Also you can take a fast train ride to Steinway. Take the "M" or the "R" to Steinway Street (or the "E" to Queens Plaza and change for the "M" or "R") and the room is only a block and a half from the station. You might even see Earl practicing.There are pool tables there, but it's more of a club hangout than a real pool hall.
If you're looking for somewhere a bit more serious to play, you should checkout:
Society Billiards on 10 E. 21st St.
Jon Smith is the house pro here. It's underground, dark, and sometimes the music is a little distracting. Not my favorite place, but they have great tables and great players.
or
Amsterdam Billiards on 110 E. 11th St.
Tony Robles and Hunter Lombardo are the main pros here... but you get plenty of people dropping in regularly. You can't really go wrong with Amsterdam other than the fact it can be hard to get a table on certain days/times. Definitely where you should go IMO though.
There are pool tables there, but it's more of a club hangout than a real pool hall.
If you're looking for somewhere a bit more serious to play, you should checkout:
Society Billiards on 10 E. 21st St.
Jon Smith is the house pro here. It's underground, dark, and sometimes the music is a little distracting. Not my favorite place, but they have great tables and great players.
or
Amsterdam Billiards on 110 E. 11th St.
Tony Robles and Hunter Lombardo are the main pros here... but you get plenty of people dropping in regularly. You can't really go wrong with Amsterdam other than the fact it can be hard to get a table on certain days/times. Definitely where you should go IMO though.
Space has Hollywood tables, and the time last time I checked rates were $17/hr, regardless of the number of players.
It's a novel little room tucked away in K-town, but for serious play you should seek elsewhere.
Not worth the hassle. I went there a lot as teenager to drink, but the tables not meant for actual pool players. There aren't that many real pool halls. Even amsterdam and society are the same. Bar first pool second. Music is so loud at society good luck focusing.
Make it to stienway, carom or gotham. I live in manhattan and I can't stand abc or society.
What is so bad about Amsterdam and Society ? I prefer Amsterdam and Society music is loud sometimes, but I like both and Steinway.
All 3 have quality tables, balls and good regular players. The big difference I see is in the non serious pool player customers. There locations are a part of it.
I frequent Amsterdam and Gotham Billiards and prefer Gotham.
Gotham is my second home (I play out of Staten Island) has beautiful Diamond 9 fts and a lot of them, along with a Bigfoot and there's always some guys looking for action.
Amsterdam is a great place but it is a tad pricey and not a huge fan of the bucket Brunswicks they have.
Never been to Gotham, but hear good things. It's a little too far for me since I can get to Amsterdam, Society or Steinway in 20 minutes or less.
Amsterdam location in Manhattan drives up their pricing. Like most places, regular customers are treated well.
Amsterdam is fine if you go during the day. If you late forget it. The music gets quite loud, the tables could be kept in better condition. I use to go to ABC lot back when it was West and east Amsterdam. West Amsterdam being awesome. After they merged and moved to usq, it just not what it use to be. Sure there are good players at amsterdam but their priority is people who go and drink. If you play league at ABC you know all about the bs that league players deal with. Rent needs to be paid I get it but the place isn't what it use to be since the move.
Yeah the problem with Space Billiards is it's crowded, noisy, expensive... It's good that it's open very late, I used to live nearby. But it's also unfortunately a popular date spot especially on the weekend (okay fine yes I've been there on a date, I was part of the problem) But even weeknights after 9pm it gets pretty crowded.
So they will get annoyed at a single player trying to get on a table during peak hours. Which they shouldn't be that annoyed, when it gets crowded you get put on a waiting list to get a table and sit at the bar, which is why I no longer take dates there, because the money you burn through at the bar is ridiculous. They'd make more keeping real pool players hogging the table and keeping people on dates waiting at the bar. Great food in the neighborhood though, so there's that.
I occasionally play at Amsterdam in the daytime and it's nice and low-key. Gotham and Society are probably the best tables in the city but Gotham might be a bit of a hike on public transport if you're staying in Manhattan. Very low table rates though. The good news is it's fast to get to Gotham on the N from where you are.. The bad news is the N is shut down coming the other way, you have to ride it out to Coney Island and then back in. I rarely made it to Gotham when I lived in the city but now that I live in Brooklyn with a car that's one of my favorite pool halls. Another one that would be quick to get to from you is Brownstone Billiards (Also called Ocean's 8), just a few stops on the Q, but only a few of the tables are in decent shape and it can get a little dicey on weekends. Also I believe on weekends they don't let singles play after 7, they'll charge you for two players on a table.
There's some snooker and even Russian Pyramid out in Bay Ridge if you want to take a tour of some sketchy neighborhoods.
Stienway and Gotham are the two best players rooms in the city. Skyline gets an honorable mention in that category. If you want something more social, Amsterdam is fun but you're still able to play serious.
Society isnt on my radar anymore. Music is too damn loud, people dancing, prices are stupid... Just more of a date night place. And their fued with Amsterdam people is stupid. Owners punching people lol no thanks.