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Boat Bar
- Nearest Transit:
-
Bergen St (F, G)
Hoyt - Schermerhorn Sts (A, C, G)
Hoyt St (2, 3)
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Music:
- Juke Box
- Best Nights:
- Wed, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Ambience:
- Dive-y
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Roy P. said: "I had to come back and update my review after coming back several times, with several different friends. Rudy's has some type of nostalgic effect on everyone I bring there. For me, it brings me back to a few years ago during…" read more »
85 reviews for Boat Bar
Review Highlights
"Music in the jukebox has always been great."
(in 35 reviews)
"...Lobster doesn't have $3 Miller High Life, a pinball machine..."
(in 3 reviews)
"Some of the bartenders are super hot, and great to talk to."
(in 19 reviews)
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85 reviews in English
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Review from Jonathan E.
Brooklyn, NY
1/8/2012
Smith St. is chock full of cool eateries and places to enjoy fancy bevs. But sometimes you want basic and cheap. This place is basic and cheap. It's simply a bar.
There are some other places nearby who try to fit this mold, but they also try to be something for everyone... a sports bar, ethnic joint, vintage joint, etc.
This place isn't Irish or Polynesian. They have no food. No TVs. There's a shared bathroom. But it works. I like dives but sometimes they don't work. Sometimes they are too divey. This place works.
I can't comment on their beer selection or wine stock. I don't care. They have beer. They have wine (limited). Plus other stuff. If you are too picky, you shouldn't go here.
The barkeep will get to you once she's finished checking her Twitter account.. The music will remind you of crazy ex girlfriends form 1995. But somehow it's all cool. -
Review from Ben S.
12/5/2011 1 Check-in Here
Peter D. had it all right.
Intimate in a friendly way not 1st-nature to these here parts
Good and affordable
Beyond the above? I had to ask the name, and that's both fun and cool, though irrelevant. There is a good tap rotation. Most importantly, people were having a good time, myself included. And that right there, is good business.
Well done, Boat Bar. See you again soon. -
Review from Peter D.
11/7/2011 3 Check-ins Here
This is the fun bar.
The one with cheap, strong drinks.
The one where you go with a group.
The one with the good jukebox.
The one with Buck Hunter.
The one where you can get sloppy.
The one with the good happy hour 'til 8 pm ($3 beers!).
The one where you could have the best Tuesday night of your life.
The one that can get way too loud on the weekends.
The one where you can run up a tiny tab, and they don't get mad.
The one where you left your tab open like an asshole.
The one where people don't get pissed at you for knocking their drink over, they just laugh in your drunken face and then you become best friends for life when you buy them a new one. -
Review from Kelly C.
New York, NY
2/4/2012
Had my iphone stolen out of my hand last night. The police said they get called out to Boat Bar every night for stolen items.
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Review from Meghan F.
Brooklyn, NY
1/15/2012
Amazing happy hour and super friendly staff. The most unpretentious bar with nothing but the basics. Loved it.
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Review from Suzy C.
Brooklyn, NY
Updated - 12/24/2011 10 Check-ins Here
I've learned one of the not too friendly bartenders has been let go. Every time I go now I see my doppleganger, Suzy, or well, she actually looks nothing like me, but she has my name! She's a doll and I like going here after work knowing I won't be met with an attitude.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/3/2011
I've been to the boat bar about 3 times. The weekday happy hour until 8pm is fantastic, $3 beers on… Read more »
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Review from alene l.
Brooklyn, NY
7/23/2011
It can be a bit loud here. And pretty hipster for this nerdy neighborhood. I'm not complaining, I like it. I swear. It's cute inside, and they play the pixies and the smiths and it's like the coolest bar I would have made up in my brain when I was a teenager.
But, I think I always want to go to this bar because I believe at some point I'll make friends here. I never do.
Did this just become the loneliest review ever? -
Review from Andrew C.
Catonsville, MD
7/3/2011
I liked it! Good lights and music and drinks and seats. It might have been cool if they had an old NES or a dart board, but otherwise PERFECT! Or some snax. Those kind when there's little bags of chips and nutz attached to the mirror by little clipz and they cost like 50 cents.
There was a picture of a pretty naked lady sitting at a drum kit in the men's room and I got excited.
Take me as I am put your hand in mine now and forever
Darling here I stand, stand before you now deep inside I always knew
It was you, you and me, two hearts drawn together bound by destiny
It was you and you for me, every road leads to your door
Every step I take forever more
Just say you'll love me for the rest of your life
I gotta lot of love and I don't want to let go
Will you still love me for the rest of my life?
'Cause I can't go on, no I can't go on
I can't go on if I'm on my own -
Review from David P.
8/26/2011
I know my dive bars, and this is a great one. But, it's somewhat tainted by the fratboy vibe that can be Smith St.
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Review from Drew A.
Brooklyn, NY
11/7/2011
Like Manny Ramirez, this bar excels reliably without seeming to try too hard. The music is excellent, the crowd's good, and I like bars that recede into near-invisibility during daytime. There's also a really gnarly payphone in front that rivals the payphone outside of the All Asia Cafe (Cambridge MA) for the title of "nastiest payphone not yet dismantled." I came here once in August to get out of a monsoon-level rainstorm and almost said to the bartender "good thing we're in the BOAT Bar!" but I wussed out.
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Review from michelle p.
Brooklyn, NY
7/28/2011
I've been going to this bar for about 10 years and even though I feel a little old now when I go, I still love it. I feel that everyone can just be his or herself here with no issue. I do love a good dive bar.
No sign or pretention. Just relaxing. The candles, couches and fireplace make it comfortable. Music in the jukebox has always been great. Lots of memories when selecting The Smiths or R.E.M.
The bartenders have always been nice. I remember Billy fondly. Miss you!
I also tend to get a seat at the bar, a table, or on one of the couches pretty easily. Sometimes it gets crowded, but not overwhelming. Bathrooms are typical for a dive bar. Obviously, don't sit down. I have always found soap and toilet paper without an issue, though.
I also find that it is easy to make conversation here.
p.s. If you don't want to be around people who may be drinking a lot, partying with friends, or laughing loudly, go somewhere else. -
Review from Toby S.
10/5/2011
No. Smelly, dank, crowded with local douchebags. Go to BGH. Same idea with a bit more class. Good staff bit the venue is just awful. Needs a good wash down. Yuck.
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Review from Joseph D.
Brooklyn, NY
4/14/2011
Certainly an easy pick to be a legitimate bar of the Cobble Hill area. No frills, no logo, no bullshit, just a slab of foot that stretches for about 30 feet that has delicious beer on tap. Simple and easy, just like this review.
Room for groups, great jukebox, and a 3$ for all drafts during happy hour from 5-8 everyday. Right on Smith st next to the Bergen stop I have a hard time not stopping in on my way out and on my way back in on a night of consumption. -
Review from Brian m.
2/27/2011 1 photo
Wild Buck Hunter, Great Jukebox, Ample Seating and Cheap Drinks. What's not to like?
Whenever we have visitors that want to go to a "fun dive bar," this is where we go. We've killed many a Sunday afternoon/evening here - and have never regretted it.
Love this place, though I must say I've yet to encounter a friendly bartender. Sure, he/she has been attentive - but that's about it. No more, no less. Barely a "hi" most of the time.
Still, though. Great dive with oodles of "amenities" (video games, sofas, fireplace, etc). GO. -
Review from BT F.
Brooklyn, NY
1/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
The Boat Bar is a "by-the-numbers" dive bar with a few quirks that neither make nor break the experience. Call me disenchanted "youngster," but a jukebox and Mrs. Pacman do not impress me. What I enjoyed about this bar was its atmosphere and its ample seating.
The bar counter was not mobbed and people were not pushing to get past each other. The dimmed lights and candles added to the laid-back character of this bar. I was surprised by how many people this bar could seat. There were small tables in front, bar stools along the long bar, and booths for larger groups in the back.
Overall, this bar does a good job in facilitating the gathering of friends. Exciting, it is not, but I'll strongly consider returning if I'm in the neighborhood and looking for a low-key evening. -
Review from Diana R.
Brooklyn, NY
I keep finding new reasons to like Boat. This is what I had:
1. Cheap drinks
2. Strong cheap drinks
3. Friendly bartenders
4. Plenty of seating
5. Fireplace
6. Jukebox
7. Bathroom graffitti
8. Overall ambience
9. Low CC minimums
and then yesterday I find out that every Sunday is "art day", where they set out a bunch of art supplies so you can let your inner drunken Picasso flag fly. And then they hang up all your drunk art on the walls. So make that #9. -
Review from S N.
Brooklyn, NY
6/19/2010
Boat bar is relaxed. I like the atmosphere here and the jukebox is good.
The only problem is that I don't drink a whole lot. If I am going to be drinking, I want it to be REALLY GOOD wine, or a REALLY GOOD cocktail. I don't drink for the sake of drinking, am not into beer, don't want a standard vodka soda. So for me to drink at a dive, there's really not much of a point. Usually I only go to dives to see live music.
So Boat Bar is a little lost on me. I got seltzer... my standard go-to when I am in a bar and there is nothing I would drink. But I'd still rather plant myself here for a few hours than some of the Meatpacky places that lined this street. -
Review from Lisa A.
3/1/2009
[Cue me sporadically bursting into (quietly) singing The Lonely Island's "I'm on a Boat," featuring T-Pain. (sorry about the swearing, mom.)]*
There are no airs at this bar and this is why I love it here. Well, that and the world's nicest bartenders work behind the bar. I don't think I'd sprawl out too comfortably on the couches though, because who knows when they've last been cleaned. But, isn't that part of the charm of a dive bar? Yes. A group of us wandered over here on a Friday night after midnight and it wasn't crowded at all.
As others have previously noted, the jukebox is legendary. Seriously. It's as if your best friend made you a mix tape (aw, I miss those!). My friend M. and I got dizzy while tilting our heads reading all the various scrawled song titles on these mostly mix cds. We had fun singing** Billy Bragg's "Greetings to the New Brunette" and ending the evening (sadly saying goodbye to my friend M. who lives in Europe) serenading each other with the Smiths' "Half a Person." Aww.
Good friends + cheap drinks + Boat Bar = good memories.
*Really, look it up on you tube. I did the hand gestures and everything. No, this joke didn't get run into the ground by me and my friend J. No, because I *never* do that. (sarcasm duly noted).
**And no, my friend and I were not the douchebags who drink and sing loudly at the top of our lungs much to the chagrin of the other patrons. We are the quiet drunks who sing quietly.Listed in: Eat, Drink, Man, Woman...
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Review from Arthur O.
Greenwich Village, New York, NY
9/24/2007
The Pre-Ramble:
Bars with a great Single Malt Scotch Selection have to get the 5-Star Review.
Bars with a great 'tending staff that pour your Scotch like it'll be the very last Scotch you'll ever drink also have to get the 5-Star Review.
Bars with an amazing Jukebox - although, having mixed CDs . . . isn't that, like, cheating? - qualify to get the 5-Star Review.
Bars with character - a collection of decor, lighting, 'tenders, liquors selection - also qualify to get the 5-Star Review.
The Ramble:
After gobbling up some tasty "Kyoto style Obanzai" at Hibino and downing a bottle of Sake, a couple of friends I had to get serious about drinks. Chris H.'s Cousin-in-Law happened to live in Carroll Gardens, so he brought us to The Boat, the place where he'd met his Wife (Chris H.'s Cousin).
My first impression of all Dive Bars is just that: It's a Dive Bar. Dingy? Check. Dark? Check. Tats all-around? Check. Random-ass decorations? Check. Random men sitting alone in corners? Check.
But after a few hours of sitting at the bar and chatting with the 'tender and mingling with the varied crowds in there, it was clear that The Boat was no run-of-the-mill Dive.
I also found my new favorite Single Malt Scotch. The Balvenie 21. I asked for a Balvenie neat, and to my surprise, the 'tender asked, "You want the 12 or the 21?" "21?" I asked back, ears pricked. I may have panted a bit, too.
We asked to see the bottle. Funny: The owner had taped a message to the unopened bottle, saying, "$20. IT'S GOOD!!!"
Our 'tender explained that the owner was something of a Scotch guy himself and that's why they had a good selection, as she poured me more than just a dram of that GOOD STUFF.
I wish Fort Greene had a local bar like this.Listed in: Scotch Me
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Review from Rob L.
Brooklyn, NY
10/22/2007
Warning: This review takes full advantage of cheesy humor. Not for the faint of heart.
I am convinced that the best bars in the city do not have their name plastered up above the curb. This place being one of them, I never knew the name until maybe the 4-5th time I was here. Just look for the red door, but try not to paint it black.
ah HEM.....so yeah, great beer selection, great service, you can score a couch in the back, the Pacman/Galaga TABLE(!) in front, or a comfy wooden bar stool. Be sure to check out the jukebox and the fancy illustrations on the napkins in lieu of actual album covers. A great place to unwind, and truly a good social scene.
Go overboard at Boat!! -
Review from Abigail S.
Miami, FL
10/20/2007
My word, it's like a slaughterhouse in there. I mean this in the best possible way, in case you were wondering.
Drinks are strong, music is pretty good, ownership is friendly and accommodating, and I've only had a bad time here once so far. The scene can be a little lame at times, but what can you do. It's still a comfy bar to go for a few drinks before moving on to the next watering hole down the street.
Four stars because Boat is an unpretentious dive bar with decent prices and (sometimes) a photogenic crowd.Listed in: Brooklyn Does it Better, Cobble Hill and Carroll…
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Review from Jeremy D.
Brooklyn, NY
10/16/2010 4 Check-ins Here
$3 Miller High Life.
Good juke box, cool unheard of music in that thing.
The bar has character. My bartender was great.
"It's hard to explain why it's good, it just is," said a friend, who's a regular. Good place to go loner- you and your thoughts, maybe meet someone interesting. -
Review from Katie B.
San Francisco, CA
6/24/2008
As I sit here in my (not nearly as good) neighborhood bar, I pine for the warm nites spent at Boat with friends, good music, and Jameson's. My husband and I spent a week in Brooklyn visiting friends, and nearly every day ended at Boat. Awesome bartenders, company, patrons, drinks, and decor, (esp. the half-assed ship model hanging above the bar).
Boat is our bar away from home, that's for sure! :) -
Review from Akshay A.
Brooklyn, NY
8/26/2007
As far as bars go, this one is pretty good. A bunch of games at the bar for you to enjoy on their oh-so-comfortable couches. I loves me some drunk Trivial Pursuit! I don't think I've ever gone here on a busy night, so I won't claim to know what kind of spot this is on the weekend, but it's a nice chill hangout during the week. On occasion I used to get the feeling that the bar felt too hip for me. Like, I walk in and then the walls are speaking to me and telling me that I'm not cool enough to go there. Maybe it was the light. Then I realized, hey, it's just a bar around the corner from your house. It's a local bar, it's not pretentious. And I was right. The place is anything but.
I love my local bars. I love it even more when they're good local bars. -
Review from Alex C.
Brooklyn, NY
8/10/2007
Everyone always wants to go to the boat, and i can hardly argue with them. It's fun, has a great jukebox, and the bartenders are friendly as hell.
It has a late night weekend tendency to get so packed you can't move, but on a weeknight, it's totally relaxed and can be a blast. -
Review from Mathew T.
Brookline, MA
11/28/2008
I usually don't write reviews for bars or clubs because the amount of fun you have is more dependent on the people you're with than the place you're at...
That said, Boat Bar is awesome. It's awesome in its totally crappy awesomeness. The "decor" looks like somebody ran through a thrift store and just bought out the $1 bin. The bathrooms have classy signs on the outside depicting various combinations of multiple people in there -- apparently, bathroom bar sex was a real problem here at some point. The back corner is lit solely by 2 red lights (seriously) and 2 pinball machines (seriously). The jukebox has photos of random people, but is comprised almost entirely of good mix tapes.
Steve was our bartender for the night and the man is the coolest bartender in New York. (Granted, there's a low standard there, but he's an awesome guy.)
Ask him if he ever does it Mexican style. -
Review from Lani P.
Portland, OR
7/17/2008
This is a place that I go to when I am in the area. Complete with a working fireplace, this place is cozy, yet divey-fab, once you find it because the exterior is so understated. The jukebox is OK, but interestingly enough, filled with pictures of the staff. The bar is nice and long and the drinks are priced just right. I have only been here when it is not crowded and that's what makes it perfect for meeting up with a friend or two during the week after work. I would say this is one of my favorites of the area.
There is scaffolding all over the street as well as many parking signs to lock your bike up to. As always, I prefer scaffolding. -
Review from Justin C.
Boston, MA
7/1/2008
My memories of this spot are of a glorious classless neighborhood shithole of the most charming and endearing sort. On a recent visit, though, after pumping $5 into their AMAZING juke box, which the bartender had to have seen us doing, we noticed that she was cueing the songs off of a stealthily stashed IPod. Extremely not cool. Plus it was thrashing heavy metal that her and two of her friends at the bar seemed to be into. I mean am I that big of a loser for wanting to wash down my evening with a little Death Cab? C'mon now. This place needs to shape up or boat out.
The hype = don't believe it! -
Review from Billy S.
Philadelphia, PA
6/3/2008
What can i say.....I moved from Philly in 2001, Sept 11th to be exact, to "Carroll Gardens" and ended up working behind the bar at The Boat. The next three years ended up being the most memorable to date...I miss you, Boat, old friend. No bar gig has lived up to you since.
Sigh. -
Review from anna devane l.
Brooklyn, NY
2/6/2009
Getting old really bites.
Reading the reviews of this bar makes me feel really really old.
And that bites.
I don't give a good goddam about the hipsters or the juke or the mofo pinball machine. I want a drink, and mayhap a spot of irrelevant conversation. This bar delivers that. And it also gives you Susie, who is a dead ringer for Diana Troy (Star Trek NG), and a sweetie pie to boot.
Let's review:
Dark bar.
Big glass of Wild Turkey.
Cute barmaid.
What's not to like? -
Review from Nina B.
6/8/2010
Coming to NYC, you'd never think you could find a place with $3 beers. But Boat is just that. It's a little dive bar on Brooklyn's hopping Smith Street, and it's perfectly uncrowded on a weekday night between 5-8pm. So uncrowded, mother's bring their babies there and sit them right up on the bar. Yeah, I'm not down with that, but I understand that's what you get when you hang out in Brooklyn bars these days.
Nontheless, their $3 happy hour beer selection is awesome. They have some great beers on top including some microbrewed IPAs and Toasted Lagers. Their wheat beer was delicious. And I couldn't believe I walked out of there with such a low bar bill after getting to throw a few ones back with some cool people.
This might be a regular stop on my trips to Brooklyn from now on. -
Review from Kate S.
Chicago, IL
1/3/2010
This place has been around for at least 8+ years, which is remarkable in terms of Brooklyn bars, and says something about its character. My friends and I used to joke that this was always the bar where at least one couple was guaranteed to be making out--it's dark, has couches and a fireplace, and different seating sections. If you find yourself looking for a nice post-Smith-St-dinner-date bar, this might be a wise selection.
Stellar jukebox, which is also entertaining for at least an hour, since most of the albums are mixes. I tried to find one of my favorite songs that used to be on the jukebox here years ago last night, to no avail, so they have certainly updated the music selections since then.
Nice beer selection, big enough bar that you also have a good chance of snagging a seat or two on a weekend night. -
Review from Jess N.
Northampton, MA
6/4/2009
This Bar is pretty awesome... no sign outside.. which makes it even more awesome.. if you prefer the more pretentious scene (that other BK bars in the neighborhood seem to offer) this is not the place for you.
Happy hour was pretty sweet.. no sign outside advertising how "cheap" their happy hour is.. so i didn't even know it was occurring when i popped in one afternoon after a self determined early dismissal from work.. saddled on up to the bar with my gf and ordered a six point and a blue moon for 6 bucks.. which i thought was pretty cheap.. till i saw the handwritten happy hour sign behind the very cool bartender...
Since i live mere two blocks away.. i have officially named this my "neighborhood bar"!! -
Review from Jesse S.
Brooklyn, NY
7/4/2011
Been coming here for years but had a really disturbing experience last night that makes me not want to go back - and I'd also encourage you to stay away. My friend went outside to get a smoke and left his beer on the bar. The bar tender poured out his beer while he was outside (actually, I think she said she "confiscated" it). Instead of doing the right thing and admitting her error, she basically said "you're not welcome here" and asked him to leave. While usually that would not be a big deal, I feel as if her attitude was just wrong and, I suspect, there was some amount of vindictiveness/power trip that is simply unacceptable. She told me that my recourse was to complain on this site, so here I am. There are lots of other places to go on Smith Street. I hope you try another place. Do the neighborhood a favor and put these pretentious folks out of business.
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Review from Brett C.
Brooklyn, NY
12/11/2006
Often good for the occasional game of c-4 however it has since been taken from the bar. This bar is quaint, and can only be fun if you bring the fun. It is the epitome of dive, but without that divey class. I have never met people that I didn't come with at this bar and rarely run into someone that wants to meet people.
Go here with friends, close your eyes and try hard...it just might be fun. -
Review from julia l.
San Francisco, CA
6/17/2008
Showed up with a friend, everyone thought I was dating him, I got the kind of compliments you get when you're 'the new girlfriend' even though I wasn't. So already I loved it.
But also, the drinks are a decent price, it's not so loud you can't hear your friends (or your fake boyfriend's friends) talking, and it took me about ten seconds to get a refill on water (late night necessity). So fast on the water that TWO drunk people noticed!
How's that for a good bar? -
Review from Craig R.
Brooklyn, NY
9/30/2009
Less of a dive bar and more of a comfortable place to drink in a stuck up neighborhood. I used to come by after work for a beer and whisky shot after work.
Both the staff and patrons are laid back and unpretentious, and the drinks are cheap. The seating is comfortable and they have a great jukebox. Hopefully they don't turn it into luxury condos. -
Review from Bondi J.
Brooklyn, NY
2/1/2010
The music is loud and angry, the drinks are moderately priced, and the conversations are usually fairly intelligent.
Great place to unwind after work on a week night.
I've also hosted a few small parties here and the staff was very helpful. -
Review from Jess G.
Brooklyn, NY
3/26/2011
Loved it here! It was inexpensive and had a great crowd going (it wasn't super crowded, despite being a Saturday). Definitely plan on going here again.
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Review from Tony M.
Brooklyn, NY
3/29/2007
Like a good neighbor...Boat Bar is there!
It's comfy like Kurt Cobain's sweater on MTV Unplugged, but without the smell of drugs on it. It just feels like home.
Go there with a buddy or two.
