Cue up for fun, food and friendly pool

Cue Bar is not your typical bar or restaurant. It also is not your typical pool hall. The Bayside hotspot happens to be an eclectic mixture of both.
Moreover, it just recently celebrated its recent redesign and reopening - it was formerly called Slate - on Wednesday, June 27 with an open bar and exhibitions by some of the world's greatest billiards players.
&#8220It was crazy fun,” said Evelyn Hatzigeorgiou, the establishment's general manager, &#8220It was a very warm, fun, friendly atmosphere.”
The 10,000-square-foot pool hall has been located at 45-18 Bell Boulevard since 1994 and used to be known as the Bayside Billiards Club and later Slate. Nevertheless, it has always been a family-owned venture, started by Hatzigeorgiou's father and brother.
&#8220The nature of the place is just that people keep coming back,” she said. &#8220Even if you're there for the first time, there's a warmth, friendliness. And everyone is welcome there.”
The celebration, which began at 7 p.m. and lasted well into the next day, featured free food, drinks and rounds of pool for all 300 party-goers in attendance.
Three of the world's top billiards players - Thorsten &#8220The Hitman” Hohmann from Germany, Mika &#8220The Iceman” Immonen from Finland and Tony &#8220Silent Assassin” Robles from Brooklyn - made appearances, much to everyone's delight.
It is not uncommon, Hatzigeorgiou said, to see some of the game's top players stopping by for a night out.
&#8220It's their favorite place to play,” she said.
Later into the night, after flaunting their skills in exhibition matches, the three pros took on partygoers for charity.
Each game cost $50 a head and benefited the Michael Magro Foundation, started by the parents of 13-year-old Michael Magro shortly after he died of leukemia; the foundation aims to help families with children fighting cancer.
The charity games raised $1,700.
Cue Bar's deluxe digs include two ping-pong tables, a foosball table and free wireless Internet if you need a break from the billiards.
Patrons can also enjoy lunch, dinner or drinks, as well as Starbucks coffee in front of the lounge's fireplace or while seated on one of their red velvet sofas.
Cue Bar features specials almost every night: Tuesday is happy hour night; Wednesday is baseball, beer, and margaritas night; Thursday is ladies' night and Sunday is karaoke night. A guest DJ spins dance, hip-hop and everything else on Fridays and Saturdays. Happy hour is Monday through Friday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Day specials include a &#8220shoot all day” offer of $20 a table for up to six people, and one free hour of pool with lunch.
Cue Bar is open Sunday through Wednesday, noon to 3 a.m., and Thursday through Friday, noon to 4 a.m. For more information, call 718-631-2646.