The New York restaurant scene is decidedly back with a vengeance, and one of the city’s top boroughs for dining and drinking, Brooklyn, has lately welcomed a host of exciting new openings. Check out our shortlist of the restaurants to know now below.
Ilis | Greenpoint
Noma cofounder Mads Refslund opened his years-in-the-making Brooklyn concept Ilis earlier this month at 150 Green Street, which is currently open from Tuesday to Friday for dinner, from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. (A no-reservations, family-style dining experience will also launch in November, on Saturdays from noon to 7:00 p.m.) The menu is à la carte, though a chef’s tasting menu can be arranged (with eight to 14 courses); there is also a walk-in only, 18-seat bar serving small bites. In typical New Nordic fashion, the menu centers on seasonal, local ingredients (namely vegetables and herbs, seafood and game), prepared in a central, wood-fired kitchen that evokes a communal, dinner party-style atmosphere.
Related: What’s New in New York City: Hotels, Restaurants & Culture in Manhattan – Fall 2023
Sailor | Fort Greene
Sailor is the latest restaurant from Chef April Bloomfield and Gabriel Stulman, the founder and CEO of Happy Cooking Hospitality (behind Fairfax, Jeffrey’s Grocery, Joseph Leonard and others; this is the brand’s first outpost in Brooklyn). It opened in September on the corner at 228 Dekalb Avenue, serving dinner only from Wednesday through Sunday. Billed as a “neighborhood bistro,” the restaurant features an elegant menu reflecting an array of influences (including New American, Italian, French and Austrian), with warm, clean interiors by Alfredo Paredes (longtime designer for Ralph Lauren) that highlight the space’s exposed wooden beams and brick walls. The beverage program focuses on the classics (a Guinness on draft, local IPA, Dirty Martini, Negroni and Manhattan are all on the menu—with a “House Red” and “House White” by the glass), while the wine list is extensive and inventive, spotlighting a Southern Rhône winemaker, Domaine Gramenon, as well as Champagnes, skin contact varieties, “Easy Drinkers” and producers from less typical areas like the Margaret River in Australia, Cádiz in Southern Spain, Zenata in Morocco and the Jura in France.
Related: Top Tables New York City: 26 Great Restaurants in the Big Apple
Misipasta | Williamsburg
In late August, the third creation from chef Missy Robbins and restaurateur Sean Feeney, Misipasta, opened in Williamsburg, near showstopper sisters Lilia and Misi. It’s both a boutique (serving fresh pasta and jarred sauces) and a casual restaurant ideal for aperitivo and cicchetti (and there is some pasta on the menu), with a backyard patio that feels more like a friend’s place than a restaurant. Many of the seats are still being saved for walk-ins (Misipasta is open from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily, on Grand Street). If you have to wait for a table, seize the opportunity to load up on the ingredients that made Lilia and Misi famous in the first place—including the whipped ricotta and green garlic butter.
Related: A Perfect Day in Williamsburg
Gertrude’s | Prospect Heights
On the corner of Carlton Avenue and St. Marks, Gertrude’s is the cozy, colorful sister restaurant to GERTIE in Williamsburg, from business and life partners Nate Adler and Rachel Jackson and Chef Eli Sussman. It opened earlier this summer, serving “Jew-ish” cuisine with a side of New York City restaurant heritage. Open for dinner every day except Tuesday, with brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, menu standouts include oysters and a relish tray (with bagel chips), a warm challah roll with duck butter, latkes with creme fraiche and and trout roe, the Gertrude’s burger, house pickle plate and eggplant schnitzel. For brunch, bagels and sandwiches take the spotlight. Cocktails include a House Spritz and specialty martinis, alongside wines from the Finger Lakes, Willamette Valley and beyond.
Related: Chef Greg Baxtrom’s Brooklyn: Insider Tips from the Owner of Olmsted & Five Acres
Mesiba | Williamsburg
Located on the ground floor of the Moxy Hotel in Williamsburg at 353 Bedford Avenue, Mesiba—which means “party” in Hebrew—is a Tel Aviv-inspired restaurant that opened this past spring, from the team behind Broken Shaker. Chef Eli Buli serves contemporary Levantine and Mediterranean dishes, as well as Israeli staples like hot long peppers, labneh and crispy whole fish. Playful cocktails like the Martini and Arak services make for a lively evening amid orb lights and curved booths. Mesiba is open daily for dinner (with a 50 percent discount offering on wines by the bottle on Mondays).
Related: Indagare’s Most-Booked Hotels in New York City
Contact your Indagare Trip Designer or Indagare, if you are not yet a member, to start planning a trip to Brooklyn. Our team can match you with the accommodations, reservations, shops and activities that are right for you.
