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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, JUNE 2, 2019
GET HIGH THIS SUMMER
Three new rooftop spots in Williamsburg to visit for great food, drinks, and sights
BY BILL ROUNDY
These new spots are up and
coming!
Three new rooftop
spaces have opened in Williamsburg
in the last few
weeks, so those who want
to spend the summer looking
over the city and enjoying
a fresh breeze have a
bunch of new options. Here
are the details on the three
Brooklyn spots — and one
across the river!
Garden party
The Brooklyn Beer Garden,
a graffi ti-fi lled outdoor
spot that opened in an
empty lot in Bushwick last
summer, has gone upscale
— with an annex on the
fourth fl oor of the swank
William Vale hotel in Williamsburg.
The relaxed
green space, previously
used for weddings and private
parties, is now fi lled
with artsy murals, local
beers, and furniture built
from shipping pallets and
cinder blocks.
“We’re looking to bring
that local artist’s vibe to the
William Vale,” said Gabriele
Maurello, who created
the Beer Garden with his
partner Tyagi Schwartz.
The Bushwick native spotted
the underused space on
William Vale’s fourth fl oor
and pitched the beer garden
to the hotel’s management.
The space is now fi lled
with street art, painted on
mobile, seven foot-long murals.
Each artist also created
a smaller piece of art,
which is on display — and
for sale — by the bar.
“We’re a beer garden,
and an outdoor gallery
with pieces that people can
buy,” said Maurello.
The bar offers a selection
of $8–$10 beers, all of
them brewed in Brooklyn,
along with $12–$14 glasses
of wine from Redhook Winery,
and one mixed drink
made with mead from the
All-Wise Meadery downstairs.
There is also a limited
selection of snacks, including
hot dogs and fries,
though more food will be
added throughout the summer,
according to a bartender.
Maurello also has plans
for acoustic bands and art
projects in the space, but
nothing will go too late
— after all, he noted, hotel
guests will be trying to
sleep nearby.
Brooklyn Beer Garden
at William Vale (111 N. 12th
St., fourth fl oor, www.thebrooklynbeergarden.
com).
Open Thu–Fri; 4–10 p.m.;
Sat–Sun, 2–10 p.m.
Beer pressure
Williamsburg’s Pod
Hotel has reinvented its
vowel-free rooftop cocktail
bar RFTP into a chill, solar
powered beer bar. You
can access the fourth-fl oor
Clinton Hall Rooftop Beer
Garden through a dedicated
entrance, to the left
of the ground fl oor Clinton
Hall beer hall. That stairway
leads you past a series
of street-art style murals,
before emerging onto
a rooftop space lined with
plants and fi lled with communal
picnic tables, with
space for 125 people.
Beneath a canopy of solar
panels, the bar pours local
craft beers — including
Clinton Hall’s own highoctane
Gigawatt India Pale
Ale, along with a handful
of cocktails, and two frozen
drinks, one of which will always
be frosé, said the bartender.
The kitchen turns
out light, summery bites,
including three kinds of
lobster roll, hot dogs, and a
watermelon-and-feta salad,
among other dishes.
And, just like the beer
hall below, there are board
games and Jenga sets to
keep you busy between
bites.
Clinton Hall Rooftop
Beer Garden (247 Metropolitan
Ave., fourth fl oor, at N.
Third Street in Williamsburg,
www.clintonhallny.
com). Open Thu–Fri, 4
p.m.–10 p.m.; Sat, 11 a.m.–10
p.m.; Sun, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.
Summer sights
The Hoxton hotel, a relative
newcomer to the Williamsburg
scene, has just
opened its seasonal rooftop
restaurant. Summerly offers
stunning views of the
waterfront and the distant
isle of Manhattan, along
with a seafood menu that
includes lobster rolls, clam
pizza, and fried calamari,
along with $16 cocktails and
a broad selection of wines.
On the hotel’s second fl oor,
a more casual spot called
Backyard features pitchers
of beer, small bites, and a
pair of ping-pong tables.
Summerly and Backyard
at the Hoxton (97
Wythe Ave. at N. 10th Street
in Williamsburg, www.thehoxton.
com). Mon–Thu,
4–11:30 p.m., Fri, 2–11:30
p.m., Sat–Sun, noon–11:30
p.m.
Crown height
Each of the above rooftops
offers a view of the
Manhattan skyline — but
what if you want to look
at glorious Kings County?
Then your best bet is
to cross the Manhattan
Bridge, turn left onto the
Bowery, and then ascend
to rooftop bar the Crown.
The 21st-fl oor space offers
two terraces — one looking
out over the Brooklyn
Bridge and the Dumbo waterfront,
and the other with
a view of Manhattan skyscrapers.
And if it start to
rain you can retreat to the
bar inside, which has fl oorto
ceiling windows.
You’ll know that you are
in Manhattan by the $18
cocktails, but you can also
get a great burger for just
$12, along with music from
a dee-jay every Sunday afternoon.
The Crown (50 Bowery,
21st fl oor, between Canal
and Bayard streets in
Manhattan, (646) 630–8057,
www.thecrownnyc.com).
Open Sun–Wed; noon–midnight;
Thu–Sat; noon–2
a.m.
GREAT HEIGHTS: (Clockwise
from above) The Clinton Hall
Rooftop Beer Garden, on the
fourth fl oor of the Pod Hotel
in Williamsburg, offers lobster
rolls, beer, and enough picnic
tables for 125 people. The
Brooklyn Beer Garden now occupies
the fourth fl oor of the
William Vale hotel in Williamsburg.
Clinton Hall serves three
kinds of lobster roll. The Crown,
on the far side of the Manhattan
Bridge, offers views of the
distant isle, and another terrace
with a view of Brooklyn.
/www.clintonhallny
/www.thecrownnyc.com)