Pencil Factory Bar

Always a favorite. Love the dark décor and low light and overall atmosphere. Interesting and laid back crowd. A Greenpoint staple and original. Great outdoor seating and people watching. Never change pencil factory.

I always stop in here while waiting to be seated at Pauli Gees whenever I’m in Greenpoint. The space is open, there’s lots of seating, the décor is cute (tin ceilings) the ambiance is very relaxed and generally pretty low key. I’ve only been there a couple of times when there’s an asshole who got too drunk and makes things awkward. The bartenders are friendly and accommodating. The drinks are also very good and creative. If you like gin, order the B43. It’s not a romantic spot, per se, but could work for a date. It’s a good space to meet with friends and hang out.

I’ve lived in the neighborhood and have been going here since it opened in 2002. i go here once a week, at least. It’s my Cheers!
Beer on tap list is great. Wine, not so much. Bartenders are always local and awesome!
Outdoor seating scene is the best.

went here with some peeps after visiting Paulie G’s for some pizza. Good place and nice selection of libations. if in the area again, would visit again without a doubt.

Prententious bar. ’nuff said.

Minimal hipsters and a welcoming bartender at this perfect little bar.
Great prices and vibe!

I wanted to come here for a while, but thought it was just okay. It was cash only so we only had one round, but the selection of beer wasn’t that great and the music was too loud for this type of bar. Even if we had tab, something about the venue made me not want to hang out for too long. It just didn’t feel comfortable enough I guess.

If I could give this place zero stars I would. We decided for our first stop of the evening, to head to Pencil Factory, a bar I have been to dozens of times. The bartender here denied service to my friends and I (three women) based solely on the fact that he didn’t like our appearance. We walked into the bar, which was empty, stood at the bar waiting for service, finally ordered and were asked for ID. Upon giving the bartender my license he put it under a light, looked at it for a minute, and informed me it was «fake». LOL. I am 29 years old and have never been told that my ID is fake nor have I been refused service at a bar before. He then proceeded to throw the license back across the bar at me, refusing to look at any other identification or at my other two friends IDs. He then told the other patrons in the bar «there’s no f*cking way those girls are 29». This bartender has a serious Napoleon complex and as a regular whose been coming here for two years I will never return and as a writer for a major NY newspaper I will tell all my colleagues, friends in the business and neighbors how rude and arrogant he was.

Pencil Factory is an all around solid neighborhood bar. Good beer, nice whiskey selection, decent wines, outdoor seating, and always a welcoming atmosphere. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s clean, the staff is friendly and I always enjoy myself here.

Meh, not the friendliest bartenders. This place is very dark, and we asked for a cocktail menu, but was told to look at the chalkboard. Ok, you have 3 cocktails on the chalkboard, you could probably quickly tell us what’s your specialty cocktails. Also, cash only? Seriously, never heard of credit cards? what’s wrong with this place. Not my style and not willing to come back, ever!

A great place to buy cheap pens & pencils.

Exposed brick. Old wood floors. Old wood tables. Chalk boards. Outdoor seating. Single black and white photograph on the wall. Long tables. Grilled cheese. Happy hour 2 – 7. Well drinks $ 4. Extensive collection of drinks. No TVs. Excellent.

I don’t like dive bars and well this fit the description. The wait staff kinda rolled their eyes at me and in fact, I felt the customers were looking me up and down also (and not in the good way). Remember: CASH ONLY. Clearly, I didn’t know that as I am only used to Asian places being «cash only»; however, there is an atm conveniently located near the front by the bar for those that are NOT in the know. Given the «attitude» I received that night, I am tempted to give this place 2 stars but the beers themselves seemed fine and for those that enjoy dive bars, this might be for you.

Great wood interior, although no pencil-​themed drinks as I was hoping (come on, at least have a No. 2 or THE ERASER). Moving on, this bar is what you make it. It’s a great meeting place to grab a beer or a trendy cocktail. I’d recommend against taking people here who aren’t into the hipster atmosphere and want to order off-​the-​board drinks.

A neighborhood staple for sure.
Celebrated my birthday here recently with a group of about 30 friends… the bartenders were fantastic and the patrons all were super friendly. Had a great night of good brews, cheap drinks and good people.

Went to Pencil for a pre-​dinner drink, and then some post-​dinner drinks with friends on a Sunday night. This is your classic north Brooklyn neighborhood bar, with exposed brick, wooden tables, and candles. It worked out great, and my Stoli drinks were reasonably priced ($ 7), where they are $ 8 – 9 at some other places. The bartender even threw me a buy-​back, which is awesome.

Walked into Pencil Factory after a recommendation from a boutique shop down the street. Only a few guys were in the bar, but the tiny TV in the corner had Linsanity on it (can’t wait to read that word in two years) with no volume while The Walkmen played over the stereo. I like this already.
Pencil Factory is a very relaxed place with good music and what it seemed like today, nice people. The entire bar is basically wood, so it gives it a very old look, but it works with the large windows on both sides of the bar allowing tons of light. The beer list is written in chalk in the back so their are none of those stupid handles blocking the view of the bar. Even though that sounds very minimal, it shows the effort of the designer, because both my girlfriend and I appreciated it.
I will definitely be back to Pencil Factory, hopefully when I live in Greenpoint closer to Franklin St, it will be easier, but for the time being, it will be a Saturday/​Sunday afternoon spot where I can get a quick whiskey on ice.
By the way. Cash Only! They have two vintage cash registers that didn’t even know what a debit card was. This is pretty stupid, but whatever.

If you’re here, you’re probably a hipster. If you’re a hipster, you probably don’t aggressively groom. If you don’t aggressively groom, it’s probably best to go on dates to extremely dark bars (after all, lighting is so mainstream). And thus, you are here.
This is a very low key place — there’s a bar, and some tables. No food, no frills. The beer list is solid, and they have a fairly expansive liquor cabinet given the size of the bar. My old fashioned was served in a smaller glass than it should have been, but it was decently made.
For no apparent reason, they were playing Motown/​oldies music, which I loved. The bar is cash only, so be prepared.

Sidewalk seating
Ithaca Apricot Wheat Beer for $ 5 on tap
Cheap happy hour specials
Good selection of quaffable wines for $ 7
Cash only

Draft beers (of obscure varietal) are $ 4 – 5 a pint here, and it’s so hipster it hurts.