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Wicked Willy’s is not the bashful type: its kitschy, pirate theme-park décor—replete with nautical knickknacks, netting, chandeliers, mini–pirate ships, and a grinning skull-and-bones—is just the garnish for the bar’s nightly frat party. Appropriately, the action is dominated by hypercompetitive games of beer pong and flip cup. But there’s no shortage of entertainment options—on the weekends, anonymous classic rock acts open the night before giving way to late-night D.J.'s spinning dance-party mixes; karaoke nights and a fifteen-foot TV round out the offerings. The crowd—a mixture of rambunctious NYU kids, Murray Hill types, out-of-towners, and Mets fans—skews young. The management doesn’t want the place to revert back to its previous incarnation as dive bar the Asylum, however—there’s a weekend dress code keeping the crowd theoretically presentable (note to said management: Those half-price drink specials are making this a losing battle). There are much more West Village-y destinations just a hop and skip away, of course. But there’s something to be said for Willy’s, an unashamed partayyy bar that fulfills its destiny with gusto. — Ben Lebeaux