you an impression of Upstate New York. One doesn't find much in the way of oysters nor bouillabaisse in Utica or Syracuse.

That said, Upstate is a fun place to meet friends for happy hour and catch up. Until 7pm they run a special, a mug of beer and 6 oysters for $12 (Founder's Porter and 6 oysters for $12 in NYC, that ain't bad.). The oyster list runs about 20 deep, split almost evenly between East Coast and West Coast.

I would suggest hitting Upstate for Happy Hour or late night and skip the dinner rush...or you might find yourself standing by the door waiting for an open seat while others slurp down tasty bivalves.