Listening Bar Near Me: Hi-Fi Vinyl and Vegan Plates at Public Records in Gowanus

Public Records is a focused answer to 'listening bar near me' in NYC: a music-driven social space at 233 Butler Street, built inside the former ASPCA headquarters at the tip of the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn.

The sound is the whole point. Both rooms run custom systems designed by Devon Turnbull of OJAS and Jason Ojeda, pairing hi-fi speakers usually reserved for listening rooms with subwoofers that can power a proper club.

In the record bar, rare-record collectors spin vinyl alongside a thoughtful food and drink menu, so you can settle into the music rather than shout over it.

The performance space is the louder sibling, programming live acts and vinyl-leaning DJs on an ambitious rig built to fill the room.

By day it reads as a cafe: coffee, kombucha, and a short run of vegan bites such as overnight oats with coconut cream or endives with crushed peanuts and a miso Caesar dressing.

After about 6pm the cafe shifts into bar mode, with Japanese-inspired plates like mushroom fried rice and buckwheat soba joining the drinks list.

The useful way to plan Public Records is to match the room to the hour: come in the morning or afternoon for the cafe and magazine shop, and save the evening for the record bar or a performance.

For a first visit, check the current hours and event calendar before you leave, since live programming and ticketed nights change week to week.

Timing matters in Gowanus: the hi-fi room fills up on event nights, so an earlier, off-peak arrival makes it far easier to actually sit and listen.

If you are deciding among nearby options, Public Records stands out for the specific combination of an audiophile sound system and a genuinely good all-day vegan kitchen under one roof.

The Gowanus location pairs easily with a slow canal-side walk or a stop at the neighborhood's other bars and galleries before or after your visit.

Groups should agree on the goal first — a relaxed listening session in the record bar is a different night from a DJ set in the performance space.

Practical notes: confirm current hours, whether there is a cover or ticket for the night you want, and which of the three rooms is open before you make the trip.