Best Bar in Park Slope

the drunken guest

200 Fifth... Nice place, lots of beers, the food leaves something to be desired. It's standard bar fare.... but this isn't about food now is it?

The place attracts and good crowd however you want to slice it... bottom line is the place is welcoming. Of course if you go in there during a huge boxing match you are going to find, well, a boxing mentality... it's a sports bar for pete's sake....even then the place is welcoming for what it is...

Drunken Guest gives is 4 beers (out of a six pack).

erikka

Does sheep station have a real bar or is it one of those skinny hallways where you have to press against the people in front of you so people sitting down for dinner can get to the back of the restaurant and you end up spilling your drink on the people sitting on the stools because of the shoving and when you finally find a clear spot you realize it's the waiter/ess station and they shoo you away?

Because I really hate that and it's all too common with restaurant "bars".

the drunken guest

Actually sheep station is nothing like that... it has a very, very large (more of a cube than a narrow rectangle) dining/bar area. The bar seats 15 plus people and trumps the "dinning area".

The menu at this point is fairly limited and I'd say the bar is the main attraction... it's a really nice place.

Plus is has a rather large back room dedicated to lounging/drinking...

pitu

Yeah, fer sure Sheep Station is more a bar that *happens* to have good food. It's totally great for that reason -- it's just a nice bar, then POOF, decent dinner is available. Salad is available. :shock: moule frites, burgers, lamb. But that's IT. It's a big loungey bar.

Is it getting full enough to spill into the back space??
When I've been there, it looked like a future party room. But you'd have to bring your own crowd.

anonymous

Subject: Loki

I can't stand Loki

drano

Subject: Re: Loki

gaz wrote: I can't stand Loki

Loki ain't bad if you meet a friend there right after work and there's nobody but you and the bartender. I bolt once it starts to fill up a bit, though.

johnnyrotten

no one mentioned O'Connor's. great dive bar and mad cheap bears. $2.50 Bud bottles? Come on.

Loki is a Manhattan lounge wannabe but not bad for a drink with a friend to catch a ball game, a good hang on a couch or a game of pool not to mention the oddest mix of patrons.

The Gate is great and I am positive there is some illegal something going on there.

Here's my suggestion - start at O'Connor's and head down 5th Ave and try them all. Lot's of fun for the whole family.

Love the Slope. It's got it all. Giving Manhattan a run for the money, especially for the hipsters, who seem to be flocking out here.

Surprise surprise. 5th Ave is a goldmine.

debya

I'm surprised that no one is singing Lucky 13's praises. I have no tattoos, my natural hair color, piercings in my ears only, and a wardrobe that consists almost exclusively of jeans and hoodies. But I feel completely welcome there. It's the only bar that truly stands out in Park Slope. And, if you've ventured in there before, you know that not everyone is either a Sisters of Mercy or Slayer devotee. I have sat next to a table of what appeared to be a group of sorority sisters. There are some nights when too much speed metal is played, but the jukebox is very good and reminds me of a time when I didn't pay rent and my job was to get to high school before the second bell.

anonymous

Subject: Great Lakes

b/c that's where I met my wife-August '99.

zebra

200 Fifth has been there since 1986. Give it up for 20 years! Maybe some of you didn't notice it because you wouldn't venture down to 5th Avenue back then. I haven't set foot in there in the last seven years simply because I don't like being bludgeoned by televised sports.

pitu

200 Fifth? probably more like '96
don't go trolling with that Fifth Ave "back then" stuff

I remember when they did the construction on the restaurant, and my friend's family brunch I had to attend soon after they opened . . .
maybe you're thinking of Cucina further down the road?

whyfi

200 5th has been 'round for a long time, longer than '96, don't remember exactly how long, though (worked there a few years ago, and I see on their website that they're having their 16th annual Thanksgiving Buffet, so they've been around at least that long).

stacey

pitu wrote: 200 Fifth? probably more like '96
don't go trolling with that Fifth Ave "back then" stuff

I remember when they did the construction on the restaurant, and my friend's family brunch I had to attend soon after they opened . . .
maybe you're thinking of Cucina further down the road?

Pitu it used to be only one building for a while then they took over the place next door, made it bigger and updated it and that happened around 96

pitu

stacey wrote: [quote=pitu]200 Fifth? probably more like '96
don't go trolling with that Fifth Ave "back then" stuff

I remember when they did the construction on the restaurant, and my friend's family brunch I had to attend soon after they opened . . .
maybe you're thinking of Cucina further down the road?

Pitu it used to be only one building for a while then they took over the place next door, made it bigger and updated it and that happened around 96

yeah, I know - they doubled much more recently than 96, tho
or I have alzheimers

probably both!

stacey

pitu wrote: [quote=stacey][quote=pitu]200 Fifth? probably more like '96
don't go trolling with that Fifth Ave "back then" stuff

I remember when they did the construction on the restaurant, and my friend's family brunch I had to attend soon after they opened . . .
maybe you're thinking of Cucina further down the road?

Pitu it used to be only one building for a while then they took over the place next door, made it bigger and updated it and that happened around 96

yeah, I know - they doubled much more recently than 96, tho
or I have alzheimers

probably both!

LOL dont worry we still love ya

username: *

Subject: Just One Man's Opinion, That's All It Is

I wanted to weigh in with a personal Top 5 before this topic peters out for good. Bars in Park Slope are a topic of great interest to me, and I have conducted extensive personal research. Disclaimer: I tend to be forgiving about most places, but cannot abide by a bar that fails in any one of three areas:

1) I don't need a bartender to be polite or funny or even generous, but they do need to actually tend bar. I can remember a recent visit to Bar4 where the bartender spent more time playing foosball or air hockey or making Tibetan sand art ...or whatever it is they have there.

2) I don't need a bar to have an extensive selection of beer, but they should sell enough of the beer they do have so that you don't wind up with a flat or skunky pint.

3) The bar has to have some place to sit down at most hours of the day, even if it's sharing the crowded couch on the elevated platform way in the back of Union Hall.

Keep in mind I live in the 17th and Fourth Avenue area, so my list skews toward that gritty underbelly of Park Slope. Other disclaimers: I work nights and weekends, and I also am not single, not in my 20s, and not obsessed with music.

1) Commonwealth, where Buttermilk has hipster doofuses, Commonwealth seems to have gay couples. But both are welcoming places, and though Commonwealth's back patio has no view, along that part of Fifth Avenue, that's probably a good thing. The jukebox here usually impresses people who know that Saddle Creek is a street, not a creek.

2) Union Hall, a relatively new place (to me) and a little out of my range (but close to a subway stop) that I can find no quibble with. Big room, big selection and rock shows in the basement. Haven't tried the bizarre bocce ball scene, but that's partly because the game's regulars tend toward the insular. They'll scratch you out of the book if you don't come a runnin' when they call.

3) Buttermilk, an overbearing hipster vibe to be sure, but it has diversions if you want them, good beer and good prices and, for a small bar, lots of different areas to spend your time.

4) Park Slope Ale House, also far afield, but there is a female bartender at this place who has to be a world champion. And not because she has big knockers, although she does. She is friendly, good service and makes excellent suggestions. She's worth the trip. Food is adequate, and sometimes a welcome break from the pretentious.

5t) Bar Toto, more restaurant than bar, but the food is great. Great employees. A favorite brunch spot, with ample outdoor seating on a quiet (read: not stinky) stretch of Sixth Avenue.

5t) Cafe Steinhof, another that is more restauranty, but it's a solid representative of both. The beer list is strictly middle European, but not unfamiliar and the staff always seems to be able to describe one from the other. Their meatloaf (I can't believe I am saying this) is divine.

Honorable mentions: Harry Boland's, one of my favorite things to do, coming home from the city, is to crawl from Boland's to Commonwealth to Buttermilk. Carriage House is a run-down little dive, but it's got TVs and it's open in the afternoon and that counts for something in this neighborhood. Great Lakes, I like this bar because it reminds me of the "cool" bars back home... in Nebraska. Alto's, if you don't habla, you might not like-a. Kitchen Bar has great food but I can't see calling it a bar, though their take on the Manhattan cocktail goes down pretty easy. If you're at Kitchen Bar and want a bar-bar, go next door to Bar BQ, which gets mentioned because it's the only place nearby to get ribs that doesn't also sell fried dumplings and egg rolls. Cantina is another place more restaurant than bar with a not-unpleasant Midwestern vibe, though the farther-away-from-me Maria's Mexican Bistro has better food and margaritas (Rosie Perez was right!). Bar Minnow, a 220 Fifth feeling without all the TVs. Magnolia is good, too, but it's a white-tablecloth place and if you are all the way there, why not just go to Toto?

Dishonorably discharged: Bar4, swanky without merit. Royale, everytime I go there it's older women playing cards and young hip-hop thugs. Gate, I don't want to be a hater, but there is never any room when I go there.

Places I have not been to enough to know better, but soon will: Living Room, Bar Reis, Barbes, Sheep Station (reviewed in today's Times), Tea Lounge ...and then nearby places I just don't go to: Ginger's, Timboo's, Farrel's, Lola's Jazz Cafe, Park Slope Billiards, etc.

PS. I just realized that all that makes me seem super wordy and sound super old. Doddy, even.

PPS. The Brooklyn Inn is, indeed, worth the cab ride. Or take the F train. In fact, one block over on Smith Street is home to many of my favorite bars, like Vegas, Camp, Zombie Hut, Apartment 138... but that is definitely another thread.

zebra

Just to put this to rest, here's a site that says 200 Fifth is as old as I said it is:

http://www.go-brooklyn.com/html/issues/_vol29/29_05/bb_parkslope.html

But back to the bar question, how come no one's mentioned Jackie's Fifth Amendment or Ginger's? Frankly I've never been to the fascinating-looking Jackie's and I want to hear what people say about it. Ginger's, when it was Carrie Nation, was my go-to spot on the avenue before The Gate was there.

Also, what about Smith's Tavern, which has been there since at least the 1940s?

stacey

Subject: Re: Just One Man's Opinion, That's All It Is

Username: * wrote: PPS. The Brooklyn Inn is, indeed, worth the cab ride. Or take the F train. In fact, one block over on Smith Street is home to many of my favorite bars, like Vegas, Camp, Zombie Hut, Apartment 138... but that is definitely another thrad.

Is Brooklyn Inn the bar on the corner of Bergen and Hoyt? My mom grew up on Wyckoff Street and told me that was the first bar my mother went to in 1949 and she said there were two doors to get in one on Hoyt St for the men and one on Bergen for the women.

raw

debya wrote: I'm surprised that no one is singing Lucky 13's praises. I have no tattoos, my natural hair color, piercings in my ears only, and a wardrobe that consists almost exclusively of jeans and hoodies. But I feel completely welcome there. It's the only bar that truly stands out in Park Slope. And, if you've ventured in there before, you know that not everyone is either a Sisters of Mercy or Slayer devotee. I have sat next to a table of what appeared to be a group of sorority sisters. There are some nights when too much speed metal is played, but the jukebox is very good and reminds me of a time when I didn't pay rent and my job was to get to high school before the second bell.

Lucky 13 Salon claims to be "HOME OF THE KILLER VEGAN WHITE RUSSIAN!" Are straight, egg-eating men, who might own three J Crew sweaters allowed?

username: *

Subject: Re: Just One Man's Opinion, That's All It Is

stacey wrote: [quote=Username: *]PPS. The Brooklyn Inn is, indeed, worth the cab ride...

Is Brooklyn Inn the bar on the corner of Bergen and Hoyt?...

Yes.

jennitrixie

Oooh, where are Cantina and Maria's again? They sound familiar, but I can't quite put a name to the face (exterior).

erikka

What about takeout margaritas?

username: *

jennitrixie wrote: Oooh, where are Cantina and Maria's again? They sound familiar, but I can't quite put a name to the face (exterior).

Maria's, at Union and Fourth Avenue. And Cantina, Fourth Avenue at 11th.

anonymous

Royale, everytime I go there it's older women playing cards and young hip-hop thugs

Let me out myself as a bartender who has worked at the Royale for 2+ years now, so I'm way biased obv.

The only older woman i've ever seen is a 50 something lady who lives next door and has a chardonnay or two after work.

Cards? The Wednesday bartender plays poker late night w/ a few friends, and if they're old women, they're doing a bang up job hiding it.

Hip-hop thugs? Some of the weekend dj's slip some hip hop into the usual mix of old school soul or funk or other such dance stuff. Not my all time favorite genre, but if a few locals wearing Sean John or FUBU come in and buy a few drinks, it's no skin off mine. That said, that no more makes it a hip-hop bar, any more than being gay friendly makes us a gay bar.

Ping-Pong?, now that we do have. And chairs, and drinking accessories, etc

Any questions? Fire away...

alafairnadia

hey - I love the Royale. esp. when y'all were having that brit-invasion night (honestly, not my fave genre of music) b/c the DJ knows one of my friends and would invite her to spin, as well. great excuse to head south!

anonymous

Subject: I didn't know I drank this much until I wrote this post.

Lucky 13 is a blast. My roomate and I aren't tattooed up or gothed out or anything, but we've always felt completely comfortable there. The place is RANDOM - I've been there and seen people getting tied up, bondage fabulous, to chairs and I've been there and watched an entire movie (The Warriors!) with a fullish bar and very little conversational interruption.

The Royale on 5th is pretty chill too. I've just recently discovered it. It's a great place to drink hi life's and hang out. Oh, and it's got a pingpong table. I used to hang out at Commonwealth more but, as one post said, it is very typical. Cute date place and all, but nothing remarkable. Royale has more flair (and buybacks).

Jackie's 5th Ammendment is sad. It makes me sad to go in there. I'm feeling a little sad thinking about it.

That underground pool hall on 5th ave is awesome. It's never crowded and pretty cheap. The florescent lighting is a bit much, I wouldn't hang out there if I wasn't going to play pool (or pingpong).

Yeah, Bar 4, is lame. It's just lame.

Excelsior, Bar Reis and Cherry Tree (I think that's the name - on 4th ave) have kickin' patios.

I'm more of a South Sloper so...

I hang out at BBQ mostly - after 11 it's totally a bar (the kitchen closes) and it stays open till the bartender feels like closing. The crew of regulars are VERY regular there, pretty tight knit, but not too cliquey. I mean, there might be a "Norm!" moment or four, but it's generally cool. And yes, they have a metric assload of bourbon. Costwise, it on the cheaper side of standard, but (back to those regulars for a sec) I've been there really late a few times when the shots were a flyin' - I don't really know who bought them, but, when someone says the bar's doing a shot, they mean everybody, you know?

Kitchenbar's alright, but it's a restaurant not really a bar, the staff's really cool.

Buttermilk is, um....buttermilk. Do not, I repeat, do not go in before midnight, ever. It was the most highschool cafeteria crowd I have ever seen in a bar. Late night is a good time - the bartenders are chill.

Lola's Jazz Lounge on 5th is an...interesting place. I don't even know what to say about it. I went in there for the first time last week, the owner bought my friend and I a beer and the bartender seemed nice enough. Mostly the crowd is really skeezy.

The Living Room is huge and, I agree, it's still devoloping its personality. I'm still not sure about the drink prices, I ordered three drinks and got charged three different amounts for the same drinks. I don't know if this was some weird buyback policy or what, it just didn't make sense.

And then there's Smolen....because every neighborhood need a Polish dive bar. Cheap beer, and Pat (the owner and only bartender) is nice. When you go in there, she'll ask you: "You want Polish Beer, German beer, or Czech beer?" Oh, and they have a dart board.

anonymous

Subject: PS bars

here's another take on the subject:

- Bar 4: supposedly cokehead central. dunno... seems more like Commonwealth with attitude (and no patio).

- Bar Reis: thuggish, ghetto crowd. (white AND black AND brown)

- Barbes: if you’re not there for the performance, there’s probably a bunch of other places you might rather be. ok, but nothing special.

- Buttermilk: it may not be a big deal but it's one of the very few bars in the 'hood where--male or female--you can show up alone and not feel like a loser. (Try that at Commonwealth or Bar 4 and see if you don't get weird looks.) and very likely make a friend among the laid-back, late-night regulars or even hook up. Maybe that's why the 'Milk gets the love.

- Catty Shack: what if, say, Great Lakes decided not to let lesbians come in? would there be an uproar? you bet. yet the man-haters at this joint get away with this kind of bullshit. Not getting my money.

- Commonwealth: solid jukebox, great to meet friends NOT to hookup. weekend happy hour during the summer in the patio is most excellent.

- The Gate: only real draw is the patio, so in the winter...not really.

- Great Lakes: decent jukebox, divey, date-worthy (both to bring one or get one)

- Loki: in my experience, meatheads AND sorority girls “slumming” in B’klyn (Commonwealth and Royale both get the latter on occasion). if that's still the case, no thanks.

- Lucky 13: Suicide Girls-type crowd and the men/women who love 'em. only place i've ever seen someone literally thrown out of a bar, like in the movies.

- Royale: could be the coolest or lamest night out. it's that up in the air.

- Union Hall: the training wheels version of a bar for manhattanites afraid of or not ready for the BKNY yet.

erikka

Union Hall is certainly over--I heard a bunch of i-bankers at my job talking about how much they love it and how when they go there on the weekend they "rock the gator" and "pop the collar". So if you're a single lady heading there don't be surprized if you get an earful of blah blah blah on credit derivatives from some dude who thinks wearing pleated khakis and boat shoes on the weekends is a fly look. At this point I'd rather buy a can of sparks in a wino wallet and go drink down by the gowanus than have to pay their bartenders to be rude (and generally incompetant) yet again.

username: *

Anonymous wrote: Royale, everytime I go there it's older women playing cards and young hip-hop thugs

Let me out myself as a bartender who has worked at the Royale for 2+ years now, so I'm way biased obv...

Hmm. Maybe I was too hasty.

anonymous

Hey all,

I posted a bit upthread about The Royale, defending it as a longtime bartender there.

Not so much with the love, now.

Y'see the owner just sold his majority share to a new manager, who promptly fired all us employees. Right before rent, a month before Christmas. Thanks Scrooge! Might we have a few kicks to the crotch on our way out?


Apparently the manager wants to take the place in a new direction. Think Plasma TV, Sports, Bimbos and gell-headed striped shirt dudes, hip-hop and top 40 dj's. Just what the neighborhood needs, right? Gah.

So, you may have liked the bar, or hated it, or somewhere inbetween, but I hope you'll all have a little sympathy for those of us who just lost our only source of employment.