Williamsburg Brooklyn Bar Guide: * Metropolitan Bar

image c/o Flickr

559 Lorimer St., Brooklyn, NY 11211
(btwn Metropolitan & Devoe)
PHONE: 718.599.4444
HOURS: Daily, 3pm-4am
CARDS: Cash Only
HAPPY HOUR: Daily, 3pm-8pm; two-for-one well drinks and domestic beer
DIRECTIONS: From L Train at Lorimer - Exit the back of the train and take a right on Lorimer. Metropolitan will be immediately on your right.
MAP: Click Here
SUBWAY: G, L at Metropolitan Ave.-Lorimer St.
WE SAY: This bar is primarily for gay men and women and their straight friends (and it truly is mixed). It has the unique distinction of being the first gay bar in Williamsburg (Fun is the other) creating a much needed space for the gay contingent of the neighborhood's arty/hipster set. The vibe is laidback, friendly and fun with video games, a pool table and even video bowling. Also, and perhaps most importantly at this time of year, Metropolitan has an awesome backyard complete with a grapevine and two floors of drinking fun.

image c/o Flickr

From New York Magazine An oasis of space and playfulness in a scene that has little of either. The sprawling backyard, a vine-tangled patio spattered with picnic tables and hard-resin lawn chairs, is the draw at this Williamsburg gay bar, and it seems to bring out the mellow sun-worshipper in everyone. A free summer Sunday-afternoon barbecue (with veggie burgers and tofu dogs available, natch) that attracts a crowd as gregarious as it is ravenous doesn’t hurt, either. Boys and girls, who all seem to know each other, patter around in sandals and sunglasses or flirt at the long, serpentine bar, while a DJ (or jukebox) spins indie rock. Until things warm up enough for the backyard, two roaring fireplaces surrounded by après-ski-style sofas inside are just as cozy. It's enough to make you want to get a civil union and retire to suburbia.

From Village Voice "Faux-hawks, vintage tees, and studded belts prevail in the enormous backyard at this Billyburg locale. The latticework and wood decking juxtaposed with all the tattoos resemble a boathouse at some punk-rock summer camp for homosexuals. Cruise around with a potent tequila gimlet in hand while listening to one of the most gay-pleasing jukeboxes in New York -- New Order, Stevie Nicks, Erasure, B-52's -- and relax under the kinda starry sky."