Hinterlands Bar

Went here recently for a friend’s engagement party - not only was the vibe awesome and nerdy good fun, but the bartender was INCREDIBLE. One person did the work of like twenty people and barely broke a sweat - they were slinging (delicious) cocktails and shots and beers and making food and delivering it to tables and toasting the newly engaged couple and even checked to see if they had a bar-branded shirt to purchase for me and no one was waiting around for a drink even though we crammed the bar and they were the only one working. Truly chillest and most on point bartender ever !! *chefs kiss*

This place is a hole in the wall! I went alone once and the guests sitting at the bar and I were able to hold lovely conversations. Bar staff is super sweet. Also went on a Friday and they had Karaoke night (boy did we have fun). I strongly recommend a visit if you’re from the neighborhood.

Wonderful little neighborhood bar. The owner is very friendly. The place has a nerd-friendly vibe, with some role playing game paraphernalia on the walls, but the owner will also happily chat about fitness and his favorite metal band too!

The neighborhood bar for the hipper parts of north Kensington + spillover from Windsor Terrace. Wish the location was slightly better, but the vibe is great, and the prices are solid, even as they've gone up a bit. Trivia on Sundays is consistently good as well. Can't really recommend the food, but plenty of options around to bring things in.

I stopped by yesterday for a couple of cocktails. This is such a super cute bar that is very clean and serves up some really great drinks. The bartender was still friendly in spite of being real busy with other customers. Since I live close by I will be sure to stop by again real soon.

UPDATE - SEPT. 2024: They have an official game night most Tuesday nights run by a super welcoming group of regulars if you want to learn fun new board games. There's karaoke on Friday nights! And "Lit Up Trivia" with Craig Reid every Sunday night. Not to mention a literal Happy Hour twice a day from 2-3. It really is a fun local vibe that anyone and everyone should pop in and check out. Pop in and say hi! 🖖🏽 -----🪴 You gotta love a low key bar catering to the geek crowd. Has a back yard for spring time fun and enough indoor space to house an impromptu strat session with your DnD group (the main reason we seem to go). The bathrooms are a true delight to pee in. All of the current staff are lovely, and the owners are very kind. For better or for worse, this place is open until 4am so if you need a late night fix in Kensington, Hinterlands is the spot.

This isn't really a dining in space, but it's a great neighborhood bar with a great staff and vibe. Warhammer themed bathrooms are a definite plus.

Leaving review after we finished our food :) First time here. Place is great! The bartender is super friendly even though she was very busy. We live just around the corner and I think will be coming back more often. The inner decoration and walls are delivering a special cozy vibe. Try their panini brioche burger, it’s delicious.

Cool bar with local beers and pizza . Joe bartender was lit and positive . Def be back with my friends . Very interesting wallpapers in the restroom . Overall positive atmosphere and great place to work cuz it's not loud during the day time .

Get the bacon bread pudding! Did you hear me? (Taps mic) I came for the cocktails. I stayed for the Bacon Bread pudding. Oh my gosh. This was a pretty basic dive bar with a backyard. You got your full bar options as well as hot boozy beverages, which is nice for outdoor seating in colder months. But.....get the bread pudding. And if you're with a friend, get 2 orders.....each! Ha ha ha It's been weeks and I'm stilling thinking about it.

This is our neighborhood bar. I mean, there are other bars in the neighborhood, but we only go to this one. It's great for happy hour drinks after work and hanging out with neighborhood friends, but also, they have fun events -- a rummage sale on a weekend afternoon. Watching RuPaul's Drag Race on a Friday night. Trivia on Sundays, letting other small businesses use their back room for events. It's like a community center...with booze!

Really, really wanted to enjoy this place. Started off just fine, bartender took our order no big deal. Great. As the bar started to get busier- I mean he had maybe two or three different groups of customers to serve... The bartender started to get progressively more and more stressed. Every time someone walked in he would say "f-ck me" and start acting aggressively behind the bar. It should be noted that none of the customers that came in were doing anything but waiting patiently as they chatted and joked amongst themselves, nobody was displaying an attitude or any sense of urgency, except the bartender. He was spilling drinks all over the place, slamming things, muttering curse words. He rinsed a glass and whipped it through the air- splashed water in my face. Unnecessary. Slammed a martini shaker down in front of a group- spilled it all over the bar. Spilled a beer in front of another patron. Unnecessary aggression. Everyone at the bar shrinking and just staring at this guy act like a psycho. His negative energy polluting the environment. But hands-down, the most bizarre moment was when the woman sitting next to me, who had been talking to her friend about how the pretzel she ordered and paid for was just kind of sitting off to the side getting cold... The thing was just sitting there for at least a good 15 minutes because the guy was on such a tear ofmuttering, cursing and not making eye contact with anyone that it was impossible to ask him anything. He just kept servicing new people as they walked in so finally when he went to take the order of two women that had just walked in and were standing behind this woman. She simply said "excuse me I'm sorry. Would you mind passing me my pretzel it's been sitting there for a while." He said "ma'am, you'll have to wait. I'll be with you in a moment." And she said again, "but my food is just sitting there. All I need you to do is pass it to me." He said " the pretzel will take five minutes in the oven" And she kind of just stared at him and said, "but I ordered it 20 minutes ago and it's been sitting there. The girl took it out of the oven. It's right there. " He said "ma'am, I'll be with you in a moment, you'll have to wait your turn." He makes her wait another five minutes, then walks over to the counter where the pretzel is blatantly obvious for everyone to see, pretends to open the oven and take it out, and thenwalk the cold pretzel over to her. He literally pretended to take it out of the oven, like opened the oven, then closed it, then made some hand motions over the pretzel at the counter to pretend he was putting in the basket and walked it over. When he simply could've said to this lady, "oh yeah, so sorry! let me grab that for you!" Just bizarre, offputting and uncool behavior. If you don't believe me, walk in there on a Wednesday afternoon and just observe the guy with the long hair. I've bartended before and I understand getting stressed out when you have a big crowd, but that's part of the job. If you can't handle it, do different work. Or hire some more people if you can't handle a bar all by yourself. This guy was not efficient, he was rude and sloppy. Not a single person in that bar was acting inconvenienced because they had to wait but it was definitely obvious that he was making people feel uncomfortable and awkward. You should never ever have to feel afraid to order a drink from a bartender really disgusting behavior. We went to the Castelo plan afterwards and the service was night and day. After stopping in there, we went over to the Rusty nail and they were also amazing. The guy working at hinterland is a terrible representation of the hospitality of that neighborhood. In fact, it's the one place we would not go to again, and it is a stand out only because of the fact of how intensely bizarre the entire experience was. I'm OK with eccentricity in a bartender. This was not that. This was annoying, juvenile, and unhinged behavior- dude get out of the service industry.

A delightful, local BK watering hole in Kensington. I was walking down Church Ave...saw 2 ladies drinking some tasty looking cocktails...they pointed me in. Its small, quaint and friendly interesting service from the lady bartender there. She makse some delicious drinks! The kitchen serves up some great sammys...I had the smoked turkey on chibatta...WHOA....man that sammy was good...my bestie met me over there after her errands and enjoyed a couple cocktails too....when I visit again... I WILL be back.

This is a great little bar that it seems the neighborhood was desperately crying out for. Among the positives: 1. Cute little backyard. 2. Cool, efficient bartenders. 3. Good happy hour, with $4 drafts... 4. ...from a very solid tap selection. 5. Plenty of character. Good music, good decor, good vibes all around. 6. Game nights, Ru Paul's Drag Race watch parties, other fun times. As far as I can tell, there's only one negative so far: 1. The tater tots I got were sad, pale, and limp, with a few ketchup packets the only sauce provided. If the sandwiches are actually Brancaccio's, I really should've rolled with one of those, but I wanted something a little more sharable. Next time. All in all though, Hinterlands is a bar anyone should be happy to have move into their neighborhood. (I'm not surprised, as I hear it's from the folks behind Sharlene's.) If only it was my neighborhood, instead of out here in the hinterlands.

Best bar in the neighborhood!! Love this place. Great staff and great owners. Tater tots ftw and the decor is perfect.

I really need to stop coming here on first dates because I'd rather hang out with the regulars and the awesome bartenders. It's just so reliable and chill. Great beer, lovely bartenders, and the man with gray hair--owner?--is foxy. I may have to go again soon...by myself.

Great Bartender Toney. The music is a vibe and they have an outside deck. Very friendly staff and has a neighborhood vibe to it.

This is exactly what my neighborhood needed desperately. Seriously. For realsies. We needed a 'normal bar' or a craft beer bar and Kensington finally got one! Hallelujah! I don't have to take people to Denny's any longer or walk 15 blocks over to the Adirondack. Everything is pretty cheap and affordable here. Came in late on a weekend night and it was jam packed because there literally is nowhere else to go and everyone is moving in. Happy Hour is until 7pm with $4 drafts and $1 off other drinks. Solid draft choices of around 8 or so both lite and dark beers. It's kind of cutely decorated with wallpaper and what appear to be newspaper coverings in the bathroom but they are rpg game manuals. Don't mind me while I dork out. It's a cozy little place. I'm a fan and the next time anyone visits, were going here.

It's been a while since I've written, and I thought this would be a nice way to get back in it. A typical Mon night, which is actually one of my favorites days oddly enough. I had just finished my laundry and one of my girlfriend calls and the first thing I say is DRINKS? And she's like YES. Get you some friends who are down for random drinks at 9 in the evening. So we went looking and decided on Hinterlands. Very cozy, comfortable and Clinton was really sweet. I ask a lot of questions, as a foodie is wont to do and he took it like a champ. I ended up going with his recommendation, the chicken/bacon sandwich with chips. Added hot sauce on his recommendation and enjoyed it. But let's be honest, I just wanted a drink. I knew I wanted a Moscow Mule because I'd been craving it since the night before so that's what I got. Didn't live up to the one I had in Spain, but then again I'm biased. Hence the 4- half a star deduction for the drink and the other half for a sandwich that was just alright. But the grapefruit draft was AMAZING. My friends ended up ordering two so that's great. I'll be back. As always, happy eating and drinking MarieMG.

This is one of my favorite bars in this neighborhood and is usually a chill spot that never gets too crowded in my experience. So I'm really disappointed that I have to leave this negative review, because I'm not sure how else to get this feedback in front of the owner. I think they hired a new bartender who is extremely rude - or at least, this was the first time I encountered her (we were told her name is Kate). When we walked in last night, she was already loudly complaining about patrons not tipping enough. When we ordered she literally rolled her eyes at us for our selection of drinks, and made some degrading comments about how only underage people would order a margarita (even though they have a variation as one of the house cocktails on the menu). Immediately she demanded our IDs, assuming that only someone incredibly young would order what she thought was a "stupid" drink to order. We didn't argue about showing our IDs, I understand that is the job of a bartender. However when I tried to walk away briefly to go grab my wallet from my bag, she basically threw my credit card back at me saying she "couldn't be responsible" for it. She clearly didn't want to serve us at all, even though the only thing we had done at this point was try to order some drinks. Unfortunately it escalated from there after my friend tried to tell her that she was treating us poorly. She immediately became defensive and yelled at us, accusing us of not wanting to show our IDs and that my friend should "be a man" about it. It was strange because we had never argued about showing our IDs, we got them immediately when she asked. When she stopped yelling at us and actually looked at the IDs, she scoffed when she saw we are both actually 30 years old. Even if we had been younger, that doesn't justify being mocked. It was clear she just didn't want us there. After she was done yelling at us, she immediately forgot that she hadn't actually served all the drinks I paid for, and proceeded to ignore me. The whole experience was so terrible that someone sitting at the bar turned around and said "I'm so sorry, I can't believe how weird this is." Really a shame, because I can definitely say I won't go back again just based on this experience.

This is a cool little bar, we came here after dinner on a Saturday and started out on their patio. No table service, order at the bar and bring your drinks to your table. It's a cute little patio, with tall fences so you don't bother the residential neighbors, but unfortunately they allow smoking and the smoke was bothering us so we moved inside. Inside it's a much more romantic atmosphere, lots of low lighting and tiny tables. We enjoyed our drinks, I had the Shargarita and my sister had their lavender gin cocktail. Pretty standard prices for Brooklyn. I'd certainly go back!

That boy Cory blesses me with dialogue after not speaking to strangers in months. 13 beers on tap. Wavy place, front of shop seating/bar seating/ and a back room. They have food but I haven't tried it cause I came to get lit. Salute to this place being open when I was lost and then found. Salute to that bearded bartender too.

Perfect dive bar! Super friendly bartender. Awesome tunes. Chill vibe. Great cocktails. Exactly what you need to beat the COVID blues. Hope to be back soon!

Given how OBSESSED I am with food, I am almost perversely easygoing when it comes to wine. Give me a generous pour of an affordable (under $10) chilled dry white or rose that doesn't taste like disgusting swill and I'm a happy girl. Suffice it to say, this place made me happy: Mama friend and I stopped in recently for drinks. I stuck with wine and she got what seemed to be the equivalent of a Grapefruit Shandy, aka White Wheat Beer with Grapefruit Juice. It sounded really refreshing, but the bartender lost me at "low alcohol." I wanted something stronger. What can I say? Anyway, we were pleasantly surprised to find out it was Happy Hour. I am not sure about the specifics, but it ran until 7pm on the Friday we were there, and I *think* drinks were a buck off. Fwiw, my wine was $7 and Mama Friend's Beer Cocktail clocked in at $4. Bar space is cute, amplified by ADORABLE wallpaper, as some of my fellow Yelpers have mentioned. (And yes, the wallpaper really is that noteworthy.) There is a small back room with tables and an outdoor garden with seating, but those made less of an impression on me. Next time I come in, I plan to find out the reason behind this spot's name. Can it be because it is located on a pretty desolate stretch along Church Avenue? This inquiring mind wants to know. Either way, thank you, owners for brightening up this *mostly* non-happening block in my 'hood.

Went to the Hinterlands for New Years eve this year, and my partner and I had a blast! From the get go, you walk in and all around there are piece of memorabilia and posters (really great if you're a fan of Maximum Fun shows) As far as drinks, they had a nice selection of craft beers, as well as quite a few fun cocktails. We ended up ordering the Elvish Coffee later in the night, and it was soooo delicious! Will definitely come back and would recommend.

This spot is great. A nice local bar that has great drinks, great bites. Ask for Stuart. Ray, Rif, Chris. They are all amazing. And back yard access

I'd love to come and sing the praises of Hinterlands, but many others have already done so, and I feel like I'd just be repeating people much smarter than I if I attempted to do so. Read the myriad positive reviews here, and trust them; Hinterlands is a fantastic little bar with a ton of energy behind it and deserves all the support it can get, particularly in the current climate. I'm here to address a review (which is more of a baseless, personal attack on the owner) from 7/21, in which the writer accuses ownership of being "anti-BLM/anti-Semitic". A lot of people out there know the owner from his fantastic comedy podcast, and know that the harsh allegations thrown at him couldn't be further from the truth. However, a lot of you out there aren't aware of this, and words like that can have a lasting, damaging effect on a person and their business. They don't deserve to have that label slapped on them. This past June, the "anti-BLM/anti-Semitic" owner, along with his two co-hosts (one being Jewish) used his voice, platform, and personal funds to help raise $73,000 over the course of a 2.5-hour podcast. Where did the money go? It went to COVID-related relief efforts and civil rights organizations. Yes, you read that correctly. $73,000. In less than three hours. This came from a man that likely lost at least three times that between March and June because of his own business being shut down. He could've aimed to raise funds to save his own business (and that of his wife and business partner), but felt that others, like Black Lives Matter and adjacent organizations, could use the funds and attention more. After reading Manny's review, I'm left wondering what his contributions to equal rights have been as of late. Has he raised attention or funds? Has he put the needs of BIPOC in front of his own? Or did he just do something really stupid at a bar, get kicked out for it, and take his anger to Yelp and attempt to cancel someone? I'm guessing it's more of the latter than the former. Stay amazing, Hinterlands, and keep on keeping on.

For a neighborhood pub, Hinterlands delivers, although it isn't a 5-star experience. And I want to make a quick point: there's nothing wrong with that. Three stars means A-OK! A decent joint! Pro: - HH prices Con: - Interior is somewhat cramped. The patio offers additional space, however feels a bit like sitting in someone's driveway. Neutrals: - Beer selection - Ambience/music Nothing extraordinary, but a solid option.

Loved this place when it opened up, but now it feels very snobbish and whoever it was behind the bar the night I went was extremely rude. It filled a need for the neighborhood when it opened but now I feel like it's going downhill fast.

Cozy, great atmosphere, awesome beer and cocktail selections and great service! I'm very happy to live so close to this bar!

This place is so warm, wonderful and inclusive. The food is delicious and the bartenders are super friendly and approachable. It's a great neighborhood bar and community. Be sure to stop by if you're in the area!

Adorable decor and a great dark & stormy / Moscow Mule -- the ginger beer they use is sharp and spicy. 8-10 beers to choose from, some draft and some tap. Neighborhood vibes: some people come to read, some post-brunch, some mild dancing around 4-5pm. Haven't been after 7pm so can't judge the vibe later on.

Hinterlands is one of my new favorite neighborhood spots. As the name suggests (if you're a geek like me), it is a nerd bar. Huzzah! They play tabletop games on Tuesdays (I believe), serve up delicious nosh items, and their drinks are on point. Did I mention the back room? My friends and I danced back their on NYE. Did I also mention the patio? So it's a little too cold for the patio, but they have one. Winner right? One last thing to fangirl over is their bathroom decor. It's definitely worth taking a look at. ;)

Pretty decent bar no matter your speed that gets upgraded to fantastic if you're in their target demo. Which I'd say is board gamers and RPG players. They serve food, but it still seems to be a work in progress... the sandwich I had was a little difficult to eat: big solid block of pork that was really hot on the outside and a bit chill in the core. Like a microwave burrito? Good flavors but not pleasant. Otherwise, seems to have a good cast of regulars. Average mixed drinks and solid beer selection. Good atmosphere.

When did it become more about the worker and less about the customer? So i had a fairly bad x-mas. My kids are in Miami, i went to my mothers house she wasnt home and i locked my self out of my apartment. So i really spend xmas alone. While waiting for the super to open my apartment. I said let me go to the new neighborhood bar and kill time because i didnt know how long i would be waiting. Its 8pm I'm the first and only person. Female bartender is still setting up. She is all over the place. I sit at the bar second stool with my back to the window. I'm on my phone going live on Facebook, doing some Instagram vids and try to see when to supper is gonna drop off my keys. The bartender come to me and says please dont sit at the bar is you are gonna talk on the phone. She has a pet peeve the pervents her from concentrating and it makes her feel left out. Im like what??????? I tell her my story and order a drink (we have a little small talk) even though I start to think she is a little off I get a facetime from my girl because she is concerned about my situation.( me being alone on xmas her and the kids are in Miami) I get up from the bar and take a seat at the window. I now have my back to the bar ( this is me being trying to be respectful). I get a tap on the shoulder. I asked you not to talk on the phone at the bar. You can go sit in the back room if you wanna talk. I told you this was my pet peeve and its also my xmas too. I leave 3 dollars on table put on my jacket and leave. I waited out my apartment for 30 mins but is was better than being in a bar with her.

A solid local watering hole. The bartenders are very friendly, attentive and quick with their drinks. They serve sandwiches from Brancaccio's (heavenly, chewy, deliciousness from a classic Brooklyn deli...) with a side of chips. Wine and beer selection is on point. The interior is really beautiful with colorful wallpaper throughout, ornate, vintage mirrors and comfortable seating at the bar and around the perimeter of the space. From the front I saw they had a patio but never checked it out. Bonus points for outdoor space! It's just a solid all around bar, great wine and beer selection, decent prices and super friendly service. Happy to have them in the neighborhood.

Awesome bar with great beers and the staff are very accommodating. I highly recommend!!!

This is my neighborhood bar. Have been several times and have never had a bad experience. Bartenders are super friendly and mix great cocktails! Great music! Relaxed and cozy! Took my niece here for her Half Birthday and now she wants to visit me all the time to visit this place.

Really good local bar with proper music and friendly bar tenders. Top notch, always ready for a visit to this place day or night.

quickly becoming my preferred neighborhood bar, especially when Caitlyn is working. Comfortable atmosphere that's missing at a lot of other places in kensington/ditmas

This bar is great. Great drinks, good vibes, cool bartenders. And if that isn't enough for you, they have sandwiches from Brancaccios too. Strong recommendation.

Really cute neighborhood bar. Nice vibe. Holds a game night and trivia night. Really cute.

My husband and I were in NYC visiting our daughter and are fans of the Flophouse podcast and learned that the owners might be there on the Labor Day holiday so we popped in for a drink after visiting Coney Island. We were not disappointed! Stew was managing the bar and moved seamlessly between customers and was so warm and cordial and kept the conversation flowing and we even did what we go to a bar for--socialize with the locals! Being on a gluten free diet I didn't get an opportunity to sample any food but Stew kept our glasses full. We will always remember our trip to this cozy place and the hospitality of Stew and his lovely wife. Stop in and you won't be disappointed!

Great place and everyone who works there is extremely kind and friendly. Even with a large group (pre-Pandemic), they were very accommodating and I can't wait to get back next time I'm in town.

Hinterlands is such a great bar. I went in around 6 and enjoyed a few beers before happy hour ended at 7 ($4 draughts). Was bummed that I didn't get to meet the Housecat himself, Stewart Wellington, but I'll be back the next time I'm in town! Got great service at the bar and nice conversation with fellow patrons. I love the decorations; check out the D&D wallpaper in the bathroom.

Excellent Bar, excellent service. Caitlyn & co are doing a great job keeping folks safe.

A much welcome and long-awaited new addition to the neighborhood. These guys clearly know what they're doing (wouldn't expect anything less from the owners of Sharlene's) because this is a great bar from day one. Great beer selection and perfectly-mixed cocktails from veteran bartenders who know their trade. The wallpaper (and decor in general) is stunning yet everything feels comfortable. And the layout is well done - a long bar in the front and semi-private back room for larger gatherings and conversation. My only two wishes for additions to make this to be the perfect bar would be: 1) a real jukebox with a killer selection, but I know those are hard to track down these days with the advent of those crap digital ones so I don't fault them for not having one, and 2) a little more greenery in the back patio - but just the fact that they HAVE a back patio is great. Welcome to the neighborhood, Hinterlands. Please don't become so popular that I can never get a seat at the bar.

What a wonderful place. Great drink specials, the patio/courtyard/whatever you want to call it outdoor area out back is super pleasant and while I'm not a gamer, its great that they have the whole gaming area set up. The bartenders were quite pleasant as was the clientelle and the pigs in a blanket were tasty. Solid bar.

I really like this new addition to the neighborhood - tasty (and relatively cheap) cocktails, attractive decor (the wallpaper rocks) and friendly bar staff. I definitely recommend it!

Reasonable happy hour prices that will make you come back for more in the Kensington area. Definitely come by yourself or bring a party, you'll have a good time.

I checked out this new bar on opening night. It was already packed with friends and family of the super-friendly owners/bar tenders as well as neighborhood locals. Nice diverse draft list with some craft options as well as classic dive-bar cheap cans/bottles. I stuck to beer, but they have fairly priced tasty-looking cocktails too. Love the decor and the garden out back. Food seems to be coming soon, but for now you can grab some tacos from the taqueria next door. Looks like it's going to be an excellent addition to the central Brooklyn bar options!

Awesome neighborhood bar with great beers and friendly staff. Go say hi to Riff. A nice addition to Church Ave. in Ditmas.

Cool new place. There's a real positive vibe that I get from this place and the bartenders (2 out of 3 of whom are the owners) are really polite and helpful in selecting a drink that fits the taste profile that the patron is looking for. The outside seating area is great - tranquil and bright with ample seating. I wish them well and look forward to the opening of the kitchen that is "coming soon".

While visiting NY last year I made a special effort to make it to Hinterlands. It's a great bar with some rad fantasy/rpg decorations. A sweet little patio for an afternoon beer. Awesome shirts too. Overall just a peachy place.

Very friendly folks and bartender and owner. Try their capris sandwich! Many varieties of beer and cocktails :)

A friendly bar with a great selection of beers and some very refreshing cocktails. A very mellow atmosphere with games available to play. The bartender had a delightful attitude and made us feel very welcome.

Had a very pleasant experience here. Hinterlands is very down to earth and has a nice selection of drafts at good prices. I came on a Thursday around 4 and there some people already there. It seems like the kind of bar you can show up by yourself - it seemed like others had. My friend and I sat in the backyard and it was nice and had good seating. Two different people were smoking even though there was a No Smoking sign. The only other flaw was my beer was my IPA (Flower Power) was slightly flat. Besides that, I'll definitely be back. Ps- They have board game night I think on Tuesdays!