Bar Louise

Park Slope’s 7th Avenue doesn’t have very many cocktail bars—almost as if someone decided that a neighborhood with more strollers than people would require fewer bars. But Bar Louise does the work of at least two bars twice its size. From the Pasta Louise team, this spot has a narrow dining room in the back where you can share a branzino with a friend, but we prefer the bar up front, where there’s floral wallpaper and at least one PTA president spilling board secrets over a bottle of wine. Order the lambrusco spritz and marinated olives, indulge in some gossip of your own, and if you get hungry, go for the deviled eggs, or the meatballs with vodka sauce. It's two blocks from Prospect Park, in case you need a post-park cocktail.