Great Lakes Bar & Restaurant

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JoetheShark

Joined 4 years ago

Great tunes and skilled beauties behind the bar. Seriously, Great Lakes rocks. Fun people hang out there, amazing burgers down the block, and Great Lakes does a FREE burlesque show on the last Monday of every month from Jenny C'est Quoi, Magdalena Fox and Joe the Shark. What more could you ask for from a cool Brooklyn Bar?

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RonHorse

Joined 4 years ago

DRINKS ON THE HOUSE!!!!. left my wallet at home the other night, thats cause i was on my way to Great Lakes. went for the first time a quarter of a month ago, didnt have to pay for ONE DRINK and its been the same the last eleven times ive been. the room is really dark which is good for the types of activities i care to engage in. the jukebox had about 80 percent of the mid-to-late 1800's chamber music i like, and again, i didnt have to pay for my selections. the bartender looks nervous and weak. he never remembers my middle name LOL. good luck ordering an ice cream cone btw. most importantly though YOU LITERALLY DONT HAVE TO PAY FOR THE DRINKS YOU ORDER AND ARE GIVEN TO YOU.

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charliecompany

Joined 5 years ago

m. i've been going to this place for eight years and i don't really notice much of a change. the jukebox is still good, the bathroom is still nasty and they serve booze. i don't need a bartender to make me feel particularly welcome. they put up with enough garbage from park slope yuppies. i think you can cut em a break.

Doesn't Recommend

devon7

Joined 6 years ago

Most Unprofessional Barstaff. Avoid this place - the barstaff were Ill-mannered, not trained properly, monosyllabic, even cheat you on measures. Shame, as the jukebox is well-stacked, just the service is low-class.

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rossgill

Joined 6 years ago

I loved the joint. the bar was awesome. i happened to be there when the other person seemed to flip out at the girl working because she didn't get any free beers. it seemed sad and cheap.i found the girl bartending to be really nice and funny. i liked the place.

do people really complain about not getting something for free? i'm not from new york but to me that seems really strange and i would be humiliated if i was ever with someone who wasn't willing to pay for what they ordered.

anyway i liked the bar it was fun and the people seemed really nice. it was uncomfortable when this large woman was freaking out about not getting something for free but other than that i had a nice time. i haven't seen anyplace in this hood quite as comfy yet.

maybe its different here but i go out expecting to pay for my drinks. this woman who was shouting behind me was just a little crazy.... why would you be mean to someone because they didn't give you something for free?

Doesn't Recommend

girl_who_bars

Joined 6 years ago

Terrible service. Seriously, terrible service. Bathrooms are abysmal. No buybacks after a HUGE tab. Nasty - mean, even - young girl bartender who complained all night. We tipped excessively, but no buybacks. NEVER again. Too many other awesome places around.

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daytrader007

Joined 7 years ago

After 10+ drinks, still no buyback. Probably the worst single bartender I've come across in nyc. Granted I live in Manhattan and expect a certain minimum level of service, but spending an entire night at this place buying drinks with cash and on my card, I was waiting all night for my buyback. When I finally closed out the rest of my bill at the end of the night, and asked for one, he threw it in my face and said he wouldn't give it to me because I asked for it. I think that the appropriate time for a buyback is at some point throughout the night when you're buying round, not when you're closing out the credit card and leaving the joint.

Regardless, they obviously have no idea how to treat a customer in that place. It was my first time in the place, and will be my last.

PS- The scene is pretty dumpy. Someone wrote below me it's the best bar on 5th avenue. God, if that's true I'm even more happy about living in the city. Please tell me Park Slope doesn't stink that much. PLEASE!

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

An indie-rock haven in Park Slope.. In Short
Save for the nod toward the Midwest for design inspiration (do the name, some maps of Lake Michigan and an outboard motor qualify it as a theme bar?), what stands out about an evening here is the overwhelming number of indie-rock classics you'll hear. The jukebox takes you way back to 1994, when Archers of Loaf were the bee's knees and Arlington, Virginia, was the place where dreams were made.

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halfcircle6

Joined 8 years ago

Great Lakes, Great Place. This was the best bar on 5th Ave. The junkebox was amazing, New York Dolls to

Sebadoh. The staff was friendly and knew their music as well as thier customers. I sat at a table and had a good first date and i sat at the bar and had a good time complaining about the same first date. A rare bar that has no attitude just like it's name midwestern friendliness.

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chinesestar

Joined 9 years ago

bartenders are great. I don't know what Racket's talking about, these are probably my favorite bartenders in all of Brooklyn. Yes, they're very cute, but they're also very warm and make you feel like at home as long as you're not a jerk givin' them crap. In that case, then yes, they can get quite testy, and more power to 'em. If you treat them with respect though, you won't find better bartenders in town.