Ryan F.
Yelp
Had some drinks at Tooker Alley on a rainy Friday night. While I did not love the drinks I tried, the variety and creativity are there. However, I would wait longer to return because of the steep COVID food policy and limited seating really being an issue.
Quality: After dinner, we decided to stop into Tooker Alley for a cocktail. Ended up trying a few options on the menu, all of which were fine, but none I would order again. The excitement of being back in a cocktail bar, led me to just stick with the menu, but I believe they would have been happy to make something more my style. The drinks I did try were the Peach Bourbon Belle, El Lumo, and Return Of The Desert Samurai. Peach Bourbon Belle was the sweetest and my favorite of the bunch. El Lumo was unique, but overwhelmed in orange, and I did not like the smell or aftertaste of Return Of The Desert Samurai. They also required a food purchase, per person, from the Asian restaurant next door. There were no small snack options like many other bars are using like chips, nuts, or olives, so you may end up with more food than you may want.
Quantity: Cocktails were on the smaller side, but quite strong.
Value: $14-15 for all the Cocktails on the menu. $7 was the minimum price for food items.
Ambiance: Tooker Alley is located in the Prospect Heights area of Brooklyn. They had a few tables outside, in a structure that they appeared to share with the neighboring Asian restaurant, then they had capacity for twelve inside. The actual bar is on the right side of the indoor space, but they do not permit guests to sit there at this time. Instead it was at assorted and spread out tables. It was pretty dark and inside had a little bit of a musty smell, partially caused by the wood and exposed brick. They also kept the door open, I assume for COVID reasons, but on this cooler evening, it was not the most comfortable.
Crowd: As a result of limited indoor capacity, every table was full on Friday night. I watched as many people chose to leave because they did not wish to wait out in the cold.
Service: The staff was great, and I appreciated their candor as we waited for a table to open up. However, I was not happy about the need to purchase a food item per person. Having come right from dinner, food was not necessary, and it seemed excessive, especially in comparison to COVID food policies elsewhere.
Parking: Some street parking in the area.