Weather Up

Weather Up is the bar that defined cocktail culture in Prospect Heights and remained the best one in the neighbourhood for over a decade. Opened in 2009 on Vanderbilt Avenue, it arrived just as the neighbourhood was shifting from local staple to destination address — and became part of the reason people started making that trip. The cocktail menu changes seasonally, which is not unusual, but the execution level is consistently high enough that the new menu arrivals generate genuine excitement among regulars.

The room is warm and narrow, with a long bar dominating one side and a handful of tables along the other. It feels like someone built their dream neighbourhood bar without compromising on what goes in the glass. The spirit selection behind the bar is extensive — particularly strong on American whiskeys, aged rums, and agave spirits, which align with the menu's sensibility. For anyone already in the area exploring Brooklyn's bar scene, Weather Up pairs naturally with the broader Vanderbilt Avenue corridor.

What separates Weather Up from the crowd of competent cocktail bars is its tone. There is no attitude here, no performance of exclusivity. The staff know the menu in depth and communicate it without lecturing. The pricing is genuinely fair for the quality level. Cocktails run between $16 and $21 — less than comparable Manhattan bars charging $22 to $26 for equivalent work. For the full picture on New York's cocktail landscape, our New York cocktail bar guide ranks Weather Up alongside the best in the city, and the New York bar guide puts the Brooklyn options in broader context.