The Original Mechanical Bull Bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Viva Toro has been running a mechanical bull at 987 Grand St since the early 2000s. That is not a fun fact buried in an About page, it is the reason people keep putting Viva Toro on their list when they are planning a birthday, a bachelorette, or any night that needs to actually be worth showing up for.

Williamsburg has no shortage of bars. Most of them are very good at one thing. What makes this room different is that the bull has been here longer than most of the block, and the entire venue was built around it rather than the other way around.

What is the mechanical bull experience at Viva Toro?

The bull runs every weekend. The staff works it, the crowd gathers around it, and at some point during your visit someone from your group is going to end up on it. That moment tends to be the one people talk about after.

What makes it work is that the bull is not dropped into a bar designed for something else. There is a real kitchen running Mexican-Dominican food, a bar built for handcrafted cocktails, DJs every weekend, and the bull running through all of it. You are not choosing between dinner and a spectacle, both are happening in the same room at the same time.

The energy when someone gets on is different from what a standard Williamsburg bar is going to give you. Conversation stops. Phones come out. Somebody in the group who swore they were not going to ride ends up next in line.

Why has this been the go-to mechanical bull bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for two decades?

Viva Toro opened before most of the bars in this neighborhood existed. The bull has been part of the experience from the beginning, which means the staff knows how to run it safely, the room is built around it, and guests know exactly what they are coming for.

The venue is also a genuinely different kind of place. This is not a country-western bar or a novelty spot that installed a bull to chase a trend. Viva Toro is a Mexican-Dominican restaurant and nightclub that happens to have the best mechanical bull NYC has kept running this long, and the food and the music would hold the room up on their own.

That distinction matters more than it sounds. A novelty venue gets one visit. A mechanical bull bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that also serves churrasco and pours a real margarita gets repeat groups, and that is what has kept this room going through two decades of a neighborhood that reinvents itself every few years.

Two decades on a block that keeps changing

It is worth putting the timeline in context. When the bull started running here, Grand Street looked nothing like it does now. The waterfront had not been developed. Domino Park did not exist. Most of the bars and restaurants people associate with the neighborhood today were still a decade away from opening.

Viva Toro has watched all of that arrive. Rooms have opened on this block with more money behind them and better press, and a good number of them are gone. What has kept this one running is not nostalgia, it is that the format works: people want dinner, drinks, music, and something to actually do, and very few places give you all four without asking you to relocate halfway through the evening.

The bull is the shorthand for that, but it is not the whole reason. It is the thing people mention when they are describing the place to someone who has not been, which is a different job entirely.

What a night around the bull actually looks like

Most groups arrive for dinner and stay for everything after. The kitchen runs the full Mexican-Dominican menu straight through the evening: churrasco, mofongo, patacon pisao, and sizzling fajitas that arrive announcing themselves. The bar pours handcrafted margaritas, mojitos, sangria, and frozen cocktails.

Around the time plates are cleared, the DJ picks up and the room changes character. On Friday and Saturday that carries through until 3:30 AM. The bull runs through the middle of it, so there is no dead stretch where the night has to be restarted somewhere else.

This is the part that separates it from a dinner reservation. A good meal ends when the check lands. Here the check is roughly the halfway point.

What to expect if it is your first time riding

Most people who try bull riding in Brooklyn for the first time are surprised by two things. The first is that the operator controls the speed, so the ride starts slow and builds only as far as you can handle. The second is that staying on longer than eight seconds is harder than anyone expects.

A few practical notes. Wear something you can move in, because jeans work better than a dress. Empty your pockets first. If you have had a heavy dinner, give it twenty minutes. And the ride is genuinely more fun with your group watching than it is as a solo attempt, so go when the table is together.

The staff has been running this for years and they read the rider. Nobody is getting thrown across the room on their first attempt.

The other thing worth knowing is that the crowd is on your side. This is not a room where people are waiting for you to fail. The applause when somebody hangs on past the first speed increase is real, and so is the applause when they do not.

Booking the bull for a birthday, bachelorette, or group night

The bull is the reason most groups book here, and there are two things worth knowing before you call.

The birthday guest rides free. That one detail does more work than any decoration, and it gives the night a built-in moment without anyone having to organize a speech.

Nightlife VIP Packages cover bottle service and reserved seating, which means your table is set before you arrive instead of your group circling the room looking for space. Bachelorette parties, birthdays, corporate nights out, and group dinners all book on the same logic: one room, one bill, and nobody negotiating a second venue at 10 PM.

If you are pulling a group together, the full menu is worth a look first, since most tables order family style and it changes how you plan the night.

The rest of the room

It would be a mistake to treat this as a bull with a bar attached. Weekend brunch runs Sunday from 12 to 11 PM with a DJ, which is a different crowd and a different energy from Saturday night. Game days fill the room too, and the same combination that works for a birthday works for a Sunday afternoon, which is something we get into in our guide to a sports watch party in Williamsburg.

Occasions land here for the same reason. When we wrote about where to celebrate Father's Day in Williamsburg, the argument was identical: the dads who enjoy it most are the ones who want a room with actual energy rather than a quiet dining room and a prix fixe.

Hours and how to get here

Viva Toro is at 987 Grand St in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Tuesday through Thursday, 4 to 11 PM

Friday and Saturday, 3:30 PM to 3:30 AM

Sunday brunch, 12 to 11 PM

Take the L to Lorimer St or the G to Metropolitan Ave and walk a few minutes south on Grand. Weekend nights move fast, so book ahead if you are coming with a group.

Street parking exists around Grand but disappears early on Friday and Saturday, so the train is the safer plan if the night involves margaritas.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a mechanical bull bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn other than Viva Toro?

Not one that has been running continuously since the early 2000s. Viva Toro is the original, and the bull is a permanent fixture here rather than something wheeled in for special events.

How much does it cost to ride?

Pricing varies by night and by package. The birthday guest rides free, and group packages can include rides, so it is worth asking when you book rather than assuming.

Is bull riding in Brooklyn safe for a first-timer?

Yes. The operator controls the speed and starts slow, and the landing area is padded. Most first riders are on for a few seconds and off laughing.

Can I come just for the bull without eating?

You can, though most people underestimate the kitchen. Viva Toro is a full Mexican-Dominican restaurant, and the bull is better after churrasco than before it.

Plan your night

If you have been looking for the original mechanical bull bar Williamsburg, Brooklyn has had all along, it is at 987 Grand St and it has not moved. Bring the group, book ahead on a weekend, and let somebody else be the one who volunteers first.

Reserve a table at Viva Toro