Parties · Park Slope · Updated October 13, 2026
Fourteen bars. Three print a price. Here is what they say.
A good bar for a group birthday in Park Slope should tell you four things before you email: how many people it takes, how long you get the space, what it costs to hold it and how late it goes. We read fourteen bars’ own websites to see which ones do.
- Fourteen bars’ own sites read September 28, 2026
- Three publish numbers; eleven say “email us”
- Walks measured from 148 5th Avenue
- Prices before tax and tip
- Park Slope kitchen: every plate gluten-free
Marina Charny, Owner, The Beer Garage
Finding a good bar for a group birthday in Park Slope usually means sending six emails and waiting. So on September 28, 2026 we did the reading first: every party, events or reservations page on fourteen bars’ own websites, plus our own booking listing, held to the same test. Does the bar print the terms, or does it only print an address to write to?
The result is lopsided. Three bars publish real numbers: Union Hall, The Dram Shop and our own room, The Beer Garage in Park Slope. The other eleven range from a full price-free events page to a flat “we do not take reservations.” Everything below comes from those pages, with a blank where a bar says nothing.
For a birthday of six to fifteen with no minimum spend, The Beer Garage at 148 5th Avenue prints a two-hour reservation at exactly that. For twenty to seventy people who want a semi-private space with a published minimum, Union Hall at 702 Union Street prints $500 to $600 for three hours. For an open bar priced per head, The Dram Shop at 339 9th Street prints $45 or $55 a person for three hours, fifteen people minimum.
For a birthday that runs past midnight, look at Union Hall, Skylark or McMahon’s, because we close at 10:00 or 11:00 PM.
The menu at 148 5th Avenue is printed with the words “100% gluten-free” across the top, so a birthday table with one coeliac guest orders from the same list as everyone else. That is the Park Slope kitchen only. Beer is mostly brewed from barley, so ask at the bar before assuming a draft is safe, and our West Village kitchen on Christopher Street is a standard one.
None of the other thirteen party pages we read mentions gluten. The Dram Shop’s event packet lists vegetarian options and nothing about allergens.
Good bar for a group birthday in Park Slope: who prints their party terms
The table is sorted by walk from our door at 148 5th Avenue, measured in Google Maps walking mode. “What the site prints” is limited to numbers and rules a bar puts on its own pages; an events page with a form and no figures is recorded as inquiry only.
| Bar | Walk from us | What the site prints | How to book |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Beer Garage, 148 5th Ave | You are here | 2 hours for 6 to 15 guests, no minimum; 4-hour buyout for 20 to 60 guests from $1,000 minimum spend, on our booking listing | Request on the listing, email BeerGarageBK@gmail.com or call 718-576-3409 |
| Union Hall, 702 Union St | 5 minutes, 0.2 mile | Raised platform, semi-private, 20 to 70 people, 3-hour minimum, $500 to $600 minimum spend; basement buyout 80 to 100 people | Email parties@unionhallny.com with date, size and occasion |
| Uncle Barry’s, 58 5th Ave | 5 minutes, 0.2 mile | “Available to rent” for a party; no numbers | Form on its rentals page; (718) 622-4980 |
| Drums & Flats, 56 5th Ave | 6 minutes, 0.3 mile | A form to reserve tables or book events; no numbers | events@drumsandflatsbk.com |
| The LayUp Bar, 47 5th Ave | 6 minutes, 0.3 mile | A “book your event” form that prints “Minimum 15 guests”, while the page’s search description says “No group minimum”; no prices (read October 13, 2026) | Booking form; (347) 677-3112 |
| McMahon’s Public House, 39 5th Ave | 7 minutes, 0.3 mile | Parties “of all sizes”; an upstairs lounge with its own bar and two patios; prices “come by, call, or fill out the form” | Form with “Birthday” as an event type; (718) 230-4549 |
| High Dive, 243 5th Ave | 7 minutes, 0.3 mile | Reservations any time Sunday to Thursday, none after 5:00 PM Friday and Saturday; no party terms | Reservation form; 718-788-0401 |
| The Commissioner, 247 5th Ave | 7 minutes, 0.3 mile | “We never charge minimums for reservations”; no capacity | Contact form, “to host a special event”; (347) 689-3968 |
| Park Slope Ale House, 356 6th Ave | 16 minutes, 0.7 mile | “All private event inquiries, please email us”; no numbers | alehouseparkslope@gmail.com |
| The Dram Shop, 339 9th St | 19 minutes, 0.8 mile | An eight-page event packet: open bar $45 or $55 a head, food $20 to $54 a head, 50% deposit | Private event request form; 718-869-3598 |
| Skylark, 477 5th Ave | 20 minutes, 0.9 mile | Rules but no rates: a group at half the room or more must buy out the bar; book a week ahead; no unannounced groups over 20 | party@skylarkbarbrooklyn.com; “do not call the bar” |
| Barbès, 376 9th St | 22 minutes, 0.9 mile | Private events by email; “a VERY small space” | BarbesParkSlope@gmail.com |
| Freddy’s Bar, 627 5th Ave | 29 minutes, 1.2 miles | No party offer; its bookings page is for performers | General inquiry form; 718-768-0131 |
| The Double Windsor, 210 Prospect Park West | 39 minutes, 1.7 miles | “We do not take reservations”; seat yourself | None |
Read down the third column and the pattern is plain. Only three sites let you budget before you write. Union Hall gives a minimum spend and a group range. The Dram Shop gives per-person prices for drink and food. We give guest ranges, package lengths and a buyout minimum. McMahon’s comes closest among the rest, since it describes the upstairs lounge and names birthdays on its form, but it holds the prices back.
Two more, read September 29, 2026. After this page went up we found two bars nearby that print their terms too. LoFi Bar at 341 2nd Street, ten minutes from us, holds a section of the bar free for groups of up to 25, with no rental fee and no minimum spend; it says 10 to 25 works best, and a full buyout of the room for three hours is quoted by email. Gowanus Gardens at 256 4th Avenue, eight minutes away, books its patio, heated and covered in cooler months, at $25 a person an hour for 7 to 11 or 15 to 20 guests, $350 an hour for a picnic table of up to 14, and $1,200 to $1,600 an hour, two hours minimum, for the whole backyard of up to 50. Its deposits are not refunded if you cancel. LoFi stays open until 1:00 AM every night and Gowanus Gardens until 2:00 AM.
Two of the fourteen actively discourage the idea. The Double Windsor takes no reservations at all, and Freddy’s uses the word “bookings” for bands, not birthdays.
Our two packages, hour by hour
Our Park Slope terms sit on our listing on the booking site PartyPlace, which we manage, and requests go to us to approve. Two packages are printed there. The catch is our hours: we close at 10:00 PM Sunday to Thursday and 11:00 PM on Friday and Saturday, so a package has to start early enough to finish.
| Package | Length and size | Minimum | Latest start, Sun to Thu | Latest start, Fri and Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic reservation | 2 hours, 6 to 15 guests | None | 8:00 PM | 9:00 PM |
| Full buyout | 4 hours, 20 to 60 guests | From $1,000 minimum spend | 6:00 PM | 7:00 PM |
Our doors open at 3:00 PM Monday to Thursday, 2:00 PM on Friday and 1:00 PM at the weekend, so a Saturday afternoon buyout from 1:00 to 5:00 PM is the widest window. Between the packages there is a gap: a group of 16 to 19 is too large for the classic reservation and too small for the buyout. Email us and we will say what we can do; we would rather answer than leave it to a form.
One thing we should own. The listing’s header says the room takes 8 to 50 guests, while the buyout package says 20 to 60. Both numbers are on the page as we write this, and we have asked for the correct one. Until it is fixed, treat 50 as the safe ceiling.
The listing also describes the room in our words: long communal tables, plenty of seating, and a rotating list of local beers on tap. For the beer itself, our Park Slope sports bar comparison has the detail.
What The Dram Shop charges per head
The Dram Shop is the only Park Slope bar we found that publishes a full event price list. It is an eight-page PDF on its own site, dated 2026. The numbers below are copied from it; the packet adds 22 per cent gratuity and 8.875 per cent sales tax to every price.
| Package | Per person | Conditions printed |
|---|---|---|
| House open bar | $45 | Draft and bottled beer, wine, well liquor, cocktails, soft drinks; 15 people minimum; 3 hours; no shots |
| Top shelf open bar | $55 | House bar plus named brands; same minimum and duration |
| Drink tab or cash bar | No package price | A tab with a set limit and a list of allowed drinks, or every guest pays their own |
| Shared appetizers | $25 | Five appetizers for groups of 10 to 20; wings, quesadillas, ribs and nachos on the list |
| Buffet | $30, $39, $47 or $54 | Three, four, five or six items, from wings and mac and cheese to fajitas and sliders |
| Taco bar | $30 | Three taco styles from a list of eleven |
| Salad bar | $20 | Two dressings, four fixings, two proteins |
The rest of the packet is the small print that most bars keep for the phone call: a 50 per cent deposit on every event, the balance three days before, a one-week cancellation window after which the deposit is kept, possible extra charges on weekends, and a rule that every event guest is 21 or over with ID. Extras include reserving the pool and darts area or the garden dining area, your own playlist, and a DJ only on a full buyout.
So a fifteen-person birthday with the house open bar and shared appetizers works out at $70 a head, or about $1,050 for the group before gratuity and tax, and around $1,375 after. That is the most complete answer any bar on this page gives, and a useful yardstick for the ones that give none.
Which room for which birthday
No bar wins every case, so here are four rooms and the birthday each one is printed for. Nothing here comes from a review; each line is from the bar’s own site or, for us, our own listing.
Union Hall, 702 Union Street. Five minutes from us, and the only bar in the main table with a published minimum spend for a semi-private indoor space.
- Best for twenty to seventy people who want a home base rather than a closed room: the raised platform behind the bocce courts, three hours minimum, $500 to $600 minimum spend, with the rest of the bar open until 2:00 AM most nights and 4:00 AM on Friday and Saturday. For 80 to 100 there is a basement buyout with a projector and DJ hookup.
- Skip if anyone is under 21 after 6:00 PM, when its own site says it goes strictly 21 and over, or if you want to book bocce; the courts are first come, first served.
The Dram Shop, 339 9th Street. Nineteen minutes on foot, and the only fully priced packet in the neighborhood.
- Best for a birthday you want to budget to the dollar: $45 or $55 a head for a three-hour open bar, food from $20 to $54 a head, and a pool and darts area you can reserve.
- Skip if you are fewer than fifteen, which is the open bar minimum, or you want shots included; the packet excludes them.
McMahon’s Public House, 39 5th Avenue. Seven minutes, and the most described space among the bars that do not print prices.
- Best for a late birthday near the arena: an upstairs lounge with a full bar and two outdoor patios, a back garden for a smaller group, and doors open until 2:00 AM every night. Its form lists “Birthday” as an event type.
- Skip if you need the price before you commit; its site says to come by, call or fill out the form for menus and prices.
The Beer Garage, 148 5th Avenue. Ours, and the only room here with a no-minimum group reservation in print.
- Best for six to fifteen people who want two hours held with nothing to spend up front, or a daytime buyout for twenty to sixty, and any table where one guest eats gluten-free.
- Skip if the party runs past 10:00 PM on a weeknight or 11:00 PM at the weekend, or if you are a group of 16 to 19, which falls between our two packages.
Every bar on this page serves alcohol, so every guest needs ID showing 21 or over to drink, and The Dram Shop’s packet makes 21-plus a condition of any event. Union Hall goes strictly 21 and over after 6:00 PM. If the birthday is the twenty-first itself, bring the card with the date on it, and settle who is getting everyone home before the toast.
Closing times for the late crowd
A birthday that starts at 9:00 PM needs a bar that is still open at midnight. These are the closing times each bar prints on its own site, read September 28, 2026, ours included. We are the earliest close on the list, and we would rather say so than have a party arrive at 10:30 PM.
| Bar | Sunday to Thursday close | Friday and Saturday close | Notes from the site |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Beer Garage | 10:00 PM | 11:00 PM | Opens 3:00 PM Mon to Thu, 2:00 PM Fri, 1:00 PM Sat and Sun |
| Union Hall | 2:00 AM | 4:00 AM | Kitchen to 10:00 PM Mon and Tue, 11:00 PM Wed and Thu, midnight Fri and Sat, 11:00 PM Sun |
| Uncle Barry’s | 2:00 AM | 4:00 AM | “Open 365 days a year” |
| Drums & Flats | Midnight | 2:00 AM | Food for Uncle Barry’s next door |
| The LayUp Bar | Midnight | Midnight | Opens 4:00 PM Mon to Fri, noon Sat and Sun (read October 13, 2026) |
| McMahon’s Public House | 2:00 AM | 2:00 AM | Opens 11:00 AM daily |
| High Dive | 4:00 AM | 4:00 AM | Happy hour 3:00 to 8:00 PM Mon to Fri; no reservations after 5:00 PM Fri and Sat |
| The Commissioner | Midnight Mon to Thu; 2:00 AM Sun | 2:00 AM | Opens noon Fri to Sun |
| Park Slope Ale House | 10:00 PM Tue, Wed and Sun; 11:00 PM Thu | Midnight | Closed Monday |
| The Dram Shop | Midnight | 1:00 AM | Opens 11:00 AM daily |
| Skylark | 2:00 AM | 2:00 AM | Last call 1:30 AM; outdoor seating closes at midnight |
| Barbès | 2:00 AM Mon to Thu; 3:00 AM Sun | 3:00 AM | Opens 5:00 PM weekdays, 2:00 PM weekends |
| Freddy’s Bar | 4:00 AM | 4:00 AM | Opens noon daily |
| The Double Windsor | 2:00 AM | 2:00 AM | Kitchen to 10:00 PM Sun to Thu, 11:00 PM Fri and Sat |
For a party that will still be going at 2:00 AM on a Saturday, four bars print a later close: High Dive and Freddy’s at 4:00 AM, Uncle Barry’s and Union Hall at 4:00 AM on Friday and Saturday, and Barbès at 3:00 AM. Only Union Hall and The Double Windsor print when their kitchens stop, so ask everyone else about food before you set a late start.
Before you book: three warnings
Pacific Standard is closed. The 4th Avenue bar still appears in older birthday round-ups. It closed in February 2019, as Patch reported, and its old web address now serves an unrelated gambling site, so do not follow a link to it.
Skylark has rules you can break by accident. Its own party page says a group that fills half the room or more must buy out the bar, that it cannot take reservations less than a week ahead, and that a group of more than twenty should not show up unannounced. It also asks you not to call; email party@skylarkbarbrooklyn.com instead.
Our listing prints two capacities. As noted above, 8 to 50 in one place and 20 to 60 in another. We have asked for it to be corrected. If your group is over 50, email us before you count on the buyout.
Find your room
Two questions, sixteen answers, all taken from the tables above.
1. How many are coming?
2. What matters most?
The Beer Garage, 148 5th Avenue. Our classic reservation holds two hours for 6 to 15 guests with no minimum. Start by 8:00 PM Sunday to Thursday, 9:00 PM Friday and Saturday.
The Dram Shop, 339 9th Street, if you are fifteen. Its open bar starts at fifteen people, $45 a head for three hours. Under fifteen, the packet still prices food from $20 a head, so email dramshopbk@gmail.com.
McMahon’s Public House, 39 5th Avenue. Seven minutes from us and open until 2:00 AM every night; its site offers space at the bar or in the back garden for a few friends. High Dive at 243 5th Avenue takes reservations Sunday to Thursday and runs to 4:00 AM.
The Beer Garage, 148 5th Avenue. Every plate from the Park Slope kitchen is gluten-free, and a group of 6 to 15 can hold two hours with no minimum.
LoFi Bar, 341 2nd Street, up to 25. It holds a section free for groups of up to 25, with no rental fee and no minimum spend. The Commissioner at 247 5th Avenue also says it never charges minimums, though it prints no capacity. For 20 or more, our buyout carries a $1,000 minimum.
The Dram Shop, 339 9th Street. Shared appetizers at $25 a head are printed for groups of 10 to 20, and the open bar is $45 or $55 for three hours. Union Hall prints $500 to $600 minimum spend for 20 to 70 on its platform.
Union Hall, 702 Union Street. The raised platform takes 20 to 70 for a three-hour minimum, and the bar runs to 2:00 AM Sunday to Thursday and 4:00 AM on Friday and Saturday.
The Beer Garage, 148 5th Avenue, from twenty. The four-hour buyout takes 20 to 60 from a $1,000 minimum spend, and the whole menu is gluten-free. For 16 to 19, email us; that size sits between our two packages.
Not printed anywhere. No bar on this page publishes a no-minimum option for more than 30 people. The Commissioner says it never charges minimums for reservations but gives no size; ask it directly.
The Dram Shop, 339 9th Street. Every package is priced per person, so 40 guests on the house open bar and a three-item buffet is $75 a head before gratuity and tax. Its full buyout is the only way to bring your own DJ.
Union Hall, 702 Union Street. Its platform holds up to 70 as a home base, with the bar open until 4:00 AM on Friday and Saturday. McMahon’s upstairs lounge is the other described space, open until 2:00 AM, size not printed.
The Beer Garage, 148 5th Avenue, up to 60. A four-hour buyout from $1,000 minimum spend, entirely gluten-free, starting by 6:00 PM Sunday to Thursday or 7:00 PM Friday and Saturday. Note our listing also prints a 50-guest figure; email us above 50.
Not on this page. The only printed option above 70 is Union Hall’s basement buyout for 80 to 100, and a buyout is by nature a spend commitment. Email parties@unionhallny.com for the terms.
Union Hall, 702 Union Street. The basement venue bar takes 80 to 100 as a private buyout with AV, a projector and a DJ hookup. The price is not printed; its site asks for date, size and occasion by email.
Union Hall, 702 Union Street. The basement buyout for 80 to 100 sits inside a bar that runs to 4:00 AM on Friday and Saturday.
Over our ceiling, sorry. Our buyout tops out at 60, and no other bar here mentions gluten on its party page. Split the group across two nights, or ask us about catering; our homepage says we do it.
Use the tables above: The Beer Garage for a no-minimum group of 6 to 15 and a gluten-free kitchen, Union Hall for 20 to 100 with a published minimum, The Dram Shop for per-person prices, and McMahon’s, Union Hall or Skylark for a party that runs past midnight.
How we checked
On September 28, 2026 we read the party, events, reservations, FAQ and hours pages on each bar’s own website and copied the terms as printed. Where a bar publishes a PDF, we read the PDF. Where a site says nothing about groups, the table says so. We did not use review sites, listing sites or booking platforms for any bar but our own, and for our own room we used the listing we manage on PartyPlace and the hours on our homepage.
Walks were measured in Google Maps walking mode from 148 5th Avenue to each door. No venue paid to appear, and our own rows follow the same rules as everyone else’s, including the note about our two capacity figures.
Two hours held, no minimum, every plate gluten-free
The Beer Garage Park Slope, 148 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217, entrance on Douglass Street. Groups of 6 to 15 for two hours with no minimum; buyouts for 20 to 60 from $1,000.
Our Manhattan room is at 118 Christopher Street in the West Village, 646-490-4301; it hosts private parties too, and its kitchen is standard, not gluten-free.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good bar for a group birthday in Park Slope?
It depends on the size and the budget. For 6 to 15 people with no minimum spend, The Beer Garage at 148 5th Avenue prints a two-hour reservation. For 20 to 70 with a published minimum, Union Hall at 702 Union Street prints $500 to $600 for three hours on its raised platform. For prices per head, The Dram Shop at 339 9th Street prints $45 or $55 for a three-hour open bar.
All three figures were read from each venue’s own pages on September 28, 2026.
Which Park Slope bars publish a minimum spend for parties?
In the main table, two do. Union Hall prints $500 to $600 for its semi-private raised platform, 20 to 70 people, three hours minimum. The Beer Garage prints a $1,000 minimum for a four-hour buyout of 20 to 60 guests, and no minimum at all for a two-hour group of 6 to 15. The Commissioner says it never charges minimums for reservations but prints no capacity. Read on September 29, Gowanus Gardens prints patio minimums from $25 a person an hour, and LoFi Bar holds a section for up to 25 with no minimum at all.
How much does an open bar cost for a birthday in Park Slope?
The only printed figure is The Dram Shop’s: $45 a person for the house open bar or $55 for top shelf, for three hours, with a minimum of fifteen people and no shots included. Its packet adds 22 per cent gratuity and 8.875 per cent tax. No other bar on this page publishes an open bar price.
Can I book The Beer Garage in Park Slope for a birthday?
Yes. Our PartyPlace listing prints a classic reservation of two hours for 6 to 15 guests with no minimum, and a full buyout of four hours for 20 to 60 guests from a $1,000 minimum spend. Because we close at 10:00 PM Sunday to Thursday and 11:00 PM on Friday and Saturday, a buyout should start by 6:00 PM or 7:00 PM. Email BeerGarageBK@gmail.com or call 718-576-3409.
Which Park Slope bars stay open late for a birthday?
By their own published hours, High Dive and Freddy’s Bar close at 4:00 AM every night, Union Hall and Uncle Barry’s at 4:00 AM on Friday and Saturday, Barbès at 3:00 AM at the weekend, and McMahon’s, Skylark and The Double Windsor at 2:00 AM. The Beer Garage is the earliest close on the list, at 10:00 or 11:00 PM.
Is there a gluten-free bar for a birthday in Park Slope?
The Beer Garage at 148 5th Avenue runs a kitchen whose printed menu is headed 100 per cent gluten-free, so a birthday table orders from one list. That applies to the Park Slope location only, and beer is not gluten-free unless labeled. None of the other thirteen party pages we read mentions gluten.
The verdict
A good bar for a group birthday in Park Slope is one that tells you the terms before you ask, and on that test only three of fourteen pass. Union Hall for a big group with a known minimum, The Dram Shop for a price per head, and us for a small group with no minimum, a daytime buyout, and a kitchen where nobody has to ask what is safe.
For a party that runs past midnight, we are honest about it: go to Union Hall, McMahon’s or Skylark, and come to us for the lunch the next day.
Sources and references
- The Beer Garage, PartyPlace listing (packages and capacity) and beergarageny.com (hours, private parties line), read September 28, 2026.
- Union Hall group reservations and info page, read September 28, 2026.
- The Dram Shop private events and its Plan Your Event 2026 packet (PDF), read September 28, 2026.
- Uncle Barry’s rentals, Drums & Flats reservations and catering, The LayUp book an event and McMahon’s private events, read September 28, 2026.
- High Dive reservations, The Commissioner about page and Park Slope Ale House events, read September 28, 2026.
- Skylark parties and FAQ, Barbès contact, Freddy’s Bar inquiries and The Double Windsor house rules, read September 28, 2026.
- LoFi Bar party reservations and Gowanus Gardens reservations and private events, read September 29, 2026.
- “Pacific Standard Bar To Close After 12 Years In Park Slope”, Patch, January 31, 2019.
- Google Maps walking mode, from 148 5th Avenue to each venue, measured September 25 and 28, 2026.
Marina Charny
This guide was written for anyone organising a birthday who would rather read the terms than wait for a reply. Corrections are welcome on 718-576-3409.
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