c/o NY Mag

104 S. 4th St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.237.7828

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Hours: Tue-Thu, Sun, 6pm-midnight; Fri-Sat, 6pm-2am
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Food/Menu: Tapas
Booze: Full bar
Happy Hour: Tue-Thurs 6-pm buy one cocktail, get one free
NY Mag says:

Every so often, an establishment lands in a certain neighborhood like a flying saucer — and what Kurve was to the East Village, the tapas bar Bar Celona undoubtedly is to Williamsburg’s South Side. Cynthia Diaz, the 27-year-old owner, has worked with her mother (a designer) to turn a former glue factory into something vaguely akin to the meatpacking’s APT. What really shines here are the drinks by Tad Carducci and Paul Tanguay of the Tippling Bros., who also put together the list at Mercadito Cantina. There are two commendable savory options: savory options: a “gazpacho” spiked with Akvavit, sherry, and yellow Chartreuse; and a Paellarhinha that contains cachaça and sherry, but tastes mostly like a fresh pepper thanks to red-pepper saffron syrup. Also interesting, if you don’t mind a bitter take on the old fashioned: a version of the drink made with grapefruit and non-aged whiskey (if you haven’t tried whiskey before it has been aged in the barrel, it’s as clear as white tequila and tastes vaguely like oyster).

Blackbook Mag says:

Owner and former fashionista Cynthia Diaz’s stylistic prowess informs unabashed, swanky décor. Crystal chandeliers, benches suspended from gold chains, animal print lounge chairs, glittery marble bar, and fireplace. Artisanal cocktails complement Spanish tapas with a Latin twist. Ideal spot to impress a first date or spice up a long-standing relationship. Ultra sexy drinks Muy Sucio, Missionary’s Position, and Murcielago sure to ignite fiery passion. Romance over delectables like shrimp al ajillo, braised oxtail, and mushroom and morcilla tostones.

c/o Grub Street

138 N 8th St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.384.1904

Cuisine: Italian/French/Spanish
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★★
Cards: All Major
Price: Moderately Priced
Hours: Daily 5pm-1am
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Delivery: No
Time Out New York says:

Jason Denton (‘ino, ‘inoteca) takes his menu of shareable Italian plates across the bridge with this bi-level Williamsburg restaurant. The industrial space features exposed brick, concrete floors and a graphic mural of Italy. Chef Shaunna Sargent—transferred from Denton’s West Village trattoria Corsino—draws on Union Square Greenmarket produce for a seasonal menu that also features French and Spanish flavors. Gather some friends for one of the family-style plates, like a whole roasted saddle of lamb or spaghetti with brisket-and-pork-belly meatballs.

Time Out New York says:

When it comes to trendy openings, Williamsburg seems to be ground zero these days. The latest? A bi-level Italian restaurant from restaurateur James Denton (‘ino, ‘inoteca, Corsino) called Betto. Boasting his Corsino chef Shaunna Sargent, the 60-seat newcomer has a Greenmarket-heavy seasonal menu that, while focusing on Italy, includes Spanish and French flavors for its long list of shareable small plates—think grilled plums and burrata ($10), mackerel a la plancha ($8) and spaghetti with brisket-and-pork belly meatballs ($18)—as well as for its “large format” options, which includes whole-roasted baby lambs, ducks and whole fish by the pound.

c/o The Downtown Diaries

188 Grand St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.218.7776

Cuisine: Spanish/Tapas
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: $$$
Hours: Mon-Fri 5pm-5am; Sat-Sun 11am-4am
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Bedford Avenue
Delivery: No
Citysearch says:

Out of nowhere, one of the most beautiful restaurants in Williamsburg. Quietly under construction for more than a year, this Catalonian tapas spot seems to have been born fully mature, with weathered wood plank walls, double-height rusted iron ceilings and industrial light fixtures putting it on par with Dressler and Zenkichi in Williamsburg’s grown-and-sexy division. Despite its stunner status, Cadaques is a casual tapas spot in true Spanish style, eschewing the usual stateside small-plates scheme ($9 for a glass of wine, $12 for a saucer-sized snack–gracias, idiota!) for a menu that gives you a couple of tasty plates and a glass of wine to go with each for about $30, with tip. The early favorite is pulpo en su tinta (octopus served with squid ink, fig and tomato confit–after a 12-hour slow-cook, the octopus feels like a tender scallop) though specials like the foie gras a la plancha with peaches, figs and port wine-cinnamon reduction are hard to resist. Oh, and if you have any interest in fat, hairy Hungarian pigs, Cadaques is one of the only restaurants in New York that has cured hocks of mangalica, the almost mythical, sheepish hog prized for its fat-marbled flesh.

Metromix says:

Williamsburg diners have yet another option on the restaurant-clogged area surrounding Grand Street and Bedford Avenue: Cadaques, an airy Spanish tapas spot with shareable menu of classic plates like stuffed piquillo peppers ($9) and Serrano ham croquettes ($7), plus newfangled twists like churros with sea salted chocolate and raspberry-rosemary jam ($7). Between a kitchen that’s open until 2 a.m. on weekends (the bar, which is working on a signature Spanish-style cocktail, stays open later) and the weekly flamenco band, Cadaques looks to be hopping until the wee hours. Not a night owl? No worries—they’re also open for brunch on the weekends.

1015 Manhattan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11222
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718.569.0077

Cuisine: Colombian Tapas/Coffee Shop
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: Cash only
Price: $
Hours: Mon 8am-4pm; Tues-Thurs 8am-10pm; Sat 9am-11pm, Sun 9am-10pm
BOOZE: Full bar
Subway: G to Greenpoint Ave
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: Yes
City Search says:

In keeping with its Colombian roots, this charming cafe’s takeout menu translates the word Greenpoint into its Spanish equivalent, Puntaverde. Bright yellow walls, local artwork and couches set a festive scene for consuming iced cafe con leche and sampling the arepas–the Alimbar packs ham, queso blanco and guava, while the Medellin appeases vegetarians with cranberry beans and green plantains. Seven kinds of salads and sandwiches made with Petrossian bread provide further fuel for bopping along to DJ-provided beats.

The Village Voice says:

This novel Greenpoint coffee shop and wine bar translates Colombian cuisine into the tapas bar genre, with some success. If you’re a fan of East Village arepas–– the moist, white–corn flatcakes that are a staple starch in Colombia and Venezuela–– you won’t be disappointed here: most of the two dozen or so evening menu choices are centered on an arepa topped with a salad or meat-bearing assemblage. Many are quite good, although figuring out what these warms lumps contain is a challenge in the dim light. We especially liked the Medellin (beans, plantains, white cheese, hogao sauce) and the cordillera (rice, beans, Colombian chorizo). A handful of toasted sandwiches, salads, and skewers round out the menu, but the real treat here is the off-priced South American wines.

C/O Bushwick BK

50 Starr Street
Brooklyn, NY 11221
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Cuisine: Spanish/Tapas
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★
Cards: All Major
Price: $$
Hours: Mon-Sun Noon-11pm
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Jefferson St.
Delivery: No
Bushwick BK says:

“Authentic Cuisine from Spain Comes to Brooklyn,” proclaims El Mio Cid’s menu, which features dozens of hot and cold tapas, salads, meats, and shellfish.  Inside, the sponge-painted walls, mural of the Spanish countryside, and posters of namesake El Cid were reminiscent of an Olive Garden, though classic Spanish restaurants often do sport some element of kitsch. A hulking glass dispenser of sangria bobs with apple chunks. The big-screen television above the bar playing soccer matches on a Latin American sports channel is unfortunate, but the wines lined up in front of a back-lit frosted-glass wall is a nice touch. Decor aside, the menu is a range of Spanish standards prepared with differing levels of success.

Pulpo al Mio Cid brings a bubbling cazuela, thin slices of octopus in a garlicky tomato broth, laced with wine and slivers of onion. The flavor is wonderful, punchy, the octopus a chewy tender. Gambas a la plancha, huge, meaty, flavorful heads-on prawns are a little sweet, smoky, spicy, and overall delicious. More solidly prepared tapas are the gambas al ajillo, shrimp in a robust garlic sauce, and sliced chorizo, just warmed through in a smoked red pepper broth. With lots of bread to soak up the remnants and juices, you might eek out a flashback of that one summer you spent in Galicia.

Escalibada was less successful. A healthy portion of roasted eggplant, peppers, onions, zucchini, and codfish was a wet mess that could have been saved with lots of salt and acid. Juicy almejas rellenas, stuffed baked clams, were blanketed in canned breadcrumbs; the bacalao a la viscaina, salt cod in a strangely fluorescent red pepper sauce, was middling.

The Paella valenciana, a meaty cocktail party of chicken, veal, shrimp, sausage, monkfish, mussels, and clams in saffron rice with peas and onions, is emblematic of the El Mio Cid experience — somewhat tasty, with plump shrimp but stringy lobster meat.

So pick around. The wine is cheap, and the menu is large — among some mediocre offerings are plenty of gems.

c/o Gothamist

291 Kent Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.782.8810

Cuisine: Tapas
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Price: Moderately Priced
Hours: Tue-Thur, Sun 5:30pm-10:00pm; Fri.-Sat. 5:30mpm-11pm
Cards: All Major
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
Time Out New York says:

Wood-fired cooking, as seen at hot spots Tertulia and Mas (la grillade), is having a big moment: This Spanish market-style restaurant brings three more tinder-fueled ovens to Williamsburg, less than a block from Isa’s own flaming hearth. Chef Peru Almandoz, a native of San Sebastian, Spain, works two wood-fired ovens in the open kitchen, while Johnny Peralta (Balthazar) uses one to roast his loaves in the downstairs bakery. Diners can perch at zinc-topped bars and choose from pintxos—Basque tapas, like croquettas and Padrón peppers—or settle into a communal wood table for large-format Northern Spanish fare, including suckling pig and a two-pound grilled rib eye called chuleton. To drink, choose from biodynamic and organic Spanish wines, hard apple cider and creative cocktails, like the Urumea (rum, Averna Amaro, clove syrup, lime juice) and the Duke (cognac, Carpano Antica, dry vermouth, served over an Earl Grey ice sphere). In a few weeks, a market, inspired by the retail-restaurant hybrids of Spain, will open in the back of the 80-seat space to sell charcuterie, cheeses, oils, homemade breads and churros with hot cocoa made with grated chocolate, milk and cream.

Gothamist says:

The Basques have invaded the ‘burg! One of the newest flashy restaurants to surface in Williamsburg, Mercado on Kent, aims to bring the foods of Spain’s Basque region to Brooklyn with an 80-seat restaurant that also happens to have a bar and a small marketplace and bakery. Fine by us, one really can never have too much Iberico jamon. NEVER.

The kitchen at Mercado is run by chef Peru Almandoz and boasts a menu ranging from small plates and salads to large plates and sandwiches. Everything is very sharable and the options (which you can check out below) range from $8 Iberico ham croquettes to a $26 sharable suckling pig with everything from crab toast ($7) and a $12 pork belly sandwich in between. All the breads (ranging from ciabatta to burger buns) are baked on site by baker Johnny Peralta, who did his time at Balthazar, and the cocktail program by David Olson seems interesting, too. You can see an early cocktail menu below.

As for the space? Its huge (6,000-square feet) and boasts the now-standard communal tables along with banquets, a chefs counter and a zinc-topped bar. Also lots and lots of reclaimed wood, marble and tile as is the style these days.

c/o NY Press

146 Wythe Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.388.5328

Cuisine: Spanish/Tapas
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: Cash Only
Price: $$
Hours: Mon-Fri 4pm-Midnight; Sat-Sun 11am-Midnight
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Bedford Ave.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
Citysearch says:

The Scene – This is the Williamsburg version of all grown up: Retro couches and a jukebox playing everything from Lou Reed to Jay-Z are tempered with a warm color palette, a polished bar and tables carved from a single cherry tree. The bar’s raison d’etre, however, is its charming back patio complete with large wooden benches, wrought iron furniture and climbing ivy. – – The Food – Simple ingredients shine in chef Aaron Mauze’s tapas menu. Just a hint of garlic spices plump garlic shrimp, allowing the freshness of the crustaceans to stand out. A limp pepperoni-laden…

NY Mag says:

This quiet Williamsburg bar whips up simple, well-executed small plates: a luxuriant Gouda macaroni and cheese, for example, or a plate of garlicky collards flecked with Parmesan. These dishes are best enjoyed in the back garden with a cocktail, though you might need a user’s manual to comprehend what exactly it is you’re drinking (it seems that somebody tipped a spice rack into the strawberry gin fizz). Young locals mix with older, air-kissing Continentals past midnight, when the menu changes to feature cheese plates and a “popcorn du jour.”

613 Grand St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
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718.388.0012

Cuisine: Tapas
Our Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Cards: All major
Price: Moderately Priced
Hours: Mon-Sun 6pm-2am; Brunch Sat-Sun 11am-4pm
Booze: Full Bar
Subway: L to Lorimer St.
Menu: Click Here
Delivery: No
Thrillist says:

An “honest, unpretentious, and laid-back drinking and dining experience” that somehow isn’t Red Dog and leftover pizza on your couch, Saint’s narrow, industrial, al fresco-able space is outfitted with a slim metallic bar up front and communal wooden tables in back, where international small plates of Wahoo tartare, and porchetta- & sweet-pickle-filled Cubans can be paired with vino by the glass/half/bottle, and Euro-suds including St Feuillien Triple and Pinkus Mueller Pilsner.

Time Out New York says:

Old-world wines and beers are the main attraction at this elegant small-plates bar, decorated with a crystal chandelier, patterned wallpaper and copper barstools. The European-focused drinks list highlights small-production wines and artisanal beers, such as Italy’s Baladin Nora, Belgium’s D’Achouffe Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel and Germany’s Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier. Scarpetta Miami alum and co-owner Michael Pirolo created the menu of refined small plates, including bone marrow with lemon zest, parsley and toast; and the Italiano in Cuba sandwich, made with porchetta, sweet pickles and Dijon mustard.