c/o Gothamist

502 Lorimer St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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347.227.7133

Cuisine: Mediterranean/Gourmet Grocery/Italian/Coffee Shop
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Price: $$
Hours: 10am-1opm Daily
Booze: Beer and Wine Only
Subway: L to Lorimer St.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
Gothamist says:

Baba is a new specialty grocery store and cafe that just opened last week in the heart of Williamsburg. Run by two local artists, Baba serves seasonal breakfast, lunch and dinner with a Mediterranean flare. It also doubles as a salumeria/formaggeria that sells cured meat and cheese by the pound. At $28/lb for salami, it’s not cheap, but one customer on Yelp insists that the $24/lb lardo is “melt-in-your-mouth,” as anything called “lardo” should be. Coffee is from Counter Culture and the liquor license is pending.

The New York Times says:

A tasteful little Italian-accented specialty store that doubles as restaurant with a serious coffee setup.

c/o NBC New York

79 Berry Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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Cuisine: American Nouveau
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Phone: 347.599.1381
Cards: All Major
Price: $$
Hours: Mon-Sun 7:30am-Midnight
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Delivery: No
Metromix says:

Formerly the Vietnamese restaurant Silent H, this charming corner shop is giving caffeine-addled Williamsburg residents just what they need: more coffee. They have a takeout window, so you can get your java fix without even having to enter the store. Better yet (drumroll for coffee lovers), the coffee is Stumptown! The best part of waking up for those in the know about coffee beans is this local roaster (also served in the ACE Hotel). The interior of the spot runs with the Paris bistro vibe, and there is a dining room in the back where you can enjoy snacks like scones and bacon-and-egg sandwiches on perfectly flaky brioche. With a casual vibe and tasty java, you’ll want to drink coffee all day. Oh wait, you already do that. How about a decaf?

NBC New York says:

The new Williamsburg bistro from former Silent h owner Vinh Nguyen, Hotel Delmano partner Zeb Stewart, and two other as-yet-undisclosed partners opened this morning at 79 Berry Street to serve breakfast and lunch. Dinner service takes off in two weeks so until now the takeout window on North 9th Street serves Stumptown coffee and breakfast pastries starting at 7:30 a.m. and doors open for sit-down service from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Diners were already trickling into the attractive space today, which echos the relaxed French-colony aesthetic of Hotel Delmano next door and Cafe Gitane in Nolita.

c/o The Breukelen

513 Grand St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.388.3021

Cuisine: Indian
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Price: $
Hours: Mon-Sat 1pm-Midnight; Sun Noon-1opm
Booze: None
Subway: L to Lorimer St.
Menu: Click Here
NY Mag says:

While it boasts too many Pan-Asian places to count, Williamsburg is severely lacking in Indian options. Brooklynite Alex Azad saw an opportunity, and opened this organic spot in late 2009. White tile floors, bare white walls, and fluorescent lights create a somewhat sterile ambience, but streaming Bollywood music videos and white tablecloths and linen both soften and jazz it up. Aloo masala, with potatoes, corn, and peas in a light, slightly crispy roll, makes a nice starter. An order of naan bread arrives warm and fluffy enough to share. The go-to chicken tikka masala in a tasty cream sauce is especially tender, though under-spiced for most, while beef bhuna gosht, spiced with garlic and ginger, and mixed-vegetable curry harbor more flavor. Besides the standards, the menu offers more-interesting seafood entrées—like shrimp vindaloo and lobster tikka masala—but call first, since availability is limited.

Metromix says:

Like Clark Kent without the costume change, Williamsburg’s superhero-themed Action Burger quickly morphed into Comic Burger soon after opening. Unfortunately, it seemed too much effort went into the goofy gimmick, and not enough into the quality of the wares. Its replacement, Curry Heaven, certainly isn’t overreaching in the high-concept department: The clean, no-frills space is purely utilitarian, with no comic-book kitsch in sight. Brooklynite Alex Azad is a first-time restaurant owner, but notes that his chef has over 35 years of experience in the kitchen. The menu incorporates the range of organic Indian cuisine—not sticking to any one region—and covers the basics like chicken tikka masala and tandoori lamb and vegetables.

c/o NY Mag

91 S. 6th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.599.3090

Cuisine: Barbecue/Asian Fusion
Our Rating: ★★★★
Cards: All Major
Price: $$
Hours: Tue-Sun 4pm-Midnight; Closed Monday
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: J,M,Z to Marcy Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
NY Mag says:

Zak Pelaccio teamed up with former Hill Country pitmaster Robbie Richter and chef de cuisine Andrew Pressler to open this barbecue restaurant that marries the chiles and curries of Southeast Asia (especially Malaysia and Thailand) to fatty, sustainable meats (the lamb and pork is from Marlow & Daughters; the pork belly comes from Tamworth pigs) smoked over year-aged upstate oak. The big, bold mains are paired with light, acidic sides as well as smoky cocktails from beverage director Andrew Schuman. The space was designed by Pelaccio’s wife, Jori Emde, who employed materials, such as brick, reclaimed from his upstate farm, and includes a bar on the sunken first floor, with most seats on the upper level.

Blackbook Mag says:

Billyburg BBQ bro to equally obese crustacean sis. Fatty Crab’s Zak P. sprinkles his magical Malaysian spices on ‘cue smoked by Hill Country OG pitmaster. Texas vs. Southeast Asia: smoked-fish palm syrup pork spare ribs, American Wagyu brisket bao buns, coriander bacon x steamed yellow curry custard. Fixin’s veer less slaw, more noodles in meat juices, crudite of “rapid transit” charred veggies. Weathered triple-decker also offers swine chandelier, smoked-fruit fancy drinks à la “Foreplay Cock Tail,” the perfectly junior high complement to wet naps.

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 L Magazine

633 Grand St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.387.1029

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Hours: Mon-Fri, 4pm-4am; Sat-Sun, 2pm-4am
Subway: G, L at Metropolitan Ave.-Lorimer St.
Food/Menu: None
Booze: Full bar
Happy Hour: None
Metromix says:

When you’re chillin’ in the ‘Burg and need a hit of moonshine (which is always), this country-western bar is your go-to spot. Lady Jay herself would be proud of this low-key dive, as she was a renowned bathtub spirits-maker back in the day. Located on Grand Street, the bar proudly displays some backwoods grit with a neon PBR sign, recycled wood and deer mounted on the wall. There’s an outdoor patio that will make the hipsters happy during warm weather, and a jukebox stocked with tunes from cowpoke like Wayland Jennings. And then, there’s the moonshine. No longer illegal, the bar pours “white-dog” from the Buffalo Trace Bourbon distillery. This clear liquid is what whiskey is made from, and it can strip paint off the walls. Saddle up to the bar, and see if you’re country enough to down some. If you need a chaser, they do a special called the Popcorn Sutton. It’s $7 for a PBR and a shot of the white lightning. Yee haw!

Shecky’s says:

It’s 4pm, classic country-western is blaring from the jukebox, and a row of bikers is lined up at the bar, nursing their moon-shine. Just another typical bar in…Williamsburg? The hipster world capital finally has a good, old-fashioned honky-tonk, and it’s none too soon. At Lady Jay’s, you’ll find no herb-infused cocktails, but you will find a solid list of drafts and cans ($3-$6) and a crowd that won’t judge your weekday afternoon whiskey fix. American flags, animal horns, and kitschy signs (“Next time bring your wife”) conjure the confederate states with just enough irony to assure you’re still in a blue one. The youngins in trucker hats come teeming in later in the evening, allured by a shuffleboard arcade game, an expansive wooden patio, and large booths perfect for shooting the shit with friends. Even those who prefer Wyclef to Willie will find Lady Jay’s a welcome addition to the neighborhood’s repertoire.

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

65 Grand St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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347.223.4599

Cuisine: Spanish/Catalan/ Tapas Bar
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: Cash Only
Price: $$
Hours: Tue-Sun 6:00pm–12:00am; Closed Monday
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Metromix says:

Diners looking for Williamsburg tapas spot Mercat Negre shouldn’t have any trouble finding it: There’s a ginormous spotlight of the restaurant’s logo shining on the building’s façade—a Bat-signal beckoning to gastronomes. Holy smokes, Batman, tapas! It’s also a brash announcement that the restaurant has arrived in this nabe, and with well-earned chutzpah to back it up: Negre is a spin-off of Mercat , the excellent Bowery eatery from Barcelona native Jamie Reixach. We swung by Mercat 1.0 the night before heading to Negre, and it reaffirmed a common sentiment: Reixach’s kitchen there churns out Michelin-worthy plates filled with vivid, well-focused flavors. The downside: It makes Mercat Negre’s shortcomings—of which there are many—even more glaring than that Bat-signal.

Eater says:

Williamsburg: Meet Mercat Negre, Noho transplant, Spanish food den, and Williamsburg’s newest hip rooftop. It’s the second location of the Bond St. restaurant Mercat (the Negre moniker originally went to the restaurant’s chic basement lounge), and it (tentatively) opens tonight with the cuisine of chef Oriol Sala Colome. The menu is incredibly expansive and eclectic compared to its sister restaurant’s collection of tapas. Here we have the smaller items—croquettes, empanadas, meatballs—as well as salads, rices, entrees (Catalan sausage, chicken wings, ravioli carbonara?), and desserts (icy pops!). It’s a big get for Williamsburg, a nabe suddenly drowning in a sea of great culinary options

Mode Bistro

116 N. 5th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.384.0303

Cuisine: French/American Nouveau
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Price: $$
Hours: Tue-Thu 6 pm – 11 pm; Fri 6pm-Midnight; Sat Noon-Midnight; Sun 11:30am-Midnight
Cards: Cash Only
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes
We say:

Mode Bistro is co-owned by Olivier Morange and Jenny Brooks. New to the restaurant scene, Olivier spent the past thirty years of his life working as an interior decorator in Los Angeles. He decided he needed a life change and moved to Brooklyn to open a bistro, combining his love of French and American cuisine.  The split-level interior of the bistro is warm and inviting and even has a wood burning fireplace (a welcome addition for the coming Winter months). All the artwork in Mode’s is by Palm Springs based artist Robert Tahar, but will be rotated with artwork from other local and international artists throughout the year.

On the bottom level a large oak bar fills the space. All the cocktails are made from scratch; we were lucky enough to try the Bedford and Berry, which contained rye whiskey, muddled blackberries, simple syrup, and lemon juice. The Dark and Stormy also sounded amazing and contains homemade ginger beer. Ambiance is important, but the excellent food at Mode won us over and ensured we’d return again.

We started off with the Crab Cakes ($9) and Caprese Salad ($8). Crab Cake preparation largely varies and can often be too heavily fried and greasy, but that wasn’t the case here. The light breading was complimented by a side green salad. The Caprese Salad was fresh and tasty, however instead of the traditional olive oil and vinegar dressing, this Caprese Salad was topped off with a pesto marinade which was a welcome twist to the familiar recipe.

For our main course, we moved on to the Roasted Jumbo Scallops ($18) and the Skirt Steak ($18). The roasted jumbo scallops were cooked in a white wine cream sauce and was served with a side of mashed potatoes and ratatouille. Typically cream sauces are too heavy and bury the true flavor of the scallops, but the sauce to scallop ratio was perfect. When speaking about the ratatouille, Morange explained that part of his input to the menu was ensuring his family recipe for ratatouille would be served with the majority of the main entrees. The Skirt Steak was incredibly flavorful and also came with mashed potatoes and ratatouille.

For dessert we had the Swiss Apple Pie ($5), made from Morange’s grandmother’s recipe. The “pie” was less pie and more of a tart with sliced apples on an extremely thin butter crust drizzled with caramel that came with a side of vanilla gelato. The Swiss Apple Pie was simple but the perfect ending to a meal filled with a variety of tastes.

c/o Blackbook Mag

160 Franklin St
Brooklyn, NY 11222
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718.389.8881

Cuisine: Korean
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: $
Hours: Mon-Thurs 11am-5pm Lunch, 6pm-11pm Dinner; Sat-Sun 10am-5pm Brunch, 6pm-Midnight Dinner
Booze: Full bar
Subway: G to Greenpoint Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
Blackbook Mag says:

We’ve been tailing Brooklyn-based chef Jonathan Meyer ever since he formidably combined the beer garden and banh mi crazes (remember those?) last summer at t.b.d. In the winter, he surfaced the Greenpoint Coffee House, where he introduced us to a top-notch burger and some of the best fried chicken we’ve had. The place was doing solid business, and it looked like Meyer and his partner Will Griffin, both 25, had found a permanent home. Not quite. In late 2009, the chefs learned the lease would not be renewed, and they’d have to relocate once again. Then in walked Lisa Kim.

Mrs. Kim the owner of the River Barrel, a small, sunny restaurant four blocks south of GPHC, had just lost her chef. She approached Meyer and Griffin and suggested the two continue to cook their same style of market-driven American food in her kitchen. But after surveying the menu, Meyer and Griffin realized they had an opportunity to try something else altogether. While searching for someone to helm her kitchen, Kim cooked the Korean dishes of her youth as specials. Meyer—who’s had experience preparing asian at Fatty Crab—and Griffin were immediately inspired. Under the tutelage of Mrs. Kim, an accomplished home cook, the menu was revamped as an ode to classic Korean dishes, and the River Barrel became Mrs. Kim’s, Greenpoint’s only Korean restaurant. The incognito transformation (the restaurant’s rustic decor remains unchanged) has both surprised and delighted locals who came expecting the Barrel’s American fare.

Greenpoint News says:

When River Barrel, located at 160 Franklin Street, lost its second chef at the beginning of the year, Lisa Kim, the restaurant’s owner (along with her husband Yeong Kim), started serving Korean dishes from her personal repertoire as specials. Now, the couple—longtime Greenpointers themselves—are making her specialties the main event. The restaurant has new chefs, a new, Korean-inspired menu, and a new name: Mrs. Kim’s.

The Kims opened River Barrel in January 2009. In early February of this year, they brought over Jonathan Meyer, 25 and Will Griffin, 25, from the recently closed Greenpoint Coffeehouse just down the street to be their new Co-Head Chefs (some wait staff and line cooks also came along). They had asked Meyer and Griffin to re-vamp their current menu, which had a somewhat unfocused and eclectic fare, and to create a more traditional, American-European menu. The chefs protested, and so did the rest of the River Barrel staff—they wanted more Korean food, and they had the feeling that the neighborhood did too.

Over the period of a few weeks, Mr. and Mrs. Kim prepared dishes for Meyer and Griffin, and they worked to create a new menu inspired by traditional Korean dishes—bibimbop, fried chicken, doejang ribs, hangover stew—but not tethered to their predecessors.

The new menu is a far more focused one that highlights Korean dishes but experiments with more complex cooking techniques and incorporates other flavors and influences. One starter, Radishes + Kimchi Butter, features Mrs. Kim’s Napa cabbage kimchi folded into butter and spread on a baguette with daikon kimchi, radish greens, and Spanish white anchovies cured in white vinegar and olive oil. While the bibimbop, a rice and vegetable staple dish, is getting a twist in the form of a 45-minute slow-poached egg and unique seasonal vegetables like asparagus and snow peas.

Brunch lovers have no need to worry: in addition to pork buns, Korean hot dogs, and kimchi platters, the brunch menu still has the classics from Greenpoint Coffeehouse like eggs benedict and french toast, and a hamburger—not to mention a killer bloody mary. And, like at the Coffeehouse, Meyer and Griffin continue to work with local farmers, some of whom have offered to start planting more Asian and Korean produce especially for the restaurant.