Ceol

Even though it’s closed, this review is written in the hopes that should it ever re-​open elsewhere, the reviews can follow.
Karaōke night was always a blast. Mixed drinks were always stronger than you expected, and buybacks were generous. If you ordered a liquor by name, that’s what you got — not whatever the cheapest substitute is. The bar backs were super friendly, and attentive — hitting you up with napkins and refills before you started looking for them. A+, hope they find a new home.

No longer open. Word is their lease was to expire and the landlord wanted too much money. Bar owner decided to let the liquor license expire and close shop. Oh well! Smith Street just got a little more exclusive and lame.

Wings are solid, beers are cold and a nice selection and the wait staff are very friendly and attentive. All the other food I’ve seen looked great also

The beers and food here is typical but the spot is actually really nice. We love the backyard and the seating area where the TV is was a great place to watch a match of the World Cup.
Service is adequate but again the beer selection and food is really not that strong so I advise you beforehand. The place: awesome; selection: average, and service: solid.

I’ll be disappointed in you if you’re within reasonable distance of this place and haven’t tried it out yet. Fresh off a stint in Ireland, I have to say this is the most authentic Irish experience one could have in the Brooklyn area.
I rate all of my Unilocal reviews on the potential of each restaurant. If you can appreciate that, you will know that a ⁵⁄₅ for Ceol means that I was highly impressed with the service, food, and atmosphere.
The live music was perfectly on point. Service was both friendly and proper. An owner always gets an extra star when they personally stop by a table and inquire as to how our experience is. In this case, she also happily got my girlfriend and I whatever we needed. The atmosphere was perfect; exactly what a true Dublin pub looks like. For Saint Patricks Day, Ceol nailed it with Corned Beef, Cabbage, Mashed Potatoes, and Parsley Sauce. All tasted just how they do in Ireland.
For lack of better words, if you’re looking for a true Irish pub experience, hit up Ceol!

Cold, cheap beer and a relaxed atmosphere for almost any occasion — a late night drink, a dinner date or just a hang out. Took me a few months to figure out the name of the place, though :)

This is your typical Irish pub, but better. It has a cool back room with mismatched tables and armchairs, a small backyard area for warm summers and a big group of friends, and on Saturdays they host karaōke which I’ve proudly participated in — more than once. The bartenders are actually Irish, and the Guinness’s here just seem to taste better than when you order them at a regular bar. Great spot, and I will certainly be back!

First time at Ceol tonight, and what a night it was: fire in the hearth, football on the wide-​screen, authentic Irish fiddle trio playin’ away in the back room. There’s every reason to love a pub to which you can bring your kids at 5 on a Sunday — and when the service is this friendly, and the food this decent, there’s every reason to start planning your return visit.
Food? Basic, yet solid pub fare: the 4 year-​old had the burger (immense, couldn’t finish it) and well-​done fries, I went with the bangers and mash (the real deal). Washed it down with a Shiner Bock and Victory Stout (fine, nothing fancy), and soaked in the laid-​back vibe: pre-​teens step-​dancing, twenty-​somethings, parents, and golden-​agers enjoying food, music, and booze in a warm, relaxing environment. Hell of a way to end a weekend and start the week.

I love Ceol! The staff and environment is about as authentic as you can get when compared to an actual Irish pub (as in the type you find in Ireland). Tuesday trivia nights are about the most laid back bar trivia scene you’ll even find, and Saturday karaōke is a blast. Throw in some live music and this place is one of the best on Smith St.
The Fish and Chips, surprisingly, are pretty much mediocre. I point that out only because a lot of people might be expecting more from an Irish pub. Other than that, the menu is above-​average. The people, staff, and environment make it a great place to hang!

I went here on a lark when the baseball game I wanted to watch wasn’t being shown at other bars due to New Yorker’s love of football. I asked the bartender if he could turn the game on and he said, maybe, then poured our drinks. So then I was forced to stay and pay for my drinks, while I waited 10 minutes for him to turn on the game. There were 3 other people in the bar, it was basically empty, and he was taking his sweet time. He got testy with me when I asked him how long it was going to take (since I was missing the game while waiting). This definitely isn’t a place for watching sports– the tvs are tiny and the have the old school gigantic box tvs. I couldn’t read the score or tell who the players were and I was right under it.
I chugged my beer and got the hell out of there as soon as I could!

$ 2 PBR or Rolling Rock cans for HH! How can you beat that. The food is also quite good, my friend had a Unilocal food/​drink coupon and got a ton of food that he shared w/​us. The space is really big and they have karaōke on Saturdays (at least they used to, and don’t even think of competing with this one dude who crushed Shaggy’s classic «It Wasn’t Me), as well as TV showing most of the major soccer/​rugby games of the moment. Good place to start a night on Smith St.

I enjoyed the laid back vibe of this Irish pub. They host live independent acoustic music performances in the back. Bartender was nice.
My pint glass of Blue Moon was $ 6, average price. Perfectly decent venue, they have a food menu as well which I have yet to try — the seasoned shoestring fries looked great.

Some nights are better than others but the crowd is pretty friendly and outgoing all the time. It has a neighborhood feel but a good mix of people from all over makes for a diverse enough crowd.
The food however is not that great but not horrible either. This place isn’t trying to get you to eat here by any means but I’ve had worse.
When you sit in the back (a really cool room by the way) the service can be a little slow and not so experienced. I don’t like my plate being taken away without me being asked if I’m done? I was talking to my friends and turn around to see our waiter walking away with my plate and half eaten sandwich. When he came back after dumping my food I told him that I wasn’t finished and I was confused why he took my plate without asking me if I was done? I guess he felt bad enough to say sorry but who takes your food away like that? He should have taken the price off the receipt.
We were very friendly throughout the night to him (always be friendly to waiters even though they may be in the wrong) but his service was lacking not only from him but other tables were getting their own napkins and utensils so all the waiters were pretty bad.
If they took more pride in their food and wait service maybe they can justify the high price for food and drink.
It’s a good place for drinking with friends or if you are out by yourself and want to mingle with others. Karaōke night is a lot of fun and draws in a good friendly crowd and the bartenders really get into it. They are always friendly and professional.

Karaōke bar. Good drinks. Crowded around the karaōke area. Could improve that set up for sure to make it more of a efficient set up. Having it by the entrance is awkward.

Cheap «cheddar» cheese, Saltine crackers, a giant chopped raw onion and a tiny jar of spicy mustard. This is what Ceol imagines is a «cheese plate.»
And yes, the menu warned me with the onion bit but I assumed tender Ceol was being modest. Perchance they weren’t into frilly menu descriptions of aged regional Vermont cheddar and organic fair-​trade rye crisps infused with organic rosemary plucked from a Brooklyn roof garden.
This would have been the trailer park appetizer of my dreams if it weren’t for the giant shit pile of white onion in the center of it all. And believe me, I’m known for my low standards. (Coors Light, Red Dog, anyone?)
What are you supposed to do with a heaping plate of raw onion? Irish people actually enjoy crunching their teeth into large raw bulbs and washing them down with cheap-​ass cheese and shit mustard?
And a measly six saltines? I could buy two or three boxes for $ 6 — the price of this local irish-​themed «appetizer.»
Having this delivered to my table felt more like an April Fool’s Day prank than a restaurant’s best attempt at service.
And for the record, I was raised in a trailer park until age 9 or so… And we still knew what decent chunks of good Wisconsin cheddar and crackers were. Especially when combined with summer sausage or venison and dill pickles. Not some cheap American cheese dreck that’s half a step above Kraft singles or a block of generic you buy 2-​for-​$ 1 at some shitty chain like C Town.
At least lay out some Town House crackers for god’s sake! The wheat ones.
I ate most of this platter two days ago anyway — I was hungry — and I’m still personally affronted by the limp effort brought to us by this «pub.»
At least carmelize the damn onions for cripes sake. Ceol, you should be ashamed!
Anything, anything but this! HOW CAN YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT???

I came here for a party this weekend, and I was thrilled to see what looked like an authentic Irish pub with an adorable living room of sorts in the back. And the prices can’t be beat: 2 beers and 2 ciders for $ 22!
However…the bar was out of Bud Light, which confused me greatly. Shouldn’t Bud Light flow through the veins of every bar in the world? It seems like a staple to me. They were also out of fried pickles, which seemed like a tragedy at the time. Also, the bathroom is in the most awkward location in the world, making you wait right in the magic traffic path, where I was jostled by two waitresses, one of whom was carrying a rather sinister looking knife rather haphazardly on her tray. So I consider it a victory that she didn’t trip and stab me.
All in all, I wouldn’t consider this to be a destination bar, but if I were in the ‘hood on a weeknight, I would stop by.

If you’re going for:
Something different: Not really
Friendly bar tenders: Definitely
Vast Beer Selection: No
TV’s playing Soccer matches: Yes
Clean environment: No
Cheap happy hour beer: Yes

Place has it’s ups and downs.
Well priced. Live music at times. Could cater for a large group.
I didn’t care for the food. I was excited for the fried pickles but they tasted a little funky. The beer selection wasn’t bad but I felt my cocktails were poorly made. The place is bigger than most on Smith street but every time I’m there they never have a good sized crowd. When venturing into the backyard you may wonder, what backyard? It’s really small back there. Only good if you and a crew of people want to take it over.
In the end, it’s a good place to checkout. Especially if they have live music going on.

I haven’t eaten there, but friends and I stopped in tonight for a couple drinks and we loved it. It’s really warm in there and I can imagine it being a great bar for a snow day. I had a season beer on tap and a perfectly poured Guinness. My friend had a very dry vodka martini (read: HOLD EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT VODKA) and he was very pleased with his giant martini glass of Grey Goose for $ 11.
Really nice bartender and as another reviewer said, VERY gay-​friendly. My boys loved the music. I can be a music snob about pop, but it was fascinating to hear the Scissor Sisters in a traditional Irish pub. That was playing FOOTBALL on every TV.
Love.

On St. Patrick’s Day, 2011, I’m pretty sure that this raucous pub was the place to be, only no one was willing to admit it.
«Ugh, fine, let’s go to Ceol first,» my Carroll Gardens friends sighed, anxious to go out but hesitant about arriving too early to our final destination when it wasn’t even 9 p.m. yet.
Ceol (pronounced like the barking sea creature or the musician married to Heidi Klum) was literally two steps down the road. A huge bouncer told us we looked eighteen, and therefore we had to show our IDs. Even at our advanced age, this [false] flattery disarmed us into cackling with delight. One of my friends had forgotten her ID at home. I’m not sure what she said to convince the gatekeeper to let her in at least for a temporary amount of time, but we were finally allowed to enter what could only be described as a SAUSAGE FEST.
There were guys of all persuasions here. They didn’t seem like college dudes, but didn’t seem like they were just off the streets, either. No one appeared to be too young, but no one was old. The only common thread between all these males was that they were three sheets to the wind. All of them. What few girls were around looked like girlfriends who had been dragged into something they never bargained for. They had harried looks on their faces that contrasted dramatically with the joyous expressions of their male companions.
Now, I had somehow smuggled in a huge bottle of Chimay Blue wrapped in a black plastic bag and balanced it on a high chair in the seating/​eating area that only a few people were utilizing. Everyone else was standing or leaning up against the bar, pounding liquid.
In no time, three dudes (short but buff, tall but husky, and cute but balding) found the bottle, surrounded me, asked me what was in the bag, then started shouting, «Drink it! Drink it! Drink it! Drink it! Chuuuuuuug!» Sounds like an overblown skit from an early ‘90s middle school health class video warning against the dangers of peer pressure and binge drinking, and yet it really happened. And, just like the naïve character in said type of video, I actually picked up the bottle and started throwing it back. From that point on, my fate was CEOL’d.
I was jolted out of my frat house moment by a staff member who was about 7 feet tall and not taking any shit. He simply swiped the bottle out of my hand and disappeared to the back with it. I informed the three stooges that they now owed me a beer. They took this as a sign of flirtation, and started bantering with me, but not buying me a fucking beer. Meanwhile, I spotted my friend being touched by a guy whose eyes were rolling back in his head and who had a really upset looking girl (friend?) sitting next to her. My friend took a break to knock back a couple car bombs with me, then went back to refusing the advances of the drunk.
I felt a tap on my shoulder. Another 7′ 0″ goon. «I heard you brought alcohol here from outside. You’re OUT.» Before I could think of something witty or pitiful to say, one of the dudes (the big, tall one) took it upon himself to defend my nonexistent honor. The bouncer retreated, and Big Boy faced/​cornered me. «See? I got your back. I made sure you could stay here. I told ‘im you were all right. I did.» He paused, then added, «Yah know what? You look like the chick from lar ‘n’ ordah. Spanish chick, but looks oriennal. Know what I’m talkin’ about?»
Five strangers pulled out their iPhones in order to evaluate how much or how little I resemble Alana de la Garza, and suddenly, two other guys came out of nowhere, each trying to get my friend or me to show their buddy some love. «He just got out of a terrible relationship. He NEEDS this. He’s a REALLY good guy,» they said, dragging him towards us as he leaned away, scuffling and resisting soundlessly like a veal calf on the march to the slaughterhouse.
I asked them if they’d just buy us a goddamn beer. An ever expanding chorus of fools started singing about what they’d do for just one kiss from us. «If you kiss me — I’ll buy you the whole BAHHHHH!» one choad squealed. «Show us the drinks first!» I roared, suddenly crass as a the pimp of a whorehouse in a shanty town during the Gold Rush.
By the time a few guys showed stirrings of maybe being about to purchase a drink for us, it was too late for them. Unbeknownst to us, the friend who’d forgotten her I.D. had gone home to get it and was waiting outside — she did not deign to re-​enter. We rejoined her and went on our merry towards events that proved to be more disastrous than. Part of me wished we’d just stayed here and partied with the lads. The next place didn’t even serve car bombs.
Moral of the story: Hit up Ceol if you want to be amused by hordes of easy guys hindering each other with displays of astoundingly overt wingmanship. Just don’t expect to succeed in bartering sex appeal for drinks. This ain’t your average bar, but a regular shit show (at least on Irish holidays).

Perfekter Laden, um nach einer heißen Nacht in Manhattan nochmal kurz zu verschnaufen, bevor man sich auf den Heimweg macht.
Für mich sehr praktisch, da es genau an ‘meiner’ U-​Bahn-​Station Bergen Street liegt.
Hier habe ich mich durch das Finale der Fußball-​EM gelitten, Seite an Seite mit Menschen, die spanische und deutsche Fan-​T-​Shirts trugen. Das Publikum ist im Ceol so bunt gemischt wie das ganze Viertel eben ist.
Das Barpersonal hat auf jeden Fall auf ewig meine vollste Bewunderung, denn selbst an einem Tag wie dem der Fußball-​EM, wo kein Quadratmeter in dem doch recht großen Laden frei war, haben sie nicht die Nerven verloren und alle recht zügig mit Getränken und aufmunternden Worten versorgt.
Wenn gerade keine Extremsituationen gegeben sind, ist das Ceol ein Irish Pub mit den üblichen Getränken (inklusive meines geliebten Cider) und da es sich um eine ‘full bar’ handelt auch allen erdenklichen Cocktails.
Das Irish Breakfast, das hier den ganzen Tag über serviert wird, ist legendär. Ich habe es nie probiert, wenn es aber mal jemand wagt, hätte ich gerne einen Erfahrungsbericht! Ansonsten ist die Speisekarte eher überschaubar — Burger, Sandwiches, ich glaube auch Fish ‘n Chips. Ich muss zu meiner Schande allerdings gestehen, dass ich hier nie über die flüssige Nahrung herausgekommen bin ;-)
Das Ambiente ist in vorderen Bereich dunkel und eben wie ein Irish Pub zu sein hat mit einer langen Bar, Darts etc. und natürlich den obligatorischen Bildschirmen, auf denen Sportveranstaltungen übertragen werden.
Im hinteren Bereich stehen zusammengewürfelte Holztische und Stühle inmitten eines großen, sehr gemütlich dekorierten Raumes. Im Innenhof (der den Namen nicht so richtig verdient ob seiner Beklemmungen auslösenden Größe) finden nochmal 10 Gäste Platz unter freiem Himmel. But beware of the moskitos!