The Gutter

4/10/2008 6:21:16 PM, thursday, april 10, 2008
loved the allagash on tap. checked out this place six months ago, but from the rating doesn’t look like the place has changed. bowling and beer. what more could you want!

11/17/2007 12:31:53 PM, saturday, november 17, 2007
Visited just to get the vibe of the place. The tap selection is all session stuff. Mainly Fisherman’s Brew, Allagash White, Victory PirimaPils, and things along those lines. The bar ambiance is perfect. Makes me feel like I’m at an old family get together for a cousins’ birthday in the 1980s. The bowling... good luck!!! I went on a Sunday night at like 5:30pm and it was an hour wait!! Ha! If you’re looking for a bar with a nice ambiance and session-able brews.... Go to their other establishment Barcade. Or, go to one of the most laid back bars just blocks away, the Diamond.

11/9/2007 7:07:25 PM, friday, november 09, 2007
Visited with austinpowers by this point in the night I was so wasted I could barely see where I was standing, but he was nice enough to buy me a taco from the mexican place across the street somewhere. I remember, the delivery guy wanted to run off with our 20$ bill even though the meal was only 10$ - ANYWAYS - that has nothing to do with this place, other than the fact that they don’t serve food. Overall, this place is pretty great, I just wish it hadn’t been our last stop that night. I think I managed to bowl a 24?? How do you even do that? Rambling again, but yea see review below me its much better!

11/8/2007 3:06:20 PM, thursday, november 08, 2007 [ Updated thursday, july 31, 2008 ]
Visited with LordErasmus one drunken evening. Yes! Gutter is the epitome of a faux-divey bar and bowling alley. From the Grain Belt Beer lampshades to the 1980s-era used (and glitch-prone) bowling equipment, everything about this place exudes character. About the only thing new at Gutter, thankfully, are the bowling shoes. I suspect the owners had no shortage of cash but were deliberately aiming at a dated, weathered look. They succeeded! The beer list is impressive, though I can barely remember what was on it. A similar selection as Barcade, which is a good thing. I would rank this bar #2 on the must-visit list after Spuyten Duyvil, and just ahead of Barcade. LOADS of character. The wait for bowling on a Saturday night at 1am was about 20 mins.brbr Food: Gutter doesn’t serve food, but you can order in (just like at Barcade) from surrounding restaurants. The only food after 1am is Mexican - so plan accordingly and bring Beano.

10/20/2007 9:27:10 PM, saturday, october 20, 2007 [ Updated sunday, october 21, 2007 ]
Wow, these guys totally NAILED the dingy midwest bar and bowling alley motif - I mean NAILED! - from the neon beer signs, to the bowling trophies crowded on a shelf above the bar, to those black chairs with the crappy cushions that you find in every pool hall and chinese place in the country - however, the beer selection is fairly pedestrian, at least for NYC beer bar standards, but it is all craft beer (you know all those session beers they serve from local breweries at Barcade that you always think about getting but never do? - that’s all they have) - you can buy beer in pitchers though, which is pretty cool - and besides, you aren’t going to come here for the beer - the beer is a bonus - you came here to bowl! - of course, I didn’t actually bowl because the lanes were full and I didn’t want to wait (oh, yea, the place was pretty crouded, even though it’s in an area of Brooklyn that looks like a bombed-out post-war city - this place is the ONLY thing on the block) - if I did get a lane, however, I’d have been more than happy to bowl and suck down pitchers of Climax ESB all night.

9/18/2007 8:43:24 AM, tuesday, september 18, 2007 [ Updated tuesday, september 18, 2007 ]
Yet another new (September 2007) place! From the same folks that brought you Barcade, is another unusually-themed bar. This place has apparently the first bowling alley in Brooklyn NY in about 50 years. It also has a very cool, lodge-like bar area, that is totally separate from the bowling alley. The bar feels like it’s been around forever, in a very good way, but it is a totally new construction in a former factory building. It’s a slightly isolated area on the tip of Williamsburg, but give them a few years as they are near the waterfront and that area will be hoping. They are also about a five minute walk from the Diamond, so we are talking about good pubcrawl material here. The beer list is at present 12 taps, no bottles, and is a little more conservative than a beer geek like me would like, but the place is so wonderful that I am going to be a bit patient and see what happens later.