NYCGuide

The Best Bars In Bushwick

The best places to drink when you get off the L train.
The Best Bars In Bushwick image

photo credit: Cherry On Top

Bushwick is big, with dozens of places to drink. Bar-hopping in the neighborhood is essentially an alcohol-fueled scavenger hunt inside a very large funhouse. Looking for craft cocktails? You’ll find some that come in graduated cylinders. Need an affordable date spot? The best beer-and-a-shot special is in an arcade with a custom pinball machine. There are bars with backyards, bars in basements, and bars with natural wine on rooftops, open throughout the week. Start checking them off your list.

The Spots

photo credit: Mood Ring

Bushwick

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We're into astrology-themed bar Mood Ring for the same reason we’re into astrology, and Bushwick in general. Both are useful when you’re dating someone new. This queer, POC-owned bar is an essential spot for anyone who’s either ironically or unironically into comparing star charts with the first cute person they see on the dance floor. Drink your zodiac-themed cocktails in a big purple booth in the main room, or take your date to the laser-filled back room, where Berlin techno shakes the walls.


photo credit: Noah Devereaux

Wine Bar

Brooklyn

Leaning back against the blue farmhouse walls on Ten Bells’ patio, it's easy to fantasize about owning a holiday house of your own. You could sit in your private yard, somewhere in Maine or Rhode Island, sipping skin-contact wine and spooning mignonette onto ice cold oysters, just like you are now, a few feet away from Maria Hernandez Park. At the very least, this Bushwick wine bar would be appropriate for a country chic wedding reception. There’s plenty of indoor room too, and impressive charcuterie spreads to share with a group. Come by during their daily Happy Hours for $1 oysters, $6 glasses, and $18 carafes.


Bushwick has its own destination jazz club, and it’s the best place to wind down a late night in the neighborhood. Ornithology is owned by the people behind Smalls in the West Village, and it evokes genuine Village hey-day vibes, largely because there’s no cover charge. The music starts at 6:30 every night, and keeps going until whenever their resident musicians feel like it, sometimes until 4am. There’s no elevated stage, just jazz veterans and Juilliard students alike, playing music in the center of the room while bartenders make drinks without disturbing the tempo, and people wander in and out as they please.


Danger Danger has the energy of a dive bar that woke up one day and decided to become a nightclub. The floor is covered in zebra print carpet, and so is the ATM. Above the bar, there are a few baroque parrot chandeliers, and in the back there’s a smoke machine and a set of red curtains that David Lynch would approve of. The drinks are fun and inventive, and there’s a big selection of mezcal and tequila. Stop by if you’re looking to meet some folks and stay out late.


A good deal of natural wine-drinking happens on Bushwick rooftops, with Bluetooth speakers doing most of the heavy lifting as far as ambience is concerned. Things feel a little more magical at Cherry on Top, a wine bar near the Jefferson L with a large, open-air roof and weekly musical guests. The rooftop is open year-round with shade and heat lamps, but you can also hang out downstairs. In keeping with the theme, everything in the room, including the lighting, is either cherry red or white. It makes us feel like we’re in a Vogue spread from the ’80s, and we appreciate that—as well as their reasonable prices. The funky wine list has plenty of glasses under $15, and bottles under $50.


This is one of the better choices in Bushwick for impressing someone with an interesting drink. The outside is marked only by a sign that spells out cocktails in neon lights, but walk through and you’ll find a narrow bar with incredibly high ceilings—it’s small but stunning, with a marble bar and drinks that come in graduated cylinders, poured from taps with little doll heads on them. Hit this place during their daily Happy Hour from 5-7pm, when the cocktails are $7. There are only a few small tables and bar seats, so no groups.


Hart Bar is a gothic, saloon-like bar, but with the heart of a really good house party. There’s a dance floor in the basement and a big covered patio in the back, where people take smoke breaks in between listening to Talking Head remixes, or refuel with one of Hart’s famous grilled cheese sandwiches. The drinks are strong, the music is on point, and it’s a good hang at Happy Hour and on an unhinged Saturday night.


Bushwick’s best drinking spots usually double as Bushwick’s best art spaces, and in Wonderville’s case, an indie arcade. A lot of people come in here to play Kung Fu Kickball until their eyes bleed, or join a tournament for Killer Queens—the world’s only 10-player arcade game. Even more people file in at night for live music, burlesque shows, and open VCR events. Wonderville welcomes anything coming out of the Brooklyn arts community, and most of it is free. Save a few more bucks during Happy Hour, when you can get a beer and shot for $6, and knock a dollar off drafts and well drinks.


There comes a time in the weekend where you must ask yourself a simple question: do I dance or do I not dance? If it’s a dancing night, consider Lot 45. This place is in a warehouse, so there’s enough space to actually dance like a person having a good time, instead of the shoulder isolation stuff that makes you look like a self-conscious teen at a wedding. As for the music, it’s usually something you know the words to. Sometimes there’s a cover, but you can just think of that as your $10-$20 charge for having a fun night.


$$$$Perfect For:Big GroupsSports!

Pine Box Rock Shop used to be a coffin factory, and now it’s a music venue and very cool beer bar. There’s a stage area in the back for concerts, and TVs for watching the game in a setting that doesn’t feel like a sports bar. Come with friends and play I Spy with the vintage concert ticket stubs under the plexiglass bar counter (bonus points if you can find the Patti Smith ticket from 2001).


Left Hand Path feels kind of like a cross between a boat and a cabin. It’s nicer than a dive bar (you can get a cocktail here), but we also wouldn’t call it fancy. This is the sort of place where you grab a drink with a friend on a Wednesday. There’s a backyard, so it’s also great for when you want that drink outside.


There are no gimmicks at Three Diamond Door. No wacky theme, no cheesy decor, no arcade games, and no skeeball machine. It’s just a cool spot with cozy leather booths, a good number of beers on draft, and some reasonable beer/shot specials. It’s also pretty versatile. Sit in the front for a normal bar feel, or head to the back room for dancing. On weekends it gets packed, and it’s a good place for a birthday after-party.


Meeting that friend of yours who would be happiest if they could only drink fancy cocktails for the rest of their life? Direct yourselves to The Narrows, one of our all-around favorite spots in Bushwick thanks to excellent cocktails, a great back patio, and a low-key but not boring atmosphere. This is also a great date spot—make it the second visit on a one-two punch evening (Roberta’s, Eyval, and Bunna are all close by).


Yes, Duck Duck is technically in East Williamsburg. But we don’t really believe in East Williamsburg as a technical term. This bar has been open since 2001 (when there was no East Williamsburg), and over the years it’s established itself as an excellent place to drink cheaply, dance freely, and make some new friends. They’ve since  remodeled, and now there’s even more space for the giant 3am dance circle you and your friends always end up in.


KCBC beer is a brewery and taproom on Troutman near the Jefferson stop. You’ve probably seen their beer in bars around the city, but their taproom has some interesting brews you won’t find elsewhere. Weekend nights here get packed, but the crowd during the week and on weekend afternoons is ideal for dogs, children, and fully grown adults. Be warned: the Scrabble board is missing several pieces.

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