c/o NY Mag

222 Franklin St
Brooklyn, NY 11222
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718.389.8100

Cuisine: Italian
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Price: $$
Hours: Sun-Thu 5:30 pm. – 10 pm; Fri-Sat 5:30pm-11pm; Sat-Sun 10am-4pm Brunch
Cards: All Major
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: G to Greenpoint Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Web: www.anellabrooklyn.com
Delivery: No
New York Mag says:

Anella opened in the spring of 2009, quickly establishing its reputation as a solid Greenpoint joint with a knack for slightly upscale comfort food like brick oven-pizzas and olive oil mashed potatoes. But in early 2010, Chef Joe Ogrodnek took over the reins, launching the restaurant from reliable neighborhood standby to Brooklyn standout. Ogrodnek favors bold, classic flavors: tangy short ribs and a rich, tender pork cassoulet share space on the menu with more creative fare like sweet carrots served with fluffy whipped ricotta. But it’s the little touches that propel his homey dishes into new terrain: the generous helping of fennel on the potato-crusted cod, a scoop of ever-so-slightly tart buttermilk ice cream paired with a chocolate bread-pudding, or candied orange peel served atop the lemon tart. Even the bread, baked and served in terracotta flowerpots, is magnificently rich and salty. The wood-paneled space is warm and inviting, ideal for stretching out for a long, late-morning feast (at brunch, the pastry basket with homemade jam never disappoints). In nice weather, the backyard garden opens, a cozy spot to sip a cocktail or linger over dinner.

Metromix says:

When Greenpoint’s beloved restaurant du jour Queen’s Hideaway shuttered last fall, it was a major blow to the hood’s most-adventurous diners—the restaurant was known for crafting a daily menu, playing off the seasons and the chef’s legendary mood swings. Chanterelle vet Michael Sullivan aims to bring his own strong personality to the handsome space, but more with his Italian-rooted cooking than “Top Chefian” meltdowns. The trattoria serves five types of brick oven pizza, including truffled cheese with onions and the signature pie of bacon and pepperoni. A pork loin wrapped in bacon is an early favorite, as well as a chocolate terrine dessert with pistachio crème anglise. Sullivan plans to install greenhouse, growing herbs and produce on-site.

Full Circle

318 Grand Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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347.725.4588

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Hours: Mon-Fri, 3pm-4am; Sat-Sun, 1pm-4am
Subway: L to Lorimer St.; J,M,Z, to Marcy Ave.
Food/Menu: Bar Snacks
Booze: Full bar
Happy Hour: Mon-Thurs 4pm-9pm;Fri-Sun 2pm-9pm $3 Full Circle Wheat $3 BREWmosa, $4 Well Drinks, $4 Moo Thunder, $4 Pork Slap,$4 Snapperhead IPA, $4 Whiskee Fizz, $4 Arnold Palmer, $4 BROTY Mary
Metromix says:

The “National Home of Brewskee Ball” is home to all sorts of Skee-Ball league tournaments, game nights, special events and other beer- and game-related parties—and it serves Coney Island hot dogs and hand-twisted pretzels, too. But wait—what is Brewskee Ball? We’re sure you can guess, but just in case: “Brewskee-Ball is the first-ever competitive Skee-Ball league, and Full Circle Bar is its national home.” Just like we thought. Game on!

NY Mag says:

They take their Skee-ball seriously at this South Williamsburg mecca of cheap beer. A Skee-ball machine greets you in the tiny front room, while the back boasts a proper game room stocked with … more Skee-ball! For die hard players, the bar hosts a semi-competitive league – known as Brewskeeball – that meets on Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays. As for the rest of the regulars, they come for the cozy atmosphere and prices that are uber-friendly: $5 will get you a can of Moo Thunder or Dale’s Pale Ale, Genny Cream Ale is $3, and Stella and Sweet Action on tap are $6. Cans are the name of the game — the bar carries over 15 canned beers, from Golden Pheasant to Pork Slap. One of the best deals is the $4 Ginny Dog (a Genesee cream ale and a decent hot dog) or the $6 10th Ball (a cream ale and a shot of well whiskey). Weekday crowds are mostly locals, while the weekends see some spillover from The Lodge next door.

Goods

Corner of Metropolitan Ave. and Lorimer St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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Cuisine: American Traditional
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Price: $
Hours: Mon-Thurs 7am-10:30pm; Fri 7am-Midnight; Sat 9am-Midnight; Sun 9am-1opm
Cards: Cash Only
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Lorimer St.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
Lonely Planet says:

From the innovative folks over at 3rd Ward , Goods Food will be serving up brunch, lunch and dinner from their bullet-shaped silver trailer parked on the corner of Metropolitan Ave and Lorimer St in Williamsburg. Taking advantage of one of the few abandoned lots left in the neighborhood, they will also be opening up a refurbished garden space to the public on June 19. 3rd Ward has been an invaluable fixture of the neighborhood offering up studio space to local artists, leading skill shop classes of every trade and being the leading supporter for local arts. Apparently the Goods Truck is just the tip of the iceberg of more culinary things to come. For now, the public will be satiated with New York State bred beef, the most epic looking breakfast sandwich I’ve ever seen, and Intelligentsia coffee.

Daily Candy says:

It sounds like the beginning of a bad Jeff Foxworthy bit: What do you get when you put three handsome Southern boys in an old trailer home on a dirty corner lot? But Goods, a Williamsburg restaurant where all the food is prepared in a shiny, refurbished 1946 Spartan trailer, is no joke (and the 3rd Ward guys behind it are mighty clever). Chef Alex McCrery, the star of our video, turns out tasty, south of the M-D line fare that’s almost all locally sourced or made in-house. Starting today, he’s serving breakfast (egg, bacon, and cheese biscuits; beignets) and lunch/dinner (hot dogs, burgers, fish and chips) from the window. Ten days from now, you’ll be able to eat in the adjacent garden, a complete overhaul of the lot that’s been vacant for years. And with everything priced at less than $11, we predict it will become your go-to in B’burg. That is, if you’re smarter than a fifth grader.

c/o Grub Street

108 Franklin St
Brooklyn, NY 11222
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Cuisine: French, Coffee Shop/Cafe
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Price: $$
Hours: 8am-11pm Daily
Cards: Cash Only
Booze: None
Subway: G to Greenpoint Ave.
Delivery: No
Brownstoner says:

Le Gamin opened at full capacity yesterday at 108 Franklin Avenue in Greenpoint. Le Gamin will serve a variety of sweet and savory crêpes, sandwiches, salads, and desserts in a casual, French inspired space. “The ‘full bistro menu,’ with items like steak-frites and moules-frites, differs slightly from Le Gamin’s Prospect Heights location,” according to Grubstreet. For about the last week or so, Le Gamin has had a “very soft” opening, in which food was prepared outside in Le Gamin’s mobile truck. Starting yesterday, the truck will head for Malibu, CA and the kitchen will be open. Founder Robert Arbor told us that he had received approval from the community board for a liquor license, so while it’s BYOB for the time being, you can expect beer and wine offerings soon.

Metromix says:

With a location in Prospect Heights and a popular crepe-dispensing truck, Le Gamin has perfected the casual French style. The Greenpoint location has the feel of an authentic French café, with specials written on blackboards and a crowd of locals debating the issues of the day. The spot has many more options than a coffee shop, but the vibe is decidedly not bourgeois. Low prices and an easygoing atmosphere make it easy to spend an afternoon here. You can whittle away the time by sipping a café au lait, or you can go for one of their light dishes like a country ham sandwich or a baby green salad with goat cheese (both are under $10). Their dinner menu offers heartier fare like roasted duck breast and a pan seared skirt steak, but they seem like an extravagance in such a low-key setting. Instead, opt for what Gamin does best: crepes. Savory fold-overs stuffed with things like chicken and ratatouille are available all day long. While you sip your post meal-espresso, satisfy your sweet tooth with a crepe tartin filled with caramelized apples and crème fraiche. C’est magnifique!

c/o Grub Street

64 Frost Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.599.0025

Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Hours: Mon-Thurs 5pm-Midnight; Fri-Sat Noon-4am
Subway: L to Lorimer Ave.
Food/Menu: Click Here
Booze: Full bar
Happy Hour: None
Blackbook Mag says:

LES biergarten pioneer crosses the river, opens huge annex in recycled gas station. Maple, brick, and brass inside, row after row of picnic tables out back.  Wursts, krauts, and shanks meet their match in serious all-German brew list. Knock back a stein of house specialty Gaffel Kölsch, or a pilsner, bock, or lager. Williamsburg, City of Beer Gardens?

New York Mag says:

The lower east side’s Loreley expands to Williamsburg, with a menu of sauerbraten with dumplings and cabbage, braised pork shank with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut, sausages of every stripe. An all-German beer list features a dozen draught selections, including pilsners like Bitburger, Radeberger, and Jever, plus one of Cologne’s best-known exports: kölsch from the Gaffel and Reissdorf breweries, both available by the traditional .2-liter glass. The location, a former gas station in the shadow of the BQE, now houses an 80-seat restaurant, 10-seat bar, and 60-seat patio outfitted with communal tables and brewpub furnishings imported from Germany.

One or Eight

66 S 2nd St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.384.2152

Cuisine: Japanese/Sushi
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Price: $$$$
Hours: Sun-Thu 6pm-Midnight; Fri-Sat 6pm-3am
Cards: All Major
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave. or Lorimer St.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
New York Mag says:

Williamsburg’s very first ultra-high-end sushi restaurant boasts a slick white interior and a $40 omakase menu. For the less adventurous, there’s a conventional (but upscale) extended menu of sushi, sashimi, and kitchen entrees.

Time Out New York says:

Deep in the heart of Williamsburg, where the old-timey look is de rigueur, a minimalist place like 1 or 8—the second sushi project from the owner of Bozu—stands out. There’s the stark interior: calming and blindingly white. And the service: reverent, knowledgeable and doting without a hint of affectation. “Atelier of food” reads the restaurant’s confident tag line, and the message is clear: Pay attention, we’re about to blow your mind. Unfortunately, the food fails to back up the fanfare. The fusion menu, from co-chefs Kazuo Yoshida (Jewel Bako) and Atsushi Yokota, begins with a daunting selection of appetizers. On the night we visited, the rotating lineup of terrines included a crock of chalky chicken-liver mousse sealed with artificial-tasting clarified butter. Despite the good-on-paper combination of avocado, yuzu, mango and grapefruit in a lobster ceviche, the dish was unbalanced—so sweet-tart that it overwhelmed the subtle shellfish. Entrées were also seriously flawed. A sashimi platter certainly looked pretty, with its ruby akami, ridged hunks of octopus and coils of silver fluke. But piece after piece, the fish was dry and bland—far from top-shelf. That’s more than can be said for the uni, musty and sour urchin served in a hollowed-out cucumber. Hot dishes were equally off-putting: Pork belly served two ways (grilled over a bed of sauerkraut and deep-fried in a greasy batter) was really just served one way—gristly. Sushi restaurants rarely bring their A-game for dessert, and 1 or 8 doesn’t break the mold. Jiggly shiso flan worked only as a serviceable palate cleanser. The place does have one compelling draw—a tidy collection of rare Japanese beers, including the unusual Coedo Beniaka, made with sweet potatoes. Nutty and robust, it would pair beautifully with a hearty meal—if only we found something here worth eating.

c/o Time Out New York

106 N 6th St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.218.7080

Cuisine: Italian
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: $$$
Hours: Mon-Fri 12pm-Midnight; Sat-Sun 11am-Midnight
Booze: None
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes
Time Out New York says:

Northern Italian cuisine is the specialty at Osteria il Paiolo, a rustic Williamsburg eatery from former Da Silvano manager Alex Palumbo. Genoa-born chef Andrea Milazzo (PT) creates dishes like polenta cooked in a paiolo (copper pot) with toppings such as quail and tomatoes. A brick oven is used for bread, steak and fish.

Metromix says:

This homey, spacious spot brings Northern Italian bites to North Williamsburg, with a focus on freshly baked bread and homemade pasta. It’s a welcome addition to North Sixth Street—New American spot Sweetwater and Thai palace Sea are just a stone’s throw away, so score one for diversification! Good luck choosing among those pastas—they’re an appetizing bunch: pappardelle with wild boar ragu, fettuccine with pig cheek, penne with mussels and sea urchins. And if you’re a polenta fan, they offer four types, including one with quail. Admire it while seated at one of the quaint tables that bedeck this pretty, brick-and-mirror’d space.

Paulie Gee's

60 Greenpoint Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222
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347.987.3747

Cuisine: Pizza
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Price: $$
Hours: Tue-Sat 6pm-11pm; Sun 5pm-10pm
Cards: All Major
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: G to Greenpoint Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
New York Mag says:

New Jersey’s Paul Giannone, known in the pizza community for being the most passionate of at-home pizza makers, goes official with this Greenpoint pizzeria featuring Neapolitan-style pies made in his specially constructed wood-fired oven.

Metromix says:

What brings a supposed pizza deity to Greenpoint? When your backyard pizza oven in suburban New Jersey can’t hold your ambitions, where else do you go? Paulie Gee has built a solid reputation among pizza foodies for his recreational out-of-town tossing, and his sit-down pizza restaurant in the former Paloma space is a new temple for the margarita- and sopressata-obsessed. It’s a worthy spot for worship, the design of the space is from the same folks behind the nearby cocktail cathedral  Manhattan Inn. The pizza joint is similarly big on recycled and repurposed materials. Even with the eco-friendly vibe, one thing is brand-spankin’ new: the pizza oven, which was custom-built in Naples (Italy, not Florida). While Paulie Gee is ready to claim his glorious spot in New York’s pizza world, it’s too bad his loyal backyard oven didn’t make it to the big time with him. They’ll always have New Jersey.

c/o NBC Feast

158 Bedford Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11222
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718.782.2744

Cuisine: Coffee Shop/Sandwiches/General Store
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Price: $$
Hours: Mon-Sat 11am – 9pm; Sun 11am – 7pm
Cards: All Major
Booze: None
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Delivery: No
NBC Feast says:

Nine months ago Laura Migliozzi and Amy Marks abandoned corporate careers to create a general store focused on seasonal prepared foods. “This is our baby, we can say it seriously,” explains Marks. It’s fitting then, that the name Radish, takes inspiration from Rapunzel’s pregnancy cravings in some versions of the fairy tale. “We had a little branding session and we got hooked on root vegetables because it pops up in fairy tales a lot. It’s blossomed into our brand,” explains Migliozzi.

As we’ve seen in the past, restaurants offering (but rarely selling) artisanal products that double as design accents don’t always fly, but you’ll be taking everything to go here (there are no seats) so customers could be more apt to stock their cabinets with a smart selection of dry goods from Early Bird granola to dog biscuits made with grains from Dogfish Ale. Tableware on sale will also evolve with the seasons with blankets currently tempting haute picnic goers headed to the waterfront or McCarren Park (a wool import from Mexico with a leather holster fits the scene). Radish currently opens daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with breakfast to come. For now, grab a piquant ginger soda to counteract the heat if you know what’s good for you.

This week, the business plan came to a head in the former Penny Licks space. Sprouting up amidst slice joints and bagel stores, Radish sticks out on the main drag of Bedford Avenue for its old soda fountain counter (there are house-made sodas, and local beer flows soon, to be available by the growler); shelves packed with Brooklyn Flea-worthy sundries; and wood and glass cases displaying sandwiches and casseroles all identified by hand-written placards.

The business plan took three months and though the pair entertains for friends and Migliozzi boasts a degree in food science, they chose to bring in consulting chef Katy Sparks to create the core menu composed of grass-fed lamb burgers, quinoa salad, ham and cheese gougères (Gruyère bread) bites, and chicken curry salad, plus a variety yarn-tied sandwiches.

The New York Times says:

At the rate things are going, Brooklyn will soon have more charming country stores than Woodstock, Vt. The latest is Radish, a prepared-food shop in Williamsburg with adequate shelf space to display products made by bakers, artisan pickle-makers and chocolatiers from the borough. Amy Marks and Laura Migliozzi, former techies who own the place, had the good sense to bring in Katy Sparks, a local professional, to work with their chef, Mike Ciardi. On any given day, you’ll find several casseroles of hot dishes like macaroni and cheese, curried chicken or shepherd’s pie. You could easily anchor dinner with choices from an appealing and frequently changing assortment of salads and cold dishes, like asparagus with pistachios and Manchego; orzo with sugar snap peas; roasted carrots; roasted fingerling potatoes scored so that they look like gnocchi; savory tartlets; and a few meat dishes, including lamb burgers and steak. There are also sandwiches ready to go.

c/o Yelp

68 Greenpoint Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11222
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718.389.6868

Cuisine: American, Eclectic
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Price: $$
Hours: Mon-Thurs 5pm-Midnight; Sat 11am-2am; Sun 11am-Noon
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: G to Greenpoint Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
Time Out New York says:

Located in the middle of Greenpoint’s nightlife row is this industrial-chic sibling (and neighbor) to pioneering bar Coco 66. The eclectic menu teeters between Latin American (yucca-encrusted scallops perched atop an herbaceous salsa verde) and gut-busting gastrogrub fare, like an oversalted sirloin steak with crispy fries. Although it still has some kinks to work out— a glass of wine took more than a half hour to appear—the eatery righted its wrongs with free booze and sincere apologies. That, more than any stylish design, is truly sexy.

Citysearch says:

This casual restaurant spot from the owners of nearby Coco 66 lures Greenpoint denizens with an inexpensive Mediterranean menu.