16 MARCH 2 0 1 9
Photos by Claire Leaden/BORO
FOOD + DRINK
The Quays
Not quite as old but with the same friendly, Irish charm is
neighborhood pub The Quays, on the corner of 45th Street
and 30th Avenue. It’s been open for 13 years, but the building
has always been a bar. Current owner Dee Flattery took
it over seven years ago after working there for six years prior,
and it attracts a mix of customers: Irish, Croatian and Italian
alike, representing Queens diversity.
On a Sunday afternoon, regular Christopher Mulqueen
said you can find “someone watching soccer, someone
watching Gaelic football, someone watching hockey … Everyone
gets along and treats each other kindly. I live next
door and I can honestly come here and anyone would give
the dollar out of their pocket to help me out.”
Flattery is a staple in the neighborhood, and customers are
likely to be found calling her “Sister Dee” or “Mama Dee.”
“She is a gem,” Mulgreen said. “That’s the best way I
could put it.”
Locals also assert that she pours the best pint of Guinness
in NYC — and it’s a full 20 oz., rather than the typical 12 oz.
pour. It’s a great pour for a combination of reasons: the keg
“lines” are cleaned one to two times a week, she starts with a
completely dry glass, and she lets it settle in between pouring.
Guinness is their bestseller.
Hospitality is important to Flattery, who is from Roscommon
County in Ireland.
“I want them to feel comfortable,” she said of her patrons. “I
want it to be a place where women, or men, feel comfortable
coming and sitting down. Especially women … I don’t want
them to feel like they’re going to be hit on just because they’re
sitting by themselves. Everybody should be welcomed.”
The name of the pub refers to a wharf where ships
dock, and there is a Quays bar in almost every country in
Ireland, Flattery said.
“It’s like home,” regular Sandra Mattessich said.
“It really is a family,” Mulgreen added. “If you come in here
and are respectful and nice, you will fit right in.”
THE QUAYS
45-02 30TH AVE., ASTORIA
FACEBOOK.COM/THEQUAYSPUBASTORIA
718-204-8435
/THEQUAYSPUBASTORIA
