Free Williamsburg

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

Alameda

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A beautifully-designed cocktail bar with a small, New American menu. The space has a horseshoe-shaped bar and a few tables for dining. An intimate spot with great cocktails and one of our favorite burgers in the neighborhood. The menu is updated seasonally, but if they have it, the grilled octopus is fantastic.

Featured Reviews

  • An upmarket stand-in for your everyday hang. Alameda is the Jennifer Lawrence of bars—stunning yet instantly approachable, with a serious eye on the craft (namely, cocktails) but a daffy sense of humor (namely, those drink names). It’s a place where a tatted, T-shirt-sporting crowd can get a Guinness as readily as a biodynamic wine, where happy-hour specials include beer-and-shot combos and oysters with cucumber mignonette.

  • The knowledgeable bartenders can mix just about any cocktail with ten syllables from brand name spirits and their homemade vermouths and bitters: The Alameda Manhattan leaves an impression that all the Manhattans you drank before should have been called Newarks. The menu is limited, but each offering stands out for its inventive take on classic American fare. The cucumber mignonette sauce gives the oysters a balanced flavor that never overwhelms the natural brininess, and the frisée salad’s pork belly bits level-ups this French-American staple. And the foie gras breakfast sandwich is so deliciously decadent that you’ll dread eating your last bite.

  • A gorgeously grungy staff serves creative cocktails and high-end (yet affordable) takes on American snack fare at this Greenpoint hang; a U-shaped bar dominates the stylish space, which is decked out in white tile and handsome wood.

Getting There

Anella

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A reliable neighborhood spot in North Greenpoint that serves predictably delicious American fare. We recommend their Brick Chicken or any of their house-made pastas. Entrees come with fresh bread cooked in a clay pot. It’s amazing. There’s a long bar up front offering cocktails, several local beers on tap, and a broad selection of wines. Brunch is popular on weekends and if you go, be sure to order their biscuits. A solid choice.

Featured Reviews

  • But the narrow bar and dining room are warm as candlelight, decorated in that nice urban variation on farmhouse chic that is common to restaurants in north Brooklyn, all brick and reclaimed hardwood, with Edison bulbs hanging from the tin ceiling that cast shadows over pockmarked plaster and ancient paint. (Beards and cardigans abound at the tables, as well as vintage dresses, heavy clogs.) Service is easygoing, nice. And the food is a wonder: a tight and focused menu of simple, seasonally appropriate food from Joseph Ogrodnek, a talented chef who has been in the kitchen for almost a year.

  • A never-too-crowded neighborhood place that serves the kind of crowd-pleasing food you would be happy to eat multiple times a week. Pastas? Check. A burger? Yep. Roast chicken, and a kale salad that actually tastes better than one you could make for yourself at home? You get the idea. Plus, the warm dinner bread comes in a little flower pot that you would have to be dead inside not to like. And while the framework of the menu is always the same, the individual dishes change with the seasons.

Getting There

Annicka

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Annicka is the city’s first restaurant with a farm brewery license, which means since it’s owned by the people behind Greenpoint Beer & Ale, it doesn’t need a seperate license to sell beer. This Greenpoint farm-to-table spot focusues on hyper-local fare, sourcing (when available) from North Brooklyn Farms. The menu will please vegetarians with lots of fresh options including Trumpet Mushrooms (with turmeric coconut milk broth, shaved spring vegetables & walnut chili oil) and Spring Lettuces (with cashew ranch, pickled beets & “all the crispy things.” Carnivores can choose from a Pork Chop, Market Fish, or a Steak with charred carrot, dandelion & black olive, to name a few dishes. The setting is quintessential new Brooklyn with outdoor seating available. Annicka is one of the best spots in the neighborhood, so be sure to give it a try!

Featured Reviews

  • the food is excellent, sometimes excitingly so. In the last gasps of winter, addictively sour, salty lemongrass chicken sausage, laced with Treviso and white kimchi, was fresh proof of the power of hearty lettuces and preserves. Wedding rice, a spin on the Persian dish tachin, a kind of crunchy-edged, savory cake, felt worthy of celebration: topped with cucumber raita, chopped almonds, and sliced chili, it hid sweet, juicy scallops and mussels within its densely packed grains. The nut-milk butter, served with flaky sea salt and sourdough, was a profoundly convincing substitute for the real thing, as was the macadamia ricotta. There was plenty for hard-core carnivores, too: a whole ham steak with eggs at brunch; pork chops; lamb ragu. But as I finished my braised beef over grits, I thought only of the unusual garnish, a thick but tender leaf that tasted vaguely of licorice. 

  • A significant and unusual feature of this airy yet intimate new spot is that all the beers, wines, ciders and spirits served are produced in New York State, often using ingredients grown in the state. That’s because the owner, Ed Raven, who also owns Greenpoint Beer & Ale nearby, is running the restaurant under a farm brewery license from the state. It permits him to serve beer by the glass without a separate license and, as a brewery owner, to open an off-premises restaurant or retail establishment. Mr. Raven has also collaborated with North Brooklyn Farms in Williamsburg for many of the ingredients used by the three chefs, each of whom has a specialty. Christian Perkins, who worked at Marlow & Daughters, is the butcher. Emma Jane Gonzalez, a vegan, and the omnivorous Kenneth Monroe come from North Brooklyn Farms. Their menu features seafood, steaks, sausages and vegetable specialties like charred sweet potatoes with kale and tahini, celery root with apples and crispy nori, and a green chile stew. Seats are at marble tables and a long, circular bar

  • the menu… ranges from fully-vegan dishes to steak (with plenty of vegetarian and fish options in the middle), and should be able to make most people happy. We tried a charred sweet potato with black tahini, and a black rice with squid and clams, and both of them were interesting and very good. The space is also big and well-designed, with a circular bar in the middle, and an open kitchen at the back, which generally contributes to the impression that there’s a lot going on here. Luckily, most of it seems to work.

Getting There

Chez Ma Tante

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A bistro in Greenpoint “inspired by unassuming eateries that dot the content – pubs, cafes, bistros and trattorias.” The decor and menu are simple and unassuming, which is precisely why we love this place. Nothing is overly-precious, but everything is done simply and with great care. Whether enjoying a few snacks like Chicken Liver Pate, Pig’s Head Terrine, or Steak Tartare with a glass of wine or a full meal — we love their Pork Shoulder and their Half Chicken with Romesco Sauce — you will assuredly be delighted. Brunch is offered on the weekends and if you go, be sure to try their amazing pancakes. The word is out about Chez Ma Tante which opened quietly in 2017, so definitely make a reservation.

Featured Reviews

  • The restaurant is the work of two Cafe Altro Paradiso alums, Aidan O’Neal and Jake Leiber, and the menu reflects some of the old Estela zaniness. In its emphasis on organ meat pates and terrines, it’s also reminiscent of Montreal’s Au Pied de Cochon. O’Neal once toiled at M. Wells Dinette in P.S. One, and that experience undoubtedly provided further inspiration. The chicken liver pate ($9) might be at home on any bistro menu in town, artfully smeared across the plate and accompanied by grilled toasts and pickled chiles.

    Other dishes are on another level, offal-wise, particularly with the pig head terrine. This patchwork comes in helter skelter slices, composed of ragged chunks of sinew, fat, and deeply red swatches of meat. It’s about the richest thing you’ve ever tasted and might remind you of the work of U.K. chef Fergus Henderson. I loved it, even though it came with the same toasts and chiles as the chicken liver pate.

  • It is hard to say exactly what kind of food Chez Ma Tante serves, apart from the consistently good kind. The website calls it “food that can only be described as European.” This isn’t particularly helpful or specific; I’ve never eaten anything there that seemed Finnish, say, or Bulgarian. If the menu has a theme, you won’t guess it from the dining room. A collection of brown chairs and black tables on a black floor in an undecorated white room, it is as austere as a Shaker chapel, although one with a long, well-populated bar against the wall.

    No hints are forthcoming from the cocktail list, either, which plays it close to the vest with daiquiris, Negronis, Cosmopolitans and so on. It is the first cocktail list I’ve seen in a long time on which I recognized every drink. Other writers have described Chez Ma Tante as a neighborhood spot, a homage to certain well-known London restaurants, a gastro pub and a “French-Canadian bistro.” 

    The name Chez Ma Tante was borrowed from a stainless-steel slot of a place in Montreal known for its steamé, a steamed hot dog in a steamed bun. An “all dressed” steamé, meaning it’s loaded up with mustard and coleslaw, is a new feature on the brunch menu in Greenpoint. Apart from that and a recurring maple motif — the jugs of syrup on a shelf outside the kitchen are not just for show — the Québécois influence is minimal.

     

  • Boasting a strong Canadian influence, this American bistro (named for a Montreal hot dog joint) in Greenpoint offers raw-bar items, charcuterie and seasonal veggies and mains by alums of Café Altro Paradiso. Dark woods and white walls lend a simple, unassuming feel to the dining room and bar.

  • Restaurateur, Josh Cohen (who previously owned the hit spot, Jimmy’s Diner) has enlisted the help of Aidan O’Neal and Jake Leiber, who have both served significant time at the celebrated, Café Altro Paradiso, to head up this new addition to the area… A native of Vancouver, O’Neal spent five years in Montreal before moving to NYC and pays homage to a restaurant he loved there, which also inspired the name, Chez Ma Tante (‘at my aunt’s’)…  The menu is broken into categories for raw & cooked selfish, charcuterie, salads & vegetables and mains. There’s dishes like marinated mussels and clams, country pâté and skate wing. Dessert offers up items like rhubarb custard tart and a sorbet with Polish vodka.

  • “There’s a little bit of maple syrup everywhere,” says Chef Aidan O’Neal, whose new restaurant Chez Ma Tante opened in the former Jimmy’s space on Greenpoint’s Calyer Street… That a Vancouver native who spent five years in Montreal prior to moving to NYC would employ Canada’s sweet liquid gold wherever possible is not surprising, but O’Neal’s employing a nuanced, measured hand. He and chef de cuisine Jake Leiber—who met working at Cafe Altro Paradiso—lacquer salmon gravlax with gin and maple syrup while it’s drying to build up its texture, combine it with chardonnay vinegar to finish a falafel dish, and there’s a little bit of it on the rhubarb custard tart, too.

  • Considering the moniker means “At My Aunt’s,” the atmosphere is suitably non-pretentious, though the fare in no way could be considered especially homespun. Well befitting a French boite, you’ll find pebbled salmon tartare cured with maple syrup and gin, grilled veal steaks paired with creamy, corpulent butter beans, fans of skate wing over sabayon and leeks, and wagyu short rib steak, teamed with wedge-style frites and prune-anchovy ketchup.

Getting There

Esme

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A slightly upscale take on classic American dishes. Esme has a bright, relaxed ambiance and great food. Stick with simpler dishes like the Roasted Chicken or the Grilled Salmon with Roasted Fennel — Esme is at its best when they’re not trying too hard. During the weekend, grab a seat at their sunny bar, close to the espresso machine (their coffee is fantastic) for an ideal brunch.

Featured Reviews

  • This is a neighborhood spot through-and-through. At peak brunch times, you might encounter a short wait, but never long enough to give you the usual soul-sucking feeling that there are about 137 better things you could be doing with your Saturday. The space is light and bright – “cute” enough that you feel like a productive member of society even if you’re so hungover you can’t form sentences, but laid-back enough that you can wallow in your hangover without judgment. When it’s warm, there’s even a covered back patio that beats any wobbly-table sidewalk situation any day.

  • Updated American classics deliver “big taste” at this relaxed Greenpoint bistro, whose understated style features reclaimed church pews and subdued hues; craft (and draft) cocktails are mixed at a wooden-ceilinged bar under exposed-filament bulbs that create a soft, “romantic” glow.

  • This sunny spot looking out onto Manhattan Avenue turns into a candlelit date destination by night. Upscale American dishes are served in a cozy, warm room filled with wooden two-tops, with a raised seating area in front. The pork-belly appetizer is both crispy and succulent, with four meaty cubes sitting in a mix of sweet apples, cranberries, and cabbage. While Spanish white anchovies are bit underwhelming, both in portion and flavor, the “borscht salad,” appropriate for the neighborhood’s Polish heritage, mixes small Brussels sprouts with wedges of pickled beets and baby potatoes, all satisfyingly melded by rich butter and dill.

Getting There

The Four Horseman

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The Four Horseman is a fantastic, minimally designed wine bar that gets attention for the wrong reasons. Sure, it’s partially owned by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, but the truly interesting thing about this bar in South Williamsburg is its great wine selection and charming atmosphere. The design is informed by Nordic and Japanese minimalism, with wood-lined walls and ceilings and (of course) amazing acoustics. The wine list is extensive, but the staff is friendly and helpful when it comes to selecting one that fits your mood. Charcuterie with house-made bread is available, as are a number of small plates — we recommend the Beef Tartare. If you’re having dinner, the menu leans Italian and New American with typical dishes including Potato Gnocchi ($20), St. Louis-Style Sweet Port Ribs ($20) and a Pork Ragu ($20).

Featured Reviews

  • Fear not if you know little to nothing about natural wine, the Four Horsemen is staffed with knowledgeable servers who will help you navigate the menu and let you taste anything. A focused food menu complements the wine, featuring small plates like cheese & charcuterie plus more dinner-satisfying options like flank steak and potato gnocchi. The Grand St space is small and minimal, with a bar upfront and small tables in the back.

  • Four Horsemen is a really cool little room. It’s the kind of place you walk into and immediately think to yourself, “I can definitely hang out here. Let’s drink.” It feels like a more comfortable version of Momofuku Noodle Bar, and is filled with a hip but unpretentious crowd. The attention to detail is impressive, from the colorful knives and wooden spoons to the subtle design details, like the slats on the ceiling going in different directions, and the super cool texture on the walls. Also, the natural wine list is well-priced and expertly curated.

  • A “killer wine list” filled with “quirky” finds is the headliner at this Williamsburg nook from musician James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), but the seasonal American fare is “spot-on” too; “sleek” and “perfectly dimmed” with a front bar, it draws “hip, but mature” types who keep the mood “convivial.”

  • You’re sipping wine in Murphy’s house, and it certainly feels like home. Cedar ceiling slats and decorative burlap sacks double as acoustics-enhancing sound absorbers for a crowd-pleasing playlist of equal parts Van Morrison and Kate Bush. Warmly personalized touches—cutlery from Murphy and Topsøe’s wedding, eucalyptus-scented bath towels—invite you to stay for another glass. If this is what the apocalypse looks like, sign us up.

Getting There

Freehold

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Freehold has an unusual theme — it’s a hotel bar, lobby, and restaurant, without the hotel. It’s certainly a bit gimmicky, but somehow it all coalesces without feeling like a theme restaurant. First of all, the space is enormous, which makes it a comfortable place to grab a fancy cocktail or have a low-key dinner. Outside, there’s a large, grassy courtyard with tables and ping pong which becomes crowded with a very “New Williamsburg” set during the warmer months. The food won’t blow you away, but is always pretty darn good with standouts including the Chicken Sandwich, a Lobster Roll, and Whiskey Peppercorn Mussels. We especially like mornings and afternoons at Freehold Monday-Friday when it transforms into a comfortable workspace with a clientele that’s largely on their laptops. Breakfast is served daily and there is a weekend brunch.

Featured Reviews

  • Just as the Ace Hotel lobby did for Flatiron start-up bros, the Freehold offers a community space for Williamsburg’s upwardly mobile set (but with no rooms upstairs). The reception desk is actually a coat check, while the hostess, who lends out Monopoly and Risk, goes by “concierge.” Beneath 16-foot-high ceilings, the freelancing afternoon crowd logs onto free Wi-Fi and takes meetings on mid-century-modern couches. But come sundown, social-media managers let loose with $3 pint specials, outdoor Ping-Pong, and standup- comedy shows.

  • The grassy, spacious outdoor area of this bumping Williamsburg hangout is an apt setting for a cold Bud and a house burger, finished with pickled onions, American cheese and special sauce. Once you’ve had your fill, you can challenge your bargoing buds to a match of outdoor Ping-Pong.

  • The entire space is designed to mimic a hotel lobby, from the front desk/concierge area to the flexible seating design that offers both couches and comfy chairs as well as larger tables for groups to set up. During the day, the large bar offers breakfast and a place to perch while plugging away on a laptop (they offer free WiFi). In the evening, TVs might emerge from their hiding spots and show a local sports game. At night, the music is louder, the lights are dimmed and dancing on all the surfaces is encouraged.

Getting There

Marlow & Sons

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Tucked away beneath the Williamsburg bridge in the increasingly posh South Williamsburg, Marlow & Sons has been pleasing crowds for nearly a decade. The bar’s back room feels like a saloon and expect great wine, oysters, exquisite service, and a small menu with classic American fare. (Locally-sourced of course). It can get a little tight on the weekends, but the food is worth the wait. Don’t miss the brick chicken, which sounds boring, but is quite exquisite. A great place for a romantic date.

Featured Reviews

  • It’s been one of our highest rated restaurants since way back in 2009 and even though not much has changed, we felt like we needed to remind you how good it is. We love Marlow & Sons for the cool vibes, the oysters, the brown liquor, the craft beer, the friendly staff, the great tunes, and of course, the brick chicken. It’s the ultimate neighborhood restaurant that’s perfect for coffee, brunch, dinner, or a late night drink.

  • An “upscale” Williamsburg “hipster” joint from way back, this “market-to-table” pioneer puts forth a daily changing menu of “delicious-in-every-detail” New American fare, matched with an “excellent” drinks list; factor in the “appropriately Brooklyn” staff and vibe, and no wonder it’s “always a good time.”

  • Before there was a destination restaurant on every Williamsburg corner, there was Marlow and Sons—a pioneer in the kind of rustic aesthetic and farm-to-table fare that’s become the knee-jerk norm in Kings County. The restaurant, opened in 2004, wears its relative age well, functioning as an alluring neighborhood coffee shop during the afternoon and a subtly ambitious eatery come nightfall. In the back room, an oyster shucker cracks open the catch of the day, while a bartender churns out potent drinks.

Getting There

Meadowsweet

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Polo Dobkin’s latest venture Meadowsweet is situated in the former home of South Williamsburg favorite Dressler — he was the chef there as well before it closed unexpectedly in 2014. Meadowsweet has no pretense, just honest, beautifully prepared food. We highly recommend it. They recently received a Michelin star for their simple, yet delicious New American cuisine.

Featured Reviews

  • The space is rugged and airy, with whitewashed pine from Kentucky, and a spectacular 17-foot hanging herb garden, the bounty of which is used for the cocktail menu. The food menu, which is mostly New American, has layers. It opens with three options: raw and cured, snacks, and starters, the latter of which impresses the most. Seafood is where the restaurant excels: The Spanish octopus is pleasantly chewy, tender, and smoky, and the scallop ceviche, served with lime, tomato, avocado, and cilantro, is wonderfully fresh. The entrées menu solely consists of fish and meat but offers its own range.

  • The flavors are “on point” at this Williamsburg “standout” from former Dressler chef Polo Dobkin whose “ever-changing” New American menu highlights his “ingenuity”; the “bright, airy” space has a “hip”, “laid-back” vibe, and the “attentive” staff is another big plus.

  • Headed by the same chef (Polo Dobkin) as the previous tenant (Dressler), Meadowsweet is a dinner/bar operation that will feature mouth-watering dishes like St. Louis ribs, aged strip steaks with bordelaise sauce, and pan-roasted quail with grits, Tasso ham, and pickled watermelon.

Getting There

Montana’s Trail House

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A casual place to get a drink, relax and have some of the best comfort food in the neighborhood. It’s also great for brunch, especially if you’re craving baked eggs. Though the “Appalachian East coast country food” theme is a bit heavy-handed, Montana’s Trail House has quickly established itself as a go-to joint for locals with great food and friendly vibes. Don’t miss the fried chicken.

Featured Reviews

  • The state of Montana seems to be referenced in the joint’s moniker, it actually represents the given name of owner Montana Masback, former bartender at the Last Chance Saloon. A Bushwick bistro opened by a dive bartender? Here anything can happen….We loved the brisket braised in root beer ($23), and never asked if the braising liquid was organic or not. The thick slabs flopped across something called rice grits, creamy and salty. From a choice of four other entrees, we forewent the fried chicken (you can get good fried chicken anywhere in Brooklyn these days), the “barnyard” trout, and a vegetable plate, in favor of the so-called “tongue and cheek reuben” ($15). This fine sandwich features those two variety meats with house-cured sauerkraut. Apart from a certain sameness in our two entrees, we were satisfied by the quality and quantity of the food.

  • Google Montana’s Trail House and words like “Appalachian black magic” and “East Coast country” will pop up. What exactly that means and how that all plays out on a corner in Bushwick, it’s kind of hard to tell—but it works. In a gas station refitted inside and out with beautiful wood salvaged from a barn in Kentucky and plenty of pieces of old Americana, owner Montana Masback has transformed the space and divided it into two dining rooms: the Roost, a tiny wedge of a corner room, welcomes you up front, and the Tack Room around the corner houses the bar, a bookcase with a secret door to an outside patio, complete with two-tops and seats covered with green and red vinyl, and hanging rusty antiques. Throw in some young, model-esque servers and tattooed bartenders, a playlist of soul and country, plus vintage wallpaper, and you’ve got some trail-house fun.

  • A creative selection of reasonably priced cocktails starts at $10. The waiters are diner-style friendly, but not always knowledgeable. The locavore menu reads like a scene from “Portlandia” (“barnyard trout” and “kale slaw”), while the late-night bar snacks include fried pickles and corn dogs.y.”

Getting There