Day drinking in action at Brooklyn Ice House.

It’s that time of year–when everyone wants to be outside sipping their poison of choice. With a beautiful weekend ahead of us, we’ve compiled a list of 17 of our favorite outdoor bars around Brooklyn. Some of these are essential bars to have in your going out arsenal, big places you can always manage to squeeze in a group, or smaller, less traveled spots where you can enjoy a glass of wine without having beer spilled on your shoes. We’ve got spots for beer aficionados, visitors from Manhattan–even non-smokers. Add your favorites in the comments as this is by no means an exhaustive list, but merely our go-tos, favorites and current obsessions. And for all you twitterers, do your fellow outdoor drinkers a service this summer–tell us when you find an outdoor bar that’s packed/empty/great/lame @OutdoorDrinks, and we’ll share your report.

Drinks with a View, South: Bark at Brooklyn Bridge Park
Neighborhood: Brooklyn Heights/Brooklyn Bridge Park, at Pier 6 where Atlantic Avenue meets the waterfront
Appeal: The view, the lack of crowds–so far
With up-close views of lower Manhattan, the Brooklyn Bridge and Governors Island, this newly developed southern strip of BBP is the city’s most underutilized scenic setting. Perched above the sandy beach volleyball courts just west of Atlantic Avenue, Bark’s roof deck bar is just far away enough from anything else that on most evenings it still offers crowd-free, riverside drinking at its al fresco picnic tables. Beers from Sixpoint and tap wines from the Gotham Project can be paired with the eatery’s signature sausages (plus burgers and veggie dogs), or savored while you’re killing time during the hours-long wait for a table at nearby Pok Pok. It’s a quick ride to Pier 6 along the bike path from the more trafficked part of Brooklyn Bridge Park. Opens for the season May 26.–Brendan Spiegel

Drinks with a View, North: Ides Bar at the Wythe Hotel
Neighborhood: Williamsburg, 80 Wythe Avenue, 6th Floor
Appeal: The view, feeling fancy, and an easy sell for friends who are still reluctant to come Brooklyn
It’s hard to overstate how lovely the view from the sixth-floor bar at the Wythe Hotel is, or how amazing and breezy the patio is on a warm night. The bar itself is run by the same team as Reynards (and Diner, Marlow & Sons and Romans), the hotel’s seasonally-focused restaurant. And while it feels fancy, with a tiny-tile floor, fantastically weird wine list and high-end cocktails made from locally-distilled spirits, you can also just order a beer and take in the view. The stone deck looks south to the Williamsburg Bridge, across the river at the tall buildings of Midtown, and the Freedom Tower, rising in Lower Manhattan. It also wraps around so that you can peer deep into Brooklyn, or up into Queens. There are no tables or chairs outside, but there’s a generous stone ledge where you can rest your glass of biodynamic sparkling rosé while you gaze out over the borough.–Annaliese Griffin

Escape from the Hell of Atlantic Avenue: Hot Bird
Neighborhood: Clinton Hill, 546 Clinton Avenue (between Fulton and Atlantic)
Appeal: Feels like a hidden gem; great beer selection.
Housed in an old garage, obscured by a tall red fence, and surrounded by constant street construction, Hot Bird could be totally missed from the road were it not for the party of bicycles chained up near the entrance. This is the dead giveaway that something good is hiding within. Inside that fence lies a fire pit and picnic tables, and space for more than Clinton Hill’s fair share of beer drinkers. Here, the list of drafts, mostly craft and local, change with such a frequency that it’s hard to have the same thing twice. The full bar and prosecco offerings round out the options. In the winter, the glass roll-up doors contain the heat, in summertime, they open wide to allow in the breeze. The fire pit is ablaze year round, the picnic space allows for groups to congregate, and the BBQ joint next door delivers. The space outside is sparse, a beer garden without the garden, but the people watching makes up for it. Hot Bird is surrounded by industrial and commercial properties, and is right on Atlantic Avenue (which the fence shields you from), so noise is not really an issue–you’ll never have to keep it down.–Lauren Bell

Pretty much sums of the spirit of the Gowanus Yacht Club.

Outdoor Dive: Gowanus Yacht Club
Neighborhood: Gowanus/Carroll Gardens, 323 Smith Street (at President)
Appeal: Mellow vibes, cheap beer in an seasonal, bare bones setting–this is a place that will proudly post a photo of their new toilet on Facebook.
Among a certain set, the opening of the Gowanus Yacht Club for the season announces summer in a way that even Memorial Day can’t. The OG of divey summer-only spots, the Gowanus Yacht Club is seasonal because it literally couldn’t exist in the dead of a New York winter–the only part of the bar that’s inside is the bathroom (which isn’t much to write home about). So on those nights when the temperature’s totally perfect and you want a congenially-busy, low-budget, generally good-hearted evening, slide into a picnic table, order whatever’s cheap and good on tap (the Duff wheat beer is a solid choice, they also have a two-random-cans-for-$5 special), and keep in mind that the subway’s just right outside, so stumbling there is totally encouraged.–Casey Acierno
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Fancy tacos, all in a row with salsa to match, at Gran/Eléctrica.

There aren’t many cuisines that Brooklyn doesn’t do well. Yet one critique many visitors and transplants—be they from California, Texas or Manhattan—like to levy against Kings County is our surprising lack of quality Mexican food. And you have to admit, with a few notable exceptions (including Calexico and basically every block in Sunset Park) it is distressingly difficult to find grade-A tacos in most parts of Brooklyn. But that may be starting to change. Recent months have seen a slew of serious Mexican restaurants hit the borough, offering tacos filled with everything from fried sweetbreads to brisket. In fact there are enough taquerias of distinction in the borough that we had a Clinton Hill taco smackdown a few months back, comparing the goods at Cochinita (offering taco deals at the Immersion this Saturday) and Salva Vida. Here are a few more new favorites.

El deseyuno de campeones, at Whirlybird.

Breakfast Tacos: Whirlybird
The most hipster-friendly new taco option brings the Austin, Texas tradition of scrambled egg-based breakfast tacos to Williamsburg’s southside. Here they’re paired with savory toppings like home fries, Oaxaca cheese and crumbled potato chips, and washed down with espresso drinks made from beans from Oslo Coffee Roasters. There’s also an ever-changing daily lineup of innovative lunch tacos like slow-roasted pulled pork in a blueberry barbecue sauce, plus rotating art exhibits celebrating indie record labels (of course). 254 S. 2nd Street.

The sign says it all.

SoCal-Style Tacos: Ho’ Brah
Bringing a touch of Baja to Bay Ridge, this surfboard-accented newcomer aces the most distinctively West Coast meal of them all: fish tacos. Their sizeable versions come both fried (panko-crusted Atlantic cod topped with red salsa, California coleslaw and chili-lime sour cream) and grilled (a daily catch of white fish finished with tropical salsa and avocado crema). Other very Cali options include an asparagus, black bean and roasted corn taco. And, it’s hard not to be a fan of the “loco frites”—basically beef nachos, but made with crispy tostones instead of tortilla chips. 8618 3rd Avenue.

SF-Style Tacos: Villa Pancho
Representing the northern half of California, this Bed-Stuy taqueria offers Bay Area-style Mexican food. That means you’ll find fish tacos here, too, but the menu is weighted heavily towards burritos, and the burritos are impressively weighty. The overstuffed options include California classics like a burrito stuffed with a chile relleno (a fried poblano pepper that in turn is stuffed with melted jack cheese), plus more questionably authentic over-the-top creations like a burrito jam-packed with hamburger meat, French fries and refried beans. 1047 Bedford Avenue.
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Electric Blue Baking Co. takes the strawberry doughnut to a whole new level.

Take one in a brown bag to go from Electric Blue Baking Co., buy a dozen from Mike’s Donuts & Coffee, fill a box at Dough for your coworkers, or have one with a cup of coffee at Dun-Well Donuts, there’s a fresh doughnut renaissance happening in Brooklyn.

“People always say that this or that dessert is ‘the new cupcake,’” said Anita Shepherd of Electric Blue Baking Co. “It could be waffles, or macaroons, or mini pies. The difference with doughnuts is that they have always been a New York staple. They are a working man’s pastry, reinvented with endless flavor combinations. You can eat one on your 7am commute or for dessert at a hip wedding. Who can argue with that?”

So who are the major players in the doughnut game? Here are a few new and delicious faces, as well as some classic spots, around Brooklyn.

Electric Blue Baking Co. started out at Smorgasburg in Williamsburg last summer, and quickly became a favorite with vegans. Shepherd works hard at sourcing and recipe testing to provide treats that address a variety of dietary concerns. “Most ingredients I use are organic,” she said. “My flours are from an upstate New York mill. The brown rice flour in my gluten-free goods comes from a farm in California. I try to source pumpkin, berries and other fresh ingredients seasonally from the Greenmarket. My chocolate and coconut oil are from a young, California-based natural foods wholesaler. Like me, they are all about flavor, purity and quality.”

Shepherd makes everything by hand, from scratch (with some intern power), and so far she’s only sold her doughnuts and other vegan baked goods locally, including at Luv Tea in Clinton Hill. In addition to appearing at the soon-to-start Smorgasburg, she also delivers to cafes in Brooklyn on the weekends, and she’ll take personal orders, too.

Treats sit at the ready at Mike's Donuts & Coffee.

When it comes to classic Brooklyn doughnut shops, Peter Pan in Greenpoint, deservedly, gets a lot of love. But it’s not the only old-school spot worth checking out. Mike’s Donuts & Coffee has passed the test of time as a premiere doughnut shop in Bay Ridge. Located at 6822 5th Avenue, everyone from the cast of The Sopranos to Rachael Ray to Edible Brooklyn have raved about their homemade doughnuts.

Mike’s was started by Mike Neamonitis in 1976, when he arrived in Brooklyn from Greece, not knowing a word of English. With his wife and son, he created the business, making fresh donuts twice a day. Even as the company expanded, Neamonitis kept the shop a family affair.
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When Chuko opened in Prospect Heights last summer the blogosphere cried, “at last, good ramen in Brooklyn!” And it does seems clear that there was a boroughwide ramen shortage until recently. No more! As we reported on the blog ... Read More »