Crown Victoria

60 S 2nd St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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917.719.6072

Diner

85 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.486.3077

Cuisine: American Fare
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: MasterCard, Visa
Price: $$$
Hours: Daily 11am-2am; Mon-Fri, lunch and dinner; Sat-Sun, brunch and dinner
Booze: Full bar
Subway: J,M,Z to Marcy Ave. or L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
The Village Voice says:

Located under the Williamsburg Bridge, the decrepit premises of Diner really did once contain a diner. Now it’s Williamsburg’s hippest eatery, with a limited menu of crowd pleasers like steak frites and hamburgers, both memorable. All of the culinary action, however, is on the ever-changing specials menu, which might include an eggplant sandwich one day at lunch, and an ambi-tious special of something French, say, duck confit, in the evening.

NY Mag says:

Even before you’ve finished your first cocktail, you notice the floor is tilting. But the disequilibrium contributes to the charm of this snug, just-rehabbed-enough 1927 dining car. A beyond reductive menu offering “soup,” “burger,” “sauteed greens,” and at brunch, “hot cereal” misleads at first. Don’t believe the lack of hype. Chef Caroline Fidanza shows her dexterous hand with specials like succulent pork loin with caramelized cipollini and tender lamb ragout with white-bean gratin. At brunch, don’t miss the hubcap-size portion of codfish hash. Recommended Dishes: Burger, $8.50; Mussels with French fries, $12.50; Hanger Steak, $16; Sauteed Greens, $3

Dumont

432 Union Ave.
(Between Devoe St. and Metropolitan)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.486.7717

Cuisine: American Noveau/American Comfort
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: $$$
Hours: Sun -Thurs 11am-11pm; Fri-Sat 11am – midnight
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: G, L at Metropolitan Ave.-Lorimer St.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Take-out only
Outdoor Dining: Yes
We say:

Our favorite Williamsburg restaurant. The regular menu is grounded in a small selection of finely done standards; a house salad, a half-chicken, steak and fries, and burgers. You can do no wrong by ordering one of these, especially the burger. By DuMont’s burger alone they deserve to be famous. From well done to rare there’s a blackened savory flavor on the outside that makes the DuMont burger distinctivley wonderful. The skate with mashed potatoes is equally divine and the mac & cheese entree is to die for. Always well executed and varied specials add to the menu. True to the doctrine of New American cooking, the specials adhere to the seasons. This summer I enjoyed a wonderful herb-stuffed trout, and on Valentine’s Day their entrees of coq au vin and bacon wrapped monkfish medallions were perfect for the occasion. Although open for several years, DuMont has the feel of a decades old establishment. The combination of excellent meals, a Williamsburg-appropriate casual atmosphere, low prices, and downright welcoming staff make DuMont a classic.

(more…)

c/o Flickr

314 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.384.6128

Cuisine: Burgers, Mac & Cheese, American Traditional
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Price: $$
Hours: Daily, 11am-2am
Booze: Full bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes, limited area
We say:

The comfort food younger brother of Dumont. The Dumonts have best burgers in the hood. They have yummy Mac n’ Cheese for vegetarians too.

L Magazine says:

The much-touted Williamsburg restaurant DuMont, after five years of service off the Lorimer L stop, has attempted to stuff its sophisticated polish into a smaller spinoff on Bedford Avenue’s southside, with rather disappointing results.
Upon walking in, one is struck by the size of the place, wondering, (as casually well-dressed locals elbow one another in an attempt to get a better hold of their admittedly delectable looking burgers), if there is not a more commodious place just around the back or something. Sadly, there is not. But fear not, a conceptually highfashion hostess is waiting to plop you down on an uncomfortably minimalist stool. Once seated you will become aware that, with the exception of the limited view from a cafeteria-style island in the center of the tiny room, there is no place to get a good look at your fellow patrons, which, as any barhopper knows, is essential for a satisfying experience. If, however, you do make the effort to swivel away from the wall, you’ll discover that the decor is nowhere near as noteworthy as the original DuMont. It’s sort of spare Japanese meets Texas ranch house, and, although it sounds daring on paper, is in actuality a bit dull.
Never a better time to order a drink. But what kind? Unless you’re sitting at the bar in full view of the spirits on offer, you must wait for your waitress, who is currently far too busy making her way through crowded aisles with various plates of food and cocktails. Having said that, they do offer a reasonably wide variety of liquor (suitable for any cocktail you can think of, as long as you know what that is), four beers on tap and six or seven bottled, as well as a few wine choices.
For a late afternoon drink with a friend, DuMont Burger is as good as anything else you’ll find in the immediate vicinity. But for my money, I’d sooner walk to the original DuMont than make do with its ersatz counterpart.

109 South 6th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.599.9109

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Price: $$
Hours:  Mon-Tue 4 pm-3am, Wed-Thu Noon-3am, Fri Noon-4am, Sat 11am-4am, Sun 11am-3am (Kitchen is open until 2am)
Subway: J,M,Z to Marcy Ave.
Food/Menu: Click Here
Booze: Full bar
Happy Hour: Daily 5pm-7pm: $3 well, domestic drafts
NY Mag says:

Plaster and dark wood walls stretch high to the sky at Gordon Bennett, dampening music and conversation. A slate floor and soft candlelight create a subterranean ambience akin to a monk’s cheese cave. Softly illuminated in the room’s center is a system of taps that spans half the length of the large bar; the spouts dispense liquid communion in the form of flowery Czech Staropramen and Belhaven Scottish Stout that’s milkshake-thick. The owners (one of whom runs the nearby Iona) have scrubbed the address clean of Vinas, a chic Latin American restaurant that recently closed, replacing seviche on the menu with pub grub like bangers and mash, fish and chips, and Cheddar toasties (Irish grilled-cheese sandwiches). Free pencil-thin breadsticks provide fuel for drinking long into the night.

Metromix says:

Pub & Grub Located in the heart of the Southside, this Old World bar is the perfect new spot to come together and meet old friends, make new ones & enjoy a cold pint & a hearty meal in a friendly neighborhood pub atmosphere.

Mugs Ale House

125 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.486.8232

Cuisine: Bar Food
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Hours: Mon-Fri 2pm-4am; Sat-Sun 11am-4am
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
We say:

Much better than you would expect from bar food and at a very reasonable price. Lose yourself in the best beer menu in the city, while dining upon any of their tasty burgers including a portabello, vegetarian, or and old-fashioned beef burger. Italian specials are usually tasty, and daily fish grills are not to be missed. Mussels are surprisingly fresh (and cheap) and the spinach quesadillas are wonderful. On the downside the jukebox is horrible and some fool will surely choose “Stairway to Heaven.” And sadly, they no longer offer any $2 pint specials.

NY Mag says:

If you could somehow transport to North Williamsburg one of those hearty Cheers-like Irish pubs in Boston that attract slumming college kids, you’d have an approximation of this oak-filled tavern and restaurant with arguably the best beer selection in Brooklyn. Dark, spacious, and festooned with, yes, mugs, a light-up American flag, and paraphernalia from seemingly every brewery ever invented, the place just might pass for the headquarters of a labor union. Though not as gloriously blue-collar as the clientele at Turkey’s Nest Tavern down the street, the folks lifting big mugs of Weinstephaner Heifeweisen at the bar do seem like the last remnants of Williamsburg’s pre-hipster wave; they’re novelists and journalists in their late twenties and early thirties, rather than college drop-outs looking to conquer the world with rock-and-roll. (Don’t look to the jukebox for anything made after 1992, though Jimi Hendrix, Earth Wind and Fire and one CD of “Music to Drink Beer By” do represent.) Our only worry comes from the anomalous restaurant in the back, serving dishes like which, though tasty, are nevertheless woefully out of sync with the bar’s décor and spirit. If you want to join the resistance to Mug’s becoming Williamsburg’s first Park-Slopish yuppie hang, just stay out front watching sports, order nothing but beer and nachos.

Peter Luger Steakhouse

178 Broadway
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.387.7400

Cuisine: Steak
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: Cash Only
Price: $$$$$
Hours: Mon-Thurs 11:30am-9:30pm; Fri-Sat 11:30am-10:3opm; Sun 12:30-9:30pm
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: J,M,Z to Marcy Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
NY Mag says:

The room isn’t handsome, street-slick, or even particularly welcoming. It recalls the kind of establishment that sports a banner running from beam to beam every year proclaiming !oktoberfest! The patrons may have come here straight from their booths at the Javits Center. The staff goes about its nonstop business with cordial if mechanical efficiency, serving onion-and-tomato salads, creamed spinach, and pasty fried potatoes. So why is it always more crowded than Toys ‘R’ Us on the weekend before Christmas? Because there are few gastronomic sensations that confirm the good life better than a hunk of a spectacular steak. And Peter Luger can broil and deliver one magnificently aged and marbleized two-finger-thick porterhouse after another with the unfailing certainty of Dustin Hoffman adenoidally reciting baseball scores. So don’t even ask for a menu. Get big. Eat beef. Recommended Dishes: Steak for two, $77; steak for three, $115.50; steak for four, $154; creamed spinach, $7.50; sizzling canadian bacon, $2.50/slice.

Citysearch says:

Expect no frills at this working man’s steakhouse, a local landmark since 1887. Diners don’t even get menus unless they ask; waiters are tersely matter-of-fact. The dining rooms, with their exposed beams and worn wooden furniture, are far brighter than they ought to be. But don’t complain too loudly: Luger’s fiercely loyal regulars will defend the place as passionately as they would their own mothers. Everyone orders the hand-picked, dry-aged porterhouse steaks and the butter-sluiced slabs arrive on lava-hot platters. German fried potatoes and creamed spinach are fine sides; starters include a salad of thick-cut tomatoes and onions, and crispy double-thick bacon. Desserts–chocolate mousse pie, New York cheesecake–are satisfying in an old-fashioned way and come with a giant bowl of whipped cream to pile on top.

Spike Hill

184 Bedford Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.218.9737

Cuisine: Pub Food
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: $
Hours: Mon-Thur 11:30am-2:30am; Fri 11:30am-4am; Sat 11am-4am; Sun 11am-2am
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Take-out only
We say:

If you’re lucky enough to be seated in one of the dark mahogany booths, scavenged by Spike Hill co-owner, Tom Schmitz, you’ll find the perfect refuge from the packs swelling outside on Bedford Avenue. The bar in the front offers twelve rotating draft beers and a healthy selection of scotch. Inexpensive dishes range from traditional pub fare like Fish & Chips to neo-American comfort dishes like Blue Point Oyster Po’ Boys with chipotle lime mayonnaise.
While the Thursday night open-mike musician set up his microphone, appetites were whet with a Kielbasa starter — the one hat-tip to the neighborhoods’ previous settlers. The Buffalo Wings were average and the Oyster Po’ Boy was more fry than oyster. You’re best served if you think of the joint as a watering hole where carnivores and pescetarians can nurse a hangover or take a preventative approach to drinking by laying down a greasy base. while imbibing.
When the check arrived there was a whistle of shock and delight. Though not officially on the menu, the majority of the table had ordered the Spike Hill Burger. The dangerously low price of $2.75 per burger was responsible for the impossibly cheap bill.
Fridays throughout the summer, Spike Hill is offering $1 Blue Point oysters and Little Neck Clams between 5-8 PM.

NY Mag says:

This clean, comfortable brewpub, with its fancied-up bar food, sweet-natured staff, and frequent Bugaboo sightings, seems at first glance to have been whisked off its foundations in Park Slope and plopped down in Williamsburg by a tornado. It’s not quite what you’d expect from owner Tom Schmitz, who has been a proud resident of the ‘burg long before the area saw its first designer stroller—in fact, he also owns venerable indie record shop Earwax down the block. But regardless of the bar’s bona fides, the hipper-than-thou rockers who slink by with a disdainful glance towards the open front window and sleek signage are missing the point: it’s much more fun to sit inside watching the parade, or to canoodle in one of the delightfully private booths, with dividers that go all the way up to the ceiling. In fact, in the form of a frosty pint of Smithwick’s, gentrification goes down remarkably smooth.

c/o NY Mag

105 N 6th St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.963.0608

Cuisine: American Nouveau
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: Cash Only
Price: $$$
Hours: 11am-Midnight Daily
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
We say:

This former dive bar is now a no-frills, cosy cafe. Sparse but tasty menu with excellent specials. We also love the outdoor seating during the warmer months.

Citysearch says:

Not much remains of the divey Sweetwater Tavern except for the name, the pressed-tin walls and elaborate tile floor–remnants from the ’30s, when the space was a Polish diner. The owners of Carroll Gardens’ Patois and Schnack transformed the joint into a comfortable bar and restaurant with burgundy diner booths and milky sconces, offering a late-night menu to please the block’s post-concert crowd. Chef Tom Kearney (Blue Hill, Jean-Georges) presides over the contemporary, pared-down menu. His smoked trout, paired with capers and horseradish vinaigrette over a crisp potato pancake, makes for an exciting opener. Among the entrees, Sweetwater schnitzel layers a juicy breaded pork chop with a fried egg and anchovies for a tart bite. Succulent grilled hangar steak comes with finely battered onion rings. Though the strawberry shortcake has too-salty biscuits, the chocolate terrine brings together firm and melted textures with elan.

96 Berry Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
view map
718.384.9787

Cuisine: Pub Food
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: $$
Hours: Mon-Fri 11:30am-1am; Sat-Sun 11am-2am
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
We say:

The best bar food in the Burg! Outside seating during the warm months is a nice touch to this delightful bar. A longtime Williamsburg favorite that outdates most of the other neighborhood establishments, Teddy’s caters to a less homogenous crowd and is one of the few places where the locals and the just arrived can meet. Try their salmon club, or any of their tasty sandwiches and you will not be disappointed. And don’t miss their yummy, all you-can-eat Friday fish fry. With live music, a great jukebox, a nice staff, and an unpretentious atmosphere, Teddy’s is a Williamsburg treasure.

New York Magazine says:

This 120 year-old bar exudes the kind of “authentic” character chains like Bennigan’s try to emulate, beautiful stained glass windows included. Since changing hands eighteen years ago, Teddy’s now offers food (including an excellent brunch), and Thursdays through Saturdays, and an eclectic DJ spins where you’d expect to see a TV tuned to ESPN. Live music in the spring and sidewalk seating in the summer are welcome bonuses to the job this place began more than a century ago–serving cold brews to the diverse neighborhood.