Free Williamsburg

The Williamsburg Brooklyn-based culture guide to New York and beyond.

Brooklyn Restaurant and Bar Listings for Williamsburg, Bushwick and Greenpoint

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Sauvage

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Sauvage is the second restaurant from the people behind Maison Premiere. Where Maison Premiere’s focus is on seafood, Sauvage focuses more on dishes like Heritage Pork with celery root and persimmon or Rabbit with roasted turnips. There’s an abundance of small plates, many vegetarian, and a smaller raw bar. Come for a snack and a fancy cocktail or splurge on a dinner. If you’re a fan of Maison Premiere, you will be very happy.

Featured Reviews

  • But Ms. Giffen’s talents are best used when she abandons the miniaturist mode. There’s a full-throttle thrill to breaking open chilled snow crab legs and dunking their briny flesh in brown butter that’s reinforced with mashed crab liver. There’s undeniable pleasure in slicing open the malakoff, dough mixed with alpine-style cheese that’s lumped on a slice of sourdough and then deep fried. This bonanza of starch, cheese and oil comes with pickled vegetables. It should also come with a small mountain for you to you climb after you finish it…. Like a classic sidewalk cafe in Paris that’s been taken over by young upstarts. Servers are extroverted and able to convey enthusiasm that seems genuine.

  • Sauvage (“wild” in French), the second restaurant from the team of Joshua Boissy and Krystof Zizka, with Lisa Giffen once again serving as chef, set down on the Greenpoint frontier a few months ago. Though sporting a formidable French wine list, it focused more on food than drink. Sauvage spread itself along Nassau Street like homemade butter on the cumin-scented warm roll that is one of the restaurant’s most delicious apps ($2.50). Across the intersection lies McCarren Park, where the crack of the baseball bat punctuates a leisurely meal, at least for those who choose to perch at the outdoor tables. 

Getting There

Shalom Japan

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“Authentically inauthentic Jewish and Japanese food in South Williamsburg.” It’s an odd pairing, but somehow everything seems to fit. (Who doesn’t want to try matzo ball ramen!) The menu changes daily but some popular dishes include Panko-Caraway Lamb Ribs, Weakfish Sashimi Salad, Pastrami-Stuffed Chicken and a Lox Bowl.

Featured Reviews

  • Shalom Japan…is a serious restaurant that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Their food here is not so much a fusion of culinary traditions as a mapping of resonances and sympathies.

     

  • They’re enjoying themselves a lot, and you can feel it in every aspect of the dining experience…Shalom Japan exceeded all of our expectations. Add it to the top of your Hit List immediately.

     

  • Still, the restaurant, which is run by a Jewish-Japanese chef couple and employs an amiable, knowledgeable staff eager to explain the nuances of each dish, is a welcome addition to this otherwise sleepy corner of the neighborhood. In Williamsburg, where service is often relegated to the wings while scensterism plays center stage (and I say this as a longtime resident of the neighborhood), Shalom Japan is a pleasant change of pace—a true neighborhood spot fashioned with creativity and care.

  • If you think Jewish-Japanese food is a “strange concept”, the “exciting” “marriage of cuisines” at this cozy South Williamsburg standout may “change your mind”; converts advise: reserve ahead, check out the chalkboard menu and “splurge” a little

Getting There

St. Anselm

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A steakhouse must have steak. St. Anselm has hanger, served here under the old-fashioned title of butcher’s steak, and a massive rib-eye for two, with nearly a foot of frenched bone sticking out of it to give it its menu name: Axe Handle Rib Eye.

Featured Reviews

  • A steakhouse must have steak. St. Anselm has hanger, served here under the old-fashioned title of butcher’s steak, and a massive rib-eye for two, with nearly a foot of frenched bone sticking out of it to give it its menu name: Axe Handle Rib Eye. The butcher’s steak in particular is a joy, tender and full of strong, beefy flavor that is winning even before the garlic butter on it melts away.

  • “Hipster” carnivores “leave smiling” from this “New Age” Williamsburg steakhouse supplying “mind-blowing” naturally raised beef and “excellent” sides in “rustic”, brick-lined digs; “modest prices” make up for the “daunting” waits caused by the no-reservations policy, though regulars “kill time” at its neighboring “sister bar”, Spuyten Duyvil.

  • The main-event proteins, meanwhile, are just gilded enough to be interesting but not so encumbered you can’t taste the grill. There’s cool, minty yogurt enhancing a beautiful thick-cut lamb saddle, and garlic-steeped butter on a gorgeous whole trout. The super-succulent sweet-tea–brined chicken is just as straightforward, despite the provocative presence of its head and feet—the golden, butterflied bird is splayed all by itself on a plate. The steakhouse idiom is most evident here in the la carte setup: The cheesy creamed spinach gratin, panfried mashed potatoes, and cauliflower grilled with balsamic and soy are all separate orders.

  • St. Anselm might look like a bar from the outside, but the reason you’re coming here has nothing to do with the drinks or the service (which isn’t very good), and everything to do with the Butchers Steak and Pan-Fried Mashed Potatoes. Those two things are incredible. Nothing else we had was equally mind-blowing, but overall the food was definitely impressive and reasonably affordable for the quality.

Getting There

Sunday in Brooklyn

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Sunday in Brooklyn is a market, a bar, a bakery and a restaurant all rolled into one with a perplexing name to boot. Confusing? Perhaps, but don’t let that get in the way of enjoying their superb cuisine. Located in the former home of Isa in South Williamsburg, Sunday in Brooklyn has some of the tastiest New American food in North Brooklyn. The three story space is gorgeous, with a wood-burning oven, exposed beams, and a sunny, white-washed dining room that will transport you to Southern California. The dinner menu is seasonal with dishes like a Wood-Fired Whole Fish For Two (MP) and Roasted Chicken ($24), Kohlrabi, Autumn Olive Berries ($24) with an assortment of inventive appetizers such as Black Cod Pastrami ($21) and Bone Marrow with Pickled Elderberries ($18). The brunch is a crowd-pleaser, especially their Malted Pancakes with Hazelnut Maple Praline and Brown Butter which are so decadent the New Yorker calls them ‘almost naughty.’ And yes, despite the name, they are open daily.

Featured Reviews

  • A perfect meal starts with a warm pecan sticky bun and coffee served in gorgeous bone china. Move on to the egg-and-sausage sandwich. Like the hot sauce, the mustard, and the roast beef, the breakfast sausage is made in house, spiked with sage and maple syrup…. At some point, someone near you will order the pancakes, and you will turn involuntarily to stare at the stack coated in hazelnut-praline-maple syrup and brown butter. Gesture to your waiter for an order of those. The sauce, the texture of butterscotch, slips down the sides like a slow-motion waterfall. It tastes like melted gelato. The pancakes, slightly undercooked, seem almost naughty.

  • Adam Landsman and Todd Enany, who worked at Major Food Group (Parm, Carbone), have joined with Jaime Young, who was the chef de cuisine at Atera for three years, and taken over the space that had been Isa. The ground floor houses a bar and a market where they will sell items from the adjacent open kitchen. The dining room is on the second floor, and there’s a rooftop garden. The place is driven by a minimal-waste approach, so there’s beer whey in a radish dish, and the potatoes served with the roasted chicken may not have been the most attractive at the market. Kingfish with sunchokes and marinated clams, black cod pastrami with rye sour cream, and pork chop with half-sour pickled mustard greens are some other choices.

  • At dinner, a squat, old-fashioned furnace roars away under dimmed lights across from the jagged natural-wood bar in the main dining area, helping Sunday in Brooklyn perfectly channel the type of urbane lodges that have popped up around the Catskills in recent years. The evening menu straddles a similar refined-rustic edge: Shavings of ham and lamb tongue are crisped up in the wood-fired oven for an appetizer, and juicy pork loin chops — aged and tenderized for two months in a mixture of pasty sake lees and koji (the bacteria responsible for miso) — get a last-minute roasting before joining soured mustard greens and hazelnut Dijon mustard on the plate. Petite honeynut squash come dressed with nuts and seeds and a smooth scoop of cultured cream cheese. And whole Boston mackerel are charred on the wood grill and dressed with lemon juice and earthy fig leaf oil, then laureled with a colorful, refreshing salad of raw sunchokes, pickled Hungarian wax peppers, and both pink and green meat radishes. Both the mackerel and that black cod, offered alone as a starter, make an excellent case for eating more fatty fish.

  • Fine dining in a more casual setting, with garden dining, an in-house bread and pastry operation, and a marketplace, selling smoked meats, cured fish, pickles, and more. Much of the dining room is reserved for walk-ins. If you do not see the reservation you are looking for, we encourage you to stop in!

Getting There

Suzume

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A cozy Japanese gastropub with ramen, sushi, and shareable small plates including crispy chicken wings and spicy fish tacos with pickled carrot and cilantro. The ramen is certainly a good choice, but we prefer the sushi and tacos. If you’re more in the mood for drinks, they have a fantastic whiskey and sake list. The cozy atmosphere makes Suzume perfect for a romantic night out.

Featured Reviews

  • Grab a stool from the polished walnut bar that claims almost half Suzume’s 650-square feet of wiggle room — peruse through some Japanese and American beers, rice wine and grape wine, and a flurry of tropical sounding libations flavored with ingredients like coconut water, passionfruit, and calamansi — and the place comes into focus… The salmon ramen, as well as Briones’ poke,sushi, and rolls, all use responsibly caught and local fish when possible, though it’s harder to go local in the winter. Suzume’s sushi is anything but Edo-style traditional. It’s made from fresh, high quality fish, but often dressed with unexpected flavors, like the calamansi ramp vinaigrette found in the salmon poke

  • Japanese corner spot Suzume’s owners did their space up in thrift-store style, from a wood-panel bar to a chandelier that looks like it could have appeared on a late-seventies Stevie Nicks album cover. A small menu embodies the same nonchalance: Basic sushi rolls are fuller and more flavorful than most, with spicy salmon and avocado melting together beneath a mild mayo sauce enlivened by charred shishito peppers. The best item here is also the most basic: House ramen consists of delicious chunks of braised, fatty Berkshire pork belly and tasty thin wheat noodles.

  • Despite all of those ANDs, Suzume packs a lot of good things into a surprisingly concise menu. There are a few sushi options, a few “snacks” (tacos, wings), a few bowls of ramen, and a few other items just in case you’re the hardest person in New York to please. As for prices – the most expensive thing on the menu is $11. The addition of a great drinks list also makes Suzume a place where you can have a gin-beet-carrot-apple-ginger cocktail while eating a spicy tuna roll and feel neither like you’re at a spa nor Tao. What this all boils down to is a happiness free-for-all – no matter how or what you order, it’s going to be good, and it’s going to be fun.

Getting There

Sweet Chick

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Sweet Chick is the brainchild of John Seymour who also owns Pop’s of Brooklyn. The menu offers classic soul food staples (all organic) such as roasted pork tenderloin, dry-aged rib eye, & grilled fish in addition to chicken & waffles. In terms of your waffle choice, you can order a regular buttermilk Belgian-style waffle, bacon + cheddar cheese, rosemary mushroom, or the special seasonal waffle. Delicious sides includes buttermilk biscuits, spicy shoestring french fries, ritz-cracker crusted mac and cheese, and pickled watermelon.

Featured Reviews

  • “Quirky” takes on Southern staples – think “creative chicken ’n’ waffle combos” – and “seasonal” cocktails make these “droolworthy” eateries “excellent places to indulge”; they get “jam-packed” at prime times, but “friendly” staffers help keep the feel “fun.”

  • Though the design and vibe of Sweet Chick is generic Williamsburg kitsch, the food here is outstanding. If a hankering for buttery fried soul food can counter the ceiling chandeliers made from rusty feed troughs and water served in recycled Jim Beam bottles, you’re in business. We’re talking mac ‘n’ cheese that is mercifully creamy, and bacon-wrapped oysters that will make you consider ordering a second plate. And that’s just appetizers.

  • Chicken and waffles aren’t a duo we generally get excited about. Granted, we’re not from the South, so it’s possible the real thing has eluded us. Lazy attempts as ironic menu items around here have always left us feeling like the chicken and the waffle are two completely separate species, not meant to make sweet love in your mouth. But things done changed. Sweet Chick now has us thinking differently.

Getting There

Syndicated

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Call us haters, but we typically don’t like movie theaters that serve food. In concept nothing could be better, but in execution the food typically sucks. That’s why we love Syndicated, a dine-in cinema in Bushwick/East Williamsburg that actually has tasty grub. Up front, there’s a large bar with two big screens that typically run campy 70s and 80s fare. In the back, there’s a proper 50-seat theater that has daily screenings of indies and classics. There’s a bar menu and a theater menu, both serving fried American fare including Chicken Sandwiches, Burgers, and Tator Tots. Gourmet? No way. But you won’t be disappointed if you’re craving comfort food. Cocktails are in the $12 range and have fun, film-themed names like Blade Rummer, East Rider, and A Sidecar Named Desire. Come for a movie or just a fun night out at the bar.

Featured Reviews

  • This combination American restaurant, bar and movie theater in Bushwick serves burgers, sandwiches and crowd-pleasers like loaded tater tots, along with cocktails and seasonal beers. Separate from the dining area (but with its own menu), the 50-seat screening room shows a couple of films each night, often curated according to director or other themes.

  • There’s no gleaming 1930s-style marquee beckoning you through the doors of Syndicated, a cinema-bar-restaurant hybrid sitting inconspicuously in a barely marked former warehouse on Bogart Street. Instead, those Art Deco touches can be found within the 70-seat main dining room, which is dressed with geometric sconces, high-vaulted ceilings and projector screens playing muted classic movies. Anchoring the space is a four-sided marble-topped bar that’s packed with moviegoers guzzling craft cocktails before catching throwback screenings of Wayne’s World and Do the Right Thing… An all-in-one movie date. Behind the kitchen lies a 50-seat, dine-in cinema rigged with rows of cushy banquettes, half-moon two-top tables and five varieties of house-made popcorn ($6), including curry powder and caramel corn.

Getting There

Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos

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A family-run spot with homemade tortillas and some of the best, authentic Mexican food to be found in Brooklyn. The atmosphere is without frills and the waits can be longish, but the tacos are well worth the hassle. We love the Carne Asada and Chorizo tacos, but you really can’t go wrong.

Featured Reviews

  • Los Hermanos’ menu is so straightforward, the staff doesn’t even feel the need to take your order. To avoid anything getting lost in translation, the system here requires you to jot down your picks on a piece of scrap paper and slide it across the counter to the ladies working the grill. Grab a Mexican soda out of the fridge, or better yet, crack open your BYO-six-pack and wait for your name to be called. If the main area is full, you can even walk into the factory – mind the parked car and the tortilla equipment – and cozy up to one of the tables on the other side of the glass. With tacos priced at $2.25 a pop, tostadas for $2.50, and a quality sized quesadilla for $3.25, you can have a delicious and filling meal at Los Hermanos for under $15. You’re out for BYOB Mexican food, in a garage, in Bushwick.

  • At the taquería, there are seven different filling options—carnitas, enchilada, beefsteak, cecina (salted beef), chorizo, chicken, and veggie—any of which can be had in taco, taquito, torta, or tostada form. The very best of these choices, and everybody’s favorite, is the chorizo. The ground sausage tastes of cinnamon and red chilies, in a floral-funky way. The mix includes bits of creamy white potato slicked with a flavorful orange chorizo oil.

  • A tortilla factory, cranking out fresh, soft patties of corn and flour from its warehouse just off the Jefferson L stop in Bushwick. But in 2006, the owners wisely added a small cantina to the space, where they serve tasty, super-cheap tacos, tacquitas and quesadillas that have been described to me by far more discerning West Coast taco connoisseurs as “the real thing.”

Getting There

Traif

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You won’t find anything kosher on the menu – bacon donuts, baby back ribs, fois gras with egg and bacon, scallops – and that’s the point. In Yiddish, the name refers to foods that are forbidden by Jewish dietary laws, so it’s not too popular with the local Hasidim. Menu dishes have included delicious oddities including Cornmeal-Crusted Soft-Shell Crabs, Strawberry-Cinnamon Glazed Berkshire Baby Back Ribs, and Risotto Of Maine Lobster with Spicy Sausage. A very non-Kosher experience for experimental eaters who love their pork and shellfish.

Featured Reviews

  • Chef Jason Marcus’s flaunting of all things unkosher could have been seen as a slap in the face to the nearby community of Hasidic Jews, but his orthodox neighbors are unfazed by the concept. Off of a hyper-seasonal menu and out of the diminutive open kitchen come neat small dishes for sharing.

  • There are three rules when it comes to eating at Williamsburg restaurant Traif: 1) Don’t be hungry, 2) don’t be on a diet and 3) don’t be a vegetarian. As to the first, all the food is served small-plate style, and while the dishes are delicious, they’re way better for sampling than stuffing yourself, and you’ll be furious if you gulp down a serving before you really get to taste it. To the second, the food is oft-slathered in barbecue sauce, fried or sprinkled with bacon, and it will kill your Weight Watchers points. And to the third, the restaurant’s name is a cheeky reference both to the decidedly unkosher shellfish and pork food it serves, and there are very few (if any) veggie options, so take a carnivore.

  • Given its name (which roughly translates as ‘non-kosher’), look for “lots of pork and shellfish” on the “innovative” Eclectic menu of this “intimate” Williamsburg “winner”, featuring a small plates–centric format geared toward “sharing”; regulars say “splurging on the tasting menu” is the way to go.

Getting There

Tutu’s

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Just off the Morgan L Train stop, Tutu’s, a cute gastropub serving reasonably-priced American fare, has the vibe of a locals’ hangout The dining room is adorned with dozens of paintings, seemingly hung at random above its spacious booths. Venture to the back room in the evening for live music and performance. The staff is always friendly, making Tutu’s a nice place to have a meal or a drink. The brunch is popular and has a great Bloody Mary. At night, we enjoy their Veggie Burger and the crunchy Sriracha Chicken Bites.

Featured Reviews

  • Tutu’s is the kind of place you can depend on. Whether you’re here for the oyster happy hour or a solo late-night burger or a hangover healing brunch, the food is solid, the prices are reasonable, and the vibes are good. There’s also plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, and it transitions from more a restaurant to a bar feel as the night goes on. Come late enough, and you can join a dance party in the back room.

  • Near the Morgan Avenue stop on the L train, Tutu’s is part of the blossoming ecosystem around Roberta’s, the pizza joint that ascended to destination dining. The sprawling split-level space includes a bar cluttered with weathered booths and old portraits, and a raw basement space warmed by space heaters.

Getting There