Concrete Shoals: a floating bar off Brooklyn Bridge Park that opens with a texted gate code
This seasonal bar floats on the East River at the end of a marina dock. You need a reservation and a texted code to get in, and boaters can tie up and walk to the bar.
Concrete Shoals is a seasonal bar floating on the East River, tucked into a compact marina within Brooklyn Bridge Park, and getting in takes some planning. Guests need a reservation plus a gate code that arrives by text. The bar’s address is 159 Bridge Park Drive, in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood.
How to get into Concrete Shoals at Brooklyn Bridge Park
Everything starts with booking ahead. After a reservation goes through, a text arrives with walking directions and a temporary code. Visitors enter that code on a keypad attached to a chain-link fence posted with a restricted access sign. On the other side, a long wooden dock leads past moored sailboats and yachts to a small gray boathouse, and beyond it sits a furnished patio floating on the water.
One side of the deck faces the Manhattan skyline, while the Statue of Liberty is visible from the other. Adirondack chairs are turned toward the sunset, and wooden dining tables are spread around the platform.
Cocktails, spritzes and charcuterie on the water
Drinks lean toward specialty cocktails and spritzes. For food, there are large charcuterie boards piled with cured meats, cheeses, crackers and olives.
Not every guest arrives on foot. Captains and passengers coming from anywhere in the tri-state region may steer into the marina, secure their boat at the dock and head straight up to the bar. After drinks and dinner, they can cast off and sail home for the night.
All summer, the operators use the dock as an open-air entertainment venue. They host live music sets and show sports broadcasts on an enormous outdoor screen stretched across the entire platform. Daytime brings its own activity, as local boaters and kayakers fill the surrounding water and games of kayak polo take place beside the nearby piers.
Quick answers
How do you get into Concrete Shoals?
Book a reservation in advance. You then get a text with walking directions and a temporary code for the keypad on the gate.
Where is Concrete Shoals?
The address is 159 Bridge Park Drive in Brooklyn Heights. The bar floats on the East River in a compact marina within Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Can you arrive at Concrete Shoals by boat?
Yes. Boaters can pull into the marina, secure their boat at the dock and walk up to the bar.
