Located at 234 Starr Street in Brooklyn’s Bushwick, The Sampler is a beer bar/beer store just steps away from the Jefferson St. L train stop. Offering 20 taps from which to sample, The Sampler sells growlers of beer and has some chillers for single beers/six packs. The spot offers panini, meat/cheese plates for snacks. A good stop for the Bushwick craft-beer bar crawl.
Located atop the Hotel Hugo at 525 Greenwich Street in Manhattan’s west Soho, Bar Hugo offers panoramic views, including south to the Financial District, west to the Hudson River and north to Midtown. About a dozen low-lying tables and seating scattered around the indoor bar area. There’s also a standing-room only terrace looking out across the Hudson River and into Jersey City, NJ. In good weather, the open windows offer a nice cross breeze. Eight house cocktails are available (at $18 a piece). While this spot is a bit pricey, it’s worth a visit the next time you are in this nabe.
Located at 896 Broadway in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Divine B&G is a small neighborhood bar with a friendly staff and a small backyard (though there were no seats in the back area during our visit). Divine B&G offers a limited selection of Hookah and has a pool table.
Located at 198 East 54th Street (at Third Avenue), Crimson & Rye may be the first ever lobby bar for an NYC office building. No joke, Crimson & Rye is located in the north section of the lobby of the Lipstick building. Crimson & Rye is a cocktail bar with a good selection of amber-colored liquids; wine and beer also available. Food consists of mostly small bites. The oval-shaped bar takes up most of the space and seating along the windows looks out onto the 54th & 3rd intersection. Our only beef with the place is the bathroom situation. Remember how it’s in the lobby of an office building? Well, there is no bathroom in the lobby of that building (at least one for the bar patrons). Therefore, bar patrons must go through building security, take an elevator down one flight, exit the elevator, take a couple of lefts to get to the facilities. Perhaps, since Crimson & Rye just recently opened, such a situation is temporary. Either way, Crimson & Rye is worth a visit.
Located at 1056 Broadway just below the J-train in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Gallery Bar Brooklyn is a spacious spot with a small backyard. Various displays of for-sale Art adorn part of the walls of Gallery Bar. A decent beer selection here with six taps and 12 or so bottles. The food offerings consist of a mix of bistro and bar fare.
Located at 701 Ninth Avenue (in the old Traffic spot), The Jolly Monk is a Belgian Beer Bar from the same owners as nearby beer bars, New York Beer Company and House of Brews. Continuing in the same vein as those locations, the Jolly Monk offers numerous tap beers, with a focus on Belgian and Belgian-style brews. For those not fans of Belgian beers, The Jolly Monk offers several other styles of beer. The layout is fairly spacious (same layout as Traffic) with a square bar in the middle of the place. The Jolly Monk is a nice addition to the Hell’s Kitchen craft-beer NYC bar crawl!
Located at 12 Jefferson Street (just north of Broadway) in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Bizarre Bushwick is a spacious cocktail bar. A decent beer selection of eight taps and 12 bottles is also available. At one end of the space is a small stage for live music. The food menu consists of mainly bistro fare.
Located at 180 Ludlow Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, this is the lobby bar for the Ludlow Hotel. It’s located toward the back of the lobby of the hotel. There’s a small outdoor area beyond the main bar. Cocktails cost $16 a piece and there’s a wide selection of French wines. This spot is definitely worth a visit the next time you’re pub crawling in the Lower East Side.
Located at 55 Irving Place in Manhattan, Dear Irving is another gem of an artisanal cocktail bar/lounge from the same owners as Chelsea’s Raines Law Room. It’s recommended that you make a reservation via their website. A friendly staff and delicious cocktails make this a good spot for any NYC cocktail bar crawl.
Located at 297 Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn’s Park Slope, Owl Farm is a craftbeer bar from the same owners as Bar Great Harry in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens. The friendly and knowledgeable staff makes this a solid spot for any Park Slope NYC craft-beer bar crawl.
