Working on your NYC bucket list? The Empire State Building is on pretty much every must-see list you’ll find. We’re proud to call ourselves a neighbor of this storied landmark. Check out our top 10 tips & trivia items about the famous building:

1. The tallest building in NYC, the ESB hosts an annual “Run Up” race, in which participants race up the stairs of the building’s 102 stories. The fastest time to date is 9 minutes, 33 seconds.

2. From June – September of 1931, the 102nd floor of the building served as an Air Blimp terminal.

3. Between 10,000 and 20,000 people visit the building each day. Recently, there has been controversy and debate surrounding the ticket-sellers outside the building. We recommend pre-purchasing online to save yourself the hassle.

4. The building cost nearly $41 million to build (including the value of the real estate) in 1931, and is currently undergoing a $550 million renovation. (How’s that for inflation!)

5. The Empire State Building is famously lit up for annual and current NYC events – from the Westminster Dog Show to current sporting events or memorials. The lighting schedule is always posted on the ESB website.

6. Most of NYC’s commercial FM and TV stations are broadcast from the top of the building.

7. The building has its own zip code! The only larger office complex in the USA is at the Pentagon, but the ESB hosts 1,000 businesses and 21,000 employees – giving it the right to zip code 10118.

8. The building’s exterior was created with Indiana limestone and granite, and its interior lobby features imported marble from France, Germany, Belgium, and Italy.

9. When the building opened on May 1, 1931, it was first lit up by President Herbert Hoover, by pressing a button in Washington, DC.

10. The tourist traffic driven by the ESB feeds a phalanx of tourist-trap restaurants with over-priced, sub-par food, long lines and shoddy service.  Tir na nOg is a welcome respite from this, and is literally a 7 minute walk away. Head west on 33rd Street and walk 3 avenues to Tír na nÓg, a family-friendly restaurant makes everyone happy!

Check out our lunch menu for options like our famous Irish Cheddar cheeseburger, Pan Roasted Free Range Chicken, and much more – as well as our extensive craft beer and wine list. For coeliacs, we have one of the few gluten-free menus near the Empire State building.

We have plenty of space, so you’re likely to get that much-needed rest for your feet right away, and you’ll leave full and happy – and ready to face the next item on your NYC bucket list.

Beginning Tuesday, Madison Square Garden will host the five-day, 16-team Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament.

With a wide selection of Irish and American craft beers, Tír na nÓg is recognized as one of the best bars around MSG.

What sets Tír na nÓg apart from other bars is our food, which New York Magazine says is cooked “with an imaginative touch unequaled in pub circles.”

Our bar menu includes venerable favorites like buffalo wings and mozzarella sticks, along with more sophisticated fare like rice-dusted calamari, Maryland lump crab cake and raw Blue Point oysters. At lunch we offer a range of filling sandwiches, salads or soups, while our dinner menu includes entrees like strip steak and pork chop. And best of all, our much-loved shepherd’s pie is available all day.

Tír na nÓg is the best bar for Big East fans and their families looking for more than just a drink before or after the game.

Gymnastics takes center stage at Madison Square Garden this weekend.

First up on Friday night is the Nastia Liukin Cup, which features America’s top young gymnasts who have qualified for the event in regional competitions around the country. These are the gymnasts who you’ll hear about in the Olympic Games in 2016 and 2020.

On Saturday night is the AT&T American Cup, featuring the gymnasts from around the world who will star at the London Olympic Games this summer.

If you have tickets for these events, there’s a reasonable chance you’ll be wondering about family friendly restaurants near Madison Square Garden.

Tir na nOg, the best pub in NYC, is right across the street and welcomes families. We offer a reasonably priced kids’ menu so that the young ones don’t run up your bill, and yet also offer Mom and Dad savory fare and a world-class selection of drinks. We also offer a gluten-free menu. Of course, all this comes with the hospitality for which the Irish are famous, and a classic decor that itself is worth the trip.

See you this weekend!

For those of us who came of age in the MTV era, there was no bigger band than Van Halen. Like many of us, they’ve had their ups and downs over the course of the past several decades. The band makes a triumphant return to Madison Square Garden for two shows on 2/28 and 3/1.

A few weeks ago, the band released its 12th album, A Different Kind of Truth, featuring vocals by David Lee Roth, his first album since he returned to the group in 2006.

“Truth” has received flattering reviews, and its first single Tattoo quickly climbing the charts. USA Today called it the “true kick in the butt that arena rock desperately needs.”

If you have tickets for the show, you may be wondering, “what are the best restaurants near Madison Square Garden?”  To which, of course, we’d answer “Tir na nOg.” Our range of menus, from a traditional bar menu with chicken fingers and sausage rolls to an upscale casual dinner menu and extensive wine and craft beer list, means there is something for everyone.

We look forward to greeting you before and after the shows!

This weekend, we look forward to greeting our favorite group of alumni: the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

As one of the best Irish pubs in NYC located across the street from Madison Square Garden, Tir na nOg has a long history with Notre Dame and its alumni. We’re expecting a sea of Notre Dame fans at Tir na nog as they do their own “pre-game warm-ups” in anticipation of the team continuing its torrid hot streak that has it own track for a low seed in the NCAA Tournament.

So put on your finest greenery, come over for the best Irish and American craft beers in NYC, and a marvelous brunch menu that includes traditional Irish Breakfast and Irish Cheddar Omelet with Bacon Rashers. We’ll also be showing 6 Nations Rugby and other European sports on television.

Flogging Molly is one of three great bands teaming up to play Hammerstein Ballroom on February 22. Its Green 17 offers fans what Indie Online calls “the full-on Molly experience of Celtic rock, razor-wire punk and rousing lyrics both triumphant and defiant.”

Tir na nOg is right near Hammerstein Ballroom at 33rd and 8th, and our range of menus, from a traditional bar menu with chicken fingers and sausage rolls to an upscale casual dinner menu and extensive wine and craft beer list, means there is something for everyone. Make no mistake: Tir na nOg is one of the best restaurants near Hammerstein Ballroom.

We offer a wide range of beer, wine, and cocktails – from rotating drink specials like $5 craft beers, to libations as upscale as you want to go, including our famous Champagne Cocktails.

So before or after the show (or both!), walk just around the corner from Hammerstein Ballroom and spend the evening with us at Tir Na Nog!

Sesame Street Live…1-2-3, Imagine!  is about to begin a ten-day stay at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Featuring Elmo and and the whole gang, this show is a joy for kids and grown-ups alike.  This year’s edition will transport audiences to faraway places including the African rainforest and the high seas – meet the characters here and check out this recent video for a sneak peek!

For the first time, the show also features the Play Zone, where your kids can sit in Big Bird’s nest, visit Elmo’s World and much more. The Play Zone opens an hour before the show, and is free with your ticket to the show.

Tickets are still available here, along with a full list of available showtimes (there are many to choose from!).

Once you have tickets, you’ll want to know the best family friendly restaurants near Madison Square Garden. The area around the Garden is chock full of gigantic sports bars, some of which kids should not be walking into, with or without a parent. There is also the usual assortment of soulless franchises that kids love, but parents abhor.

Skip them, and come instead to Tir na nOg – the “Land of Eternal Youth.” We offer a kids’ menu for the little ones, and savory fare for mom and/or dad.

Read the many flattering reviews of Tir na nog, then come by before or after the show to see why Tir na nOg is a family friendly restaurant near Madison Square Garden.

Looking for a great family outing this month? Sesame Street Live 1-2-3 is back at Madison Square Garden! Starting Thursday February 16th, and running until February 26th, this always popular show features all of our favorite Sesame Street characters – Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and more!

New this year is the addition of the Play Zone Experience at MSG, which gives your kids the chance to interact with Sesame Street itself as if they were part of the cast! Pop up out of Oscar’s trashcan and more in this unique interactive experience. For a truly comprehensive experience, check out the Sunny Seat package with VIP seating, a Meet and Greet with Elmo, and a pre-show family photo opportunity! Tickets are still available for many shows here. Get excited with a sneak peek from last year’s show here!

Planning your trip? Want to grab some food while you’re in the city, without being subjected to chain restaurant food and prices, but looking for a family-friendly location? Tir Na Nog is just around the corner from MSG, and we welcome families and kids. No subpar chain food here either – the kids can enjoy their chicken nuggets and fries, while you enjoy a craft beer from our extensive beer list, along with upscale meals from our dinner menu or a snack from the bar. Since we’re right around the corner from the Garden and Penn Station, it’s easy to get in and out, and we have plenty of room, so you won’t have to worry about a wait. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

The RBS 6 Nations Rugby tournament began last week. Tir na nOg is one of the only restaurants in New York City showing all of the 6 Nations Rugby games.

6 Nations is a prestigious tournament that generates intense interest among fans in the participating nations. Each teams plays every other team over the course of five, non-consecutive weeks, with a point system determining the winner.

Here is the current schedule.

With all of the matches on the weekend, and most beginning early NYC time, it’s a perfect excuse to try the best brunch in NYC, with several European favorites, such as traditional Irish breakfast or our Irish cheddar omelet with bacon rashers.

We look forward to seeing you for all the games!

To some, “gluten-free” may seem like the latest “diet craze” that will soon join the scrap heap of gastronomic history alongside the “low-carb” and “lemon juice” diets.

However, medical experts have for decades recognized that Celiac disease – a condition in which the body reacts to gluten in a way that damages the intestine – is very real, and affects approximately 1% of the population. It is especially prevalent in people of Irish descent. Furthermore, roughly 6 times that number of people have a sensitivity to gluten, even though they test negative for Celiac.

Dietician Manuel Villacorta explains, in a Huffington Post article, that sensitivity to gluten runs the full spectrum, from those who appear to be totally unaffected by it to those who are completely intolerant of it. Most people fall somewhere in between. His advice? He believes that everyone should eat a widely varied diet, in which you get your carbs from many different sources, and not overload on gluten.

He notes that it can be quite difficult to find gluten-free foods, particularly ones that are not highly processed.

Not at Tir na nOg. Our menu offers a rich array of fresh, local foods, many of which contain no gluten. We are often asked which of our menu items are gluten-free, particularly because we are very popular with Irish tourists and ex-pats. To make this easy to determine, we now offer a separate, gluten-free menu.

As you’ll see, eating gluten-free does not mean you won’t eat well. Not with choices that include our legendary Smoked Salmon appetizer, Potato Leek soup, Sauteed Grouper and our Cider-Brined Thick Cut Pork Chop. Of course, we also offer a wide range of wines, as well as Magners Cider, both in bottle and on tap/

Come enjoy this rich array of gluten-free food at Tir na nOg!