Here’s the Winner of Best of Bushwick 2018: Patio

Andrew Tobia

Food & Drink Editor
[email protected]

At long last, the sun has been shining and the weather has been warm for several consecutive days. Summer is here and with it comes one of life’s greatest simple pleasures, eating and drinking outdoors!

Over the past few weeks, bars and restaurants across Bushwick have been opening their patios, their roof decks, their sidewalk seating, their back yards, their gardens. We’re spoiled for choice in going out al fresco, but we wanted to know which of the neighborhood spots have the best outdoor space.

You nominated a tight field of only seven contenders and the voting was, to be honest, a runaway. The voting for second runner up, on the other hand, was fierce and down to the wire.

The Runners Up

Third place is where every vote counted — a spread of only 8 votes separated four different nominees.

Ultimately edging out the competition to earn itself a spot in the top 3 was last year’s Best of Bushwick: Patio winner, Left Hand Path. Left Hand Path, located at 89 Wyckoff Ave., aims to create a neighborhood feel where patrons feel comfortable enough to foster new friendships. Their focus is beer — nearly 20 options between draft and bottles/cans — but they also serve wines, cocktails, and bar snacks by John Klein, formerly of Momofuku Ko. They garnered about 12 percent of your vote.

Taking silver with 21 percent of the vote is Forrest Point, the four-year-old restaurant at the famous Flushing Ave-Forrest St Triangle. The restaurant serves a burger/sandwich focused menu with a little Mexican flair thrown into their small bite and taco offerings. The bar focus here is on cocktails, but there are respectable beer and wine selections as well.

And the Winner Is…

With just over a third of the total vote tally going to them, this year’s Best of Bushwick: Patio winner is Fine Time!

Last December, you voted Fine Time as the neighborhood’s best happy hour. Now we can add Best Patio to the list — this marks the first time a spot has won a second Best of Bushwick category. Though not even a year old, it’s clear that Fine Time is fast becoming a neighborhood staple.

“Thanks for voting, everyone!” said Fine Time owner Casey Spindler. “We’re celebrating, as is all of Bushwick, now that patio season is finally here.

“It means a lot to be nominated and to win is just amazing. Join us in our backyard all summer long!”

Located at 84 Central Ave., Fine Time is more of a full-service bar. The beer list is a respectable mix of crafts on drafts and old standbys in cans, a handful of cocktails, wine offerings. Perhaps where the shine the brightest is their frozen drinks selection — they offer their signature frozen painkiller and seven frozen margarita flavors.

Then there is also the matter of their award-winning happy hour, where all drinks are $1 off and frozen drinks are $2 off, and the fact that every single drink purchase, on any day and at any time, comes with a free hot dog and popcorn.

Photo by Bonnie Meisels