The Best Areas for Nightlife in Brooklyn, NYC

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Not even Brooklynites are too cool for clubbing, a New York nightlife tradition still going strong in Bushwick. At neighborhood spots including House of Yes, Bossa Nova Civic Club, and Trans-Pecos, locals dance to DJ performances, watch live shows, and manage to make even norm-core clubbing quirky.

You knew this one was coming. In recent years, Brooklyn’s Williamsburg has become an epicenter for New York City’s hipster culture. Locales like oldies-screening cinema-bars, dive cocktail spots, and chill rooftop bars make “alternative” living the norm here.

Self-described cocktail snobs (it’s Brooklyn—we all know one) should head to Red Hook, home to some of the best critically acclaimed bars in the borough. At Time Out- and Serious Eats-endorsed Botanica, produce-focused drinks blend Caribbean and Mediterranean flavors to delicious effect, while nearby bar Fort Defiance sticks to tradition with potent renditions of gin fizzes and mint juleps.

A foodie capital, New York City plays host to countless dining destinations, many of which call Brooklyn’s Crown Heights home. A taste of the world is what’s on the menu here, where Caribbean, Mexican, Indian, and more global cuisines are on offer.

A special person calls for a special locale. Find your ideal date-night destination in Greenpoint, where amorous outings may entail sharing a couple of ice cream cones (vegan, of course) or sampling one of the city’s most famous slices for yourselves.

Park Slope is known for its family-friendly atmosphere, a quality which extends (sort of) to the Brooklyn neighborhood’s nightlife scene. Leave the BabyBjörn back home for this one, Park Slopers: the fun at local bars Union Hall and The Dram Shop (think bocce, pool, shuffleboard, and plenty of drinks) was made with grown-ups in mind.

In a city as glitzy as New York, you’ll find many music venues more about being seen than the sound. That’s not the case in Gowanus, a quirky neighborhood known for its performance spaces. Start at the Bell House or Lucky 13 Saloon, and then go where the music (and the night!) takes you.