15 Essential Outdoor Beer Gardens in NYC

Perfect for the 9-to-5 crowd looking to unwind after another long day at the office or New Yorkers exploring the recent buzz of new restaurant openings around Midtown, Brooklyn’s beloved Other Half Brewing recently opened a beer garden in the heart of Rockefeller Center. The seasonal space covers 1,800 square feet and provides seating for up to 50. In addition to some of the top brews from over the years, Other Half has a newly launched IPA that’s exclusive to this location called Top of the Broc. Another important note: This spot doesn’t have a dedicated food menu, but you can order from neighboring establishments like Ace's Pizza, Dough Donuts, and more.

While it's not your traditional sprawling beer garden, TALEA offers a sweet outdoor space with a handful of seats tucked alongside its taproom and some streetside picnic tables that are perfect for sipping on the brewery’s slate of fruit-forward beers. This relatively new brewery focuses squarely on hazy IPAs, sours, and other “easy-to-love” brews that will please beer lovers and skeptics alike, making this outdoor area ideal to host any group.

Part street art gallery and part beer garden, this 10,000-square-foot venue screams Bushwick. The co-founders of Brooklyn Beer Garden, Gabriele Maurello and Tyagi Schwartz, wanted to bring Bushwick’s street art scene into the space, so every surface is covered with large-scale murals and graffiti-style art on canvas and frames hanging throughout. The community feel carries through to the menu, where the beer garden serves strictly Brooklyn-made beer and cider.

This beer garden has officially put down roots in every borough, making it a bona fide NYC classic. The six locations offer varying outdoor spaces, from a solar-powered rooftop in Williamsburg to a fully outdoor venue in Staten Island. But each Clinton Hall venue offers about 20 crafty draft selections like Allagash Curieux and Logsdon Seizoen saddled up alongside stein-fillers like Radeberger and Weihenstephaner. The spot is also known for having games like ping pong and giant versions of Connect Four, Jenga, and chess, making for a perfect happy hour locale.

Greenwood Park’s layout is a summer lover’s dream. This beer garden spots 60 tap lines—at least 20 at a time are devoted to local brews like Five Boroughs and Folksbier—and plentiful pitchers, all to be enjoyed on the huge outdoor patio space at umbrella-covered tables or under the sun. Non-beer drinkers will find several cocktails including frose and a frozen Irish coffee with Jameson, and wine by the glass and bottle, plus a few house-made sangria options.

At Harlem Tavern’s sports-bar-like beer garden, there’s plenty of room to enjoy your brews whether you want to catch the latest game or not. The huge front patio serves as this bar’s garden space, and under an umbrella, visitors can try local beers from makers like Montauk Brewery on draft or grab an option from the extensive bottle and can list. The large food menu includes appetizers like tacos, flatbread, and mussels, in addition to New York Strip Steak, Cajun Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi, and Bourbon-Braised Short Rib as mains.

This Lower East Side spot has an unassuming restaurant inside, but venture past the bar and table area to the backyard, and you’ll find a bustling beer garden. Modeled after Cologne’s traditional Brauhaus culture, Loreley Beer Garden offers 12 imported brews available in smaller formats and giant steins, plus a selection of bottles and cans. On the food front, the beer garden serves snacks like Beer, Bacon, and Cheese Dip; Schnitzel Fingers; and a Sausage Party option that allows guests to choose five or seven varieties of sausage that are served atop a bed of beer-marinated sauerkraut.

Now reopened for its third season, the Oculus Beer Garden is a sprawling 5,000-square-foot pop-up space in the middle of the Financial District. In the shadows of One World Trade Center and the iconic Oculus retail space and transportation hub, the beer garden carries options from local craft brewers like Coney Island Brewery’s Mermaid Pilsner and Brooklyn Brewery’s Bel Air Sour alongside domestics like Miller Lite, Blue Moon, and more. For non-beer drinkers, there’s a selection of wine from small production facilities in the Finger Lakes, and the beer garden also has a food menu that includes bratwurst from Schaller & Weber, Bavarian-style pretzels, and other snacks.

Radegast Hall exemplifies the classic German beer garden. Its selection of draft beers is a familiar round-up of the biergarten classics available in half-liter, liter, and pitcher sizes. Go for Belgian and Bohemian bottles and a selection of geographically appropriate wines round out the beverage options. The outdoor space here is under a retractable roof, and when it’s open, the airy ambiance will entice you to stay all day.

This brewery has two locations in DUMBO and Williamsburg with industrial taproom vibes and picnic tables out front, but book a table at Randolph Beer’s DUMBO rooftop and you’ll enjoy sweeping views of the city with your suds. The brewery also recently took over the space next door, expanding its indoor seating area and adding courts for guests to play featherbowl, a Belgian yard game akin to shuffleboard. No matter which location you visit, the brewery has about 30 beers on tap at any given time, including a house-made hard seltzer, available in 10- and 16-ounce pours. Visitors can also order from a full brunch menu or opt for sandwiches and bar snacks later in the day.

This industrial neighborhood favorite in Greenpoint has a mix of indoor and outdoor seating just off McCarren Park with multiple bars to keep the beer flowing. Spritzenhaus33’s fireplaces will keep things cozy on cooler days, but in the warmer months the expansive 6,000-square-foot space provides ample room for groups big and small. The beer garden has dozens of brews on tap and a food menu of sausage sandwiches served on pretzel buns and shareable snacks.

Located at the base of The Standard, High Line hotel, this German beer garden tucked beneath the High Line has an indoor-outdoor hybrid space that’s easy to waste away an afternoon in. Expect strictly German drafts in 16- and 32-ounce size options and some buckets of locally brewed cans, plus a food menu that includes multiple types of sausage, schnitzel, and a giant pretzel. This always-bustling space also has a great happy hour with 25-cent wings and buckets of beer starting at $30.

In addition to the selection of beers practically made for outdoor drinking, Threes Brewing is also well known for its gorgeous patio. String lights, greenery-covered walls, and small pebbles come together to create a space that feels like more of a secret garden than a busy beer hall. Alongside the brewery’s hoppy ales, lagers, and mixed culture options, food offerings by The Meat Hook and coffee from Ninth Street Espresso are also available, plus pours from other craft breweries like Suarez Family Brewery and Other Half rotate in to make guest appearances.

Alongside the sleek taproom and vast sidewalk seating, the tented yard on the side of Manhattan’s only craft brewery offers a nice respite for drinking beer in the heart of SoHo. Pull up to a picnic table at Torch and Crown and sample from a portfolio that includes pilsners, ales, fruited sours, and IPAs. Beyond beer, the brewery also has a cocktail menu using New York-made spirits like St. Agrestis Aperitivo and Greenhook Gin. A full restaurant menu helmed by chef Alex Pilas (formerly of Eataly) offers everything from classic bar snacks like Pork Rinds and Spiced Nuts to a large format feast of a Whole Roasted Pig, several sides, and dessert for 10 people.

With locations in the Upper East Side and Battery Park, Treadwell Park’s two Manhattan beer gardens offer plenty of draft picks to satisfy any crew. About 20 brews are on draft at any given time, and the options range from local beers like United Rye, a dark spicy stout from Interboro Spirits & Ales, to international options like Radeberger Pilsner and Hofbräu Delicator out of Germany. Pair everything with dishes like Smoked Pork Nachos, Crispy Zucchini Shoestring Fries, and heartier dishes like Jambalaya and Grilled Ribeye while also spending time at the ping pong tables and pinball machines.