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Open for Business: Skylark Bar, 477 Fifth Avenue
Monday, May 7, 2012 at 1:14PM
After months of construction work, retro-themed Skylark Bar opened up last week in the space last occupied by Timboo's, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 11th Street.
One thing needs to be said right off the bat: this place looks absolutely nothing like its predecessor, which lived on this corner since 1969 (and there's been a bar here for as long as anyone can remember). The bar itself remains in place (albeit after a good sanding), and the curved wood back bar is thankfully still there, but other than that the place has been completely renovated. Love it or hate it, the bar looks completely different, and older Timboo's regulars will most definitely not feel particularly comfortable here.
With that said, owner Leah Allen, who also owns Abilene Bar on Court Street, has transformed this space into a very cool place to have a couple drinks. She opened up the room a little bit, removing the pool table and providing ample space to chill out on vintage furniture.
The bar looks a little like Grandma's house, but in a good way, if that's even possible. Mismatched 70s-era chairs, couches, tables and lighting fixtures dot the room, and the theme even continues into the little butterscotch candies on one table. Retro fixtures decorate the walls as well, a holdover from Timboo's but not without irony. There are also a couple old pinball games in the back: Star Trek and Harlem Globetrotters.
Fourteen beers are on tap, averaging 5-6 bucks; a nice selection with no major surprises. There are a few cans and bottles (Gennessee and High Life go for 3 bucks), and two wines by the glass. There are also seven sandwiches on offer: kielbasa with sauerkraut; chicken cordon bleu; "steak and potatoes": roast beef, cheddar, and mashed potatoes on white bread (talk about retro), turkey, brie, and apple; grilled veggies with goat cheese; brie and fig; and French onion soup.
Skylark will open at noon every day for those looking to get started early, and Happy Hour is from 4-7 ($4 well drinks and drafts, and a dollar off everything else).
Skylark Bar, 477 Fifth Avenue Brooklyn NY 11215. 347-227-8196.
Open For Business in Bars, Food, Scoops, Storefronts
Reader Comments (19)
Stick with Commenwealth
Why, because you work at Commonwealth? This place looks good to me and it's nice to have options. Commonwealth is a bit run down.
Huge bummer that they got rid of the pool table... I haven't been in the neighborhood for decades like the rest of the regulars of Timboo's, but I miss it sorely.
No I don't work there. It's got an odd vibe. Went for drinks with a friend and found the seating hard to have a conversation unless your sitting at the bar. I just find Commonwealth friendlier and it has a more generous pour. Check it out you'll see what I mean.
It looks super easy to have a conversation to me. There's couches, there's chairs, there's the bar, more options than at commonwealth. And really? You're gunna try to pull the 'more generous pours' thing? I don't buy it. Sounds like someone unhappy about the competition to me.
What really sucks is that there is now one less pool table in park slope...
Commonwealth has better pinball machines. The retro ones may look cool, but they're not very interesting to play. Not for anyone serious about their pinball, that is.
Looks cool, will have to check it out
It's quite cool. Good tunes, nice vibe, excellent staff. I do recall thinking the seating was awkward and will do an undercover investigation next time I go in there and ignore the pinball machines.
Why would they have taken out the pool table?????
I've been a loyal commonwealth drinker for years. After going to skylark to check it out, I decided I was going to split my time. Skylark is fun to look at, comfortable, there's great music playing, the bartenders are friendly and it just has a great general vibe. But after reading these posts from a clear commonwealth employee or militant regular, I'm changing my mind. You sound bitter, snarky, rude. Those aren't traits I want in my bartender or fellow drinker. You were trying to sway people away from skylark- it just backfired.
Ouch! "HR" is going to take ball, go home!
"TM" just stated his/her preference. I don't think there's any reason to play the 'employee card'.
As the late, great Samuel L Jackson said in Do The Right Thing...
"Peoples, my stomach's been grumbling but the HELP has arrived."
And my thought on the pool table is that it's nice to have when the joint isn't so crowded but when it inevitably fills it up with the clienteile it's catering to it just becomes a place to (and I'm gasping in horror at the thought of it) rest your empty on.
I played a few games on the old Timboo bar. It was great in the early afternoon before things got busy. I seem to recall they only had one usable stick.
I can think of A MILLION places with pool tables, btw. Off the top of my head:
Oceans 8 Billiards
Gingers
Rock Shop
Bar Reis
Loki Lounge
Dram Shop
Old Carriage Inn
Buttermilk
Halyards
200 5th
Voodoo lounge
I've been to both Commonwealth and Skylark and I have to say Commonwealth is always a little too crowded, has less indoor seating, and once when trying to close my tab the bartender refused because I was $2 under their creditcard limit. I assured her that I'd more than make up the difference when adding her tip. She still refused. So I ordered another drink, chugged it, and subtracted the cost from the tip I would have left her. Done. There's plenty more bars in the neighborhood that appreciate my business Skylark being one of them.
Commonwealth does not have generous pours. Three sat at the bar, 4 rounds of pints, nearly $85 laid down between us, and not a single buyback. I don't care if they switched barmaids in between, the new barmaid was attentive enough to collect the $12 in tips in front of us.
Skylark was a nice chill bar, great vibe and one of the few bars I've stumbled upon that has a HH during the weekend, except for Dram.
I lived on 11th St between 4th and 5th for 21 years. i never went to Timboo's but I sure loved walking by it. I also loved the worn out sign. I must say I miss that. I understand why the new owners had to put their "mark" up there but you know somehow I would have kept that sign, maybe even called it Timboo's. The son of the owner of Timboo's married the daughter of my neighbor. Royalty marries royalty. The newlyweds moved to Staten Island, the young ones always did, they wanted the greener pastures of that borough, though I thought they were crazy. Timboo's was a working man's bar, an iron worker's hangout. Big Red was a union big wig who lived across the street from me and he would hold court at Timboo's. In warm weather he would be out front and he always had lots of visitors. We would nod to each other when I passed him. In those days everyone knew everyone, they grew up in the neighborhood, they married within the neighborhood, hung out in the playgrounds went to the parish school, etc. When I moved into our house the oldtimers weren't the warmest bunch, they tended to be exclusionary and not interested in newcomers like me. However I was a through and through stoop sitter and so were my two kids. the oldtimers were stoop sitters too. We became friends over the fence, so to speak. Eventually they accepted me and let me into their lives and entertained me with wonderful stories. I will miss the sign from Timboo's and the era it represented. Good luck to the Skylark.
Thank you CBC
As far as I am concerned, America did two things no one could ever do better: pinball and nuclear weapons. I'm just really more of a pinball kind of gal, myself. So Yay that Skylark has these two classic games. I will be sure to stop by next time I am on my way to Freddy's for Live Music. Maybe tonight!