Located at 218 West 35^th Street on the fifth floor of the Renaissance hotel, Rock & Reilly is a spacious indoor/outdoor bar. The outdoor potion fronts 34th street, so patrons can watch the rush-hour crowd head to Penn Station or, looking east, get a glimpse of the ‘thin’ view of the Empire State Building.  Overall, Rock & Reilly is a great spot for outdoor drinking in the summer of 2016 and beyond.

Located at 42 West 48^th Street in Midtown Manhattan, Sean’s Bar and Kitchen is a great new genuine craft-beer bar / Irish pub for tourist central.  Across the street from Rock Center, Sean’s is a spectacularly different take on the dime-a-dozen midtown Irish pub. The fifty beer taps must be the most by far in the immediate area.  Some standards beers are offered, but most of the beer is a mix of local and other regional craft beers.  Food menu has a wide variety of offerings from standard bar fare to Irish pub entrees.  Sean’s is the early leading candidate for our Best New Manhattan Bar opening of 2016 and we can’t wait to return here.

Located at 221 N. 4th in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Golden Years is a reincarnation of bars that have lived at this address previously (Old Rooster Bar and Kristophe), though a remarkably different vibe from the previous occupants. It seems to be primarily a cocktail spot that serves 12 craft beers.  Golden Years is a fairly spacious spot with a sizeable bar area.  Food menu includes several small plates that lean toward seafood (oysters, mussels and shrimp).  There’s also brunch on weekends.  Golden Years is a good spot and we wonder how the spot got its name, being in the hipster capitol of the U.S., if not the world.

Located at 10 Hope Street in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg, Belle Shoals is a solid whiskey / amber-colored liquid bar. The layout is very similar to the two previous occupants, Good Company and Hope Lounge.  Along with a vintage juke box, the spot is supposed to bring the soul of the South to Williamsburg.  The limited food menu can be best described as Southern-style comfort food.  Like the previous spot, there’s a large outdoor area by the side door.  Overall, we found Bell Shoals to be another great spot for Williamsburg bar hopping.