Dive Bars in NY City - Gamble Guide

Freddy's. ONE OF N.Y.'s 10 BEST DIVE BARS:
"A Brooklyn classic worth the trek from Manhattan. Freddy's is like taking a day trip away from the city - the place is so darn welcoming.
...and there's much to love about this place - it's a spacious, beautiful old bar with friendly bartenders, polite patrons... if thats not enough for you, the back room boasts bands and readings...plus rotating (Art) shows by emerging artists. Also one of the best bars in N.Y. City for Sunday afternoon drinking." - Wendy Mitchell

CitySearch

Check it out, Freddy"s is a great bar, real chummy, and the backroom gets a lot of cool unknown bands. All kinds of music, all the beer you'd expect on tap, weird stuff on the walls, tvs showing bizarre sleazy movies, it's got it all. I believe the wisdom inherent in this bar can be summed up by the graffiti in the men's room: Love thy neighbor. Love thyself. Even if I an elf.

NYTimes

Freddy's...With decaying fixtures, a friendly barkeep, good beer on tap and a generous backroom with a pool table, it's an exceedingly comfortable joint.

Some of Freddy's clientele publish a literary 'zine, Lurch, out of the bar, and it decorates the walls along with open-mike nights...The staff likes to keep things low-key... Freddy's is a little bit blessed, a place on the verge.

SOMA

Freddy's Bar waits patiently with a warm Brooklyn vibe that makes the gel in your hair melt, just a little. Freddy's is mellow while still being interesting. There's also a pool table, bookshelves, videos, and heated scrabble games in progress. Its the kind of turf you can mark out like Palm Beach ballot-boxes. Yes you can catch the game, yes you can hear the jukebox, but most of all the place is comfortable.

Village Voice

BEST VIDEO ART IN A BAR:
Among the clunky mountains of half-ass video pastiche, Donald O'Finn's feverishly edited encyclopedically strange video collages are lively rivers. With or without a buzz, his jump-cut barrages of "reality TV" moments, loopy segments of odd porn and burlesque, left-field ve'rite', and all kinds of other crazy bric-a-brac footage ia a liquid experience. ...his editing is so hyper-intuitive that the culture shocks and time warps gel into a state of half vertigo and half trance. Catch his videos at Freddy's.

Village Voice

BEST BROOKLYN BAR WITH A SMALL TOWN VIBE:
Once a cop watering hole...Freddy's has evolved into a most pleasant hang-it feels like the best bar... A 40s-ish front room masks a larger back room, which boasts a pool table and live music.

TimeOut

Brooklyn is muscling in on Manhattan's music scene with some of the best rock and jazz clubs in the city...(Freddy's)

Hosting proudly.. jazz and bluegrass jams, tribute nights and open mics, Freddy's is the most versatile of the Park Slope-Prospect Heights music bars. It's also the most spacious: While the thrift store vibe upfront is welcoming enough, the shows take place in the comfy rec-room-like space in the back.

It may well be the safest bar in the city.

TimeOut

It's possible that Freddy's, a mainstay in Brooklyn's Prospect heights, is as near a perfect saloon experience as you'll ever encounter. Lining the booths are books with such titles as "Female Perversions" and "Aesthetics and the Arts", which leads to Freddy's other face, the Backroom...hosts readings and performances.