Highbury Pub
1002 Cortelyou Rd.
at Coney Island Avenue
Ditmas Park
Why we love it: This bar is about football and beer. Period. Plus, one of the best happy hours going: from 2 to 7, every drink in the joint is $5.
Who to bring: Early risers and people who understand what this means: “showing all Premier League and Championship League Football.” Also, pecuniary Playboy fans: the bathroom has a floor mosaic made of pennies and walls covered with a collage of old Playboy covers.
What to order: A creme brulée stout or a sour ale from the small but exotically curated list of European favorites and American craft brews. To soak up that early morning beer, there are also pies: beef, Thai chicken and buffalo chicken.
Fun fact: Owner Jim Grimason named the pub after Highbury Stadium, the former home of the Arsenal, the football team he’s supported since he was a kid. “That stadium opened in 1913, and I opened the Highbury Pub 100 years later,” Grimason says.—Faye Penn