We're not going to lie - we thought this bar was a typo. Not the Living Room, formerly of Allen Street, now on Ludlow, not another Tea Lounge in Park Slope, the newest bar within spitting distance of the cemetery is actually called the Living Room Lounge.
A newly refurbished sweatshop still rough around the edges has a loft-like feel, especially with mismatched couches crowding the center of the room and chandeliers of varied origins dotting the ceiling. The bar has a healthy happy hour, 5 to 9pm, with well drinks, bottled beer and, when we visited, Pilsner 2-for-1. Tuesdays are karaoke, Wednesdays bands will take the stage (check back for listings) and art installations will rotate monthly - this month is Middlefinger Art.
The large space accomodates all the variations of living room - the pool table was getting broken in on a recent weeknight, there was canoodling on a sofa. With the sort of square footage New Yorkers rarely see outside of a Hollywood representations of New York or, say, abandoned swimming pools, bartenders are encouraging birthday parties and big events. The birthday present is a drink that looks like a Hawaiian tiki bowl but tastes more like a Long Island iced tea. It fills the better part of an actual fishbowl and would make someone happy no matter how many friends they brought to the bar. No word if you can bring the fishbowl onto to patio and make the Brooklyn backyard your living room bar, too.
Living Room Lounge
245 23rd Street, near Fifth Avenue
(718)499-1505
