I don't love The Gate, but damn it, their patio is fantastic. Overlooking the corner of 5th Ave and 3rd St, across from Washington Park/JJ Byrne Playground, it's an ideal spot for chilling, swilling and people watching. Sadly, they no longer allow dogs, which used to be a bonus. They don't allow strollers, either, but that doesn't seem to stop throngs of customers from bringing their children here. When it's colder and I'm relegated to the inside, I can't say I really care for it as much. It's dark and has this overpowering 'blah' effect on me. The service is inconsistent at best, often slow, and usually unfriendly. That's not exactly a winning combination, but what saves them is their generally excellent beer list. The taps are rotating and they often host special brewery nights to highlight the delicious efforts of lesser-known breweries from far and wide. The crowd here can leave a bit to be desired, but is generally inoffensive. It can get crowded on weekends and on beautiful days when outdoor day drinking is job 1, but aside from that, it's a chill spot worth checking out. read more

Not a fan. SOOOOO slopey. Very much felt 30+ for this bar. I dunno. Made me feel like i needed a dog and a stroller in my life. I don't want to feel that way. Also, summer is impossible here, winter is too loud... I could pass on this bar. I'd rather go to Lobo for tequila. read more

The Gate may have been one of the first bars I went to in Brooklyn when I found out that there were other boroughs in New York after first moving here years and years ago. I lovingly have always referred to it as 'The Drusilla Bar'. (Crazy, Psychotic and Psychic Vampire from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). There are gothic crosses, figurines, dark red lights to set the mood in the interior of a bar dressed in almost an ebony wood. But the good news is that its kind of cool looking! And if you feel depressed from the gothic theme and dark lights there is an outdoor patio that looks onto the street and its rather large for the area. They also allow doggies inside and that makes for great entertainments. I haven't ever been privy to seeing hoards of babies in here . . . . yet. But I don't doubt the community in saying that they see them here. They allow dogs so I'm sure they allow babies. No food. But great selection of beers on tap. Tried both a Oak Aged Mocha Stout from Peak Organic and a Beanhead Coffee Porter from Rushing Duck. It was cold outside and stouts sounded great. Darts in the back. Bathrooms downstairs. Which is complicated even while sober. But the Gate is Great! Probably honestly one of my favorite North Park Slope bars. read more

The Gate - Beer Bar Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Beards, beards, and more beards. Yes, please. The Gate is great. It's the kind of place you want to sit around with your best friends, playing old favourites on the jukebox and laughing loudly. It feels like driving through Texas in the middle of the summer with the windows rolled down and the radio turned up. Speaking of the middle of summer... sitting outside in August, drinking beer, and wearing sundresses can't be beat. I don't live in Park Slope, but I plan on being a regular here. read more

Went here for a Monday night beer with my roomie and her friends. Cool spot (especially the outdoor seating) to just have a beer and hangout. They do have a good selection of beer, I had a german pilsner which wasn't bad. The inside is a bit dark and has dive bar feel, but nevertheless it's cool spot. However, it's a nice night - sit outside. I think it's cool too that you can bring your dog. There are few people who brought their dogs. All in all, cool chill spot to have a beer with friends and enjoy the night. read more

Just moved around the corner. Love this place. Great beer selection, super cool bartenders, totally no frills. read more

The Gate - Great poster by the stairs to the bathrooms! - Beer Bar Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

I can't believe that I've waited this long to review this place. You might not like it. It's understandable. It gets packed. People have their kids in baby bjorns on the patio and you want to smoke a cigarette. There are no available seats on the patio. Get over it. It's a bar. With outdoor seating. They let you bring your dog. Play scrabble. I have not had the unfriendly times that some people bemoan... so all in all... I'm a fan. And apparently the duchess. read more

The Gate NY Brooklyn Park Slope 8pm Thursday 12th February 2015 Three and Half Stars It seems like a great neighborhood pub. There was plenty of seats but enough people to give a lively atmosphere. I had the happy meal to start which was a shot of Ezra Bourbon and PBR ($5.50) - very hipster of me, I know. The music was low key and it easily to have a decent conversation in here. I tried the Rushing Duck Brewery Dog's Bollocks which was a 9.5% English Ale/Barley Wine. It was pretty intense with lots of malt, oak, and caramel. Overall the place was quite enjoyable. read more

I like The Gate. Don't love it, don't hate it but on a balmy, weekday night during the summertime when you crave a nice cold drink and some casual conversations with friends, this is as good a spot as any to relax. And, during the winter when you want to wash those blues away, a few pints in a warm pub work wonders. For better or worse, it brings in a pretty good cross section of the inhabitants of Park Slope. Make of that what you will - I happen to like dogs. Decent, rotating beer selection [check the chalkboards on the side of the bar for the latest lineup]. Ample seating. Dart board in the back room. Been in and used bathrooms much worse than the ones here. Great outdoor patio, if you're lucky to snag a seat. Weekends are crowded, as to be expected of, well, just about any place in Park Slope these days. read more

Bring your dog, bring your board games, bring your own snacks, pretty much anything is a go here! Solid selection of beers on tap but good luck getting the attention of anyone who is going to serve you quickly on a busy night. Finding a seat is often a game of musical chairs with a lot of large groups taking up tables and a half. It's a great place when you can enjoy a late afternoon with weather nice enough to sit outside. read more

I tried this venue as Brooklyn seems to be the new to-do. Humbug! I stepped on three babies on my way to the barkeeper! Plenty of knit-caps, though aged with a penchant for old rock/roll music and sagging, semi-blue tattoos. read more

Good beer selection, warm environment, friendly service, nice patio. Does any more need to be said? I think not.

I have been here twice. The bartenders are cool and friendly. The drinks are awesome, not weak at all and they have a great beer selection. They have German, Italian and all. It's great. You can also bring your dog, which makes it great you don't have to worry about leaving your dog home alone. They also have a great patio with lots of room and seat with tables. Another plus is that they have to go menus! So you can order food and eat there, which is awesome. You dont have to leave and go look for a place while your enjoying yur german beer! I will definetly be going there again. read more

Yay! The Gate! It's like getting drunk in church! Haha No seriously, though, I am a fan of this place. Their beer selection is varied and reasonably priced. They have an awesome outdoor patio. They are nice as FUCK and helpful to boot. And I like the general ambiance of the place. I was immediately comfortable from the minute I walked in there the first time. And there are a lot of interesting decorations to feast your eyes upon. AND THEY HAVE CHURCH PEWS AS SEATING ON ONE SIDE OF THE PLACE (or at least I believe they are -- if they're not, I'd like to find out exactly where they originally came from because I likes 'em and if they AREN'T church pews, then I'd like to know what the crap they are.) Sorry, I love that shit. A coworker of mine (this place is actually a favorite amongst seemingly all my coworkers) brought me in the first time.. It's an awesome place to sit and chill and have a good beer, conversation and laugh laugh laugh. To be fair, I haven't been to this place on a Saturday yet (I hear it gets crazy crowded), but I do appreciate the busy-yet-not-crushed-in-a-sardine-can business they seem to generate on Thursday nights. And they have a jukebox too! Woo! read more

Cool place for an outdoor drink (though those opportunities are quickly waning). They have a few cocktails specials and some beer, as all bar should. Decent for people watching, but can be dead mid-day. Bring the party, I guess. They also sell beef jerky, so I guess that's a thing. read more

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For those of you who like a drink early enough to enjoy the patio mostly empty, I recommend 3pm on a Saturday. AND I recommend the Bloody Mary. Who knew a place with this many awesome beers also does a badass bloody?? Tall, horseradish-y, spicy, and a few olives on a shwizzle stick. After 3 of these, man, the hot afternoon was slammin'. Also, it's a good people mix. A little local, a little badass, a little slopie, a little trendie, and people here give good ink! This place is the shwizzle. read more

Came here during HH. Selection was pretty average. I really liked the patio area though, and I can only imagine how nice it would be to wind down after a busy week at this place. The service is pretty rocky - sometimes good, sometimes bad. I'd love to try this out on a weekend night! read more

The Gate - Patio - Beer Bar Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Before I moved to PS I came for drinks here with my boyfriend. After drinking one Hefeweizen in a tall glass with a slice (not wedge) of lemon on the Gate's patio on a warm summer afternoon, I decided that The Gate was going to be my bar in the Slope! Fast forward one year, and you'll find be still loving the beer, the atmosphere and the fact that you can grab an Onion, sit down at the bar, order a "Big Glass of Shut The !@#$ Up" (seriously they have it on tap right now!) and wile away an afternoon. read more

The Gate is great, and not just for it's primo poetry set up as demonstrated in the opening of this review. Booze? Check! Unpretentious crowd? You got it. Kickin' outdoor area? Yep. Put it all together and you make me happy. That being said, it doesn't get 5 stars because I still mostly avoid it Friday and Saturday nights. It's a good place to go, and it seems the secret is out. I prefer hanging on a weekday evening when I have a little room to breath and hang. For a weekday rating, I'd go at least 4.5 stars. read more

Great neighborhood bar. There is always good beer on tap, friendly bartenders (except for the one that kicked my friend out last month), dog-friendly, and a sweet jukebox. I've met some great people/friends there and its always a good time, esp when its warm enough to chill in the patio outside. read more

Random Tuesday night, strolling along 5th ave at about 11pm, I walk past The Gate. The patio is entirely full, giving off the good kind of energy, with the Christmas lights shining, and I can hear a nice murmur from the completely occupied tables. I can't tell you how many times I saw this happen. Every day of the week, every time of the day, if sitting outside is an option given the weather, the patio is full. I've only been two or three times, but living in the neighborhood I never saw a down moment. If you're trying to sit outside, it's an ideal place to go hang out and have a beer. It's also not "cheap" per se but at $6-$7 a beer it's standard-ish for the area. read more

One of the better outdoor drinking environments, although can't explain why. Busy corner for people watching and large enough area to find a seat. Great place to drink and talk with friends. Inside leans towards a darker, louder feel. One of the better beer selections on tap, can't vouch for the drinks. No food, but a plethera of local palces that deliver to them. Great neighborhood institution. read more

The Gate is awesome. Love the friendly, laid back vibe of the place -- on the edge of divey but still straddling a thin line into the world of "rustic" and "hipster." Great selection of beer at affordable prices, despite the bougie Park Slope location. The staff is kind and eager to help you select your ideal drink, which I am very grateful for! I found the perfect beer (Bronx Lemon Peel Pale Ale) because of the awesome guy behind the bar. Happy hour is a bit...ambiguous...as certain drinks are more deeply discounted than others, at certain times. Apparently, they have two levels of HH - one from 3-5 and one from 5-7, with different discount rates. It's confusing...even the bartender was confused. Oh well, though; since the drinks aren't too pricey to begin with, it's not a huge deal. Trivia night on Monday (at 7:30ish) is always a treat. Lots of laughter, pups, and beer. Can't really get better than that! Hopefully, when it's warmer out, the beer garden will prove just as enjoyable. read more

Easily the 8th best bar in the neighborhood. The beer list is good, but then again, so is almost every other bar in the area. Typical Park Slope toddler-and-dog-a-teria; cruddy staff; nice patio, but it's in front of the building, so it's loud and not relaxing. Inside is uncomfortable at best. You'll enjoy any of the other 5th Avenue bars more. read more

Best bar in Brooklyn! Great beer selection, great music gets a little crowded on weekend nites, the outside closes at 2 due to noise considerations Best time to go is Sat afternoons, all locals and very nice folks when i moved here from SF - they were the best place to be, made me feel right at home. read more

Really enjoyed my visit here. Was hopping at a time when many other bars in the area were dead. Cute dogs sleeping on the floor, a small reunion of friends from a local high school and a fantastic selection of craft beers equaled a very good time. Also, the bathrooms are in the basement. Not up those couple stairs halfway into the bar. Don't bother going up there. The bathrooms aren't there. read more

Very unimpressed! First, CANNOT HAVE A DOG HERE!!! We were booted out. The bar is very dingy, the names of the beers are written in microscopic letters on a tiny blackboard (with chalk, so nothing is legible). Selection is meh. Employees very sour-faced and glum. read more

This place is wonderful for the following reasons: 1. Great beer selection and the bartenders, despite some reviews to the contrary, are pretty great. They serve you your beer, answer questions if you have them (but come on, it's a beer, not a major life decision) and do it in a friendly manner. That's all I ask for in a bartender and any more than that is a bit much, if you ask me. 2. You're hungry, ready for dinner, but comfortable and don't want to leave the wonderful beer selection...No problem. You can order food to be delivered to the bar. How awesome is that? 3. You can bring your dog! Your dog might, like mine, spend most days alone while you're off bringing home the bacon. I always feel guilty just stopping off at home for a quick walk and then rushing out again. If I am going to The Gate, however, no need for the pup to sit at home lonely. He's happy to be out and about, socializing with other fun puppy patrons, and I don't feel guilty. Win-win. On a nice day, you may have a hard time finding a table, hence the four stars. However, its busy-ness might just be a testament to its awesomeness. read more

The bartenders are friendly and are not there to judge you for what you choose to drink off their revolving beer list. (I think they change it up every Tuesday.) In fact, the 'tenders are happy to let you sample anything and have given me some really great recommendations. As far as seating goes, wooden booths line the front-bar walls and too-low tables with what appear to be children's stools are your only group-seating options. The place is kind of dim but not very divey if you ask me. (read: this is no Great Lakes). The patio is always crowded in the summer and everyone's smoking, but it's fun to get a group together and sit at their picnic benches. Fun fact: The ladies' room downstairs doesn't have a mirror in the bathroom. read more

Used to like coming into this place with our dog for a beer until we tried to catch a UConn football game here a couple of Fridays ago. Asked the bartender to throw one if the TVs on ESPN for us and he refused, saying his "regulars" (more likely just his buddies) would be coming in to watch the Mets game. A. The Mets blow. B. There were only 3 other people there, not watching either tv, and pretty sure dogs outnumbered humans. C. Asked him to put on the game until his "regulars" came in and he still refused. D. The Mets blow. Needless to say we went to Owl Farm instead, who wee happy to take our business and throw the game on for us. Don't plan on going back to this place anytime soon. Their only redeeming quality is the patio and there are plenty of places in the hood to grab a beer outside with our pooch. read more

This place has a nice patio area- but little sun hits there. Hoping to return when it's hot and I'm thankful for the shade. Decent beer selection and pretty average prices. read more

I want to like this place. Really, I do. The outdoor area is awesome- I will give them that. And, they're dog friendly- always a plus! Decent beer selection and reasonably priced. Happy Hour does leave something to be desired, though. But, the service... the attitudes of the bartenders is unsettling. I'm frequenting your establishment, giving you money, being polite- don't act like I'm doing you some great disservice by patronizing your bar. Maybe I've only been there on off-times; I don't know. But, the times I've been there, the service has always been MEH. read more

I'm not sure why I haven't been here in awhile, but I'm glad we went this past weekend. Nice place to sit on the patio in the sun and sip beers with friends on a Spring-ish Saturday in March. Diverse selection of beers and four plus types of wine (super generous pours as well). Please, bring your cute dog so I can make some new four-legged friends. While here, I realized that I much prefer the company of dogs while drinking than children. read more

Have been having a rough time lately, but I came in the other night and the bartender Avi totally turned my day around. Good convo, great beer suggestions, excellent mohawk. Definitely going to be coming by more often. read more

#1 beer bar on 5th Avenue. A great patio to hang out on during nice days and a relaxed indoor spot that feels extra cozy on a cold day. All the bartenders are really nice and make you feel at home while serving really good beer and cheap pours of premium whiskeys. We're so glad they've managed to pull through during the last few months and have the patio open again. read more

Got together with some old high school buddies this Thursday to eat, drink and reminisce. The Gate served the latter 2/3 of that list admirably with its inviting out door seating area, loungy but unpretentious bar area and wide assortment of beers. Great place for a friendly hangout. read more

The Gate - Enjoying some beers on a Thursday night. - Beer Bar Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

I always liked this spot when I lived in the Slope. I don't really find myself wandering over there much anymore since I am closer to the Gowanus Yacht Club for outdoor drinking, and the indoor portion of the bar is nice and tavern-y but nothing incredibly special about it. The staff has always been cool and I too like the fact that they let you eat take out there. Great if you happen to be in the neighborhood but nothing I'd travel for. Oh, I do like the swings in the park across the street. I take it back, I might travel for that bonus. 3.5 stars. read more

After living less than a block from the Gate for a couple years, I finally partook in its splendor. They do have some really good beers on tap (and some cool beer "festival" type things with different specialties), and of course during the summer/warm days, being out on the patio is nice. The downside is that everyone and their mother and baby and dog also like being out on the patio when it is nice, so it gets really crowded. My most recent visit was in the evening, and although it was pretty loud, we met a group of people that shared our table since there was little seating, and we could even hear ourselves talk (pet peeve of some of the obnoxious bars/clubs in the city). Bartender seemed nice enough, and even threw in a couple of drinks during our last round (to be fair, we may have been on round 7. Or 8.) Overall, a decent place to be able to drink a fair amount and stumble home quickly without having to deal with a subway train... read more

chalk board + dart board + jukebox = best sunday afternoon. I was there early enough to casually play darts and also grab a table outside, and it was quite relaxing. It was a great way to wind down the weekend. There are a couple of really dark booths, though, and I'm curious as to what happens there...hmm... read more

So Many Rules for rock Bar. Darts, Outdoor Seating, and good beers for sunny day drunks. read more