No kids allowed? This NYC restaurant is going 'adults only'

BROOKLYN - At one new restaurant in Brooklyn, leave your kids at home – Bar Louise is a spot for adults only.

Park Slope's newest hot spot, which is located in a family-oriented neighborhood, recently gained the reputation of being adults-only.

"I wouldn’t say that kids are not allowed here, but I think that the community has kinda realized that they don’t want to bring their kids here," owner Allison Arevalo said.

Arevalo is a mother herself. She also owns Pasta Louise, an Italian restaurant nearby.

"Pasta Louise is probably the most kid-friendly restaurant in all of New York City," Louise said. "If you come by on a Saturday, it is like stroller parking everywhere."

But she knew the neighborhood was in need of something different.

"There really isn’t a place for date nights for when parents do want to leave the kids behind and when teachers want to come out and don't want to worry about running into their students," Arevalo said.

It's a hit among teachers. Happy hour starts at 3:30 p.m. to accommodate their schedules.

"She sent around a survey for all the teachers to fill out asking us where we prefer to have our discounts – was it on food, was it on drinks?" said customer and teacher, Ilana Friedman-Gallagher.

Teachers get 10% off their bill and a punch-card reward system for drinks.

The bar is named after Alison’s grandmother and the idea is if Louise walked into a bar in the 1940s, what would she see on the menu? Pigs in a blanket is their bestseller.

"I wasn’t expecting the food to be as good as it is but the deviled eggs here are unbelievable," Ilana said.

You also can't pass up the spicy miso octopus, and for the non-drinkers – mocktails are on the menu too.

The bar also raises about $15,000 a year in scholarships for Brooklyn students who lost a parent to cancer. It's in honor of Alison’s sister, who died of bladder cancer and left behind two young children.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in April 2024.