RankTheBar top bar info
Nowadays
A music-forward Ridgewood venue with outdoor space, a serious sound system, and nightlife scale without emptiness.
Why we ranked it a top bar:
At 56-06 Cooper Avenue, Nowadays is less a bar than a weather pattern: music, outdoor space, bodies in motion, and a sound system treated with moral seriousness. Ridgewood’s gift to nightlife is scale without emptiness. It can be a drink, a dance, a summer afternoon, or a night that rearranges the next morning.
Who would like it: dancers, DJs, outdoor drinkers, large friend groups, and anyone who wants Queens nightlife at full scale.
Drinks: casual bar drinks supporting a larger music-and-gathering mission.
Food: event and venue dependent; the atmosphere leads.
Crowd: dance-oriented, queer-friendly, music-serious, relaxed, and expansive.
Best night: a programmed DJ night; summer afternoons are also noble.
Price: $$ in the report.
The report ranks Nowadays as Time Out Queens No. 1 in 2024 and notes its sound system and outdoor space.