Best Hangouts in the Bronx
Ten real Bronx hangouts, verified: Arthur Avenue communal tables, City Island seafood docks, beer gardens, and neighborhood bars from Woodlawn to Mott Haven.
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- 1Belmont · $$ · 2335 Arthur Ave, Bronx, NY 10458
Also No. 6 on Best Italian on Arthur Avenue →
No-menu, family-style Italian institution on Arthur Avenue where strangers share long communal tables since the 1940s.
Because Dominick's has served no printed menu since it opened in 1962, so what lands on your communal table depends entirely on what the waiter decides to bring out that night.
Order House Chianti, poured tableside without you even asking for it.
It's cash only and takes no reservations, so arrive before 6pm on a Thursday or Friday if you want to avoid waiting in the hallway for a spot at a communal table.
Photo: Leonard J. DeFrancisci, CC BY-SA 3.0 Photo: Leonard J. DeFrancisci, CC BY-SA 3.0 - 2City Island · $$ · 41 City Island Ave, Bronx, NY 10464
Also No. 2 on Best of City Island →
Big, boisterous City Island seafood house with a waterfront lounge and outdoor deck bar over the water.
Because the outdoor deck bar sits right over the water and Sammy's stays open until 12:30am for dine-in on Friday and Saturday nights, later than most other spots on the island.
Order A frozen piña colada from the deck bar while you watch the boats come in.
Ask to be seated on the outdoor deck rather than the indoor dining room, that's where the water view and the boat traffic actually are, especially near sunset.
Photo: edenpictures (Eden, Janine and Jim), CC BY 2.0 Photo: edenpictures (Eden, Janine and Jim), CC BY 2.0 - 3Belmont · $$ · 2344 Arthur Ave, Bronx, NY 10458
Beer hall tucked in the back of the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, pouring NY State craft beer at long picnic tables.
Because the Bronx Beer Hall has poured exclusively New York State craft beer at long communal picnic tables inside the Arthur Avenue Retail Market since 2013, with a live taplist posted online before you even walk in.
Order Whatever's newest on the rotating NY State taplist, check taplist.io/bronxbeerhall before you go.
Go on a Friday night for karaoke, and grab a picnic table near the front of the market since the back section fills up fast once the other stalls close.
@bronxbeerhall ↗The Bronx Beer Hall
From @bronxbeerhall on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 4Kingsbridge · $$ · 238 St (1) · 216 W 238th St, Bronx, NY 10463
Also No. 9 on Best Beer Bars in NYC →
Craft beer bar and saloon with 16-plus rotating taps, a cask line, and a big burgers-and-wings menu.
Because Bronx Alehouse pours more than 16 rotating taps plus a dedicated cask line, which is why both Time Out and The Infatuation have separately called it the best beer bar in the Bronx.
Order Whatever just tapped on the cask line, ask the bartender what's freshest.
Get there on a weeknight before 7pm for an actual seat at the bar, weekends and game days fill the TV-lined room fast.
@bronxalehouse ↗Bronx Alehouse
From @bronxalehouse on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 5Mott Haven · $$ · 3 Av-138 St (6) · 112 Lincoln Ave, Bronx, NY 10454
Cocktail bar and kitchen set inside the landmarked 1886 Clock Tower building, a former piano factory.
Because Charlie's occupies a landmarked 1886 former piano factory, and the original factory windows and columns overhead are what you're actually drinking under during the weekend live jazz sets.
Order A classic cocktail off the house list, sipped slow under the old factory windows.
Book ahead on OpenTable if you want a table rather than a bar seat on a weekend night, that's when the live jazz brings out a full house.
@charlies_bar_kitchen ↗Charlie's Bar & Kitchen
From @charlies_bar_kitchen on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 6City Island · $$ · 2 City Island Ave, Bronx, NY 10464
Also No. 1 on Best of City Island →
Self-serve, deep-fried seafood shack at the very tip of City Island with picnic tables on the water.
Because Johnny's Reef is entirely self-serve, you order a basket of fried seafood at the counter and carry it yourself to a picnic table at the literal tip of City Island.
Order A basket of fried clams and a cold beer, that's the whole ritual here.
Skip the indoor counter line by walking straight past it to the outdoor picnic tables, and go on a weekday afternoon if you want to dodge the weekend queue entirely.
Photo: Joe Shlabotnik, CC BY 2.0 Photo: Joe Shlabotnik, CC BY 2.0 - 7Mott Haven · $$ · 3 Av-138 St (6) · 65 Bruckner Blvd, Bronx, NY 10454
South Bronx beer garden with roughly 30 drafts and 20 canned craft beers, co-owned by former NY Jet Willie Colon.
Because Bricks & Hops is what the Bronx Times calls the South Bronx's only beer garden, pouring roughly 30 drafts and 20 canned craft beers alongside a full kitchen menu.
Order One of the roughly 30 rotating drafts on tap, paired with the bodega chopped cheese.
Go on Sunday for the noon brunch seating on the patio, it's the only day they open before 4pm, and remember the whole place is closed Monday and Tuesday.
@bricksandhops ↗Bricks & Hops Beer Garden
From @bricksandhops on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 8Woodlawn · $$ · 4292 Katonah Ave, Bronx, NY 10470
Irish-American sports bar and restaurant anchoring Woodlawn's 'Little Ireland' strip, with a covered back patio.
Because Rambling House runs live music three nights a week and stays open until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays, later than almost anywhere else on this list.
Order A slow-poured pint of Guinness at the wraparound bar.
Ask to sit on the covered back patio if you want to actually hear the person across from you, the main bar gets loud once the live music starts.
Photo: Rene Morgan (23675750@N05), CC BY-SA 2.0 Photo: Rene Morgan (23675750@N05), CC BY-SA 2.0 - 9Concourse · $$ · 161 St-Yankee Stadium (4 B D) · 72 E 161st St, Bronx, NY 10451
Also No. 9 on Best Historic Bars in NYC →
Memorabilia-lined sports bar a block from Yankee Stadium, billed as the oldest sports bar in the Bronx.
Because Yankee Tavern predates the current Yankee Stadium itself and still stands a block away, its walls covered in decades of memorabilia that regulars point out during every home game.
Order A cold domestic draft, the same order regulars have made here for decades.
Arrive at least two hours before first pitch on a home game day, there are no reservations and the memorabilia-lined bar fills up fast.
Photo: Antonio Bonanno, CC BY-SA 2.0 Photo: Antonio Bonanno, CC BY-SA 2.0 - 10Belmont · $$ · 622 E 187th St, Bronx, NY 10458
The oldest pastry shop on Arthur Avenue, founded in 1912, serving espresso and Italian pastries at a handful of small tables.
Because Egidio has served espresso and cannoli from the same Arthur Avenue storefront for over 110 years, and there are only a handful of small tables, so you end up sharing the room with whoever else stopped in.
Order A cappuccino and a cannoli, filled to order at the counter.
Go for a weekend morning cappuccino and cannoli before the after-church Arthur Avenue crowd arrives, the handful of small tables fill up quickly.
Photo: Joe Mabel (Jmabel), CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Joe Mabel (Jmabel), CC BY-SA 4.0
Good to know
- Is Dominick's cash only, and does it take reservations?
- Yes, Dominick's is cash only and takes no reservations, so arrive before 6pm on a Thursday or Friday if you want to avoid waiting in the hallway for a communal table.
- When is Bricks & Hops open for brunch?
- Only on Sunday, for a noon patio brunch seating, it's the one day they open before 4pm, and the whole place is closed Monday and Tuesday.
- Where can I actually hear a conversation over live music?
- At Rambling House, ask to sit on the covered back patio, since the main bar gets loud once the live music starts three nights a week.