Part of the Gay New York City Guide — bars, events & things to do.
New York City, New York
Gay cocktail bar in Williamsburg with a sunny patio and craft drinks
The Exley is a gay neighborhood bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, set in a converted garage at 1 Jackson Street near the BQE. The one-room interior has a citrus-hued mural behind the bar, big windows, board games, and a disco ball, plus an outdoor patio that's become one of the better warm-weather hangs in Brooklyn's gay bar scene. The draw here is the drinks: this is a cocktail-forward bar that would rather make you a proper drink than a standard vodka soda, with house originals (the bell pepper margarita has a following), a well-regarded Old Fashioned, its own house beer, and rotating craft drafts. Trivia runs Thursday nights, with the occasional drag show and live music, but the everyday mode is relaxed neighborhood bar rather than club. The crowd is mostly gay men, regulars and locals, and it closes earlier than the Manhattan bars — open from mid-afternoon and shutting around 10 PM — so it's a start-the-night spot, not a last-call one.
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