Best place for afro/latino/hip-hop dance vibes. Always great music and affordable.

The best night out - been going for years (at least 8!) and it’s such a vibe.

Great energy, music is good, the Rum Punch is fire and the crowd is nice

Ari Moskowitz

Had my birthday there, it was incredible! They crushed it. Highly recommend

julia safrin

Had the most fabulous lowkey night here. There is great ambient lighting which makes the atmosphere an appealing place for a lowkey nighttime hang. Came with a friend for some drinks and chats. We got a two mules and two margaritas and spent between $10-$12 on each. It was a Thursday night so the bar was relatively empty and chill. Service was great both at the bar and at the taco truck out back. We split a delicious chicken quesadilla for $10. There’s a pool and a foosball table if you have some quarters on hand to spare. There’s also a photo booth which was super cute and fun.

Fahima “Depa” Ahmed

Laid back spot, much bigger than it appears! And they have a HUGE backyard area with lots of benches and space AND a food truck.

Lucky Malony

Great place! I come here every time I'm in NYC

Jeremy Carmona

Another top tier dive bar. Near the water on South 6th in Williamsburg, this bar is a little hard to find. Inside is pretty spacious with pool tables on the second floor. Also this place has a backyard so a definite summer/spring hangout.

A.C. Ruesche

You'll never walk alone!! And that's what you feel when you're here! What need you more!? Great beer and awesome bartenders!!! Thanks Cal / mucho !!! <3

Ben Familiant

one of our favorite spots in the neighborhood by far. the whole team here is the best - so kind and friendly and fun. Taco truck out back is delicious. So much space, great prices, hard to beat. Marek helped us tremendously to host an event here for about 60 people and everyone absolutely loved it.

Brendan Donohue

My favorite local bar. Friendly helpful staff cool crowd.

Ronal Arevalo

UPDATE: They have a taco truck in their outdoor space. I had the shrimp tacos and Guac & Chips, and both were delicious. CASH ONLY. Love that it's bicycle friendly. Good vibes, good music, good drinks, and a decent pool table.

+3

Daniel Krachhausen

Best bar in town! Lovely people, good beer, tasty cider, great music, St. Pauli game,... Will definitely come again

The Dark Horse Massie

Well I've never been to this bar, actually I'm about as far away from there as you can get and still be in the states. I'm on the west coast of Washington State. But my son who is a Merchant Marine and Is Anchored in Port Elizabeth had some time off the boat and just wandered into the East River Bar. He sat at a booth by himself and quietly sipped on a beer and the bar maid, Jill I believe he said? And a couple of other folks at the bar invited him up to the bar to sit with them and he had what I would describe as a New York moment. He was the young man with the big hair! I am personally from New York and I couldn't have ordered a better experience for him to have in New York then that. I'm a big fan of the east coast and New York in particular and the people there and the attitude there and just the straightforwardness of New Yorkers and I'm so happy he got to experience that and I want to thank you all for doing that for my son, he's a great kid! Thanks Brooklyn for being there! Unfortunately I'll probably never pass that way again but when Jacob does, and he will, he'll be sure to stop in and have a cold one with the folks at the East River Bar. Dusty Rhodes,

Nick D

Hidden gem, and nicest dive bar you’ve ever been to. Pool, backyard, and good selection of draft beers and drinks. You will not be disappointed.

陳日新

I like how it has an indoor and outdoor side, where the indoor is more bar-y and the outdoor is almost peaceful -- or at least, it was the Wednesday night I visited. Unfortunately, it was a bit too cold outside, so I went back in -- which honestly wasn't bad, either. They were playing some 90s r&b girl groups, just some solid music; I sat in one of the booths in the back, watching this black couple play pool, the girl singing along to every word; the bartender let me get the last drink of happy hour, a cheap beer I'd never heard of, some lager, which I hated, but felt good going down; and the bathrooms were clean, which is close to godly! Good experience, would return. Still a bit loud for my tastes, though. (To be fair, every bar is too loud to me. I want an old person bar with no music and the same regulars complaining about the time some now-dead drunk poked another guy's eye out! One day.)

Noel Ruiz

Best place to grab a couple drinks! Staff is awesome!. Just remember its cash only.

Ken Webster

Our neighborhood bar (and we don't even live in the neighborhood). Clean and well run. Great patio with DIY grilling. Pool table. Bike messenger hangout, but they're good folks. Don't let them scare you. Staff is about as friendly as they come.

Had a really great time at this place. Everyone was just having a good time, with no drama. The DJ was pretty good also.

Paid $15 on Friday night around midnight but I’d say it was worth it. The music was amazing and the crowd was really fun - people were actually dancing and having the time of their lives. Mixed drinks around $15. Great music and atmosphere, I’d definitely come again.

I really liked this place. The music was a combo of Latin/ Caribbean/ afrobeats (on a Saturday). they also had a live drummer playing along with the music. I thought that added so much to the experience. Definitely some of the best music I’ve heard at a New York bar. Drinks were reasonably priced and pretty good, $14 for a mojito. Cover was $15 pp, which is not too bad. however, the place was packed and we were there somewhat early, around 10-11pm. It is pretty small for dancing. It would be nice to limit the amount of people inside so the people in there can have a better time. I also didn’t like that there were a lot of single guys standing around watching the girls. They weren’t being creepy per se, but it was uncomfortable for me even though I was with my boyfriend. Like, just go dance with your friends! Stop leering around trying to pick up girls. Anyway, I would go back for the music and decor. Maybe on a weekday.

Jordan P

No food is sold here. It’s cash only, fun spot. Music got a little out there for my tastes for a Friday night. Dog friendly, and features a decent pool table and Photo Booth.

William Dappio

Friendly bartenders, a fantastic happy hour - Monday's are 2 for 1 taps all night from 5 til closing - and a back yard. So if you want/need to smoke you can without having to leave your drink at the bar and go outside to do so. One of my personal favorite bars in Brooklyn and the city.

Went for the Latin rhythms to dance with friends on Thursday, drinks were okay, service at bar good, it wasn’t full so it was nice but the music was not what it says in the website, and then when finally played Latin music some salsa, merengue and bachata for like half hour and then mostly the worst existing reggaeton. Latin American music is rich with cumbia, afro rhythms, Mexican cumbia, even there’s good reggaeton but the DJ was just bad on selection and thy way songs were mixed or change, really terrible! Spotify would create a better playlist!

Daniel Pino

East River Bar Layout/atmosphere *Dark; two TVs; booths; pool tables; Photo Booth; cash only; backyard area Food/drink *No food menu *Taco truck

Clari P

East river Bar Nice spot with friendly staff. It's family-friendly spot where you can enjoy shooting games, pool table and outdoor seating. You could also bring some charcoal, meat & veggies and cookout like you are in your backyard. 2 for 1 on Monday beer & shots special.

I deeply dislike writing poor reviews but this unfortunately isn’t the same place it used it be pre-covid. The staff aren’t nearly as kind as they used to be and it gets super hot inside. We also found the bouncer to be unnecessarily rude and (granted it isn’t the fault of the venue but just a change in clientele) found many of the male patrons to be super aggressive as opposed to just dancing normally with you

During my visit, I was met with extremely rude behavior from the bouncer, which left a very negative impression. Additionally, the establishment was not clean and had an unpleasant odor. I would strongly encourage management to address these issues particularly ensuring that staff treat guests with respect as this would significantly improve the overall experience.

The bouncer is incredibly disrespectful and should not only be fired, but Bembe should be sued for poor hiring and retention practices. The bouncer aggressively hit on me as I was entering the ladies room. I politely declined his advances. Later in the evening as he was passing by and saw me sitting by myself (my date was purchasing drinks at the bar), out of the blue he began uttering some pretty disrespectful and loud comments. I was so embarrassed. I dressed him down, and immediately reported him to the manager. My date and I left with assurances from the manager that the bouncer would be fired because they were fed up of receiving complaints about him. I have never stepped foot in Bembe since. He should have been fired on the spot for his insane conduct and management should have followed up with me via phone to express their regrets and to offer some gesture in the way of trying to amend matters. Failure all around. Poor hiring, poor management, insane bouncer.

C M

I was there with a large group of people on Saturday. A group of about 25 people were with us spending plenty of money. I have now heard from 4 friends that the bartender was skimming and giving incorrect change. My boyfriend bought an $8 drink, he gave the bartender a $20 bill and was given back $2. He didn't think much of it, thought he was wrong, but now 3 more friends have mentioned they did not get the correct amount of change back. We all of course tip bartenders but as a customer you are expecting to get the correct change back to leave a tip at your own discretion.