A bar that serves cheese puffs and twizzlers is always OK in my book. However, some of the people who work here are MEAN. I remember trying to joke with a bouncer one time and he looked at me like I was the biggest freaking idiot he had ever seen. Ouch. If you hate your job so much, THEN DON'T WORK HERE. The space itself is typical divey bar. I like me the board games. And the prices can't be beat. But honestly, if you bill yourself as a fun, kid-like bar, then get some fun, kid-like staff. read more

Tries to be a dive bar, but it's just full of people who were trying way too hard to recreate a divey atmosphere. Evidence? - Drafts. Dive bars don't have drafts. Fine. They do, now. But they didn't use to. - People: Popped collar dress shirt, tie, popped collar sweater. What? - Board games: Yes, obscure board games with no instructions to be played... in the dark. Saving grace? - Bartenders: They are on top of their game. They are fast and efficient. Not a dive bar. It's, however, great for the "I just graduated college and I'm still poor and wanna try to show you I'm poor because it seems to be the it thing" crowd. It's like "Off the Wagon", but for those who've already graduated. Clearly, I"m too old for this bar. I'm gonna go find me a dive where I might get stabbed because I asked for a draft. read more

The.Best.Dive.Bar.In.New.York. Hands down. Perfect spot for a chill place to drink and hangout. $5 beer & shot all day every day. FREE UTZ cheeseballs (amazing food, especially when it's free) FREE Twizzlers. FREE Board games (Sorry, Candyland, Cards, etc). Has Big Buck Hunter and a Pool Table. If you're looking for a great place to hangout and get drunk with friends, this is the spot. read more

I like the place, but the bartender on Monday's took 20 min in a personal conversation until get my order... not the first time... zzzz And the bar wasn't busy. read more

Only hours after returning to New York from my holiday vacation, fresh faced and full of newly minted new year's resolutions, I went to the Levee. Immediately upon entering my regular Friday night hangout, this is what happened: -Ordered first frat boy (shot of Jager and a bottle of Bud) -Ran into Yelp's very own Victor L., who doesn't even live in Williamsburg -Ordered another shot of Jager -Refused to sit down, insisting that standing is "sooo metal" (I am not metal) -When Victor L. and his friends went to put songs on the jukebox, I came up behind them and yelled "that song sucks!" (even though it didn't) -Kept pulling up my friends shirt to reveal her 8 tentacle tattoo that covers her entire back and stomach -Threw free cheese puffs at my friends -Made out with my gentleman companion in the middle of the bar -Ordered another frat boy OK, New Year's resolutions start now. read more

This is a favorite spot in the Burg. It's exactly one "walking beer" away from my house in distance. The jukebox is excellent. As many of my fellow Yelpers noticed, the free cheese balls, twizzlers, blow pops, and other candies are an exciting addition, and the small menu of snack items includes Frito Pie (even veg option) and PB&J. They have great drink+shot combos like the Texas Two-Step (bottle of Lone Star beer and a shot of Tequila) or the Fratboy (bottle of Bud and a shot of Jager). You can even bring your pooch! On a memorable night at the Levee, the BF tried to walk in with no shirt on and they said, "not in here partner" but when he retorted with a "it's my 30th birthday" instead of kicking him out, they bought him a shot (not that he needed it, by any means). This place rules! read more

I dig this bar! Cheap, tasty drinks + low-key, dive-y atmosphere + great location. The orange creamsicle is a conccotion of vanilla vodka and orange soda. Yes. Solid beer selection as well. Walking distance from The Nitehawk so you can get your drank on after an artsy flick. Will be sure to swing by whenever I'm in the neighborhood. read more

I think this is the best bar in NYC. Mind you, I don't think it's the best place to get a drink in the city, but when I think of what I like in a great bar this place really stacks up. I used to come here on a regular basis when I worked in Willyburg, and I'm sad to say that I don't get out there so much anymore. So why is it so great? The frito pie. The Sportsman ($4 for a PBR and a shot of whiskey). The pool table. The kickass bartenders. The jukebox. The regulars. It's the place you want to go after a long day at work. It's the place you want to go when your upset, but really longing to be cajoled into a happier mood. It's the place you want to share good news. It's a place for friends. If you go to the Levee and don't have a good time, I'm thinkin' it says more about you than it does the Levee. read more

I took my good friend from Germany to the Levee as a part of our tour-of-Williamsburg-beer-crawl. We took up position near Big Buck Hunter, PBRs-in-coozies in hand, and started to people-watch. David: Nils, are those _real hipsters_? Me: Yes, David. Yes they are. read more

This bar is past its prime, I hate to say it. It's great for snacks and day-drinking, before the throngs of dubiously of age college students prance in to do the 15-minute interval bathroom shuffle. I know it's not cool to judge a bar by its clientele, but for Christ's sake some 19-year-old Pratt student poured her drink down the back of my dress! Manners, people! Just because Kid Rock works here (you guys know who I'm talking about, right?) and you're on nose drugs, doesn't mean we should all act like assholes. However, I do love me a nice cheese puff. read more

Today is a day for appreciating the smaller things in life; including the Levee. When the going at Redegast gets expensive, pop across the street to the Levee, and try not to gauge yourself on $3.00 well drinks and unlimited cheese balls. So good and so bad all at the same time. It's dark, it plays a variety of music, and there is food at least during the day time (albeit things like a ham and cheese sandwich or a bag of Ruffles and some onion dip. Or Twizzlers). This, ladies and gentlemen, hipsters and drunks, is the dive bar in its truest form. The ultimate affirmation: there is Big Buck Hunter. read more

This is probably my favorite bologna house in town. If you're going to splurge, this is the place to do it. The service is prompt but gruff, though I'd argue that's part of the rustic bologna house charm. Our bartender, Phyllis, is the best bologna sandwich artist in brooklyn, hands down! Everything you've heard is true. Obviously the bologna sandwich is the main event! read more

The Levee - The main event!! - American Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

This is the kind of bar that begs you to get shithammered and crazy without ever asking. Here's why: - Cheap beer+shot combos - A very dark and divey layout that reminded me of the bars near the industrial area I grew up in. At any moment I was waiting for a crew of union ironwokers to come in and kick all the kids out - A pool table - Board games - Very tasty and very unhealthy snacks You can also buy someone a drink without them being there. There's a chalkboard behind the bar and they have a month to come claim their drink. read more

It's because of The Levee that I know what broken cheeseballs in my ass feel like. They're sharp, like shards of fiberglass, and will damn near cut you. You kind of have to duck walk home. That said, this is best dive bar in Williamsburg. The Texas-Two Step special is legendary -- A Lone Star and a shot of surprisingly good tequila for $5 bucks. If tequila isn't your thing you can sub bourbon on the special, just ask for A Two-Step with Evan. There's a nice array of real-deal bar food -- hot dogs, sloppy joes, nachos. Even better, you can stuff your face with free poofy cheeseballs and Twizzlers. There's a rad jukebox that always seems to find the right mood, a lively pool table, Buck Hunter, darts, and some mostly complete board games. If you're inventive, cheeseballs can subsitute for lost board game pieces -- Connect 4 gets pretty messy -- and bring new life to old games -- like Jenga baseball. The bathrooms are really the only ding. They're in the front right by the bar, and when it's busy, the snaking lines of people waiting really cramp the main bar area. And it will be busy -- the weekends fill this place up. There's not much else to fault. The staff is cool, the cheeseballs are free, the drinks are cheap, and the (God bless) Texas Two-Step is one of the best deals in the city. read more

Cheese balls and a what do you call it? A FRITO PIE. I love the east coast, they know how to do all the bad shit we don't dare do in SF. FUCK YEA, ROCK ON you get my heart and my waistline sir. Lord I can't believe they serve fritos and chili in a pie. Anyway, cool people, beer, yay. read more

heaven on earth. ok maybe not everyone shares my vision of heaven or whatever but im not even religious so cool it. cheese balls, twizzlers, bomb tunes, tons of games, some light but not too much, kinda sticky. place gets packed but why wouldnt it?! it's heaven on earth duh!! read more

I put off writing this review because the importance of what I write may be akin to a eulogy for a best friend. At The Levee there is always a good size crowd, great friendly competition on the pool table, $4 shot-and-beer specials, beer coozies, gatorade cocktails, and cheeseballs on the bar. They take credit cards. The front bar is perfect for small groups, and the back room is great for large crowds. The "buy your friend a drink" chalkboard is one of the coolest things I've ever seen inside a bar. Just make sure you let your friend know about it, because that list is long and hard to read. The music is loud enough to drown out the crowd noise but not too loud that you can't hear your friends talking, a delicate balance that few bars are able to achieve. One of my favorite bars ever, anywhere. read more

I took her to the Levee...and the Levee was WET! Took a first date here, and got lucky. I owe it to the cheese puffs and the board games that only have half the pieces. If they had all of the pieces, then I would have ended up having a game night so AMEN LEVEE. Anyway good bar, good vibe, good puff. read more

Where can you get a PB&J, a delicious beer on tap, AND play Connect Four and/or Buck Hunter Safari or a "Dark Knight" pinball machine?... ...The Levee! Gotta love it. read more

What can I say? When I think perfect bar, this is one of the places that pops up. I love taking new people here, and come here often when I am in Williamsburg and want to have a wild night. Drinks? An awesome selection of beers, which are a dollar off all day, and a wonderful shot and a bear deal, which you can get for as little as 4 dollars. Seriously, last time I came here with 8 people, and they were selling PBRs for a dollar. How can you even make a profit with prices that low. Not only are the drinks cheap, but I like the atmosphere. friendly people, a cool Jukebox, darts, and Big Buck. This place is a bar bar, for the best! read more

Awesome local dive-bar. Two words: Cheeseballs, Boardgames. If your mind isn't made up already, it should be. A few other key, convincing words and phrases: Moustaches, flannel, beards, dark (so you don't need to worry about that zit) and cheap. read more

Only ever go during the day. Great for a cheep drink and a couple games of pool. Crowds at night tend to be terrible and the table gets crowded. There are better places to spend your evenings. read more

Cute dive bar tucked in a little corner of Williamsburg on N. 3rd Street. Free cheeseballs on the counter, cheap drinks, good company. Came here for the first time with coworkers for a good night. Tried a frito pie, which is fritos covered in chili. Very delicious and inexpensive comfort food. Another cute gimmick they have is that you can buy a friend a drink on credit. They will write your name on a board and how much money you have left in your "account". read more

This place has been through so many incarnations, I wasn't surprised to see a new sign outside calling it "The Levee". It's most famous life was a just a few years ago when it was called, "Kokie's." I dare you to ask me why! In any case, since then it's be two or three things that have never been able to shake the disreputable reputation of Kokie's from it's doorstep. The Levee isn't doing such a good job either. The two times I've been in there, no one was there other than disappointed people who thought it was still, of course, Kokie's. The place is affordable, mellow, a fairly normal pleasant place to get a drink. I think that's The Levee's problem... No personality. No pizazz. Yawn. read more

This place is mediocre at best, and I'm only giving it three stars because so many people honestly like coming here. Personally, I think the Levee is on par with all the young townie bars every city has. You have your cheap drinks, billiard table, crummy food, and arcade games at the back. A few booths so you can shout at your friends while sitting down and a handful of incomplete board games to play when you're really far gone. This place follows a tried and true formula and doesn't offer anything special or unique. I think the appeal is that the Levee could be anywhere, Cleveland, Ohio, Buffalo, NY, or Des Moines, Iowa, it doesn't matter! You can feel like you're back where you grew up, hanging out with all the lifers; without worrying about sitting next to your ex girlfriend or bumping into that bully from 9th grade at the urinal. read more

Gotta be 5 stars. Love this place. I think it is the first bar that I went to when I moved to NYC. It became our 'hoodie bar, and still is to an extent. It always feels like home. Great beers, although we tend to stick to the specials. Texas two-step and the classic, The Sportsman. 4$ for a black label and shot of Ev Williams. They offer some awesome board games, and have a fun back yard area with a large scale connect-4. While Fri/Sat have started to become a little hipster-crazy as of late, it's still great any night of the week. Of course they also have the candy and cheese poofs, if you need more of a selling point. Check out the Levee, never fails to disappoint. read more

Gone is the shitty, crushed sheet rock in a bag that they used to sell from inside a little room in the corner. Gone is the weird shower curtained standing area in the other corner where you could ingest said shitty crushed sheet rock. Gone are the random police raids. Gone gone gone! Wooo! But that's when it was called Kokies. And that was yeaaaaars ago. Now it's called the Levy, and might I say it's one solid little bar. Instead of abusing my nose with shitty coke I abuse my stomach with the chili frito pie they sell at the bar. Yum! This place has it all--good crowd, cheap beer, pool table and of course, big buck hunter. Go there, or don't. Yeah, don't go there. More cheeseballs for me. read more

A great local dive bar in Williamsburg. The place has great music playing, lots of ways to entertain yourself like Buck Hunter, Darts, Pool, and lots of board games like Apples to Apples. Also, can you drink any cheaper than this? Shots of jameson for $3!!!! That is just not right. Guinness for $5 and tons of great beers for that price or less. The bar definitely is going to be packed on any weekend night, but if you can get to the back, you'll be set. read more

A favorite spot! Super, duper cheap booze -- I always and only order The Sportsmen Special, $4 for a shot of Evan Williams whiskey & a can of Black Label Canadian beer -- FOUR DOLLAS, holla son. Cheeseballs, pool (which I try to play and fail miserably), and boardgames -- the favorite being Jenga. Rad place to go with a group of homies, to go with one friend to catch up with, or on a date. Big back yard with lots of benches and without strict noise limitations -- this is its selling point for me because I love enjoying my booze w my American Spirits; hard to find places like this in Manhattan. read more

Not far from my job, divey, and I must have had two bowls of cheese puffs. Is that not how you describe the ideal place to go after work on a Friday ? The drinks are cheap, there are snacks, and they have some kind of tequila/gatorade drink. Genius! I know, I want to go now too. read more

Not my kind of place to be honest. Loud music, shady people, too dark. Meh. The reason it gets 2 stars and not 1 is because of the $4 "Sportsman" special of a beer and a shot of whiskey. Outside closes at 11. When we were asked to move inside the staff member was an absolute asshole about it. Not really needed, we weren't being rude or obnoxious. I think these people take their hipster lifestyle to a whole new level here. Please get over yourselves. read more

Fun place. With cheesey poofs. Cheap drinks. You can buy a beer for a friend to collect on later. Odd but cheap drinks--the gatorita (gatorade with tequila)--that are not delicious, but are cheap. read more

Amazing specials as cheap as $5 for a shot and beer. Great food specials and they offer complimentary cheese puffs and twizzlers... Great board games and a nice patio with graffiti and a giant size connect four on the wall read more

The Levee - 4 u 2 P - American Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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I went here again this past Monday and paid $33 for drinks (for 3 people for a couple of hours no less) and a show. A fight between some of the most stereotypical douchebag hipsters broke out over a game of pool and it was pretty much the funniest fucking thing I have ever seen. A flurry of tight fitting flannel shirts and think black rimmed glasses. They might have well have been slapping each other with their Iphones. The staff handled it pretty well and one awesome bartender got the more aggressive hipster (this is not saying much) into a choke hold on the ground. The fucker kept on screaming "I CAN'T BREATH!!!" which was funny because he sure could scream like a pansy for someone with no breath. The best part about all of this was that there were two dudes sitting at a table near the fight that were playing chess. They didn't even flinch and proceeded to play the entire time. I love this place. I love pint sized Beam Creams. Fuck yeah. read more

Great When you Can get a Table for you, Your friends and wash cheese balls down with cheap drinks. read more

Been living in the burg for 5 years. Most mediocre bar in the neighborhood. Very rude bouncers. Skip this one

Haha your typical dive bar. Ok drinks and hipster vibes. The owners are pretty cool and customersof mine and would give us free drink vouchers. Only reason I ended up checking out the place at first. read more

When I met the owners at Pete's Candy store and they handed over a fistful of free drink cards, I knew this place was a winner. I have never known a person who frequents the Levee to leave with less than a .5 BAC. I have also never known anyone to not stumble, laugh until they pee in their pants, dance like a madman or shove cheeseballs (and god help me, the only hot dog I've had in years and I sooooo paid for it the next day) down their soon-to-be ravaged throats. Go. Get laid. Make it a night. Word is the gatorida's are just heavenly, but how the hell would I remember. read more

So nice....like at Home... I love this Place... I love the music.... Uups.... I make such kind of music read more

Oh my... which is better? The stiff drinks or the spicy chili-cheese dogs? The jukebox or the random Jenga competitions? I like it all. Barstaff is quick & friendly, everything is priced right and the place is super laid back. Dig it. read more