Bars Near Barclays Center for a Nets Game

Nets game night · Park Slope, Brooklyn · Updated October 2026

• 8 minute walk from Barclays Center
• 100% gluten-free kitchen (Park Slope)
• Rotating local craft taps
• Open 7 days

Most lists of bars near Barclays Center are sorted by whoever paid for placement or whoever has the most reviews. This one is sorted by the only number that matters at 6:45 PM ET on a game night: how many minutes it takes to walk from the bar to the arena door. We measured every route from 620 Atlantic Avenue on the same day, and we put our own bar, The Beer Garage in Park Slope, exactly where the stopwatch put it, which is not first.

The quick verdict

If you want the shortest possible walk to your seat, drink on the first block of 5th Avenue, where four of the bars near Barclays Center sit within two minutes of the entrance. If you want a room that is not shoulder to shoulder an hour before tip-off, or you need a gluten-free kitchen, walk eight minutes south to The Beer Garage in Park Slope and leave a little earlier.

Six bars near Barclays Center, ranked by walk time

The six bars near Barclays Center below are the ones Google surfaces for a pre-game drink search, plus ours, ordered by the walk we measured from the arena address at 620 Atlantic Avenue. Ratings and categories are from each bar’s own Google listing on the same day, not from a visit.

The two-minute bars

Four of the bars near Barclays Center sit within two minutes of the entrance, all on or just off the first block of 5th Avenue, and on a game night they are the busiest rooms in the neighborhood for exactly that reason. Below is what each one’s own Google listing says it is, with our walk measurement. We have not scored their beer or food, because we have not sat in them with a notebook.

The eight-minute bars, including ours

Two of the bars near Barclays Center sit eight minutes from the arena, in opposite directions: Fulton Hall to the north on Ashland Place, and The Beer Garage to the south in Park Slope. Eight minutes is far enough that the game-night crowd thins out, and close enough that you still walk rather than ride.

When to leave the bar: doors, tip-off and the no re-entry rule

Doors at Barclays Center open 90 minutes before the scheduled start of a Brooklyn Nets game, and the arena has a no re-entry policy for every event, so the drink you have before you go in is the only one you will have outside. Both rules are published on the Barclays Center A to Z Guide, and they apply the same whichever of the bars near Barclays Center you start from.

The last column gives you two honest numbers. Leave at the earlier one if you want to be at the door when it opens. Leave at the later one if you only care about being in your seat for the jump ball, and accept that security screening on a sold-out night eats into that 22 minute margin. When the Nets advertise a giveaway for the first fans through the doors, as NBA.com did for the home opener on October 21 (T-shirts for the first 5,000), use the earlier number.

Bar near Barclays Center before a concert

Looking for a bar near Barclays Center before a concert? Plan around the doors, not the drink. Every concert page on barclayscenter.com that we read on October 18, 2026 says doors open 60 minutes before the scheduled start, half an hour later than for a Nets game, and the arena’s A to Z Guide keeps its “No Re-Entry” policy for all events. The six bars in the table above work the same way for a show as for a game. What changes is when you leave.

The listed start is not the headliner. Each event page gives a single start time and no finish time, and several name a support act, such as Fridayy with Rod Wave and Nessa Barrett with The Neighbourhood. If you only came for the main act, the later number in the last column is the earliest you need to leave; the pages do not say when the headliner goes on.

Where we fit, and where we do not. The Beer Garage at 148 5th Avenue opens at 3:00 PM Monday to Thursday, 2:00 PM on Friday and 1:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday, so every concert in the table leaves time to eat first, and our kitchen is 100 per cent gluten-free. The drink after the show is not ours: we close at 10:00 PM Sunday to Thursday and 11:00 PM on Friday and Saturday, and none of the event pages promises a finish before that. McMahon’s Public House at 39 5th Avenue, a minute from the arena, lists 11:00 AM to 2:00 AM daily on its own site.

Halloween night. Rawayana starts at 7:00 PM on Saturday, October 31, half an hour after the Park Slope children’s Halloween parade sets off at 6:30 PM, so expect a busy neighborhood. Our Park Slope Halloween parade guide has the route.

Travel light. The A to Z Guide does not allow bags larger than 10 by 6 by 2 inches, and guests without a bag can use the Express Lanes, so leave anything bigger at home.

Getting from The Beer Garage to the arena

From 148 5th Avenue, the walk to Barclays Center is eight minutes straight north on 5th Avenue, 0.3 mile, and you do not need to cross Flatbush Avenue until you are at the arena. Coming back is the same route in reverse, and on a big night the 5th Avenue side of the plaza is the one to aim for, because the crowd collects on the Atlantic Avenue side.

One local mechanic: 5th Avenue peels off the south corner of the Atlantic and Flatbush intersection, so from the station take the 5th Avenue exit, not the Flatbush one, and you are clear of the crush inside a block.

What you can eat before the game

The kitchen at The Beer Garage in Park Slope is 100 per cent gluten-free, which makes it the only bar on this list where the wings, the burger and the fried pickles all come out of a kitchen with no gluten in it. The West Village location in Manhattan runs a standard kitchen and is not part of this list, since it is nowhere near Barclays Center.

The full menu is posted as a downloadable Park Slope menu PDF. Gluten-free at the Park Slope location means gluten-free in the sense set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling rule, 21 CFR 101.91, under 20 parts per million. This page is not medical advice; if you have celiac disease, ask the staff and use your own judgment.

Frequently asked questions

What bars are near Barclays Center in Brooklyn?

The bars near Barclays Center within two minutes on foot of the entrance are four: McMahon’s Public House at 39 5th Avenue, The LayUp Bar at 47 5th Avenue, Uncle Barry’s at 58 5th Avenue and North Pole Pub at 428 Bergen Street. Fulton Hall at 250 Ashland Place and The Beer Garage at 148 5th Avenue in Park Slope are each eight minutes away, measured on September 14, 2026.

How early do doors open for a Nets game at Barclays Center?

Doors open 90 minutes before the scheduled start time for Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty games, according to the Barclays Center A to Z Guide. For a 7:30 PM ET tip-off that means 6:00 PM ET. Door times for concerts and other events vary by event and are listed on each event page.

Can you leave Barclays Center and come back in during a game?

No. Barclays Center has a no re-entry policy for all events, per its A to Z Guide. Once you have gone through security you cannot step out for a drink and return, so any bar stop has to happen before you enter. That is the practical reason to pick a bar by walk time rather than by name.

How far is The Beer Garage from Barclays Center?

The Beer Garage in Park Slope is eight minutes on foot from the Barclays Center address at 620 Atlantic Avenue, 0.3 mile straight down 5th Avenue, and nine minutes from the Atlantic Avenue and Barclays Center subway station, both measured in Google Maps on September 14, 2026. It is the same distance as Fulton Hall, in the opposite direction.

Which subway lines go to Barclays Center?

The Atlantic Avenue and Barclays Center station sits under the arena plaza and is served by the B, D, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 4 and 5 lines, per the MTA. From that station, The Beer Garage in Park Slope is a nine minute walk south on 5th Avenue; take the 5th Avenue exit rather than the Flatbush Avenue exit to stay out of the event crowd.

When was the Nets home opener at Barclays Center this season?

The Brooklyn Nets opened the 2026-27 regular season at home against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at Barclays Center, and the Hornets won 110-103, according to NBA.com. For every Nets home game, doors open 90 minutes before tip-off.

What is a good bar near Barclays Center before a concert?

Any of the six bars in the table above, if you time it to the doors: Barclays Center opens them 60 minutes before a concert’s listed start and does not allow re-entry. McMahon’s Public House, The LayUp Bar, Uncle Barry’s and North Pole Pub are one or two minutes from the arena, and McMahon’s is open until 2:00 AM for the drink after. The Beer Garage at 148 5th Avenue is eight minutes away, with a gluten-free kitchen; leave 30 minutes before the listed start. Read October 18, 2026.

Final verdict

If the walk is everything, pick from the bars near Barclays Center on the first block of 5th Avenue by what the listing says the room is: an Irish pub, a sports bar, a taproom, or the pub around the corner on Bergen. If you would trade six minutes of walking for a seat, a quieter hour and a kitchen that is 100 per cent gluten-free at the Park Slope location, The Beer Garage is eight minutes down the same avenue, and the table above tells you exactly when to finish your drink.

Sources and references

• Brooklyn Nets 2026-27 schedule, NBA.com, read September 14, 2026 (tip-off times and dates).
• Barclays Center A to Z Guide, read September 14, 2026 (door opening 90 minutes before Nets games; no re-entry policy).
• Barclays Center events and each concert’s own event page, read October 18, 2026 (dates, listed start times, doors 60 minutes before the start), and the A to Z Guide again the same day (no re-entry for all events, bag size limit). McMahon’s Public House hours and our own hours on beergarageny.com, read October 18, 2026.
• Barclays Center Food and Beverage, read September 14, 2026 (in-arena bars and gluten-free options).
• Walking routes and times measured in Google Maps on September 14, 2026. Subway lines per the MTA.
• Competitor addresses, categories, ratings and review counts from each venue’s public Google listing, read September 14, 2026.
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 21 CFR 101.91, gluten-free labeling rule.

More from The Beer Garage: The Park Slope location · About both locations · Private events and contact · Where to watch NBA in Brooklyn · Where to watch NBA in New York · Good bar for a group birthday in Park Slope · Gluten-free food near Barclays Center · Where to watch the NYC Marathon in Park Slope · Where to watch the World Series in Brooklyn · Giants bar in Brooklyn