Hall of Fame Billiards

A very cheap place to bowl, play table tennis, arcade games!
Atmosphere: Pretty nice. Many pool tables and several table tennis tables to play on! A few arcade games near the front. Pretty difficult to get bored in a place with this much variety.
Location: Several blocks from the R train station. I had to walk towards a RiteAid branch and then turn left by one block. Then turn right. Keep on walking until you see a capital one bank which i badly needed! It should be around that bank!

Another ping pong fan here. Love the ping pong cages and there’s always been one available. The cage really helps in catching the ball when you whacked it a little too rough. Ambiance is chill and casual with music in the background. It’s dark there, but not intimidating. We played for an hour and it cost us about $ 14. Whenever I am in the area and feel a need to play, I come here.

Visited HOF Billiards with my father in law. As a life long pool player from Rockville Centre, I grew up at the Cue Club on Maple Ave amidst the self proclaimed local legends of Nat Keisner, Bobby April, Billy the Greek, and Killer Snoop. HOF was always on the bucket list, but I never made the one hour trek out to this mecca of the sport. I went in this date hoping to catch a glimpse of the most accomplished female billiard player of all time, the owner of HOF Billiards and legend of the sport, one Jean Balukas. Like Jim Brown she retired from competition at an early age and at still at her peak. Ms. Balukas was indeed behind the counter, working, early afternoon this Saturday, and greeted us warmly. I was admittedly nervous because its not often you can say you met someone who is the best in the world at what they do. After some pleasant chit chat with «Ms Balukas» my father in law and I played for one hour. The tables are in excellent condition. I had to win now because I knew if I saw Jean again, I could not report a loss. Jean always hated losing. I smoked my father-​in-​law, picked up the tab, and indeed ran into Jean again on the way out the door. She made it a point to say good bye at the door. More smiles and pleasant chit chat and a great day of pool!

Friendly staff and affordable prices. I almost always come here with a friend and we play $ 8 an hour (per table)

Great place I brought a date here back in 98 I got great memories here of my childhood

A and I always come here to play ping pong! This is only one of two places we know of nearby that we can come to do so :)
They’re open at noon 7 days a week!

My go to spot to for ping-​pong. Pretty cheap and 3 out of the 4 tables are great.
Sometimes a bit too loud for my liking but that’s unavoidable.
The staff here are friendly.
Only wish they opened a bit earlier haha. (12 PM)

PING
PONG
That’s all i care about here, there’s plenty of pool tables with two floors to choose from, but it’s all about the ping pong cages for me!
I’ve spent hours upon hours here with friends over the years and it’s a fantastic hall.
You would lose track of time if you weren’t paying by the hour for everything, but it’s all worth it. Just like every other pool hall you may have to search for a good stick during peak hours because plenty of warped ones are scattered around.
Music is pumping which is important and there is no alcohol, which isn’t a big deal for me (if it is for you, go to Status Q up the avenue in the 80s). Plenty of vending machines to get your junk food tooth satisfied too… Arcade games also pass the time if you are waiting for a table or inbetween games.
At the end of the day, it’s all about the private ping pong cages and it makes HOF a perfect spot.

Aside from tge fact that jean balukas owns this hall (1^st pro woman billiards player) is the tables and cues are in great condition there is sufficent room around the tables in order to shoot with no obstacles ;). The music is great. Bathrooms clean and prices affordable. You have fun no matter your level of skill. The staff have been there for years and they are friendly and knowledgable. Its great to look at photos of jeans life from early childhood to present. Ive been playing there for 14yrs and never had a bad time. I have met alison fisher and jeanette lee and made great friends and memories. Even my 8yr old loves to visit. If you want to shoot pool and avoud the drama than this is the place to do it. Ping pong foose ball and vudeo games also available. So get A-​game on at hall of fame billiards!

This place has a lot of memories for me, been coming here for 6 years now and it hasn’t changed. They have arcades, ping-​pong, fooseball and of course pool! Gets a little busy and crowded on Friday nights and Saturday but if you come here any other day of the week you will be able to shoot some pool and not deal with the crowd. Can be a little noisy at times but I don’t mind so much I just wish they played better music sometimes.

While this spot lacks the glamour of Spin (also minus the attitude) and the panache of Fat Cat– it is a real deal billiards/​ping pong spot in Bay Ridge.
Ping Pong tables are in cages though the one by the window is private and cool.
You can play ping-​pong cheap here– two people for $ 10 for an hour on Sat/​Sund and $ 8 for an our for two during the week– can’t beat that. Lots of famous pool players have come here to play and you can see their pics in the front. I see Kiki also calls this place Ovington which is what my bf calls it — who grew up close by in the nabe.

One of the two pool halls in Bay Ridge.
I live extremely close to Billiards Hall of Fame so that would be the very first reason why I come here so often.
Pros
~Its big! You will always get a table, and you won’t be suffocated by surrounding players
~There are ping pong tables if you want to switch it up
~There is an arcade when you first walk in
~Pretty cheap, prices change depending on when you are there but definitely expect to pay around $ 5-​$ 7 per person if you’re staying for an hour or two
Cons
~No bar. While its not a necessity to drink, I sometimes prefer having a beer while I shoot some pool
~Often filled with rowdy kids, which can get annoying
~This pool hall is not in as good a location as the other one (Status Q). Not many good restaurants, bars, lounges, etc on 5^th ave. You would have to either walk to 3^rd ave or further up 5^th ave if you want to hit up another place after a game.
Still a solid good place where you can shoot a good game of pool!

You can only see «Billiards» until get really close to the sign and you’ll see «Hall of Fame».
The first thing you’ll see when you walk in is the arcade section (Guitar Hero, some shooting game, some racing game). Then you’ll see a sign that says: 16 years of age or older unless accompanied by a parent!
Ping-​Pong cages are to the left, restrooms are downstairs (females get a key at the desk, the key has a pretty flower on it.)
Lotsa pool tables, nice atmosphere. There were kids than came in next to our table and they seem really excited playing pool (the hustlers of tomorrow).

I call this place Ovington because it’s on Ovington Ave. I didn’t even know this place is called Hall of Fame Billiards.
After watching my beloved Paul Newman as Fast Eddie, I felt intrigued to meet a hot shot pool player. Unlucky for me, there wasn’t a great pick of the litter. So, I just go here to improve my game and I am a very excellent pool player.
I accept any challengers.
The have a large room of pool tables upstairs and downstairs. I have never played pool downstairs, it must be where the real players go to get hustled. The tables are in great condition and the staff are tolerable.
I like the ping pong tables because you feel like you are in a cage. Once again, I have to show off my ping pong skills and again, I accept any challengers.
The price is reasonable on off peak hours.
The music is often the radio with Z100 playing… puke. This place has too many teenyboppers hanging around, but I used to be one of those teenyboppers. I thought you had to be over 16 to enter this place.
They have a bunch of pictures near the entrance of famous people and the owner playing pool. The bathrooms are pretty creepy, and if you’ve been here you would know what I mean. But then again, all pool hall bathrooms are creepy.
Pool, Ping Pong, and Pizza… the perfect date and all that’s missing is the beer.

Alcohol-​free pool hall in the Ridge, lil kids hanging out, doing it all for the nookie. The most boring pool hall I’ve been to in my life. Sorry folks, this is the bottom of the barrel type of place if you ask me.

I love coming to this place. Easy to get to: 2 blocks from subway and a block away from the bus. Reasonable prices even with the changes depending on the day (Fri-​Sun a bit more).
Even when there is a lot of people, there’s a basement area to hold more people. Ultimately, I always get room for my stroke. Spacing is good, easy to get around without disturbing anybody.
The cues require a bit of searching, many are a bit warped/​not straight. Best to either have your own or rent one from the counter. Also, some tables have scratches on the fabric, affecting the ball’s roll. But it’s not that bad, pretty tolerable.
If billiards isn’t your thing, there’s air hockey and ping pong tables. The paddles aren’t falling apart (yet) and the tables are good with decent spacing for running. Bad thing is the ventilation. Slim to none. I always break into a sweat playing ping-​pong because it can get stifling.
Overall, solid four stars because the place is great for billiards. Counter service is to the point (not sure about friendly) all the time. Music is always blaring but doesn’t affect focus. You pay exactly for the time you played and segues into the next activity or a good nights rest.

This establishment has been around for over 40 years. It has seen a lot of changes thru the years, but the prices are quite reasonable. Considering the economy. They have 50 tables, ping pong, and arcade games.
I quit shooting pool after watching Jean Balukas playing straight pool some 30 years ago. She blew me away! Thats how good she is. So I am back in the old neighborhood after some 25 years and loving it.
The staff is friendly and kind. This is a family run business that prides itself with serving the community at large. They are open from 12 noon to 2 am every day. So if you looking to knock a few balls around or just kill some time before a movie at the Alpine. This is a cool spot.

3.5 stars…
In the competitive world of billiards there isn’t a single player who couldn’t tell you about the legendary status of Jean Balukas. For those not «in-​the-​know» Jean, a Brooklyn native and daughter of pool hall owner, Albert Balukas, was a child prodigy in the sport. She competed in her first U.S. Open at the age of 10, won it at 13, and continued to win it for the next 7 years. In 1988 at the ripe old age of 29, Jean stepped away from playing professionally amongst a fog of drama usually reserved for Hollywood movies.
Luckily for Brooklynites she didn’t step away from pool altogether as she grabbed the reigns of her father’s billiards hall, Hall of Fame Billiards, and hasn’t looked back since.
Today you can find Jean dishing out pointers and cleaning up around the greatest New York pool hall you’ve never heard of. In order to keep the riff raff out and the wholesomeness in, Jean has continued her father’s wishes that Hall of Fame remain alcohol free. If you’re seeking a top notch pool hall with plenty of tables and elbow room and not just a place to sip beer with your friends, then Hall of Fame is your place, still a bar and food menu would push my rating to a solid 4 or 5. Prices change according to the day and time but expect to pay around five dollars an hour per person for the first two people and two dollars per person after that. If you’d like something to play besides pool you can always play a couple of rounds of ping pong or air hockey as Hall of Fame has that covered too.
Hall of Fame can be found at 505 Ovington Ave in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn. For those coming from Manhattan it’s a quick ride on the R train to the Bay Ridge Ave station two blocks away.