Williamsburg’s bar scene is the most concentrated in Brooklyn and has been for two decades. The challenge is the same challenge as the restaurant scene: the tourist layer on Bedford Avenue has created a tier of bars that primarily serve people who happened to be there rather than people who chose to be there. The bars that actually work for the neighborhood exist on different streets.
The Commodore (Metropolitan Avenue): The Standard
The Commodore at 366 Metropolitan Avenue is the most complete neighborhood bar in Williamsburg. The fried chicken — served until late, properly crispy, reasonably priced — has been the bar’s food signature since it opened. The cocktail menu is accessible and well-priced for the neighborhood. The room has the warmth of a bar that has been loved by regulars for long enough that it’s absorbed some of their personality. No pretension, no cover, open late.
Hotel Delmano (Berry Street): The Cocktail Bar
Hotel Delmano at 82 Berry Street is Williamsburg’s most serious cocktail bar — the program is excellent, the room (dim, jewel-toned, intimate) is beautiful, and the experience is worth the slightly elevated prices. The oyster selection is good. Reservations are helpful on weekends. This is the bar you go to when you want a genuinely excellent drink in a room that takes the craft seriously without being precious about it.
Spritzenhaus (North 14th Street): The Beer Garden
Spritzenhaus at 33 Nassau Avenue has the best beer garden in Williamsburg — a large outdoor space with picnic tables, a selection of German and Belgian beers on tap, and the communal atmosphere that beer gardens do better than any other bar format. The indoor space is a proper beer hall. Excellent in warm weather; the indoor hall works year-round.
Radegast Hall (North 3rd Street): The Beer Hall
Radegast Hall at 113 North 3rd Street is a full-scale Central European beer hall — long communal tables, an extensive draft list focused on German and Austrian lagers and wheat beers, a kitchen serving schnitzel and pretzels, and regular live music. The scale is the point: you share tables with strangers, the noise level builds as the evening progresses, and the format encourages a kind of communal socializing that smaller bars don’t produce.
The Charleston (Bedford Avenue): The Dive Exception
The Charleston at 174 Bedford Avenue is the most defensible Bedford Avenue bar — a genuine dive with cheap drinks, a pool table, and the particular atmosphere of a bar that has been there long enough to predate the neighborhood’s transformation. It’s not sophisticated, which is precisely why it works as a break from the aesthetic self-consciousness of many Williamsburg bars.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best bars in Williamsburg?
The Commodore on Metropolitan Avenue for the best bar food (fried chicken) in a warm, unpretentious room. Hotel Delmano on Berry Street for the best cocktail program. Spritzenhaus on North 14th Street for the best beer garden. Radegast Hall for the large-scale beer hall experience with live music.
Is Williamsburg nightlife still good?
Yes — the bar scene has matured rather than declined. The tourist layer exists on Bedford Avenue but the bars on Metropolitan, Berry, and the side streets serve a genuine neighborhood and creative community. The best bars in Williamsburg are among the best in Brooklyn.
What time do bars close in Brooklyn?
Last call in New York is 4am. Most Williamsburg bars stay open until 2am on weeknights and 4am on weekends. The clubs (Output, Elsewhere, House of Yes) run later on weekends.
Where do locals drink in Williamsburg?
The Commodore, Spritzenhaus, Hotel Delmano, and the bars on Metropolitan and Berry Street rather than the Bedford Avenue tourist corridor. Locals gravitate to the places with better prices, more neighborhood energy, and less Instagram infrastructure.
Also see: our Williamsburg neighborhood guide
Also see: our Brooklyn cocktail bars guide
Also see: our best Brooklyn dive bars guide
