Free Williamsburg

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

All Hands

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Chef Peter Lipson (Northern Spy, Empellon) is serving up seafood with a view of the Williamsburg bridge in this South Williamsburg cafe. The interior design is rustic-chic and dishes like Passatelli Pasta (littleneck clams, calabrian chili, smoked pecorino) and Monkfish (caulifower, watercress, fennel bisque) do not disappoint. It’s also a great spot to have a drink and a light snack if you’re feeling peckish and want a fancy cocktail in a lovely setting.

Featured Reviews

  • Picturesque views of the bridge with homey plates of seafood on the menu. Chef Peter Lipson—whose resume includes stints around the world in addition to credits in parts of the Empellon empire, as well as Northern Spy—channels his varied career into the ocean, presenting dishes almost entirely sourced from the sea. Bluefish cured in sake comes with hunks of grapefruit doused in fish sauce with herbs. Passatelli—which are noodles formed from breadcrumbs—serves as a base for littleneck clams with rich Calabrian chili, smoked pecorino and more crunchy breadcrumbs.

Getting There

Cape House

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A New England-style clam shack smack dab in the middle of Bushwick/East Williamsburg. The space, situated at a busy intersection, will nonetheless transport you to Cape Cod. We recommend anything from the sea (of course) but the Chicken Sandwich and Burger are also pretty solid. Recommended dishes include Clam Fritters and the Haddock and Fries. The outdoor courtyard has ample seating and is the perfect spot to down a Cape House Lager while you munch on some Whole Belly Clams.

Featured Reviews

  • New England transplants will be happy to know they don’t have to go any further than Bushwick to get authentic chowder. Cape House, a clam shack and bar, offers all the classics and a few new options. Traditionalists might go for the whole belly clams, scallops or clam strips, available on a roll or as a platter ($8–$25), or the creamy chowder ($5 for a small, $9 for a large). Not a seafood person? Try a Worcester-style hot dog with chili ($5) or the fried chicken sandwich ($11). If you’re in the mood for a more formal meal, order the negroni-braised octopus with herb salad ($20) or the baked haddock with dill cream sauce ($23).

  • Styled after a New England clam shack, this Bushwick eatery offers raw, fried and grilled seafood, along with mai tais, frozen drinks and canned and draft beers. There are high-tops as well as regular tables, plus a lively outdoor counter facing the windows.

  • Cape House delivers on its most important promise: terrific clams in a pleasant, casual, boozy-if-you-want-it environment. Get here soon though, while the patio’s still an option, for a final taste of summer before we all have to huddle inside.

Getting There

Extra Fancy

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A New England-style seafood pub that’s more of a laid-back dive than its Extra Fancy moniker would suggest. The bar up front is spacious and isn’t usually too crowded. It’s a nice place to have a Narragansett Lager and some Littleneck Clams. Salt Cod Fritters, Lobster Roll and the Steamed Mussels are standouts on a menu that’s mainly from the sea but also features a few Southern classics like Deviled Eggs and Cornbread. In the warmer months they have a patio with frosty frozen drinks and snacks.

Featured Reviews

  • Williamsburg’s Extra Fancy serves fried, grilled, and raw seafood, like fish & chips and lobster bisque fries, plus a notable secret sauce-topped burger. It’s open late — until 2am every night — and its special late-night menu will have you covered should you ever get a midnight lobster roll craving. The brick-and-wood interior is reminiscent of a New England seafood shack, albeit a hipster one.

  • lthough pedigreed chef Ross Florence, late of Le Bernardin, recently parted ways with Extra Fancy, the spot still turns out some seriously tasty seafood snacks. The Cape Cod clam fritters ($9) arrive at the table piping hot and golden brown, accompanied by a tangy chive-buttermilk sauce. Each fried nugget is studded with meaty littlenecks, sweet corn kernels and spicy bits of chili. Landlubbers can chow down on a juicy, grilled kielbasa ($12) served with tangy red-cabbage sauerkraut and swipes of caraway-mustard butter on a hot-dog roll.

  • Williamsburg “meets New England” at this “swinging” seafood joint whose clam shack–inspired menu features “fine oysters” and “fun comfort food” backed by “expertly made” cocktails; the “lovely” garden makes it a “perfect day-drinking” destination, but it’s also “great for late-night nosh.”

Getting There

Grand Ferry Tavern

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Grand Ferry Tavern is a cozy, under-the-radar Gastropub specializing in great cocktails and fresh seafood. Come for a snack and a refined, old-timey spirit; linger for an entree if you’re feeling hungry. We love their Fried Oysters and Littleneck Steamers. Landlubbers will be happy too with their Wild Mushroom Sheppard’s Pie, Burger and Mac & Cheese dishes. Grand Ferry Tavern, which is a stone’s throw from the East River hearkens back to another era, but without ever feeling too self-conscious about its maritime inspirations.

Featured Reviews

  • Paisley wallpaper, a mirrored back bar, and ornate chandeliers give the space (from the owners of the Richardson in Greenpoint) an antique feel; while windows overlooking Kent Avenue and the open courtyard in the rear keep the bar well-lit and airy. Come just for drinks or make a meal out of dishes like an Ipswich-clam roll and beer-braised brisket.

  • Outfitted with wood banquettes, damask wallpaper and vintage Harper’s Weekly prints depicting East River life, the bar features 20 Old World European wines and 14 draft beers from all-American harbor towns: Hood River, OR’s Full Sail IPA, Cisco Whale’s Tale Pale of Nantucket and Baltimore’s Heavy Seas Loose Cannon. The seafaring-themed cocktail program includes quaffs like the Hey Sailor, which features navy-strength English gin, Salers aperitif, Aperol and lemon juice; while the Seven Seas Cooler mixes Amaro Braulio, honey, Lapsang souchong tea and 100-proof rhum agricole. Brett Ackerman (Diner, Marlow & Sons) captains the pub-grub menu, lining out a full raw bar (Ipswich clams, East Coast littlenecks), saffron-flecked clam chowder, beer-braised brisket and wild-mushroom shepherd’s pie.

Getting There

Greenpoint Fish & Lobster Co.

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The understated space is warm and inviting, with black and white tiled floors, a raw bar, and a marble bar. Up front, Vinny Milburn is in charge of the market featuring fresh locally-sourced seafood and in the back Adam Geringer-Dunn runs the kitchen. The bar features a handful of craft beers and a small, but lovingly-curated selection of wines that pair well with oysters and the other light fare on the menu. You won’t find a better lobster roll anywhere in New York.

Featured Reviews

  • The seafood is “fresh, fresh, fresh” at this “combo” fishmonger/dinette in Greenpoint where the “interesting” menu features “terrific” raw-bar eats, “delicious” fish tacos and one “fantastic” lobster roll; despite “tiny” digs with “not much” atmosphere, it’s still “packed” at prime times.

  • Fronted by green awnings, and flooded with light, this corner gem is equal parts sustainably sourced fish market and fantastic eat-in spot. Walk past iced specimens to claim a seat at the white marble counter; then dig into the day’s catch dressed-up with global influences. New England clam chowder is given the classic treatment, while grilled sea bass skewers are accompanied by a Thai coconut-and-peanut dipping sauce

  • If you like seafood, then G’Point Fish and Lobster will be your new favorite restaurant. We were pretty blown away by how awesome all the food was, from the oyster prep, to the mussels, fish stew, solid fish tacos, and the best damn lobster roll we’ve had in NYC not named Luke’s.

Getting There

Maison Premiere

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Maison Premiere has long been one of our favorite places in Williamsburg. We first fell in love with their 1/2 price oyster special, which they offer Monday-Friday 4pm-7pm. Their raw bar is unmatched in the city, irrespective of borough. We’ve also always appreciated the lovely design, that’s reminiscent of a New Orleans-style, classic cocktail bar with a touch of old-timey Parisian flare. In recent years, they’ve expanded their menu to include more entrees as well such as Swordfish and a Lobster Roll. It’s all a bit pricey but worth the splurge.

Featured Reviews

  • Maison Premiere is both exactly the same and very different than it was when it first opened. It’s still an adult fun house of raw seafood and absinthe, but it’s added other elements as well. There’s now a full menu of cooked food, a sleeper brunch situation, and an amazing patio out back.

  • This ultra-retro tavern may feel dark and old-timey, like a watering hole where the Founding Fathers would have stopped for fortification before fending off the British. But, the massive, U-shaped bar is particularly coveted, so arrive early or prepare to wait for your absinthe drip. To accompany the stellar sips, a vast selection of oysters, clams, and group-friendly seafood plateaux seem to pop up on every table. The kitchen’s talent is equally clear in such preparations as luscious sea urchin served in a chilled shellfish consommé with fragrant lemongrass and thin slices of sweet grapes.

  • The food is impressionistic, best appreciated as a series of lovely, fleeting moments rather than the sustained arc that typically constitutes a meal. From the raw bar come thin slices of sea scallop with rosy pickled rhubarb and a drift of shaved horseradish ice, hot and cold at once. Razor clam, sweet and almost squidlike in texture, is punctuated by crisp, clean radish. A spoonful of lobster dressed with mayonnaise, celery and tarragon, anchoring a cracked tail shell, suggests a stolen bite from a New England lobster roll, with buttered bread crumbs in lieu of the roll.

Getting There

Okonomi / YUJI Ramen

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A tiny Japanese restaurant on the Graham Avenue L Train stop with multiple personalities. During the day, it’s called Okonomi and serves up traditional Japanese set meals known as ‘Ichiju sansai’ that consist of miso soup, roasted fish, vegetables, and an egg served with rice. At night it becomes one of the city’s more acclaimed ramen joints serving seasonal seafood as well as Mazemen (no-broth ramen dishes). The setting is indicative of Japanese minimalism and the seating is limited to 12 tables. From the owners: ‘[We] embody the Mottainai philosophy of minimizing waste and appreciating what is given. We source our seafood from the Atlantic Ocean. We shop for produce from local farmer’s markets. We make our ceramics with an artist based in upstate New York. Our greatest challenge is to honor the life in what surrounds us.’

Featured Reviews

  • Everything about the place embodies the Japanese concept of mottainai, let nothing go to waste. The dining room, in shades of wood, soil, and water, is minimal without being austere. Dried fish skins decorate the walls; bones from the morning’s fish go straight into the evening’s unctuous broth. But for a chef who values simplicity Haraguchi gives diners a lot of options. On weekday nights, the restaurant transforms into Yuji Ramen, a noodle joint, while weekend evenings feature a ten-course ramen tasting menu. The biggest draw, though, is the daily Japanese set breakfast. 

  • One restaurant. Two names. During the day, this tiny 12-seat house of chopstick heaven is home to Okonomi, in which they serve a traditional Japanese set meal called “Ichiju Sansai.” At night, the space gets taken over by Yuji Ramen, one of the best, most unique noodle joints that exists in this fine city filled with ramen. David Chang may claim ramen is dead – clearly he hasn’t been to Yuji.

  • “Talk about originality”, this “tiny” Williamsburg Japanese from chef Yuji Haraguchi provides “traditional” ichiju-sansai set meals for breakfast and lunch, then segues into Yuji Ramen at night, offering “cutting-edge” noodle soups; seats can be scarce in the “minimal” space, which doesn’t take reservations.

  • A small counter and a handful of tables is the extent of this tiny café headed by Chef Yuji Haraguchi, famous for his ramen pop-ups. Regardless of the time of day, Okonomi’s delightfully unconstrained Japanese cuisine is a compelling reason to visit. Locally grown produce and domestic fish are the foundation of the high-quality ichiju sansai, a set lunch of shioyaki (salt-grilled) or miso-marinated broiled fish, rice, miso soup, and shira-ae (wilted greens with a tofu dressing). Come evening, the focus shifts to ramen, with each steaming bowl bearing the distinctive hand of the skilled chef. 

  • This 12-seat nook is a cozier setting for a ridiculously nourishing meal: a daily choice of local fish (bluefish roasted in sake lees and ocean perch, recently), served with a cube of Japanese omelette, tofu-dressed broccoli rabe, brown rice with kombu, and miso soup. At night, the space morphs into Yuji Ramen, the hit noodle den that blazed a trail for broth-less mazemen by incorporating Italian technique and peddling creative dishes like salmon cheese ramen.

Getting There