The space at 230 Washington Street is probably cursed, or haunted, as any business that has opened up there hasn’t stuck around for long. When Hoboken Bar and Grill opened in the spot in March 2009, it seemed like the curse would be lifted. A sports bar and a restaurant – it had to be great!

Well, it’s okay, I guess.

Inside, Hoboken Bar and Grill kind of looks like an Applebees, or a T.G.I. Friday’s, with pieces of flair like guitars, beer signs and baseball memorabilia on the walls. I grew up in the suburbs of central Jersey, and chain restaurants were totally the hot spot for teenagers then. I don’t know what we thought was so cool about it, but, like, if you weren’t eating an Awesome Blossom on a Friday night, your social life might as well be dead.

At Hoboken Bar and Grill, the circular bar is in the back, and it’s a lot smaller than the bars at say, the Pourhouse or Wicked Wolf. The TVs are situated above the bar, which is pretty great if you’re looking to ignore your friends to watch basketball (which I usually am). Downstairs is apparently a loungey-type place, but that was empty on the weeknight that I stopped by. The rest of the space upstairs is dedicated to the food side of things, but we’re not concerned about that. We are classy connoisseurs concerned with the imbuement of fine spirits.

Their beer selection is pretty good, though, boasting interesting picks like Yards Tavern Porter and Monks Blood, along with my perennial faves Anchor Steam and Dogfish Head. Still, the drawback here is that the great majority of beers are bottle-only. What does it take to get a good draft in this town?

The bar has a “beer club,” too, but to be honest, I was quickly disinterested in that when I spied Natty Ice in their fridge. I couldn’t get a peek, but a lot of Yelp reviewers have also mentioned that 40s of Old English are also included in the beer club. Is this a club for street people who drink malt liquor out of bags? I’m kidding. But is it?

I hate to be blasé, because the bartender was super nice and friendly from the moment I sat my totally professional and knowledgeable butt down on the bar stool. But to be honest, the place just wasn’t knocking my socks off. The clientele was kind of weird, everyone looked like they had been holding onto their Greek days for a little too long. There wasn’t any music, though I guess that was because it was a “sports night.” Whatever that means. I did spy some self-tanning moisturizer behind the bar, and that was kind of strange, but I guess that really has nothing to do with this review.

Anyway, I’ll award Hoboken Bar and Grill four out of ten frosty mugs. If you’ve been banned from most every other bar in town, it’s a totally fine place to grab a drink. But, like, some other establishments in town, there’s nothing too outstanding. Like I’ve said before, if you want to stand out in a town of a ten zillion bars, you need something special. The bar doesn’t strike my particular fancy, but hey, if they can make it in this haunted and cursed (I’m assuming) space, it can’t be terrible.

Hoboken Bar and Grill, 230 Washington Street, (201) 222-6050; hobokenbarandgrill.net.

The Bar Hopper is a sometimes tongue-in-cheek look at Hoboken's abundant bar scene. The views expressed in these reviews are half-sloshed, and do not reflect the overall views of Patch.