Five Great Places to Play Pool In New Bedford

by John Hachey

I’ve been an avid pool player for almost 15 years. Although pool, along with several other types of recreational businesses have been taking a hit over the past several years, there are still quite a few places to play pool at. I’d like to share with you the five spots that I enjoy playing pool and would encourage you to share your favorite places. Please give me some feedback or let me know if I missed any of your favorite spots!

Lebeau’s Tavern
65 Tarklin Hill Road, New Bedford, MA 02745 (508) 998-0864

If you’re looking for a good spot to go for a few drinks and play a rack or two in the North end of New Bedford this is definitely a good place to start. They have two 7ft-bar tables located in the room on the left side of bar, and a bumper pool table located in front of the bar. The tables are all fairly well kept. Although the few downfalls are the lighting and the lack of decent house cues. I’m also not a fan of the over sized cue balls they have on the bar tables.

Veterans of Foreign War (VFW)
281 Appleton St New Bedford, MA 02745 (508) 995-3610

A common misconception is that the VFW facilities and bar are for military veterans only and closed to the public. They are all open to the public. With that being said, there is only one table there, but it is very well kept and plays straight and true. The table is also well lit and they have fairly good house cues. New Bedford’s VFW also seem to have the lowest drink prices around town.

Ecco Lounge
1669 Acushnet Avenue, New Bedford, MA 02746 (774) 206-6538

This is a one of those places you’ve probably driven by a hundred times and never thought to go in and check it out. The outside of the building isn’t exactly attractive to the eye which is why I think most people don’t give it a chance. I decided to go in and check it out and to my surprise it was a nice clean bar with a great pool setup. The table is very well maintained, and is very well lit with a drop down pool table light. They also have a various selection of nice house cues which seems to be hard to find in the bars around New Bedford. Their drink prices are also very reasonable.

The Garden Sports Bar
133 Union Street, New Bedford, MA 02740 (508) 999-4714

The Garden Sports Bar has always had several 7ft-bar tables, but a few years back they swapped out the majority of them for three 9ft-tables. The tables are reasonably well lit and play well, but again there is a lack of good house cues. They also have a bar table towards the main entrance. If you happen to go there don’t let the address fool you. The main entrance isn’t on Union Street. It’s on the other side of the building on Barker’s Lane.

Break-n-Run Billiards
2108 Acushnet Avenue, New Bedford, MA (508) 999-1221

In this tough economy pool halls have been going out of business left and right. Only a few are still in business in the area. The only one left in the city of New Bedford is Break-n-Run Billiards. Even though it’s been a pool hall for almost three decades, it has snuck under the radar. It’s not going to win any beauty contests, but if you’re looking for a place to really hone your pool skills this is the place you want to play.

Break N Run Billiards

The pool hall consists of six 9 ft. pool tables, three 7 ft bar room tables, and a billiard table. There are also several high-level players that play there on a regular basis. If you’re not afraid to ask for help, there is always someone there to help improve your game. As far as pricing, they charge by the hour not by the game. Break-n-Run Billiards is also the only place in the city that sells billiard supplies such as cases, cue sticks, and cue maintenance products. If they don’t have it, or you’re looking for a specialty item, they can always order it for you.

Break-n-Run Billiards is another place that can be a little tricky to find. It is located at 2108 Acushnet Avenue in the back parking lot of the CVSbuilding.

Remember when you’re playing at the bars 99% of the time the winner stays on the table, so you better bring your A game with you! Also, these businesses all have different times of operation, so I made sure to include contact numbers for all of them.