Alibi

I thought this place was awesome. Went there on the recommendation of a travel guide, looking for something "real". It turned out to be like an English pub; dirty, sticky, cheap beer, pool table and staff with a sense of humour. Exactly what I wanted. If you wanna take a break from the high-class dining and $12 plus beer prices in New York, definitely visit here!

Great music and plenty of distractions, including pool, bar-style video games, fire place, and sports on TV. Dive vibe filled with happy people.

My first bar in Brooklyn. It was great. Love the nostalgia of a dive bar. I'd go back when in the city. Probably choose something better than 6 dollar wine glasses. But that's everywhere. The guys working were chill and friendly.

If you really need a drink and don't want to be bothered with people and their kids then this is the place for you. Has some arcade games and small pool table. Drinks are cheap. The back yard is fairly big for NYC. Just beware that most of the patrons are on "something" that's not alcohol, even though they are drinking. Good place to score "something" if you stick around long enough. No two people in this bar look alike so it's perfect fro most New Yorker's.

Lovely vibes, the drinks are solid, the prices are normal. Might be biased because of the good company, but I had a great time on the back patio.

Staple neighborhood dive bar. Their mixed drinks are STRONG. If you get a beer, I recommend getting bottled - their draft beer tasted a little weird (not sure if lines are cleaned). They have pinball, pool, and a backyard.

The bartender was fast and relaxed. He could do his job while still making people feel at home. Solid drink prices. Also, they were playing the discovery channel. I love places without TVs, but that was a good choice for winding down after a long day.

Good drinks for yur buck!

I was a regular here in the early 1990's when Gary was the bartender. Those days I was pretty strapped for cash and I liked to keep my wits about me- so when I would go in on a crowded night, I'd grab an empty long neck bottle off the bar, head to the bathroom, where I'd wash the bottle out in the sink, then fill it with fresh NYC tap water. I would spend hours drinking innumerable refills of water at the Alibi, getting more and more hydrated, while everyone around me deteriorated to certain confusion. Sure, I would buy a beer now and again, and certainly spent plenty of coin in the juke box. One session of day drinking my buddy Dave and I drank whiskeys, played pool, while playing REM's Country Feedback on repeat. Great memories here!

Great Brooklyn Dive Bar. Enjoyed our visit and the locals. Pool table and beer garden in the back were pretty cool.

I've been going there off and on for 15 years. The last time I went there which was a few years back. The bartender Tommy the blonde biker guy with a beard has racist attitude and a crappy disposition. He doesn't care how many years you been there, he's always drunk and he barely takes care of the customers who are actually regulars there... He had the nerve to tell me he never liked me for what reason I don't know I used to go there have my drinks play my pool chat with the regulars there and that's it. After that incident I will never go there again.

This is my favorite hole-in-the-wall dive bar in this part of BK. Cash only. They even have a working fireplace for the winter months! I loved chatting with the regulars and hope to be one of them one day.

Alibi is 'the bar'. The place where you come to see your friends, talk to your neighbors, or catch a showing of Jeopardy. It may be a little rough around the edge but that just adds to its charm. I love the people here, they all show up fro each other. This community extends far beyond the bar. I am really missing this place right now, smell and all!

Sometimes I just need to kill. I would just like to take a shotgun and do some big game hunting around the city. According to the boys in blue, I'm not allowed to do that. At least this time, I have a seamless Alibi to carry out my wicked deeds. This is the only place where I can get drunk and kill things. Unfortunately I'm talking about shooting animals on the big screen in Big Game Hunter, but that should satisfy my bloodlust for the moment. I think $6 to take out digital panthers, elk, musk ox, and adorable elephants is way cheaper than a psychiatrist's bill and less humiliating than a life sentence. The hot chicks that flash in between rounds definitely make the time pass quicker. Don't expect astounding service from the bar. Just order up and quit your whining. Watch out when you pass by the pool table as well. As friendly and outgoing as our resident poolsharks get, they will tear you a new hole if you mess up their shot. Serious hustling goes on in the pay-per-game billiard table. Speaking of hustling, there is definitely some pimping and ho'ing that goes down in these neck of the woods. A sticker that reads "Melinda will swallow your jizz for $40!" on Big Game Hunter's surface top speaks volumes. A backyard lit in whore-red is the perfect spot to catch some somewhat fresh air in between my African mammal murder sprees and to catch up on a $4 Guinness. When the place appears empty from the inside of the bar, most likely everyone will be out here puffing away and complaining about their jobs or professors. It looks and sounds like a great casual hangout. Maybe it is.

Atmosphere was great, definitely would recommend if your looking for a dive bar experience. Classic grimy details: dim lighting, cash only, pool etc. however my rating is related to the staff which more or less ruined the experience. One was obviously drunk and the other was pretty rude when I asked about the area. Very obvious they were not welcoming to outsiders and I left feeling pretty bummed considering this was literally my first night in Brooklyn.

Great place to go for cheap happy hour drinks, a fantastic, non-pretentious dive like atmosphere, and a friendly crowd of folks willing to engage you in conversation or challenge you to a game of pool. The bartenders are surly - just the way we like them and pour a great drink.

This is my type of spot. It's a cash-only dive with a jukebox and affordable drinks. The bartenders have been pleasant and it's always filled with locals.

When you are at Alibi you must realize that it is a complete dive bar. If it was trying to be anything else I'd give it 3 stars but it's a dive bar and great one at that. The drinks are real cheap and the bartenders will always hook it up. They have a pool table and a jukebox with an awesome array of music. The crowd is either hit or miss. I've seen some cute women in there at times and I've seen a typical dive bar crowd in there at times. All in all, the Alibi is a good spot to grab some drinks for cheap.

A complete dump. I can enjoy a good dive bar but this place isn't even that cheap and the smell overwhelms you as you enter. The bartender served me a skunked beer. I took a sip and politely brought it back to him, asked if he could replace it and he abruptly barked at me "nobody else has complained!", surprised, I said, "would you like to try it?", "no I wouldn't". Fuck you dude! It was almost as if my politeness annoyed him because perhaps I'm not as miserable as he is. I'd love to give it 0 stars.

Def one of my fav NYC hangouts. A true classic Brooklyn dive bar in the best of ways. It's cheap, open super late, has a pool table, juke box, and killer backyard. If a little dankness doesn't scare you off, this could easily be your fave bar too.

This place is right up my alley. Cash only, super divey, and kinda had a feeling of "for locals only". I had some drinks here with a group of 6 friends on a Sunday afternoon- we sat out back at a picnic table and it was awesome. They were having beer, but I'd been having wine all day so I kept on that track- they had a house red and a house white. We went with house red. lol. No complaints. $5 a glass. Nobody bothered us and it was not crowded. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to know about or expect from this place, but I liked it just as it was. Considering this place is about a 5 minute walk from my apartment, I will be back.

If there's a better dive bar in Brooklyn, I haven't found it. This is the perfect meet up spot for cheap drinks, great music (via my touchtunes jukebox prowess), and fun times. The bartenders (Owen, Tommy, Dan) are personable. This is the quintessential Brooklyn bar.

Careful do not make a mistake in this place these guys are HARD! Kidding - a story if i may; I've walked by the Alibi a number of times because i live only a few blocks away and am a huge fan of dives so i have always wanted to go in. I finally walk in one night early (6:20) and sit down at the end corner of the bar... Bartender ignores me (the sure sign of a GOOD bar for all those of you who don't know it - a bartender who is too cool for the likes of you) so i wait while he changes channels on the TV... Bartender with a tough, ginger ponytail: What'dyou want? Me (there are not tap-handles aside from Guiness) so i point to an amber looking beer on the bar next to me and ask "you have Bass on tap?" Ponytail: "what?" Me: "do you have Bass on tap" being an Irish bar and with an Bass-looking beer on the bar for reference (now further elucidated) i figure he'll get it Ponytail: "what?" Pool-playing guy whose beer it was: "no it's Brooklyn Lager, it looks similar" Me: "oh cool, i'll take a Brooklyn Lager" Ponytail: "a lager?" Me: "yeah thanks" Ponytail puts the beer on the counter and as I'm reaching for my wallet i realize that it's been stolen or has fallen out of my pocket.... Me: "crap sorry, my wallet is gone, i need to go get it, so sorry, i'll be back in ten minutes" Ponytail: *rolls his eyes* "SIIIIGGGGGHHH" (befitting his hair) Conclusion: they either have more pickpockets outside this bar than a Dickens Novel and this poor guy ALWAYS has this happen or he is just a winy do*&he-bag who really needs to calm down. I got home to find that my wallet was gone and tried to call to tell them i would pay later - but...phone is disconnected......

It is really galling that this kind of place now attracts the kind of people who look like they remove their floating ribs to "fit in." And that Buck Hunter still exists. On the other hand, I like to watch older neighborhood dudes blast the shit out of kids in billiards. I don't like billiards, necessarily. I just like the humiliation of goofs . By the way, to all the people complaining about the "serious" and "snobby" billiards players, they've had a league here for 26 years. A lot of the people who play here are good. You might not think much of billiards as a hobby. But it's a much better use of one's time than grimacing around the loft space, spending hours matching ludicrous vinyl high-tops with doofy Fred Perry v-necks. For as much as billiards might be an idle occupation, there are also greater purposes in life than attaining the appearance of having been dressed by PT Barnum.

Try it. Try frontin' on True Dive. What, you're gonna complain about a place that looks like it's survived - rather poorly - a fire - and no one really cared to fix it up afterwards (other than replacing the burnt-down pool table)? Stop frontin' and hit up Alibi to toss back a few cheapos - Bud bottles - and mingle with the bipeds that crawl into this bomb shelter that seemed to have been bombed. You'll enjoy it. I watched the Seahawks beat the Packers on MNF in the Snow Bowl and there were even fellow Seahwaks fans there. So much love at Alibi. The only pool table in walking distance in the neighborhood (as far as I know - if I'm misinformed, please steer me straight).

The Alibi. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

$3 drink happy hour (until 8pm) folks. pints and mixed drinks. that's all i'm saying....

Don't let your girlfriend go here by herself. It's full of sleazebags. But they are loveable sleazebags with hearts of gold. Don't get the Bud on tap. It tastes bad. But why would you anyway? You're a beer snob. This place is small but there is a backyard that is open til 12 or 1 and I've never had a problem getting a seat here, even with a group. There's definitely a crowd of regulars that come here, which I think is special and gives places a lot of character. Come to this place if you like dive bars and drinks that are pretty cheap. OH I forgot, they also have a pool table and a lot of pretty competitive people seem to enjoy playing pool there, which is kind of cool.

So-called dive bars are often mocked these days as being divey in name only. Dirty, cheap holes-in-the-wall have given way to dirty, pricey hot-spots. Alibi is the rare outlier, though not for the right reasons. Prices are about normal for this neck of Brooklyn, but the real giveaways are the cash-only policy and the extremely rude bartender. He had some barky retort to everything ("why are you whispering to a deaf man?" "we don't serve shit like that here"). The kind of unpleasant interactions that sets a pall over the entire experience. The smoking patio out back is cute. I will not be showing my face here again.

No frills dive bar, I usually stick to bottled beer here, but their outdoor area is cool, weather permitting

This bar would be fine if i was just a dive bar, like rope In Clinton Hill, or Boat in Cobble Hill except... Alibi is tended by an unfriendly staff whom are burdened by the action of pouring a beer into a glass. They seem to hate pouring beer. Almost as if pouring beer was not in the job description at all and it was a special request like.. asking for an new fork because it looks like it is not clean enough or requesting water with lemon, lime, and three ice cubes. As if they were supposed to be in a castle, at that moment, having sex on piles of money.

Recently featured as a Top Ten selection in the newly released New York City's Best Dive Bars' (http://amzn.to/b6qeFD) this undergrund gem is just what you'd expect from a small dive that's been around for 4 decades. Dimly lit, smelling often of last night's stale beer, but with an ambiance unrivaled in all of Brooklyn. Locals head to The Alibi when they want to drown a few sorrows and laugh, cry, or make-out with their friends. The backyard area can be a bit buggy in the summer, but its a great place to have a drink and a smoke and meet new people doing the same. If you think you're a good pool player, the local sharks will probably prove you wrong. Word to the wise: be wary when walking past the table mid-shot. They take it very seriously here and screwing up a shot will likely garner you dirty looks and the designation of a 'tourist'. Bartenders offer generous pours of well drinks, for only $4. Domestic bottles are $3. A variety of local/seasonal beers are on tap for about $5-6. Protip: get a shot of Jameson. Depending on how much the bartenders know you or like you, you'll get anything from a double shot to a half a glass of whiskey. This place is fun, and at times a total shitshow, but always fun. If you're the type that thinks the Hotel Gansevoort is a cool place. Don't go here.

Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name. And their always glad you came. Melting pot of everyone. Good prices, not the best in decor but you came to drink and get drunk right? Just dont fall down! Lol. Good people. Speedy service. There is no other place like this on the planet because you will walk in estranged and leave with tons of new friends and people happy to see you when you return.

The last dive bar in Fort Greene. Cheap drinks. Games (buckhunter etc.). Billiards. Backyard with smoking section. Smells like beer and cheap perfume. Rude bartender. I love it.

I love dive bars. My favorite kind of bar serves whiskey, not the fancy kind, in a glass, for cheap. Alibi delivers big time on that front: $4 pours of Powers, less when it's happy hour, and you can drink it outside on the deck. The bartender will frown at you if you order the wrong drink (cough Bushmills cough), another sign of a quality establishment in my book. Once they were playing the Food Network on the bar tv and I was pretty into that as well.

It's best to come here when the Pratt students are away, so any time between the end of May and mid August. This place is a dive bar, in the truest sense of the term. It's a shit hole, it's cheap, and there are definitely dudes who have been coming here since they first opened. I like coming here when I'm broke, but not broke enough to stay home and drink a six pack. Oh, and remember, cash is king, unless you like being slapped with ATM fees, make sure you left the house with a few bills.

Has always been a solid dive bar. Very chill place with great vibes and strong drinks. Happy hour till 8pm on Friday's is really great. This place is cash only.

Yes it's a dive. But dives break different ways. Some are dark, dank, depressing and smell like musty tampons. This place is lively, festive and diverse. But not hip, nor a scene. Just a really cool dive with old men arguing jazz, middle aged men hustling pool and young men looking for quarters to play video games. The younger guys simply act like tampons.

Alibi was the first bar my craigslist-discovered roommates took me to when I moved in last December. It was everything I'd hoped for, and now I go there at least 2 or 3 times a month, usually for happy hour with my girlfriend. I was used to a place called Louise and Jerry's in Hoboken, a basement-level dive with dim lights, a pool table, a familiar face behind the bar, a good jukebox, and Buck Hunter. Alibi had all these things, plus a great little wooden patio where it's OK to smoke. What more could I ask for?

I came here Saturday after a meeeting in the neighborhood. I just wanted to chill a bit before going home. I got here like 3:30 PM. They have a number of beers on tap, including Brooklyn Lager and Brooklyn Summer Ale. Both were $3 becuase it was happy hour. They have one TV in the bar. They also have a pool table and accordIng to the chalkboard that is visible from outsIde, they usually have pool tournaments.

It's hard to rate a Dive Bar, when it's expectations are already so low. Located just a few short blocks from the Pratt campus, among a slew of other great bars and restaurants lies the Alibi. The genre of this bar says it all, Dive Bar. When you walk up to the place, it's old beer stained wood and less than lit interior adds a different experience to your average dive bar, and even though this place can use a mop, and some clean mop water, it's not all that bad. Filled with cool bartenders, soccer enthusiasts, cheap beers, arcade games, a jukebox, pool table full of sharks, and a seasonal backyard annex. This place has everything you need for that less than Great place you thought about going before you walked into the sunken depths of the Alibi. Throughout my 11 years in NYC, I sometimes find myself attracted to going to this one spot. Mainly when I'm feeling down, dirty, and don't give a f... -Japanda's Breakfast-

Alibi is my favorite bar in the neighborhood. The bartenders are friendly enough and quick to serve. The crowd is very mixed which makes for a comfortable and lively experience. I've had really random and wonderful conversations here and feel in general the crowd is friendly. I also find it amusing that I see the same neighborhood fixtures everytime I go. The backyard area is great in the summertime. Tips: if you're going to play a song on the jukebox, pay extra for it to be bumped to the top of the list or you'll never hear it. And, ladies, the toilet in the right stall is unsteady so- careful!

It is, at its core, a run-of-the-mill dive. The drinks/beers are inexpensive, but not very good either. I never really cared for the people that hung out there (an array of Pratt kids, neighborhood do-nothings and hipsters). One of the bartenders (I wont point him out, but if you know the Alibi, you probably know who I am talking about) is probably the biggest asshole I have ever encountered. So why, the four stars? I lived in FG for years and the Alibi was like a friend that was kinda a dick, not really that smart, funny or interesting, but was undeniably reliable. No that I am leaving Brooklyn, I know I will genuinely miss that shithole. I also have a soft spot for the Alibi, as it was where I watched the now-famed "tuck rule game", when the Patriots beat the Raiders and went on to win their first SB, amongst a pack of pissy Jets fans and one very loud Raiders fan.

This is the best dive bar in Ft.Green My boyfriend and i have had been coming to this bar for a while. i havnt been in a couple years but he goes ALL the time. and i still love it. Theres and Irish bartender, a pool table and a $5 Jameson!! LOVE THE BARTENDERS!! its gritty and its awesome. LOVE it.

Love it. The bartender was GREAT, though apparently he has a bad rep.... Hmmm, my roommate called him the "nicest bartender in NYC" and she hates everyone! (but she was trashed) Now that the Rope is always filled with LAME asses I'm headed to the Alibi!

The dive bar of of dive bars in Clinton Hill/Fort Greene. Cheap drinks, jukebox, and very,very, divey at times. Always friendly regulars balance out the dicey folks.

A super-divey oasis from the rest of the bars on Dekalb. The people are friendly, the bartender is gruff and the drinks are STRONG. This place is such a breath of fresh air from the more pretentious bars surrounding it, but obviously not a literal breath of fresh air since it usually smells like cigarettes, stale beer and sweat as a dive bar should. It's just laid-back and fun. Tips: keep your orders basic (beer, shots, simple mixed drinks), unless you want to see what pure hatred looks like on the face of a bartender who just heard a group of girls order pomegranate martinis. Also, I was not exaggerating about the drinks- pace yourself if you order something mixed and you'll thank me in the morning.

Do you like interesting people? And a backyard barbeque? And pool with sharks? And lovely drinks? And sexy tall Irish owners? Also sexy short Yemeni hustlers? Well then maybe go here.

Oooh...what a spot. From the time I walked in it felt like home. Nice to visit a spot so old, yet so new. Jukebox, drinks, dancing, couples, singles, pool and games in the back. I'm going again and again. Nice spot.

If you know me, you know that I'm a huge fan of the dive bar, because really, what's not to like? This place is divey, but not TOO divey, so it's great. Not to mention, the rumors of this place's happy hour are actually true. Having said that, I came in here the other day for the first time, after the happy hour was over. Sad face right....? Well don't fret Yelpers, because even though the drinks are $3 you call its during happy hour, the price jumps up to an unreasonable $4 after the happy hour is over. What! Yea that's right...it jumps up only $1 per drink! Sweet right?! Not to mention, the bartender has a tendency to pour those drinks STRONG. They pour drinks like they hate the sight of alcohol and need to get rid of it because they don't want any in their bar. Come here...drink...be merry....

Alibi sometimes smells like an old keg farted, but that's dive bars for you. This is the least pretentious place I've found to drink within a 10 minute walk of my apartment. Big Buck Hunter, pool, bar games, plus the deck make it fun for the whole family.

"THIS IS MY BAR SO YOU CAN SHUT THE F--K UP YOU STUPID F--KING B-TCH" This is the direct quote from the upstanding bartender with the (Irish?) accent, shouted at a woman seated at the bar a few nights ago. I heard the woman vaguely protest being cursed at so loud, and tell the bartender he was being unfair to her (you could say that again). I heard this while seated in the very back with a friend, and it was really jarring. I can't say I've ever seen or heard a bartender be that nasty to a person, especially a woman (you would hope people might jump to her honor and call him a sexist pig.. but alas I saw no such valor). I don't know what happened after that. I do know, however, there is really no excuse to warrant that type of behavior-- and with so many bars in the neighborhood there is no reason to ever go back. I wish I had gone up to her and ask her if she was ok and offer her my sympathy for such ugly mistreatment. I had already been yelled at earlier in the night by the angry bouncer that was closing the back patio when we weren't moving inside fast enough, so maybe this is the tradeoff for $5 well drinks? It's not worth it. Bad vibes and awful people all around, beware.

Typical dive. No frills, and the drinks are inexpensive. Pratt students and locals abound. I usually fall into Alibi. It's not a destination place.

Daydrinking FTW. I almost don't want to write this because I so appreciate cheap drinks in a mostly empty bar on a sultry afternoon, but I know I would have appreciated the info, so I suppose I'll share the secret. Happy Hour drinks (I believe this is 3-7pm) are three dollars. Whatever you want. Three bucks. Swoon. In the awful heat of late, my cousin and I recently ambled up the hill to Dekalb to find some cheaply-priced 3pm beverages at the highly-recommended to us dive, Alibi. We were not disappointed. When we arrived the bartender was apparently MIA - or so we were informed by a gentleman sitting at the other end of the bar that said tender would BRB. Happy to cool off for a moment, we waited patiently and then ordered three dollar beverages (I got a Brooklyn summer ale and she got a whiskey drink) from the friendly and laissez-fair barman. While we were here, no one else really came in, cept a few old guys, and the atmosphere was perfect for a relaxing afternoon, killing time before we met a friend. I am trying to decide if the gentleman at the end of the bar was playing Nirvana on the jukebox to impress us (fail) or what... but either way, it was perfect for the divey, sleepy, hot afternoon drinking experience. I don't actually know that I'd want to come in here when it's insane at night - the capacity on the wall says 72 persons, so this place obviously gets smooshed up easily at night, considering it's excellent deals. However, for afternoon/evening drinking, Alibi is on the top of my list.

I've been coming to this bar off and on for the few years I've been in the neighborhood, and although it's no place to bring a first date, it's a good, no frills dive. The clientele is a good mix of locals and newcomers, and I have noticed less and less of the creepy dudes I used to see lurking when I went in. I go less often these days as they took away the best beer they had on tap over the summer and replaced it with something wussy like Shock Top. They also raised their prices within the past month, so you get 50 cents back when you order a beer. I love the stoic bartenders and the fact that they'll turn down the volume on the speaker system when somebody puts a crappy song on the jukebox. I've noticed a lot of out-of-towners complaining about the bartending, but for me it gives the place its hard-nosed charm. They can be coarse but they can also be playful and charming in their ways. They're locals, deal with it. Tough customers surround the pool table so don't expect to show up and play a casual game or two. Oh, also. Their well whiskey is Jack. Try finding another bar within 5 miles serving you such a generously-poured whiskey soda for $5.

i personally cannot speak to the crowd at this place on any other night but a monday. front room was crowded and the door to the patio was SLAMMED SO LOUD. SO OFTEN. and there was a pervasive sent of B.O. and weed that seemed to float over the whole place. "so, molly," you may ask, "why the 5 stars then?" well, humble reader, i'll tell you. the happy hour, which lasts until 8 p.m., provided me with $3 jameson and ginger ale. and that, my friends, is "as good as it gets."

Dive Bar par excellence...dirty and cheap...great tunes...full of locals and Pratt students soaking in cheap drinks...nice fireplace to wallow in your whiskey...though going upscale lately with a new bathroom...Doc or Wellies no longer required to pee...where is the neighborhood headed???