The Long Island Bar holds a corner at 110 Atlantic Avenue in Cobble Hill, a restored 1950s diner-bar that kept its neon sign and terrazzo and reopened as one of Brooklyn's most exacting cocktail rooms.
The bar comes from Toby Cecchini, the bartender credited with codifying the modern Cosmopolitan, who took over the long-shuttered Long Island Restaurant and brought back the original fixtures. Difford's Guide profiles it as a study in restraint, a short menu of classics built precisely rather than a sprawling list of inventions. The room reads as a preserved mid-century bar, booths along the windows and a worn wood counter, with the old sign still lit over Atlantic Avenue.
Order the Gin-Tonic, the house signature built with fresh lime and a careful hand, or a Cosmopolitan from the man who helped define it. The list stays tight and seasonal, so trust the bartender on the off-menu classics. Prices sit at the higher Brooklyn cocktail tier, which buys precision rather than spectacle.
The restoration is the story. Cecchini reopened the shuttered Long Island Restaurant in 2013 and kept the terrazzo floor, the booths, and the green-and-pink neon sign that still marks the Atlantic Avenue corner, so the room reads as a preserved mid-century bar rather than a themed revival. The bar program is deliberately narrow, a short card of classics executed with care over a long inventive list.
The Gin-Tonic is the order regulars and guides point to, built fresh rather than poured from a gun, and the Cosmopolitan carries extra weight given Cecchini's role in defining the modern version. Difford's Guide and the Brooklyn Paper both track the bar as a Cobble Hill anchor, and a small kitchen sends out burgers and bar snacks. Weekend afternoons, when the bar opens at 2pm, are the calmest window for the counter.
The crowd is Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights locals early, a date-night set as the evening builds, and a steady run of cocktail travelers who come for the Cecchini name. The bar closes Monday and opens afternoons on weekends, so a Saturday early hour is the quietest window for a seat at the counter.
For more of the borough, see the best bars in New York and the full list of cocktail bars in New York, or browse the national cocktail bars pillar. For another Brooklyn cocktail room, Maison Premiere in New York runs an oyster-and-absinthe bar in nearby Williamsburg.
Who it suits: a classic-cocktail drinker, a date that wants a preserved old room, or a fan of the Cecchini Gin-Tonic. Who it does not: a budget night, a large group, or anyone after a Monday pour.
The corner sits a short walk from Borough Hall and the Bergen Street stops, where the Atlantic Avenue antiques strip meets Cobble Hill, so the bar pairs well with an afternoon along the avenue. The kitchen keeps a short menu of burgers and bar snacks, enough to anchor a couple of rounds without turning the visit into dinner. Weekend afternoons, when the doors open at 2pm, are the calmest window for a seat at the counter, while evenings bring the date-night crowd and a wait for the booths. The bar takes both reservations and walk-ins, so a planned table or a spur-of-the-moment stool both work depending on the night. Prices sit at the higher Brooklyn tier, which buys precision and a preserved mid-century room rather than spectacle, and the Gin-Tonic remains the order that regulars and guides keep pointing newcomers toward.
