Amidst all of the hoopla surrounding Pilsner Haus’ grand opening in Hoboken, a new bar named Cooper’s Union quietly took over the old McCarthy’s Pub space at 104 Hudson Street recently. So quietly, in fact, that I didn’t even know about it until last week. And drinking in Hoboken is supposed to be my job!

So I took a friend along to check the place out, and after dinner we stopped by for a few drinks. During my flimsy research beforehand, I discovered that the owner of the bar was Patrick “Paddy” Walsh, a longtime bartender at McSwiggan’s. I mention this only because the first time I interviewed him we ended up talking over pints for, like an hour before I finally checked my watch, and realized that I should probably get back to the office to write the story. I figured I would be in for a pretty good time at Cooper’s Union.

As soon as my friend and I sat down, Kelly, our bartender, introduced herself, asked us our names and took our orders (double whiskey sour, double whiskey ginger!) Now, I’ve hit a sizeable chunk of Hoboken’s bar scene already, and I can tell you that before this night, no bartender ever introduced themselves, or gave such a warm welcome.

We learned that instead of “dollar drafts” or cheap “u-call-it’s,” or whatever other cheesy bar gimmicks there are, Happy Hour at Cooper’s Union features a buffet of menu samples, for anyone to snack on while they drink. It’s an interesting concept, and my friend and I quickly regretted stuffing ourselves to death at dinner.

“I’ve been living with this idea for an American pub for about 10 years,” said Walsh. Originally from Ireland, his family owns a 100-year-old pub there, The Corner House.

Walsh railed against the idea of a “bar in a box,” when opening Cooper’s Union: fried food, light beer and the same weekend DJ playing nothing but Top 40. He said he designed the concept to be “everything I was looking for in a bar.”

The beer selection at Cooper’s Union is pretty eclectic. They offer craft beer like Dogfish Head, west coast standards like Anchor Steam, cheap beer like Hi-Life, Pabst or a can of Lion’s Head, imports like Sapporo, and even a 40oz stein of Spaten. Prices range from $4 for a can, to $11 for the stein. Walsh said the great thing about being an American pub is that they can offer all sorts of beer (hey, you can’t drink German beer in an Irish pub!)

Inside, Cooper’s makes better use of the long and narrow space than McCarthy’s did, with more tables for dining, and a shuffleboard set-up in the back (this gal is a sucker for shuffleboard). The décor is classic pub, with dark wood, exposed brick and a tin ceiling. A few antique beer advertisements line the walls.

The patrons were a mostly older crowd, probably late 20s and 30s. Walsh said he wanted to create an atmosphere where people can come by after work, loosen their tie, and relax with a pint. Maybe it was all of the whiskey (muddled with actual ginger slices), or the acoustic sounds of performer Tom Ritter (every Wednesday from 6-8 p.m.), but I was feeling relaxed!

In the end, I loved Cooper’s Union. Sure, it’s a new bar, and it will slowly be smoothing things out and figuring what works and what doesn’t, but for being open barely two months, they seem to have a good thing going. Above all else, I loved the friendly atmosphere. The bartenders were eager to get to know each patron, and joked around like we were old friends. The drinks were good, strong and decently priced. The décor was hip and comfortable without being pretentious (does anyone remember Lounge 11? Yeah). Dare I say that I want to give Cooper’s Union ten out of ten frosty mugs? Am I giving an awesome score to a brand new bar? Am I giving an awesome score two weeks in a row? Whoa, I need to sit down.

Seriously, though, check the place out. Sure, McCarthy’s Pub was a little doomed in the space, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Cooper’s Union.