Park Slope really does have a neat little collection of sports bars that are different from each other and present a nice alternative depending on what kind of thing you're going for. You want the great food and drink deal? Cattyshack. You want a cozy New England, homey place with a couple of actual couches? Lighthouse Tavern.
I'm focusing on 200 Fifth for this post, right off the Union Street R stop, and it's a monster of a place. A good place to go to for their beefed up and extensive bar menu as well as their full menu on the restaurant side (the place is divided up into two, with two bars back to back to serve both sides). They have some really good finger food while you're watching a game, I can't come here and watch a game without getting something to eat, to go along with the 40 or so taps that they have. The bar service is kind of grumpy, with some of the bartenders having a permanent scowl on their face, but don't take it personally. On the weekends it's kind of the macho dance party as they clear out the space and it's definitely louder than any of the neighboring places like Patio or my favorite, Union Hall. All the doors can open to the outside, and with the full window front, lots of good natural light can come in and hit most of the bar with the exception of the very back.
However, we are in football season, thus let's focus. They have I think 40 TVs here, and can handle a lot of different games; the bar has tons of packages and plays all sorts of sports, all of them attracting equal passion from the patrons whether it's tennis, soccer, baseball, or football. It's definitely the bar in terms of being able to cater to and hold all the games that one would possibly need to watch. There's plenty of room to see the games from, most are perched pretty high, but I would suggest if you want to be loud, stick to the bar side, you'll be more appreciated. The seats at the bar fill up quickly and take up space, but you'll usually see a row or two of people just standing, as any crowded sports bar would have. There's a good variety of fans here too, as with Lighthouse, really with the exception of a few more New York fans, people probably come here in hopes that they'll have all the other games on as well, so no problem. There is a lot of good natured jabbing here, the worst you'll get is an obnoxious fan of a more random team for this area like I don't know Kansas City or Carolina.
My biggest problem with the bar is that the TVs are of varying sizes and quality; they have everything from a huge projection screen to I think a small 13 or 19 inch, and the one above the bar door where the two bars meet really is poor quality. I think they should upgrade with a couple of them. Also with the height, your neck can get strained pretty quickly if you aren't in a good spot, but that'll happen at most places.
Again, the food can be key here if you're looking to gorge yourself, you've got the variety to do it here. You can go from buffalo chicken tenders to oysters to short ribs and mac 'n cheese and then onto shrimp and back again. And that's just the bar menu. For Sundays, they do have a brunch special as well, so if you get in early you can prep yourself while watching Boomer and the gang.
The bathrooms are kind of hilarious in that the whiteness of the tiles and the privacy of the partial wall separating the urinals is kinda nice and a tad above average.
As I stated before, the seats get taken up (it doesn't have as many as it could really fit, the bar stools are heavy and probably were pretty expensive, and there's a lot of dead space between the bar and the high tables and booths which is good for the dancin' weekends but does leave a lot of people standing. The great thing too in Brooklyn, last time I went there, people were tossing a football on the street during the halftime break. It's a nice picture when you think about it, a good Sunday afternoon spent in a great, busy section of Park Slope (200 5th really owns the block during this time).
All in all, it's a large bar that is able to accommodate fans from all around, although you might find it distracting everytime someone screams irregularly because of the variety of games on.
For more information about their sports packages and their menu, go to there official website: www.200-fifth.com.
Check out 200 Fifth on Yelp here.
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