Free Williamsburg

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

Acapulco

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A wonderful, atmospheric Mexican diner at the end of Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint. Start with the fresh tortilla chips and guacamole and move on to the Carnitas (roasted pork) or Chorizo (spicy sausage) Tacos. Portions are huge, so be sure not to over-order. One bite and you’ll be transported to a bustling counter joint in Mexico City. The Tortas — the Mexican version of a sandwich – are stellar as well. It doesn’t get any more authentic than Acapulco.

Featured Reviews

  • The enormous signboard menu behind the counter carries both Mexican and American basics from soft tacos to tuna melts with fries. A few surprises include tacos cecina, a sort of Spanish beef jerky with cilantro, onions and white sauce in a soft corn tortilla, and the Crunch French Toast made with thick fluffy slices of challah dredged in batter and coated in crushed corn flakes. The food’s not San Diego quality, but nothing comes out too badly and it’s all exceedingly cheap.

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Allswell

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A true neighborhood spot with an amazing chicken sandwich and a cozy dining room. The menu changes daily with an emphasis on farm-to-table, Southern-influenced cuisine. Allswell is one of those places you bypass when you’re trying to impress someone with the new buzz restaurant, but nonetheless frequent for good, honest food.

Featured Reviews

  • This corner restaurant on a busy stretch of Bedford Avenue has a relaxed, welcoming feel, as though it’s been around a long time. Country inn touches abound, like the large rectangle-paned windows, swatches of mismatched calico wallpaper, and, in the center, a candelabra light fixture that wouldn’t look out of place at Hogwarts. … Chicken proved nicely moist, with delicious browned skin, served in a plate of its own juice. And the winner of the night was mussels in tarragon-beer broth with a side of olive-oiled grilled bread; with tender mollusks and a nice hearty bitterness to the broth.

  • “Very Brooklyn”, this rustic Williamsburg pub serves up a “rotating menu” of “flavorful” American grub with “complex” farm-to-table ingredients; occupying “cozy, ski-chalet” quarters with an “appropriately hipsterized” staff and clientele, it’s especially “popular at brunch.”

  • this place is very good [but] subsequent visits have demonstrated that we might have gotten a bit carried away. The restaurant hasn’t necessarily declined in overall quality -Allswell is still putting out very good food – but the problem is that they change the menu daily, and things therefore become somewhat inconsistent. And when you’re talking about what sets a great restaurant apart from a legendary restaurant, consistency usually has a lot to do with it.

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Amami

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Fresh sushi and craft cocktails in a laid-back and chic pub setting. There’s also ramen and an assortment of small plates to share, like Popcorn Shrimp (in a honey-sriracha crema) and Grilled Japanese Squid with a basil-ginger glaze. Everything goes well with a Japanese Old Fashioned (Iwai Japanese Whiskey, Fresh Ginger Mint Syrup) or one of their many Sakes. Best of all, prices are very reasonable.

Featured Reviews

  • If you’re in Greenpoint, expect this to be your neighborhood sushi spot. It’s on the trendier side (as neighborhood sushi spots go) and the menu is big – in addition to sushi, you can find anything from ramen to pork buns.

  •  a pan-Japanese menu of sushi, yakitori, ramen and other snacks. The wasabi and the soy sauce are house-made here, served alongside pieces of fresh sushi and colorful rolls adorned with jewel-toned roe or wrapped in thin slices of raw fish. There are literally hundreds of different options for fish and seafood, whether raw, skewered and grilled, fried, or steamed with vegetables.

  • The caliber of fish certainly speaks for itself–from rose-tinted slips of seabream to buttery blocks of otoro, portioned into austere rectangles of sashimi or tight, rice-padded coils. Wang lets loose when it comes to signature rolls, though, festooned like floats at a Carnival parade–angled on martini glasses bolstered with sprays of baby’s breath, or assembled on platters and decorative, rough-hewn boards, shimmering with a judicious application of day-glo roe. He maintains that sense of whimsy with another surprise element: brunch, besting tired standbys like benedict and pancakes with seafood okonomiyaki, spicy tuna tekka don and organic azuki bean waffles.

  • the sushi here is fresh and affordable, with standard rolls under $7 and the fancier ones hovering around the $15 mark. The menu is a mix of simply prepared fish and casual Japanese comfort food like soy-glazed pork buns and ramen in a red miso broth. With its sleek décor and long bar, it offers a nice space to gather for carefully made cocktails and reliable, straightforward Japanese dishes. 

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Amarin Cafe

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Amarin is our go-to Thai joint for a reliably good meal. We’re never blown away, but the food is satisfying when we’re looking for affordable Thai cuisine. We like their Chicken Masaman Curry and their Pad Thai, but everything is done well. The dining room is unremarkable, but comfortable and rarely crowded which is a huge plus. One word of caution: when they say spicy, they mean SPICY. Be sure to order mild or medium unless you can handle it.

Featured Reviews

  • This no-frills Thai spot by McCarren Park promises flavorful fare at a low price. It’s great for such standbys are pad thai, curry, and satay, but also be sure to check out some of their house specials– the basil shrimp sauteed in onion, pepper, and chili sauce is on point. It’s cash only, but they offer free BYOB.

  • If you’re seeking refuge from the wave of glammy Thai spots to hit Williamsburg in recent years, head north, to where the only frills are the local artwork on otherwise bare green walls. All the brilliance here goes into the food: A pair of golden, crisp crab cakes are first good, then great when dunked in rich, coconutty peanut sauce. Basil chicken, ordered medium spiced, is quite hot; shrimp with asparagus is scattered with nicely crunchy cashews.

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Arepera Guacuco

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The arepas are divine in this family-run restaurant. We like the pork, but vegetarians will be happy too. The Vegetariana is a corn arepa filled with cheeses, plantains, avocado, and tomato.

Featured Reviews

  • It’s easy to forget Bushwick’s Latin American influence when surrounded by yoga studios and artisanal coffee shops. But if you want food that speaks to the neighborhood’s history, head to Arepera Guacuco, a lively, family-run Venezuelan restaurant serving food so fresh and flavorful you’ll think you’ve just traveled to South America — all without leaving Brooklyn. You’re here for the arepas, of course, which are small patties made from ground corn and stuffed with fillings like sweet plantains, black beans, and different kinds of meat. The dish dates back to the indigenous people of Venezuela, and even though Arepera Guacuco hasn’t been around for decades, the arepas don’t taste like some Bushwick-ified, ready-for-Instagram take on the traditional — these are real arepas.

  • Like Le Garage, Arepera Guacuco is an intergenerational affair. This time it was the son, Leonard Molina, who convinced his mother, Carmen, to move from Margarita Island, off the coast of Venezuela, to New York and to bring her traditional recipes along. Among them is the arepa pabellón, an old chestnut of Venezuelan cooking; here the pabellón has reached ideal form, the crust crunchy, the beef inside soft, the plantains sweet, and the beans touched by vinegar. The arepas are served fast and fresh at the crowded and slightly chaotic restaurant, but the rest of the menu – including B-sides like pabellón oriental, in which fish stands for beef, and a grilled garlicky king fish — is worth exploration too.

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Beco

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A charming Brazilian cafe and bar with live music, traditional cuisine and great cocktails. Try the Maracuja Capiroska cocktail (Vodka, Passion fruit and pressed sugar cane) or a Traditional Caipirinha. For food, don’t miss the tasty cheese bread and the Feijoada (Brazil’s National Dish) which is a hearty, slow-cooked stew made with black beans and pork. Check their calendar for live Brazilian music. We love this place.

Featured Reviews

  • Daniel Giddings says he and his partners envisioned it as a modest Sao Paolo boteco, where you can laze about while popping made-to-order pao de queijo and sip cocktails made with fresh passion fruit and pressed sugar cane. As Giddings describes it, the decor harks back to the days of Pele, and “doesn’t scream ‘Brazil’ in your face, but it’s more like what a boteco is — a real hangout.” You can hang there during brunch that includes acai and granola, omelettes, bife a cavalo (Brazilians refer to their steak and eggs as “steak on horseback”), and a feijoada that’s prepared over the course of two days

  • Tucked away from the bustle of Bedford Avenue, this neighborhood gem offers delicious Brazilian food in an intimate candlelit setting. Dinner highlights include a traditional feijoada—smoky and thick stew with ham hock and black beans—and a shrimp stew that gets its bright flavor from coconut milk and cilantro. Brazilian churrasco—grilled meat—is also available, in the form of a simple filet mignon, nicely charred and served with garlicky collard greens.

  • And you can have a meal at Beco, even though there’s no real kitchen. A short-order cook in the corner of the bar quickly turns out satisfying versions of classics, like feijoada ($18), on a small cooktop. That dish arrives disassembled — beans and meat in a cup, rice and collard greens on a plate, toasted yuca flour in a bowl. It’s big enough for two, but too tasty to share. Split the bar snacks instead, both the excellent pão de queijo ($4), a basket of six puffed cheesy breads the size of Ping-Pong balls; and the sliced linguiça sausage ($6), made by a Brazilian butcher in Newark and browned in a skillet, then finished with cachaça.

Getting There

Dokebi Bar & Grill

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The place to go in Williamsburg when you’re craving Korean BBQ. Less crowded than many of the places you’ll find in Koreatown ( if admittedly less authentic) Dokebi Bar & Grill is a neighborhood staple. Other than the BBQ, which can be cooked in the kitchen or DIY style at your table, standouts include their fantastic Korean Tacos, Tuna Sashimi Bibimbap, and a dish known as Japchae — stir-fried cellophane noodles made from sweet potatoes. Dokebi Bar & Grill is great for groups and even has a fairly impressive cocktail and craft beer selection, so you’re not stuck drinking Heineken. If you’re in Greenpoint, visit the charming Little Dokebi — a smaller, intimate version of Dokebi Bar & Grill with a more focused menu.

Featured Reviews

  • You see a Korean restaurant in Williamsburg, and immediately you think scene over substance. That this is not the case at Dokebi is evident as soon as you start slurping soon dubu, an unapologetically briny, fiery stew of clams, shrimp, and tofu. Fortunately, this dish is no aberration. Except for a flavorless rendition of japchae, the classic glass-noodle stir-fry, the food is fresh and tasty, from the banchan, the collection of little dishes that accompany the Korean meal, to the bibimbap, a pile of rice, meat, and vegetables that cooks in front of you in a scalding hot stone bowl.

  • While Dokebi isn’t as authentic as a K-Town favorite like Kunjip, if the name of your game is comfort, than you’ve come to the right place. You come for three things: ridiculous Korean BBQ tacos, Bibimbahp in a hot stone bowl, and the extremely Chronic Brunch that’ll take good care of your hangover,

  • a thoughtful, health-conscious menu that does not so much forsake tradition as refurbish it, with modern fixings… On a drizzly night, a trio of friends sat down on maple-wood seats hand-built to resemble those in the courtyards of traditional Korean homes. Over yuzu cocktails, the group began grilling slices of crimson kalbi (Angus off-the-bone short ribs) and sashimi-grade tuna, an addition that Kim made to accommodate pescatarians… Next up were Korean tacos, ranging from spicy fish to pork shoulder to tofu. All arrived on corn tortillas (instead of flour, for gluten-free diners), plumped with bean sprouts, lettuce, and radish. The unanimous favorite dish? Samgyeopsal, braised grass-fed Berkshire pork belly that crisps into golden hunks and melts on the tongue like a good dirty joke told by a dokebi: a touch naughty but indisputably satisfying.

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

Fette Sau

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Brisket, pulled pork, ribs, sausage! Fette Sau is a meat lover’s paradise. This Williamsburg institution is just what you’re looking for when you have meat on your mind. We recommend the pulled pork, smoked on premises with a delicious dry rub. All meats are served by the pound. Grab a beer, served in a Mason jar (this is Brooklyn after all) and sample one of there many sides including potato salad, baked beans or broccoli salad.

Featured Reviews

  • Owners of the inimitable beer bar Spuyten Duyvil, had been scouting locations for their second venture when they learned that Tony & Sons, the auto-body repair shop across the street, was renting out part of its fenced-in lot and cinderblock building. The couple preserved the shop’s industrial vibe, outfitting the driveway with picnic tables and the wood-beamed, cement-floored interior … Head chef Matt Lang, late of Pearl Oyster Bar, swaps surf for turf with a rotating menu of pork and beef ribs and shoulders, pigs’ tails, flank steak, leg of lamb, pork belly, and pastrami, all sold by weight and served on butcher paper, sauce on the side. 

  • It’s the “quintessential Williamsburg experience” to “join the hipsters” at this “serious foodie” “heaven” for “awesome” dry-rub, by-the-pound BBQ paired with “artisanal” beers and bourbons; no rezzies means “crazy lines” for “cafeteria-style” service in a “former garage” outfitted with “communal picnic tables” – but to most it’s so “worth it.”

  • Lean baby back ribs come tender and pink in the middle, the tasty meat carrying a hint of smoke and a light rub of espresso and brown sugar. Lang cakes a coriander black-pepper rub onto his thick-crusted pastrami, which gets a sweet, fatty coating from the drippings of its ovenmates…. more ambitious options were comparatively bland, including flank steak and pork belly (save a pulled lamb, beef and pork are Fette Sau’s two exclusive muses). The steak came extra-lean, and the belly was all fat and no marbling. .

Getting There

Lucy’s Vietnamese Kitchen

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They only serve Pho and Banh Mi, but simplicity is a beautiful thing at Lucy’s. Their pho comes in a mushroom broth, but meat eaters can always add brisket or chicken. We recommend the latter. The place is tiny, with one long table, perfect for communal slurping. Chicken thigh, smoked brisket and tofu Banh Mi are available.

Featured Reviews

  • The broth is as crystalline as consommé, with long leaves of bok choy still on the stalk and bobbing thimbles of green onion. It’s lovely in its pristine state, but even better besmirched by brisket. The meat is rubbed with salt and pepper, smoked for 14 hours over mesquite and apple wood, and carved and seared to order. It lands in the bowl with dark fringes, the bark just shy of scorched, and its juices leach into the pho along with a trace of smoke. 

  • Purists may balk at the notion of a vegetable-based pho that shines among the meaty regulars, but the lone offering of noodle soup at chef-owner Johnny Huynh’s Bushwick kitchen is just that. A savory, yet light broth is simmered for three hours with mushrooms, star anise, charred shallots and ginger, and built with unorthodox fixings like shiitake and bok choy. Beef is available as a topping in thick, hand-carved strips of brisket that’s been smoked for 14 hours over mesquite and applewood. Diners tuck into the piping hot bowls as well as sandwiches (pho banh mi, lemongrass chicken) at the shop’s singular red-painted, wooden communal table.

  • Believe it or not, one of the city’s best bowls of pho is… vegetarian. That’s right. Instead of the usual meats and marrow, Chef Johnny Huynh uses mushrooms, star anise, cinnamon, charred shallots, and ginger to tease out a broth that’s both hearty and light, brimming with fresh rice noodles, shiitakes, and bok choy. Hardcore carnivores, fear not. You have the option to add tender slabs of smoked beef brisket, which add yet another layer of flavor to this already complex noodle soup.

Getting There