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14 Great Things To Do For Your Birthday in Brooklyn (+ Map)

Outside of the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, one of the best things to do for your birthday in Brooklyn
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, one of the best things to do for your birthday in Brooklyn – Sitara_Y / Shutterstock.com

From listening to music to playing an immersive game to having a drink with a view, there are many fun things to do for your birthday in Brooklyn.

Whether you want to spend your day with friends and family or do something by yourself on your birthday, you can do so in Brooklyn. What’s great is that there’s something for everyone’s liking, including relaxing activities, such as seeing a movie or doing a wine tasting, and unique activities, such as taking a graffiti lesson.

If you’re wondering what to do for your birthday in Brooklyn, I got you covered! This guide includes the most fun activities you can do on your special day.

Things To Do For Your Birthday in Brooklyn

Listen to Music at the Time Out Stage and Have Food at the Time Out Market

View of people at Time Out Market New York
People at Time Out Market New York – James Andrews1 / Shutterstock.com

Time Out Market New York is a food market that you can find in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood and where you can find a lot of different eateries in one space.

You can go here for your birthday with friends and order food from the different eateries, and then enjoy the food in a communal space, so you can all order the food that you like and enjoy it together.

Some types of food that you can get at this place include pastrami sandwiches, pasta dishes, pastries, and much more.

At this place, you can also find the Time Out Stage, which is located on the fifth-floor rooftop of the building.

Lots of events take place at the Time Out Stage, including events during which you can dance to live music together with your friends and enjoy a delicious drink from the Time Out Market Bar at the same time.

Address: 55 Water St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Visit the Brooklyn Brewery With Friends

Sign at Brooklyn Brewery
View of a sign at Brooklyn Brewery – Gabriel_Ramos / Shutterstock.com

The Brooklyn Brewery is a brewery that you can find in Williamsburg, at 79 North 11 Street.

This brewery produces all kinds of craft beer, such as hazy IPAs, pilsners, and lagers. There are core beers that are always available, as well as seasonal brews.

You can check out the Tasting Room of the brewery with friends on your birthday and try the beers that are on tap. You can go here every day of the week, and to see what’s currently on tap, you can look at the website of the Brooklyn Brewery.

Also, a variety of events take place at the brewery, such as trivia nights, and these events are also great to check out if you’re looking for birthday ideas in Brooklyn. It is also possible to do a tour of the brewery and learn about the beer-making process. This tour is also great if you’re looking for free things to do in New York City as there’s no admission fee.

You can also book “The Barrel Room”, which is a private space that you can book during public hours, to celebrate your day with friends.

Address: 79 N 11th St, Brooklyn, NY 11249

Bowl and Enjoy Music at the Brooklyn Bowl

People performing at Brooklyn Bowl
Performance at Brooklyn Bowl – Adam Shanker / Shutterstock.com

Brooklyn Bowl is a place in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg where you can bowl, enjoy great live music, and have delicious food on your birthday.

You can find a bowling alley at this place with modern bowling lanes.

This bowling alley is located in the same space as a live stage where concerts take place, and because of that, you can bowl while enjoying great live music, which makes for a memorable experience.

A large variety of concerts take place at the Brooklyn Bowl, including rock concerts.

When you go here to listen to live music and to bowl, you can also get delicious food from Blue Ribbon. There are many types of dishes to choose from, including smoked wings, ribs, burgers, and many other options.

You can also get many types of drinks at Brooklyn Bowl, including shakes and floats.

Going to Brooklyn Bowl is also one of the best things to do in Brooklyn.

Address: 61 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249

Take a Graffiti Lesson

If you want to do a creative activity on your birthday, you can take a graffiti lesson in Brooklyn.

During this workshop, you’ll get various tips and learn techniques from a graffiti artist, and after that, you can create your own graffiti art project.

This workshop takes place at an art studio in Bushwick.

In addition to learning how you can make graffiti artwork, you can also learn about the graffiti art culture through this workshop.

After doing this workshop, you’ll get to take the work you made with you.

You can do this activity either with friends or by yourself with a small group of other people.

See a Movie and Have Delicious Food at Nitehawk Cinema

Outside of Nitehawk Cinema
Exterior of Nitehawk Cinema – Richard Scalzo / Shutterstock.com

Nitehawk Cinema is a dine-in movie theater with two locations in Brooklyn. You can find one of the locations in Williamsburg and the other location in Prospect Park.

You can go here for your birthday to see the latest Hollywood movies and enjoy delicious food for dinner at the same time. In addition to the latest mainstream movies, you can also see shorts and other types of films at Nitehawk Cinema.

The dinner menu includes lots of different items, including hot dogs, burgers, salads, flatbread, desserts, and many other items, including many vegan options.

There’s also a brunch menu for when you go to Nitehawk Cinema on Saturday or Sunday before 3 PM.

Seeing a movie while having food at Nitehawk Cinema is also one of the most fun date ideas in New York City.

Address: 188 Prospect Park W, Brooklyn, NY 11215

Play a Fun Immersive Game at Beat The Bomb Brooklyn

Beat the Bomb Brooklyn is a fun place to visit for your birthday where you can play immersive, real-live video games.

Each game that you can play at this place takes 1 hour, and you can do it with a team of 4 to 6 people, which makes it a great activity to do with friends.

You can choose between the “Paint Bomb” and “Foam Bomb” missions. For each of these games, your team wears a hazmat suit.

During each game, you’ll have to advance through 5 high-tech video game rooms that will test a team skill, and in the last room, you have to disarm either a paint bomb or a foam bomb before you get blasted.

Playing an escape game here is also one of the most fun things to do for your birthday in New York City.

Address: 255 Water St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Get Delicious Ice Cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

Gelato in front of the Brooklyn Bridge
View of gelato in front of the Brooklyn Bridge – Blueee77 / Shutterstock.com

Getting delicious ice cream is also a great activity for your birthday in Brooklyn. One of the best places for ice cream in Brooklyn is the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, which you can find at 14 Old Fulton Street.

At this ice cream store, you can get delicious classic flavors.

One of the best flavors to get is the “Coffee” ice cream. This flavor is made with decaffeinated coffee that is blended with the cream before it is frozen.

The “Chocolate” ice cream of the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is a great flavor to try as well. This one is made with housemade chocolate that is made with turbinado sugar and naturally-processed cocoa powder.

Address: 14 Old Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Go to Brooklyn Escape Room and Play an Escape Game

An escape game is a fun and immersive game that you can play with friends. During such a game, you have to find a way to escape from the room that you are locked in by making use of the props in the room.

You have to find clues and solve all kinds of puzzles, in order to solve the final puzzle that lets you escape from the room. You have to do this within a certain time.

When you are in Brooklyn, you can go to Brooklyn Escape Room to play such a game.

You can find this place at Industry City, and you can go here to play an escape game with your friends every day of the week.

There are different themed rooms that you can choose from, including the “House of Spirits” room, which has a haunted house theme, and that you can play with 2 to 7 players. Keep in mind that when you go here on Saturday or Sunday, you’ll need to play the game with at least 4 people.

If you want to host your birthday party at this place, you can also book the spacious event space.

Playing an escape game here is also one of the most fun date ideas in Brooklyn.

Address: 68 34th St, Brooklyn, NY 11232

Enjoy Music and Drinks at The Water Tower Bar

View of The Water Tower Bar from below
The Water Tower Bar from below – John Penney / Shutterstock.com

The Water Tower Bar is a unique rooftop bar that is situated in Williamsburg at 96 Wythe Avenue. The bar is part of the Arlo Williamsburg hotel.

The rooftop bar consists of an indoor space with large windows and an outdoor area.

Lots of live music events take place at The Water Tower Bar, making this a great place to go if you want to listen to music on your birthday.

In addition to that, you can enjoy all sorts of drinks at the bar, including cocktails, and you can get great food at the bar as well.

While having food and drinks, and listening to music, you can enjoy a great view of the skyline of Manhattan, the neighborhood, and the East River.

The Water Tower Bar is also great if you’re looking for things to do in Williamsburg.

Address: 96 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249

Do a Wine Tasting at The Red Hook Winery

The Red Hook Winery is a winery that is located inside the Merchant Stores Building on Van Dyke Street.

The winery was founded in 2008 and makes wine with grapes from vineyards across New York state. All wine by Red Hook is produced at its location on Pier 41.

If you like wine, you can go to the Tasting Room of The Red Hook Winery to try the different wines of this place on your birthday.

During a guided “Tasting Experience”, you’ll taste 6 different wines and learn about the winery, the wine, and the wine-making process. Each experience takes 60 minutes.

You can choose between a public experience or a private experience. You can do the private experience with 1 to 4 guests.

Address: 175 Van Dyke St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Attend a Game of the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center

Barclays Center from the outside
Exterior of the Barclays Center – Dariusz Gryczka / Shutterstock.com

The Barclays Center is a modern arena that you can find in Prospect Heights, close to the Brooklyn Museum. The venue has a capacity of about 19,000 people and it opened in 2012.

You can go here for your birthday to see a game of the Brooklyn Nets, which is a team that plays in the NBA. You can also see a game of the New York Liberty team, which competes in the Women’s NBA.

Besides sports games, many other types of events take place here as well, such as concerts, and these can also be great to check out if you’re looking for things to do for your birthday in Brooklyn.

Address: 620 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217

Play Games at Barcade Brooklyn

Barcade Brooklyn is an arcade and bar that you can find in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. Barcade is located at 388 Union Avenue.

At this place, there are many types of arcade games that you can play on your birthday. For example, there are classic games, such as Donkey Kong, and there are pinball machines that you can play. In total, there are more than 50 games to play.

You can go here each day of the week until late at night, and going here is also one of the most fun things to do at night in Brooklyn.

In addition to going here to play games, you can also go here to have great food and drinks.

There are many types of unique cocktails and there is a large rotating list of craft beers that you can try. To see which beers are currently on tap, you can look at the website of Barcade Brooklyn.

The food menu of this place includes various snacks, such as chips, pretzels, and vegan jerky.

Address: 388 Union Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Get a Slice of Cake at Almondine Bakery

Food at Almondine Bakery
Praline brioche at Almondine Bakery

Almondine Bakery is a French bakery that is located in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn. It is one of the best bakeries in New York City.

You can go to the bakery for your birthday to try all kinds of delicious cakes.

For example, one of the best cakes that you can get at this place is the “Lemon Raspberry”. This is a light pistachio sponge cake that is made with light meringue, fresh fruit, raspberry jelly, and lemon crémeux.

Another great cake to get is the “Chocolate Passion”. This cake is made with coconut dacquoise, passion fruit, and mango mousse.

In addition to cake, you can get muffins, chocolate croissants, and other baked goods at Almondine Bakery.

Address: 85 Water St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Go Rock Climbing at VITAL Climbing Gym

VITAL Climbing Gym is a bouldering rock climbing gym that has several locations in NYC and other places in the US, and one location in Brooklyn. The gym is open 24 hours a day and is a popular place.

Inside, there are many walls with bouldering problems for all skill levels. There’s also an outdoor climbing area on the rooftop of the gym.

If you already know how to boulder, going here is a very fun thing to do for your birthday in Brooklyn. But if you don’t have experience. it is still great to visit VITAL Climbing Gym as you can do various classes at the gym through which you can acquire new skills.

You can also do a private group class with friends on your birthday at this place. This private group class lasts 90 minutes.

Address: 221 N 14th St, Brooklyn, NY 11249

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What To Do For Your Birthday in Brooklyn Tips

Want to have a more spectacular birthday? Then, you can also decide to choose two or more of the activities that I mentioned in this article and do them on the same day.

If you want to do this, you can use the map in this article to see if there are places that you want to go to that are near each other.

Also, for some of the birthday ideas in Brooklyn, you need to make an advanced reservation, so keep this in mind when choosing what you are going to do.

People in front of the Barclays Center
Outside of the Barclays Center – Osugi / Shutterstock.com

Brooklyn Things To Do For Your Birthday Map


As you see, there are a lot of fun things to do for your birthday in Brooklyn. Enjoy your special day!

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