How I Met Your Mother (McGee’s Pub on West 55th)

Everybody has a "MacLaren's." That one bar where the whole gang just… ends up. The booth that somehow knows your order. The corner where a thousand bad decisions turned into the best stories of your twenties. For Ted, Marshall, Lily, Robin, and Barney, it was MacLaren's Pub, three steps below their apartment and dead center of nine seasons of How I Met Your Mother. And unlike so many TV hangouts that exist only on a soundstage, this one has a real-life twin — and you can walk right into it.

The Scene

The MacLaren's on your screen was a permanent set on Stage 22 at 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles (only the pilot filmed elsewhere, at CBS Radford) — not a drop of real New York in its floorboards. But the vibe — the red booths, the dark wood, the walls plastered with photos and plaques — came straight from McGee's Pub at 240 West 55th Street. Show creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas were young writers on The Late Show with David Letterman back then, and after long days at work they and their coworkers made McGee's their regular haunt. When they got their own show, they built MacLaren's in its image. Write what you know, indeed.

Even the name is an inside joke: MacLaren's was named for Carl MacLaren, a production assistant (later associate producer) on the show. His name got immortalized twice over — once on the sign above the door, and again on the bar's ever-exasperated bartender, Carl.

The Backstory

McGee's describes itself simply: "the inspiration for the hit CBS TV show 'How I Met Your Mother.'" And manager Kerinn Regan has always been refreshingly honest about it: "It's the inspiration for MacLaren's. We never said it was filmed here."

Of all the bars that shaped MacLaren's, McGee's is the only one still standing. Bays and Thomas also drew on Fez on the Upper West Side, McHale's on Eighth Avenue, and Chumley's in Greenwich Village — but Fez and McHale's had both closed by 2008, and Chumley's followed in 2020. McGee's alone survives, still pouring on West 55th. The creators even cameo'd as two paramedics Barney recruits in season 1, episode 21, "Milk."

What to Look For

McGee's has fully embraced its sitcom destiny:

• The HIMYM drinks menu — cocktails named for episodes and running gags: "The Pineapple Incident," "The Naked Man," "Robin Sparkles," "Wait For It…," "Slap Bet," and "Daddy's Home."
• Walls of show memorabilia — posters, signed photos, and plaques; the cast members have all visited over the years.
• HIMYM trivia nights — the pub has hosted show-themed quiz nights, so check their calendar before you go.

Getting There

McGee's Pub, 240 West 55th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue), New York, NY 10019 — Midtown West/Hell's Kitchen, a short walk from Times Square, the Theater District, and Columbus Circle.

Subway: Take the N, Q, or R to 57th St (about a 2-minute walk south), or the 1 to 50th St and stroll a few blocks north. It's around the corner from Studio 54 — a natural pre- or post-Broadway-show stop.

Trivia

• Bays and Thomas cooked up the idea for HIMYM while sitting in bars like McGee's — the show is "write what you know" about their friend group.
• The MacLaren's set lived on Stage 22 of the Fox lot in LA for all nine seasons (2005–2014); the bar scenes never once shot in New York.
• Fans finally got an answer to "The Pineapple Incident" years later: a deleted scene on the complete series DVD revealed that the Captain leaves pineapples outside his house as a symbol of hospitality — and a very drunk Ted stole one. It was never explained in the episode itself.

The Hunt Clue

On Fifty-Fifth, 'tween Eighth and Broadway's gleam,

Sits the bar that built TV's favorite team.

Grab a booth, order Pineapple, suit up right —

'Cause tonight, legend — wait for it — dary night!

Photo by Lindsay Blake / IAMNOTASTALKER.COM