New York Magazine

This nightclub takes a textbook page from a Morehouse College frat party.

A Clinton Hill regulars haven that has a “furnished basement” vibe to it.

Don't let the exterior scare you off: There's a high-end sound system and an airy interior beyond that front door.

This upscale lounge and live music joint exists in a loftier dimension than the fast-food-napkin-strewn Fulton Avenue nearby.

A solid neighborhood bar for Bed-Stuy.

This Bed-Stuy bar drew inspiration from Prohibition-era visions of homey family restaurants hiding basement dives.

Soviet-themed Sputnik unifies opposing ends of Bed-Stuy's own class war with better-than-average bar grub and one of the most underrated performance spaces in Brooklyn.

Only several feet too wide to qualify as "railroaded," this cozy, narrow little affair—which pushes the gentrifying Fort Greene boundary a little farther into Bed-Stuy—centers entirely around a long, white marble bar.

After 30 years off the books, an after-hours club gets respectable without throwing open its doors.