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184 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211
nr. 7th St.
PHONE: 718.218.9737
HOURS: Mon-Thu, noon-2am; Fri, noon-4am; Sat, 11am-4am; Sun, 11am-2am
CARDS: American Express, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
GAMES: None
HAPPY HOUR: Mon-Fri, 4pm-7pm; $1 off all draft beers and well liquors
DIRECTIONS: Exit the L Train at Bedford and it's across the street.
MAP: Click Here
SUBWAY: L Train to Bedford
WEBSITE: www.spikehill.com
NY TIMES SAYS: At this cozy new tavern with dark wood and good beer in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the meal practically sells itself. If you explain that there's something British about the food, you've dug your own hole. The truth is that there is and there isn't. Fish and chips - especially when you call it fish and chips - is as emblematically British as it gets. And Spike Hill's version is perfectly executed. But the reading line "panko-crusted black sea bass with cumin coleslaw" and the condiments are much more new American than Old World. The Irish fry-up is a mountain of blood sausage, rashers and some Irish relative of the hot dog snowcapped with two fried eggs. The burger is the only serious misfire on the nine-item dinner. Luckily the steak is fatty and well seasoned, and a disarmingly good deal. Spike Hill is part of a heartening trend of restaurants in Williamsburg moving away from overstylized, underachieving fusion cuisine toward solid, well-priced food.

From City Search
"Irish snugs, single malts and gourmet fish-and-chips hit Williamsburg's main strip. Co-owner Tom Schmitz, a 20-year neighborhood veteran and owner of the nearby record store, Earwax, collected materials including found doors, dark-stained oak and mahogany, to craft this handsome pub, furnished with inviting, semi-private snugs. Fish-and-chips, shepherd's pie and an all-day (and all-night) Irish breakfast are on the menu.The bar's extensive selection of single-malt scotches and bourbons, as well as 12 rotating tap beers and more than 30 by the bottle, attracts a congenial clientele."

From NY Magazine
This clean, comfortable brewpub, with its fancied-up bar food, sweet-natured staff, and frequent Bugaboo sightings, seems at first glance to have been whisked off its foundations in Park Slope and plopped down in Williamsburg by a tornado. It's not quite what you'd expect from owner Tom Schmitz, who has been a proud resident of the 'burg long before the area saw its first designer stroller—in fact, he also owns venerable indie record shop Earwax down the block. But regardless of the bar's bona fides, the hipper-than-thou rockers who slink by with a disdainful glance towards the open front window and sleek signage are missing the point: it's much more fun to sit inside watching the parade, or to canoodle in one of the delightfully private booths, with dividers that go all the way up to the ceiling. In fact, in the form of a frosty pint of Smithwick's, gentrification goes down remarkably smooth.

From Shecky's
"Newly opened on the über-hip strip of Williamsburg's Bedford Avenue, Spike Hill welcomes with no pretension and a friendly, Irish pub-like vibe-which makes sense when you learn that the place is named after one of the owner's parents' farm in Galway. That said, Spike Hill isn't an ultra-traditional place, though they do play traditional Irish music (along with more happening stuff like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) and serve a tasty selection of Irish and British staples-bangers and mash, curried chips, and the like. Don't forget the booze-which this place has in spades; choose from a lovingly displayed collection of single-malt Scotch ($7–$24) or from their diverse beer list (12 on draft, 50 in the bottle)."

Posted by freewilliamsburg on March 5, 2005 09:48 PM | Permalink