There are a zillion bars with beat-up tables all over New York City. Sure, they can be fun places to play and meet people. However, if you are looking for serious action or just game room fun, it is best to go to establishments dedicated to providing best equipment in fun environments. Where you do not have to wait for hours, can play with friends and not strangers, but still unwind with cocktail and some food. And for sure, after a few cocktails, you might want to go and talk with the cutie at table 7. Fun to meet strangers as well, right?
Cellar Dog (neé Fat Cat) is a great pool hall that doesn't scream pool hall when you first walk in. It feels like you are entering a jazz club and the fact of the matter is you are. The eleven tables here are located underground. In addition to the fine tables, Fat Cat also house...
75 Christopher Street (Seventh Ave. S.)New York's original upscale billiard club was established in 1989 by comedian David Brenner and has been rated best in the country by Billiards Digest.
110 East 11th Street (Fourth Avenue)Now twenty years in the making, Eastside Billiards has been packing 15 regulation Brunswick Gold Crown III tables, covered in tournament-grade cloth and Brunswick Centennial pool balls.
163 East 86th StreetBilliard and booze with a nod to being hip and upscale. Great for afterwork fun and groups, and, dates. But play fair! Guys hate it when they lose.
34 West 32nd StreetA cavernous endeavor that puts the "hall" back in "pool hall," Break is desperately devoted to being a billiard bar in the best possible way. A 55-foot bar dispenses a constantly refreshing and rotating spate of 18 beers and a full-on cocktail selection for th...
32-04B BroadwayA classy place to play — 19 Pool tables, Darts, Ping Pong and booze. Plenty of tvs so you don't miss the sports action. Typical bar food - but done well!
10 East 21st Street (Between 5th Avenue and Broadway)Ace Bar looks suspiciously like a library, except all of the books have been replaced by vintage lunchboxes, and the librarians are actually serving alcohol! Great place to play, with darts, skee-ball, several pool tables all in a space with a rock & roll vibe befitting its E...
531 East 5th StreetAn altogether appropriate bar for Williamsburg, the Alligator has the feel of a wine distillery, except for the massive bar and backboard, which tells of many beers to be had and is frankly an ominous and looming figure to anyone who's had a drink or two already. Games abound, wi...
600 Metropolitan AveAn upscale man cave, with plenty of billiards, ping-pong and other games available. Multiple screens to watch your sporting events, while sipping fancy cocktails at sumptuous curved bar. Decent restaurant serving serving typical contemporary American fare. Great place for after...
54 W 21st StStrangely renamed Ocean's 8 At Brownstone Billiards, this subterranean haunt stands at the vertex of Prospect Heights and Park Slope and represents the only real game in town for folks who want to rack a few games of pool without cueing up being the guys who've held the single ta...
308 Flatbush Ave