* Union Pool
484 Union Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211
at Meeker St.
PHONE: 718.609.0484
HOURS: Mon-Fri, 5pm-4am; Sat-Sun, 3:30pm-4am
CARDS: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
GAMES: None
HAPPY HOUR: Daily, 5pm-8pm; $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon, $3 draft beers, $4 well drinks, and $6 for a Bud and a shot of Jim Beam
SHOWS/CALENDAR: Click Here
DIRECTIONS: Union Pool is located at 484 Union Avenue on the corner of Union & Meeker, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The bar is two short blocks north of the Lorimer L stop and one block off the Metropolitan exit of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.
MAP: Click Here
SUBWAY: G, L at Metropolitan Ave.-Lorimer St.
WEBSITE: www.unionpool.net
MYSPACE: www.myspace.com/unionpool
POTTY GIRL BATHROOM REPORT: Click Here
WE SAY: There's a 1950s, Vegas-Middle American Motel feel to Union Pool, and old pool supply and pest control shop. Plop your hiney into one of the big, cushy half-moon booths or hunker up to the boomerang-shaped bar. Only three taps (Guinness, Stella...) but there are some good brews in bottle (Duvel, Chimay). A modest liquor selection but it too holds some gems- Blanton's, Woodford Reserve. Young, laid-back, hipster clientele come for the ambiance, DJ and bands, and the generous happy hour (5-8). Sport for the bored- sit at the bar and try to land lemon peels from your martini atop the bust of JFK on the ancient beer fridge. They also have a great backyard which is open during the warmer months. It tends to get a bit crowded when the garden is closed in the winter.
From City Search
"In the grand tradition of Williamsburg bars, Union Pool transforms a defunct shop (generations-old A-1 Pool and Pest Supply) into an enticing place to kick back. Owners Alyssa and Zeb's handcrafted touches, including deep blue booths, creamy pressed-tin walls, a smooth cast-concrete bar top and green tiles from the old Shaeffer factory, coalesce with nifty remnants of aquatic signage. "Chemical balancing," anyone? Barflies bask in the glow of an old-time refrigerator, where lemons and martini glasses—plus the odd stalk of ginger—chill. Creative bartenders tinker with the sauce to mix up espresso martinis and pomegranate margaritas, while wildstyle DJs work the turntables. Summertime guests sip house sangria around the foot-ready fountain in the back lot."
From NY Mag:
"At Union Pool-formerly a pool supply store-the booths aren't ripped up, the lighting's blissfully bright... It's a bar you actually want to look at! Despite the '60s feel, the cocktail list thankfully goes beyond scotch and soda. Some drinks even include ingredients such as passion fruit and come in pretty hues that match the tiled walls. Weekends get crowded in a thirtysomething kind of way, which means people get testy when you bump into them. Weeknights feature the best soundtrack selections, courtesy of a strong line-up of guitar-loving guys who've made nice with the turntable." -Ken Miller
Comments
Okay I didnt say what I liked about this place-well it wasn't the beer!
They don't have any corona!
It was the DJ-this guy was awesome.His selection of everything and everybody was awesome.He played stuff that together-that I wouldnt even think of playing in that order.
Posted by: Vladimir Goykow | August 3, 2006 07:21 AM
I recall saying to myself-how long is it going to take for some fuckin' service-what do I have two fuckin heads.The uber-cool cunto bartender sure took her sweet ass fuckin' time getting to me.Normally I would of leaped over the bar and got my own shit:but I was on a myspace date with an awesome lady that I wanted to see again-so psycho-lush wasn't the character to play that night.So after what seemed like an eternity of brush-offs this fuckin cunt finally got to me, its not like it was busy-this anorexic fuck was busy bullshitting with her fuckin friends as I grew thirstier...yeah i probably won't be there anytime soon-unless she wants to go, maybe I'll let her get the beers-she could totally beat that bartender into oblivion-as she doesnt take hipster shit.
Posted by: Vladimir Goykow | August 3, 2006 07:17 AM
I get the feeling there's all these rich kids who live in Williamsburg and spend all their time perfecting their retro rocker hipster look. If this is true then I think you can find a lot of them here. Or maybe the patrons just dream of being rock stars. Anyway don't go there unless you have the right look, nothing too original or creative, just the standard hipster uniform, tatoos, and that kind of shit....
Posted by: yoyo | August 3, 2006 06:11 AM
"never had to deal with any type of discrimination"
hey bobby yr a ding-dong.
Posted by: king crab | April 28, 2006 07:13 PM
Hi! I wanted to comment on an event I saw a flyer for at your venue....something called :White People". I, being a latin guy that grew up in a KKK town can only say is that is sounds scary.
I think you guys should watch your step a little considering that you've already got a homophobic reputation.
Only a straight, white, American guy would find no problem with this. Because they have never had to deal with any type of discrimination.
Posted by: bobby | April 18, 2006 10:30 PM
This bar is fun. The outside, the inside. Good times are going to happen here! And they have lots of bathrooms. 5-star bathrooms for people like me who not only like to pee, but like to do blow and get blowjobs from that girl I met online.
CHEERS!
Posted by: tony the pony | April 3, 2006 03:16 PM
Star, meanwhile, identifies the sender as a "leggy brunette" ex-assistant of the Bon Jovi guitarist, and claims one photo showed her clad in a high-class ensemble of just fishnets and boots. The purported spam-like message on the email: "Hi. Hope you like these."
Posted by: Mike 18 cute college boy | February 9, 2006 05:55 PM
Hey daddy-o! This place is the bee's knees, skibbadeebeebop 24 skidoo.
I just finished restoring my 57 Chevy complete with Fuzzy Dice and Betty Paige girl shotgun and cruised to Union Pool for some jet fuel before hitting the Bushwick Drive In.
Be there or be square, greaser rule. See you at the next Squirrel Nut Zippers show.
Stray Catzzzzz rule!
Posted by: Elvis Goldberg | February 7, 2006 04:21 AM
Is this a frat house?
Union Pool is the kind of bar that gives Williamsburg a bad name. The clientel is almost exclusively “hipsters.” The bar has a homphobic reputation, which I found it to live up to: I heard several offensive slurs in my short time there and my gay roommate experienced overt discrimination and and agression from one of the bartenders. Ironically, the bar could be mistaken for a gay bar, as there are so many men there, most of them aging hipsters who feel the right to drunkenly grope any female who enters the bar. I'd rather stay home.
Posted by: Annimal | January 16, 2006 08:38 AM
Union Pool must be one of my favorite bars in Williamsburg. I saw TV on the Radio play one of the best shows of 2005 there, the crowd is usually good, there's a working photobooth, and outdoor patio, and it's only two blocks from my apartment...
http://www.afterhourscity.com/nyc/2006/01/saturday_0107_bonfires_at_unio.html#more
Posted by: Adrian | January 9, 2006 12:15 PM
I must say i got here by mistake, but now i know it's destiny. Great site! an article here on DesktopLinux.com: http://news.linux.com/news/05/10/10/0213220.shtml?tid=96 , only while the sun shines , The best condition in life is
Posted by: Brandon Anderson | October 17, 2005 11:24 PM
A friend of mine who is a gay man visited Union Pool recently, along with a group of people, mostly straight. Not only were they pointed at and sneered at by the bartenders, but the latter actually called the entire group "faggots" at one point.
Apparently, they've spent more time on the decor than on employee screening.
Posted by: Sean | June 15, 2005 08:19 PM