* Turkey's Nest
image c/o Flickr
94 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211
at 12th St.
PHONE: 718.384.9774
HOURS: Daily, 11am-4am
CARDS: None
GAMES: Pool
DIRECTIONS: Walk north on Bedford Avenue to N. 12th Street. Turkey's Nest is on the left-hand corner.
MAP: Click Here
SUBWAY: L at Bedford Ave.; G at Nassau Ave.
WE SAY: If you want to play Quick Draw and drink beer from a styrofoam cup, Turkey's Nest is the place to be. Northside's best authentic dive bar.
From City Search
"When droves of hip East Village expatriates decided to cut their rent bills in half by moving to Williamsburg, the native element withdrew a little north. The neighborhood's last pure Brooklyn dive is the Turkey's Nest, where the jukebox blares loud classic rock and there's always a pool game in progress. It's a blue-collar crowd, partying with pride and taking part in the the state lottery's most effective red herring, Quickdraw."
From New York Magazine
"The old-time locals who remember Williamsburg before it became the East Village gather at this no-frills sports bar on the southern edge of McCarren Park. Mullets and thick Brooklyn accents are common among a hard-partying crowd of women and bearded men screaming for a Queer Eye makeover. (In fact, Kevin, who lives in an apartment above the tavern, proposes to his girlfriend on an episode.) Middle-aged regulars tend to watch TV at the bar or stand outside smoking (sometimes as early as 8am), while twenty-year-olds who wear trucker hats un-ironically gather around the small billiards table and video games like Big Buck Hunter II. Despite appearances, the crowd is surprisingly hipster-friendly. Gregarious bartenders serve even newbies in under a minute, and we've seen boys with backpacks full of vinyl hop off their bikes to check out Yankees scores (though we suspect Mets fans might not have such luck). And you've got to love a place where the bartender actually laughs at you for asking-at a very non-happy hour-if the twenty you gave him for four beers is enough. (Guinness is $4, Rolling Rock $1.50.) -JADA YUAN"
Comments
Well, the old guy sitting at the bar is my dad Ed who died last year. He loved the place - and was full of stories about all of the different people he met whenever I visited from London. Anywhere interesting enough, and characterful enough for him, must be good. I am just sorry I never made it there to drink with him.
Posted by: Jessica Mitchell | July 21, 2009 08:19 PM
How can you hate this place? I just drank a couple of beers there and it was awesome. I got zero attitude, and the barman gave me great directions to the subway...even when I asked 'Excuse me mate, where's the nearest tube?' in my stupid British accent.
Posted by: Jim | November 4, 2008 12:29 AM
The Turkey's Nest is seriously the key to an amazing afternoon in the park.....it is such a huge part of what makes summer so great in Brooklyn.....i just hope that it keeps pumping great drinks out for another 20 years at least!
Posted by: Nik | June 22, 2008 09:36 PM
My grandma grew up in the apartment above the Turkey's Nest... her parents owned this bar, which was then called something like Paul & Will's Bar & Grille... something along those lines. My grandmothers step father Will and his partner Paul owned it... until they sold it shortly after my grandparents got married in 1948...maybe in 1949. Does anyone have the rest of the history on this bar after my great grandparents sold it? E-mail me at NykeeZ@hotmail.com... and if anyone can please e-mail me current photos (or old) to show my grandma?
Posted by: Nykee | May 7, 2008 12:05 AM
As someone born and
with roots in Greenpoint (the family came over in 1885)It is so great to see this place still open and surviving against the onslaught of change.When I was a little kid- for 1.50 the bartender used to hook kids up with a humongous 32 oz styrofoam cup of sprite-the grown ups got to rock a large beer in that same cup.That rocked on a hot-summers day-it was awesome drinking my cool beverage and watching the big kids play softball on the tar-court across the way....they do need to
turn the lights down-bright lights are really inconduscive to getting your load on-just an FYI-
Posted by: Vladimir Goykow | June 22, 2006 09:22 PM
yea, i'm gay and i love the turkey's nest. i don't know about flamo frank but i get all the love i could ask for. hey frank, see you at metropolitan.
Posted by: ahola | January 27, 2006 10:24 PM
This place sucks. The bartenders are rude and treat you like shit if you're a not a miserable overweight local. I'm sure they don't want hipsters invading their bar, but I'm not that hipster. It also felt anti-gay. I'm not saying I need a warm welcome everywhere, but enough with the dirty looks. This place felt like a nursing home. Sad, lonely, ugly, cold.
Posted by: Frank | January 11, 2006 07:16 PM
This is the best damn bar north side of the Mason Dixion line. No "best dive bar" or "best place to gamble on pool" or "have a quickie in the bathroom." It is just hands down "the best." You can ask Steve Senior if you don't know.
Posted by: Nicole | March 23, 2005 08:27 PM