Williamsburg Brooklyn Bar Guide: Soft Spot

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128 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211
between N. 9th and N. 10th Sts.
PHONE: 718.384.7768
HOURS: Mon-Fri, 5pm-4am; Sat-Sun, 2pm-4am
CARDS: Cash Only
HAPPY HOUR: Mon-Fri, 5pm-8pm; two-for-one tap beers and two Soft Peaches for $10
Sat-Sun, 2pm-8pm; two-for-one tap beers and two Soft Peaches for $10
EVENTS: Piano bar with live piano music weeknights from 7 p.m. to 9. Karaoke night 10pm on Sundays.
DIRECTIONS: From Bedford Ave L Station - Walk north on Bedford for two blocks and Soft Spot will be on your left.
MAP: Click Here
SUBWAY: L at Bedford Ave.
GOTHAMIST SAYS: The beautifully lit storefront bar comes from a longtime New Yorker and bartender Matt Webber (most recently of The Cutting Room). Because Webber isn't Chris Noth, he hasn't brought beautiful blondes behind the bar (yet) and is doing everything himself, from fresh juices to choosing the art (hint: look carefully at the provenance of the reclining nude near the front door). "Why a piano bar, though?" we asked. Because, he said, he wanted something that hipsters wouldn't be into. Okay. While his candor is refreshing, on one side of us was a cute, skinny guy showing off his star tattoo and on another a girl who looked like a Scarlett Johansson circa her mullet fascination. We wonder what these cute kids could be called disparagingly instead of hipsters. Soft Spot is close to the Bedford L train stop but unlike many of the bars and restaurants that price drinks like they are really still in Manhattan, the cocktails here top out around $7. With fresh pomegranate juice and orange slices, the pomegranate margarita was a good choice, especially for sipping in the beautiful back garden, and strong and our friend opted for a house special, the Soft Peach. The bar was offering two options- one for $6 or 2 for $10, clearly working on a similar principle of the 4-8pm happy hour (2 for 1 on all beer, most $4). And the Soft Peach, with Absolute Peach, Triple Sec and a "secret" lemon lime sour mix does go down easy, so much that we wonder if the 2 for $10 should be changed to give us a twenty and we'll give you a pitcher, though you won't be able to walk far when it's empty. Our friend thought the special tasted like "like homemade peach ice cream but not sweet" but it just tasted like summer to us. The place can serve a good drink under good lighting and employs a good piano player (though billing him a starving artist and actually having the tip jar foisted upon everyone at the bar is a little much). Check it out while there is still prime garden drinking time and enjoy the drinks, however they were conceived.

From Urban75

This narrow piano bar on Bedford Ave has a jukebox seemingly designed for dads (Beatles, Coldplay, Billy Joel - you get the picture). Despite the cardigan and pipe music, the bar was mainly full of lively young 'uns wolfing down vodka shots and then staggering out into the street to sing Beatles songs together. Odd. But friendly.

From City Search

A snaking bartop winds along the deep-colored walls of this sultry neighborhood bar. A charming back corner replicates granny's living room, with a fully functional piano, lace doilies, and the fake fireplace made of Styrofoam stones and a faux-library facade. An equally quaint patio rests beyond, fashioned from a chipped birdbath, flowerboxes, shrubby plants, and speakers piping out jukebox selections from inside. Trendy tunes are eschewed for hipster staples, from Guns n' Roses to the Bobs (Marley and Dylan). The local crowd of cool kids and yuppies are drawn in with karaoke and live jazz, as well as the signature drink list. The bar's proprietor is a veteran bartender and self-proclaimed mixologist. Inspired concoctions include the energy-boosting Olivia Neutron John made of sugar-free Red Bull, vodka and triple sec, and the sinfully saccharine Soft Peach, which is as sweet and refreshing as a Freeze pop.

From New York Magazine

The piano at this good-natured, uncrowded hangout makes karaoke feel novel again. On Sunday nights, key-tickler Gabe Kahane takes requests from drunken warblers, instantly calling up anything from Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" to Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home." Despite the tunes, the orange lighting, tree trunk bar and cordial bartenders, something about the room still feels a little chilly and not completely thought through. The furnishings are a hodgepodge—a synthetic brown rec room couch by the entrance, and clusters of skinny round wooden tables in the back area, where the floral wallpaper is exposed and the black concrete floor changes to chair-bumping earthen tile. The more alluring backyard has an assortment of plantings and frosted blue chairs. House drinks lean to the sugary side, particularly the overly sweet Soft Peach, but the French martini is more restrained, and the Irish-America (a shot of Jameson in a mini-Bud can) has earned a following among the bar's post-college habitués.

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