Brooklyn Bar Guide
30+ bars across Brooklyn's drinking neighbourhoods, curated by editors who know the borough.
Brooklyn out-bars Manhattan most nights of the week. The cocktail wave that built modern American mixology started here — Maison Premiere, Long Island Bar, Clover Club. The natural-wine layer arrived next. Today the borough holds more World's 50 Best regulars than any city outside London.
Five neighbourhoods cluster the action. Williamsburg holds the natural-wine and cocktail spine. Bushwick to the east is the warehouse-cocktail district. Crown Heights and Carroll Gardens are the residential cocktail-room neighbourhoods. Greenpoint is the Polish-and-cocktail crossover quarter.
Cocktails run $16 to $22. Tipping is 20 percent at full service. Most bars run to 2am, weekend bars to 4am. Reserve Maison Premiere and Long Island Bar — both small-format and famous. Walk-ins after 10pm are usually possible mid-week.
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Cocktail Bars in Brooklyn
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After Work in Brooklyn
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Live Music in Brooklyn
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Craft Beer in Brooklyn
Microbreweries and taprooms
Hidden Gems in Brooklyn
Unmarked doors
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Top Picks This Week
Maison Premiere
World-famous oyster-and-absinthe parlour. James Beard winner for outstanding bar program. Marble counter, gas-lit room, and one of the best classic-cocktail menus in America. Reserve.
Fort Defiance
Heritage cocktail-and-American-food bar from St. John Frizell. Long bar, neighbourhood feel, and an encyclopaedic classic-cocktail knowledge. Best for an unhurried weeknight.
Long Island Bar
Diner-turned-cocktail-bar with neon signage from 1951 preserved. James Beard semi-finalist. Twenty-five seats. Reservations recommended.
Donna
Cocktail bar from cocktail historian Jeremy Oertel. Tropical-and-Mediterranean-leaning menu, Italian-cafe interior. The Brooklyn cocktail-industry's regular spot.
Friends and Lovers
Live-music-and-cocktails bar with funk-and-soul DJs Friday and Saturday. Loud, joyful, and the Crown Heights weekend institution.
Sunny's Bar
1890s longshoreman's bar that has not changed in 130 years. Bluegrass jam every Saturday. Cash only. The most authentic dive bar in New York City.
Neighbourhood Guide
Williamsburg
The Brooklyn cocktail spine. Natural-wine cellars, awarded cocktail rooms, and the densest concentration of serious bars in the borough. Walk Bedford and Berry.
Bushwick
The warehouse-cocktail district east of Williamsburg. Converted factories now hold late-night DJ cocktail rooms and natural-wine bars. Skews late-twenties.
Crown Heights
The residential cocktail-and-jazz quarter. Boutique cocktail rooms, neighbourhood pubs, and Caribbean-influenced bar food.
Carroll Gardens
Brownstone Brooklyn at its most polished. Heritage cocktail rooms, Italian-American hold-overs, and a thirty-something local crowd.
Greenpoint
The northern Polish-and-creative quarter. Polish vodka bars, hip cocktail rooms, and the most adventurous food in north Brooklyn.
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