Baby, it’s finally cold outside.
It is beginning to look — and feel — a lot like winter. Fortunately, many Brooklyn watering holes boast large, cozy fireplaces where you can warm up without racking up a huge heating bill. Our resident fireplace expert advises on four of the best bar-based hearths in the borough, and how to get toasty while you’re there.
Union Hall
The fireplace at this Park Slope bar takes the cake. Big and toasty, it sits in a central chimney that allows groups to sit on both sides. And in a neighborhood full of comfort lovers, increased access scores big points. It is surrounded by deep and cozy leather couches and bookshelves that, while largely ornamental, lend it the feeling of a well-used study in a snowed-in hunting lodge somewhere cold and remote
Warm up with: Keep it classic with a hot toddy, or for a more inventive warm drink, try the hot hard cider. Fortified with a shot of cinnamon whiskey and spiced with cloves, it will put the color in your cheeks and brace you for the colder temperatures outside.
Union Hall [702 Union St. between Fifth and Sixth streets in Park Slope, (718) 638–4400, www.unionhallny.com].
Clover Club
You may not be able to get as close as you can at some other bar fireplaces, but the ’place at this Carroll Gardens cocktail haunt adds the perfect winterish atmosphere to your enjoyment of its top-notch drinks.
Warm up with: Whatever is on the seasonal winter cocktail menu.
Clover Club [210 Smith St. between Baltic and Butler streets in Carroll Gardens, (718) 855–7939, www.cloverclubny.com].
Black Rabbit
If you find yourself in Brooklyn’s more northerly regions on a wintry night, burrow into the cozy confines of the Black Rabbit. As the name suggests, its interior looks like a rough-hewn tavern, and when the sun sets at 5 pm and the wind whips off the East River, a perch by the wood-burning stove in this establishment is the hottest seat in the ’hood.
Warm up with: As great as the fireplace here is, the real draw of Black Rabbit is its booths. If you are lucky enough to snag one, hide deep in one of the wooden snugs with a couple of pals and you will never have to leave, because you can summon wait staff with a service light.
Black Rabbit [91 Greenpoint Ave. between Franklin Street and Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, (718) 349–1595 www.blackrabbitbarnyc.com].
Two Door Tavern
This joint loses points for its modern-looking blonde wood and its mostly open floor plan, but a fireplace is a fireplace, and this one will do you mighty well should you find yourself in a snowstorm in the heart of Williamsburg.
Warm up with: If you are trying to fill your stomach, as well as the yawning chasm in your soul that only a fireplace can thaw, we advise you try the red velvet pancakes.
Two Door Tavern [116 N. Fifth St. between Berry Street and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, (718) 599–0222, www.twodoortavern.com].
