Jimmy Fallon hit a \u201cFever Pitch\u201d of excitement at this Manhattan watering hole \u2014 so much so that he ended his bachelor party by planting a kiss on the owner.<\/p>\n
The Mean Fiddler<\/a> is celebrating its 20th anniversary in the Theater District by raising a glass to its colorful history and the parade of celebrities who have walked \u2014 or crawled \u2014 through its doors, including the \u201cTonight Show\u201d host.<\/p>\n Fallon celebrated his 2007 bachelor party by watching a UFC fight with his entourage of about 25 guys \u2013including his brother-in-law, his father-in-law and his brothers \u2014 whom the owners set up in the downstairs bar, where a regular happened to be celebrating her 30th birthday.<\/p>\n \u201cHe danced with us, spun my mom around the dance floor \u2026 and even signed a note for my birthday scrapbook,\u201d said Mean Fiddler regular Amy Cavaliere, who was celebrating her 30th when Jimmy Fallon came in for his bachelor party.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the night, he comes up and gives me a kiss on the lips and I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh my God, this is the first time a guy ever kissed me,’\u201d co-owner Patrick McNamee recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cHe says, \u2018Man, I love you, this place rocks.’\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI love that story because then he just hung out with them, got drunk and ended up playing beer pong . . . and singing karaoke,\u201d added Patrick\u2019s brother, Mike.<\/p>\n The brothers, natives of Dublin, Ireland, opened the pub \u2014 the former \u201craunchy gay bar\u201d Stella\u2019s \u2014 on West 47th Street and 8th Avenue in 2006 \u2014 and have served up spirits to countless famous faces.<\/p>\n \u201cBono came in with Johnny Depp, hammered,\u201d\u00a0Patrick, 60, said.<\/p>\n \u201cPierce Brosnan used to sit here every day writing. I remember asking him, \u2018How come you actors sit at the bar with the stool turned this way, at a 45-degree angle?\u2019 He said it was so people wouldn\u2019t recognize them. Then I looked at him and said, \u2018Did you learn that in acting school?’\u201d<\/p>\n The Irish brothers, who have since opened 11 more Manhattan hot spots, welcomed more celebrities at The Fiddler before they renovated it in 2019.<\/p>\n Brothers Patrick and Mike McNamee opened The Mean Fiddler in 2006. Helayne Seidman for the NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cI know this sounds mad, but the more divey we were, the more celebrities we got,\u201d Mike, 51, said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still get them, but not like before.\u201d<\/p>\n Many stars saunter in before or after Broadway shows or games at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n Billionaire Mark Cuban, the minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, would show up whenever his team played the Knicks at MSG \u2014 and \u201cturn the bar into a full dance club.\u201d<\/p>\n Mark Cuban would stop in whenever the Dallas Mavericks played the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Courtesy of The Mean Fiddler<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s the nicest guy ever,\u201d Patrick gushed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the Mavericks were in town, he would come in every night, buy drinks for everybody, give $400 to the DJ, and he would put on his playlist, and the place would be pumping.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe would play beer pong and pool,\u201d added Mike. \u201cHe would come in with friends, usually females, but it was always late at night.\u201d<\/p>\n Located at West 47th Street and 8th Avenue, The Fiddler has welcomed countless celebrities. Helayne Seidman for the NY Post<\/p>\n There was one notable name who didn\u2019t know how to have a good time \u2014 \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d star Peter Dinklage.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is not a happy guy,\u201d Patrick said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe came with this gorgeous six-foot girl. One of the guys said, \u2018Any chance I can have a photograph? It\u2019s just for my kids.’\u201d<\/p>\n After Dinklage flat out denied the fan, Patrick called him out on his inhospitable behavior.<\/p>\n \u201cI turned around and I said to him, \u2018You\u2019re big right now, but remember in 10 years from now, you\u2019ll be wishing you did that photograph.’\u201d<\/p>\n Ethan Hawke posed for a photo with The Fiddler\u2019s former bartender Caroline. Helayne Seidman for the NY Post<\/p>\n Most of the pub\u2019s celeb selfies, like this one with Elijah Wood, were taken by its former security manager, Alex Serrano. Courtesy of The Mean Fiddler<\/p>\n Most of the selfies taken with celebrities at The Fiddler were captured by its former security manager, Alex Serrano, because the owners prefer not to bother them.<\/p>\n Patrick, who worked at the now-shuttered Mickey Mantles Restaurant on Central Park South, said he learned not to pester stars when they come in to unwind after watching the baseball legend<\/a> get bombarded for photos and autographs.<\/p>\n \u201cMantle would be in the middle of his chicken fried steak and people would come over once, twice, I\u2019d say three times,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n The Fiddler is celebrating its 20th anniversary with throwback prices. Helayne Seidman for the NY Post<\/p>\n To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the bar is going back<\/a> to its original, 2006 prices on the week of Sept. 21, so cocktails such as a cosmopolitan and an appletini will be marked down to $8 and shots like the red headed slut will cost $6.<\/p>\n