Concrete Shoals

Concrete Shoals is one of the most unusual places to drink in the city. It sits in a small floating cottage inside the Brooklyn Bridge Park marina, behind a locked gate, and walking down the dock to it feels exclusive in the best way. It almost feels like you need to own a yacht to be here. You don’t.

Once you’re through the gate, the crowds of the park are gone. You’re on the water, in rattan chairs and green Adirondacks, with the harbor and the Manhattan skyline in front of you. It feels like stepping into a different world a few minutes from Brooklyn Bridge Park’s busiest piers.

What to know

The bar’s own site says reservation only. Book on Resy: the reservation is also how you get the code for the marina gate, so don’t turn up without one. It’s open weekday evenings from 5pm and from noon on weekends; check Resy for the day you want.

The drinks are light and summery: spritzes, prosecco, Lambrusco, a cold beer. Food is tinned fish, charcuterie and snacks, and the team behind Fini Pizza runs it, so pizza can come down to the dock. Go for sunset, and dress for the wind off the water once it drops.