This week, The Drunken Polar Bear reviews Trinity in Hoboken….

Trinity – Hoboken
Address: Sinatra Drive and 3rd Street Hoboken, NJ 07030
Website: http://www.hobokentrinity.com

For the Jets/Dolphins game Monday night I broke with my tradition of going to the Shannon for all Jets games.  Part of it was a sliver of hope that by going to a different bar the Jets would break their ugly 3-game losing streak.  The other part was Sprinkles (my girlfriend) was going out with a few of her girlfriends to watch the game so I figured why not change up my routine.  I threw on my lucky Jets clothes and off to Trinity we went.

In my 5+ years in Hoboken, I had never made it to Trinity.  Mostly, I avoided the bars along the waterfront/Sinatra drive area.  They are often expensive, nicer bars that lend themselves more to the lounge scene than the bar environment I like.  There is nothing wrong with that, but just may not be the scene for me.  I was actually pleasantly surprised at Trinity as they shot down many incorrect assumptions on my part.

Interior/Design

Trinity is broken up into 3 areas – the restaurant, a couch area, the bar.  Since the only TVs were in the bar my group of 8 grabbed a few tables in the bar area.  Despite bearing a traditional Irish name, Trinity isn’t like an Irish pub, but that’s not a bad thing.  The L-shaped bar design incorporates a lot of nice woodwork, some Irish decoration and a personal favorite – well-lit chalkboards with specials and beer selection.  It had a quaint feel that perfectly straddled the line between Irish pub and swanky bar.

Bartenders/Service

As a former bartender, service is always one of my top categories for a bar.  A bar can have great specials, design and crowd, but if the service is awful it’s going to be a bad night.  The service at Trinity was awesome and top tier amongst all the bars I have reviewed.  When we arrived we were greeted by a very friendly hostess who was more than happy to help us rearrange our tables for optimal Jets viewing and had the bartender turn on game sound.  Our waitress was also great as she kept the beer and wings flowing even allowing me to recite the specials to our group every time a new member had arrived.  I only went to the bar once to get a Jet Fuel shot (more on that below) when Revis returned a 100 yard pick-6. The bartender mixed the shot, but before letting me take it made sure it tasted right.  It was a lot of little things here or there, but the staff did an excellent job and made it a fun environment.

Food & Drink

Trinity has the standard draught beer on 2 taps – Guinness, Blue Moon, Smithwicks, Plam, Stalla, Coors, Yuengling, and Sam Seasonal.  They also have 20+ bottles you can choose from listed on a big chalkboard behind the bar.  For Monday night football you can get $3 Coors Light/Yuengling, $4 mixed well drinks and $6 Sangria.  If you’re feeling adventurous you can get a Jet Fuel shot (Vanilla Stoli, Melon Liqueur, 151) which is kinda tasty.

I didn’t order a full dinner instead choosing to pick on the $5 dollar bar food specials they have on Mondays – wings, chicken fingers and personal pizzas.  Wings were the standard, but good and the chicken fingers had a very good honey mustard sauce.

Specials

At halftime I got to talk to the hostess and find out some of their other daily specials:

• Trivia Tuesdays – live trivia, prizes and drink specials
• Wine Wednesdays – discounted wine bottles and the much talked about cheese boards
• Beer Pong Thursday – $15 pitchers and beer pong in the bar

Overall

The Jets won so I was a happy camper, but my night at Trinity was pretty good.  The Monday night food/drink specials were good, the service excellent and the bar had a real nice feel for it.  It was only a Monday night so I am interested to see how the bar is on the weekends, but it is definitely a place to try dinner, grab drinks with friends or even take a date.

I will be out again this weekend in Hoboken – any bar review suggestions?  Post it in the comments and it will be my next adventure.

- The Drunken Polar Bear