Best Hangouts in Brooklyn
Brooklyn's best hangouts for settling in for hours: beer gardens, bowling, shuffleboard, food halls, and backyard patios, verified and ranked.
Corrected
- Oct 2, 2026: We said you can reserve a court online, put the club on the Gowanus Canal, gave its size as 17,000 square feet, and suggested a frozen rum punch. Walk-in courts are first come, first served (only cabana parties of 10 or more book ahead), the club is a block east of the canal, its own pages give its size as 17,000, 18,000 and 20,000 square feet, and the frozen rum drink on its menu is the Mirror Lake piña colada. Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4
- Oct 2, 2026: We said Sunny's has run continuously in its Conover Street building since 1890 and suggested a PBR. The bar dates to 1890 but has closed at times, including for about 10 months after Hurricane Sandy flooded it in 2012, and PBR is not on its current menu, so we now suggest a Narragansett. Source 1, Source 2, Source 3
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- 1Red Hook · $ · 253 Conover St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Also No. 2 on Best Dive Bars in NYC →
A century-old waterfront dive bar and live-music room in a former longshoremen's tavern dating to 1890.
Because it dates to 1890 in the same Conover Street building, reopened after Hurricane Sandy flooded it in 2012, and still books live music most nights of the week.
Order A cold can of Narragansett at the bar while the band sets up.
Go on a weeknight before 7pm to grab a table or booth before the live set starts; bring some cash for the tip bucket that gets passed around.
Photo: jqpubliq, CC BY-SA 2.0 - 2Williamsburg · $$ · Bedford Av (L) · 61 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249
A 16-lane bowling alley, live-music hall, and full-service restaurant and bar with a Blue Ribbon kitchen, inside the 19th-century Hecla Iron Works building.
Because it packs 16 bowling lanes, a full concert stage, and a Blue Ribbon kitchen under one 19th-century ironworks roof, so you can eat, bowl, and catch a live show without walking outside.
Order A pitcher of local draft beer to split over your game.
Book a lane online ahead of weekend nights, they fill fast once a show is booked; walk-in bowling before 7pm has the best odds of an open lane.
Photo: Steven Pisano, CC BY 2.0 - 3Gowanus · $$ · Union St (R) · 514 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11215
A vintage-Florida-themed clubhouse in Gowanus with 10 regulation shuffleboard courts, multiple bars, and a rotating food-truck lineup.
Because it fits 10 regulation shuffleboard courts and a rotating food-truck lineup into one Gowanus clubhouse, and in June 2026 it was the venue for a national shuffleboard tournament.
Order A frozen Mirror Lake piña colada to match the vintage-Florida theme.
Walk-in courts are first come, first served, so on weekends arrive close to opening, when the club says waits tend to be shorter; groups of 10 or more can skip the line by booking a cabana party.
Photo: KLGreenNYC (Karen Green), CC BY-SA 2.0 - 4DUMBO · $$ · High St (A C) · 55 Water St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Also No. 3 on Best Food Halls in NYC →
A two-level waterfront food hall inside the historic Empire Stores building with 20-plus food vendors, three bars, and a fifth-floor rooftop terrace overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge.
Because it houses more than 20 food vendors and three bars across two floors of the historic Empire Stores building, with a rooftop terrace that looks straight at the Brooklyn Bridge.
Order A frozen cocktail from the rooftop bar while the bridge lights come on.
Head up to the fifth-floor rooftop terrace right around sunset and grab a table before the after-work crowd arrives.
Photo: Caroline Culler (User:Wgreaves), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 - 5Williamsburg · $$ · Bedford Av (L) · 113 N 3rd St, Brooklyn, NY 11249
An open-air German beer hall and biergarten with a retractable roof, communal tables, and a Central European menu of goulash, schnitzel, and sausages.
Because its retractable roof and communal tables have anchored this Williamsburg corner since 2006, pouring 12 or more taps with no cover charge most weekends.
Order A liter of the Radegast pilsner from the tap list.
Sit under the skylit courtyard on a weeknight for the quietest tables; weekends bring a wait for the communal benches.
Photo: edenpictures, CC BY 2.0 - 6Gowanus · $$ · Union St (R) · 333 Douglass St, Brooklyn, NY 11217
A Gowanus brewery, coffee shop, and beer shop by day that turns into a brewpub, beer garden, and music venue by night, with indoor and outdoor seating.
Because the same Douglass Street space runs as a coffee shop and beer shop by day and turns into a brewpub and music venue by night, and it has hosted the citywide Pils & Love festival.
Order A pilsner off the house-brewed tap list.
Come for coffee in the late morning to see the space quiet, then come back after 6pm when the taps and outdoor seating take over.
@threesbrewing ↗Threes Brewing
From @threesbrewing on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 7Williamsburg · $$ · Metropolitan Av (G L) · 388 Union Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
The original arcade bar, with 30-plus vintage coin-op games like Donkey Kong, Galaga, and Contra paired with a rotating 20-plus tap list of American craft beer.
Because it opened in a former metal shop in 2004 with more than 30 vintage coin-op games and is credited with inventing the arcade-bar format that's since spread across the city.
Order A rotating American craft draft picked from the 20-plus tap list.
Bring quarters, the machines still run on coin drops, and stop by on a weekday afternoon if you want a machine to yourself.
Photo: Thesandworm, CC BY 4.0 - 8Bed-Stuy · $$ · Utica Av (A C) · 350 Lewis Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11233
A Neapolitan pizzeria and Italian restaurant with a secret back-patio garden that doubles the restaurant's footprint.
Because its back garden patio effectively doubles the restaurant's seating and has been singled out by reviewers as the spot to sit if you can get a table there.
Order A glass of natural wine alongside the wood-fired pizza.
Ask for the back garden when you're seated, it's not visible from the street and those tables go first on warm evenings.
Photo: Jeffrey Tastes (Flickr), CC BY-SA 2.0 - 9Sunset Park · $$ · 36 St (D N R) · 934 3rd Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Also No. 5 on Best of Sunset Park → · No. 10 on Best Food Halls in NYC →
A 20,000-square-foot Japanese food hall inside Industry City with roughly 10 eateries, a grocery market, and a central bar pouring Japanese beer and sake.
Because it packs roughly 10 Japanese eateries, a full grocery market, and a central sake and beer bar into 20,000 square feet inside Industry City.
Order A cup of sake from the central bar.
Visit on a weekday afternoon to browse the Sunrise Mart grocery without crowds, then eat once the food hall fills up for dinner.
Photo: Rhododendrites (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0 - 10Bushwick · $$ · Knickerbocker Av (M) · 770 Hart St, Brooklyn, NY 11237
A used bookstore that doubles as a neighborhood cafe and bar, with a small bar built into the back wall serving coffee, beer, and wine.
Because it runs as a used bookstore, cafe, and bar out of the same small Hart Street room, with a bar built right into the back wall.
Order A glass of natural wine while you browse the shelves.
Come on a weekday evening for a quiet table with a book; weekend nights bring a fuller bar crowd.
@molassesbooks ↗Molasses Books
From @molassesbooks on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
Good to know
- How do I get a bowling lane at Brooklyn Bowl without a long wait?
- Book a lane online ahead of weekend nights since they fill fast once a show is booked; walk-in bowling before 7pm has the best odds of an open lane.
- Is there a hidden patio worth asking for?
- At Saraghina, ask for the back garden when you're seated, it's not visible from the street and effectively doubles the restaurant's seating, so those tables go first on warm evenings.
- What should I bring to Barcade?
- Bring quarters, since the vintage coin-op games still run on coin drops, and stop by on a weekday afternoon if you want a machine to yourself.