The Crown Inn

"If Crown Heights has a neighborhood bar, it’s currently Crown Inn. This place is a pub, but not a sleepy one. Weekends are, in fact, very loud and pretty crowded. The crowd skews a little older than a place like Friends and Lovers or Franklin Park, however, and that means it doesn’t get as stupid. (No one’s going to ask you for a light while holding a lighter then trip into a wall.) It’s a good place to drink with friends, and you could even meet a Tinder date here. It’s dark enough for that." - bryan kim

"The Crown Inn feels like an English pub if everyone in England were exactly 29 years old. On weekends, it’s dark, loud, and lively, but it doesn’t feel too young (like a bar in the East Village). This Crown Heights bar isn’t the biggest in the area, but if you get there early enough, you can snag the elevated sitting area in back." - bryan kim, katherine lewin

"A fantastic neighborhood bar with a bazillion (or like 40) bourbons, plus wines on tap and plenty of craft beer. The food is limited to charcuterie and other snacks, but the back patio situation easily makes up for it." - katherine lewin

"You could offer to have drinks at your apartment, but you run the risk of sounding presumptuous or anti-social, and your bartending skills are limited to opening screw-top wine bottles and making vodka-sodas with that vodka your roommate keeps in the freezer. Suggest meeting at St Ends in Crown Heights instead. This low-key cocktail bar looks like a randomly decorated apartment, with colorful couches, lounge chairs, and mismatched lights on end tables. It’s a comfortable place to hang out, the drinks are enjoyable and affordable (especially during Happy Hour, which goes until 8pm), and there’s a nice backyard with seats around picnic tables." - matt tervooren

"The dimly-lit space at St Ends in Crown Heights feels a little like a furniture boutique, with mismatched couches, lounge chairs, distressed mirrors, and side tables topped with desk lamps. But there’s also a 15-seat marble bar, where you can get some of the best cocktails in the neighborhood (like one with rye, campari, and mole bitters). If you’re not in the mood for a cocktail, they serve wine and beer, too, both of which are discounted during Happy Hour until 8pm. Come here with a date and sit on a couch inside or at a communal table on the patio out back." - Matt Tervooren