Passing the Bar: The Roebling

SOMETIMES YOU WANT to go where everybody knows your name, or at least where you can grab a hearty pint without leaving the confines of your ’hood.That was our goal on a recent Friday night after dinner at my friend Joey’s Brooklyn Heights pad, and we hoped The Roebling Inn—the brand new Atlantic Avenue bar—would do the trick.

Courtesy of Jason Furlani, of Boerum Hill’s wildly popular Brooklyn Inn, the Roebling opened in late December in the former home of the rock club Magnetic Fields. But if Magnetic Fields was devoted to all things live music, then the Roebling, according to Furlani’s motto for the laidback spot, is dedi cated to all things local: “local products, local workers, local fun.”

We hadn’t even peeled off our winter coats before a friendly bartender offered up the local product: that is, 16 beers on tap including selections from borough-based breweries like Sixpoint, Kelso and Brooklyn. From the other home-state beers like Ommegang and Keegan Ales that round out the list (scrawled on a behind-the-bar chalkboard), I settled on a pint of trusty Blue Point ($5). Not in the mood for a cold one? The Roebling keeps things regional with a brief selection of Long Island wines and local bar food like meat pies ($7) from Red Hook’s Down Under Bakery.

While the weekend crowd was (thankfully) light enough to spare me from whiffing anyone’s meat-pie breath, there was a pleasant, buzzy din of conversation from revelers at the dark wood tables all around us. Maybe it was just the dim lights and glow from the candles on each table—both of which gave the dark, no-frills room a cozy vibe—but everyone looked utterly content.

“This place is so easy,” said Joey, nursing a fresh pint of Yuengling ($4) and settling down at the last vacant table. “Why can’t all bars be like this?” I nodded in agreement.The Roebling is indeed a friendly, comfy spot, but I couldn’t help feel like a lot of bars are like this.The cheesy ’80s rock on the speakers, the Knicks game on TV, the darts area in the back and the bland, uninspired décor (including blackand-white photos of the Brooklyn Bridge, built by the bar’s namesake) all amounted to an overwhelmingly generic feel. For all its emphasis on Brooklyn charm, Roebling feels like it could be Anywhere, U.S.A.

Would I travel more than a few blocks to get to the Roebling Inn? Probably not; but when our affable waitress offered up refills, I sure didn’t refuse. I was comfortable, happy and sure that with time—and a few more rounds—this evening might turn into something memorable, just like the bar itself.

> The Roebling Inn

97 Atlantic Ave. (betw. Hicks & Henry Sts.), Brooklyn, 718-488-0048.