August Laura (CLOSED)

A couple of bar-world pros—literally a couple, as the pair just got engaged—are behind this Italian-accented Carroll Gardens bar: Longtime Death & Co. manager Frankie Rodriguez and bartender Alyssa Sartor, most recently found behind the stick at The Bar Room. Together, the team has revamped the old Bergen Hill space with chambray-blue walls, a long tufted navy banquette and a beverage program spotlighting classic Italiano spirits. Named after Sartor’s Brooklyn-bred grandfather, the 35-seat bar offers cocktails including a Villa Amalfi (cacao, aged rum, zabajone liqueur), Nono’s America-No (whiskey, amaro, vermouth, sparkling soda) and You Never Forget Your First (Lambrusco, prosecco and bitters).