Call it pool paradise!
A new billiards bar quietly opened its doors in Williamsburg earlier this year, offering a dark, clubby atmosphere to both pool sharks and casual party people. The narrow venue on N. 11th Street, across from the Brooklyn Brewery, contains two large rooms, the first equipped with a 60-foot bar, and the second with 10 regulation-size billiards tables. The owner of Brooklyn Billiards said that he opened the spot in February after hearing that the neighborhood lacked any spot to get behind a cue ball.
“People had to go to Borough Park to play pool,” said Timur Munarov, who also owns the Billiards Room in Queens. [Editor’s note: there is a pool hall in Park Slope, but it is still a long way to travel].
He designed his new location to combine old-school decoration with an industrial feel that matches the neighborhood.
“I wanted it to have a Williamsburg feel to it with a touch of modern,” Munarov said.
A skilled pool player since the age of 15, Munarov hoped to make Brooklyn Billiards a meeting spot for serious billiards players. His plan has succeeded — the venue now hosts seven amateur billiards teams, which face off against other teams in the league every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. The league games are more social than they are serious, said an employee.
“[The games are] a chance to meet people and to get better at pool,” said Brooklyn Billiard’s manager, Annie Jay. “We’re trying to expand the league because people like it so much.”
The venue goes beyond billiards — it also serves late-night bar food, beer, and cocktails and it stores board games under the bar. On weekends, dee-jays and bands play live shows in the front room, and crowds often flock to the venue to watch sports on the bar’s 14 large televisions. One of the Brooklyn Billiard’s biggest draws was the finale of “Game of Thrones,” which aired in May.
“It was like a theater in here,” said the bar’s security man, Reggie. Attendees gathered around the bar and watched the show in silence, he said.
“You felt embarrassed to make a sound — you could hear people breathing, almost,” Reggie said. “It was really amazing.”
Brooklyn Billiards [90 N. 11th St. between Berry Street and Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg, (718) 599–2603, www.bkbil
