I can’t believe how long it’s been taking to write about Penny Jo’s… I am really backed up with the places! We found Penny Jo’s when we were looking for some happy hour spots. Sadly, Penny Jo’s no longer offers happy hour specials, but we were still interested to go since their menu looked enticing. We first visited Penny Jo’s in the August of 2024. It is located in Washington Heights, a nice bar with lots of counter seats, and a handful of tables as well.
We started off with some cocktails. We ordered Peach Smash ($14) with bourbon, lemon, peach, mint, and soda water. It was more lemon-y than peach in flavor, which made it very refreshing, especially with mint. The other drink of choice was Mai Tai ($14) made with orange liqueur. It was sweet without being too sweet. Tropical and such a happy drink. I loved that they served these drinks with metal straws! They were strong and high quality drinks!
We also ordered a couple of food items. We went with Bavarian Pretzel ($13) and French Onion Grilled Cheese ($13). I was surprised how big the pretzel was when it arrived!
How big was it? Well, look at it against my hubby’s face! LOL. The pretzel is served with Beer Cheese Sauce and Stout Mustard. Pretzel was very soft and fluffy, with nice amount of salt. And it was piping hot which was quite awesome! Cheese sauce was amazing, and of course, mustard is classic. I tell you, I didn’t expect much from a pretzel, but this was so good!!!
Grilled Cheese is made with Smoked Gouda, Provolone, Gouda Mornay, and Caramelized Onions on Farmhouse Bread. It is served with Kettle Chips. There was an option to add Ham for $2, so we decided to add that. Sandwich was piping hot as well, making the cheese super melty. Addition of ham made it extra satisfying. It sure had some weight to it when I picked up the half. Bread was toasted to perfection, and buttery delicious! Although it was delicious, I think the ham distracted from the French Onion flavor. I think it would’ve tasted different if you order this sandwich as is, without ham.
We were having such good time, we decided to order another round of cocktails. Rum Club Daiquiri ($14) was sweet and tropical, almost like pineapple, so good! It was strong like the first drinks, also, it came in a chilled glass. How amazing is that! It had a Maraschino Cherry on the bottom, soaked up all the goodness. The other cocktail of choice was Strawberry Margarita ($14). It was very strawberry! With salt on the rim on one side like a half-moon. Really tasty! They sure make fabulous drinks here at Penny Jo’s!
They had two gender neutral bathrooms, one of them accessible. I say they were nice bathrooms for a bar. Clean and well maintained.
We got to talk to one of the managers, Seth. He was super friendly, helpful, and fun to talk to. The other staffs were really welcoming too. It had a relaxing vibe with kind of Caribbean and oldie type music playing the background. I hear they do lots of live music there as well.
We had such good time at Penny Jo’s, we went back for more. This time, we had Jungle Bird ($14) and Mezcal Negroni ($14). Jungle Bird was almost velvety somehow, so good! Very pineapple-y and sweet without being too sweet, strong and tropical. A fun drink for sure, with beautiful pink color. Mezcal Negroni was made with tequila, strong and had the beautiful deep red color. So delicious with amazing aroma of orange. It had a nice sweetness to it too. And loved the special ice with cool design.
For food, we got Muffuletta Sandwich ($12) made with Stacked Soppressata, Hot Coppa, Ham, Mortadella, Provolone, and Olive Salad on Sesame Bread. Served with Voodoo Chips. We also tried one of their very popular dish, Baked Mac & Cheese ($13) made with Roasted Garlic Mornay, Aged Cheddar, Provolone, topped with Bread Crumb and Scallion.
The Muffuletta had perfectly toasted bread that had the beautiful crunchiness. Sesame bread was awesome. Very fluffy and flavorful. It had loads of meat with ample amount of olives.
The Baked Mac and Cheese is one of their appetizer dishes, so it is not a big portion. It came piping hot, cheesy and earthy, super flavorful. The crumble on top was nice and crunchy. Simple yet amazing Mac and Cheese! I can see why this is a popular item among their customers.
Although they had many other dishes that sounded really good, we really wanted to try their French Onion Grilled Cheese ($13) again, but in its purest form without adding ham. So, we added that to our order. This time, the chips came with some mini pickles which my hubby enjoyed. The grilled cheese was indeed delicious, you could taste more of the “French Onion” flavor without the ham. We really liked this version of the grilled cheese also. I am glad we got to try both versions.
Our second visit to Penny Jo’s was a big success! We enjoyed all the drinks and food. And we felt very welcomed again. Seth remembered us from before, which was nice too. I wish if this spot was closer to us so that we could go more often…yet, not being able to go all the time makes it very special when we do get to go visit. I can’t wait for the next time we go for more tasty drinks and food!
Penny Jo’s -3898 Broadway, New York, NY 10032