The 45 best restaurants in Brooklyn

The new iteration of Gage & Tollner (if you know anything about the place it’s that it enjoyed over a century of success before it closed and the space gave way to an Arby’s and other business) is a sparkler. Its new owners preserved and revived the beautiful dining room, created a dedicated martini menu in addition to other cocktails and authored an enticing dinner lineup overflowing with oysters, steaks, chops, seafood and an excellent fried chicken. 

This Smith Street Thai restaurant serves and excellent study in expertly-calibrated heat. Whether you’re ordering the “stay-away spicy” Udon Thani’s duck salad you’ll experience an intensity of flavors unseen elsewhere in the area. 

This Williamsburg newcomer earned a Michelin star for excellence in “balancing intriguing flavors and textures” like five seconds after it first opened at the end of 2020, and getting reservations was a bear in the months that followed. It’s still a tough ticket at primetime, but things have opened up a bit if you’re willing to sample Francie’s soufflé cakes with caviar, winning pasta options and marvellous dry-aged crown of duck on a weeknight. 

By day (or, Friday-Sunday, at least), Clover Hill is a wonderful brunch-style spot with a sensational croque fromage, French omelette, cheddar grits and duck confit. In the evening, the charming newcomer serves an excellent seafood-focused tasting that might include kombu-cured scallop aguachile, fluke stuffed with stuffed with minced crimini mushrooms and truffles and exceptional desserts. 

The restaurant that followed 2022’s super popular Philadelphia import, Laser Wolf, is even bigger and better than its predecessor at the Hoxton hotel in Williamsburg. The sprawling, verdant space serves great Israeli food, with outstanding savory baklava, lamb tartare, chicken schnitzel, and dorade all on the menu. 

Wonderful Gus’s Chop House on its idyllic brownstone block is just terrific for a nicer than-normal night out, solo steak and martini at the bar, and a deal-ish Sunday roast, replete with abundant sides. 

We keep returning to this darling corner spot for its memorable menu items and variety. The single page dinner menu, divided into snacks, plates and large plates can be mixed and matched numerous ways. We’re partial to the trout rillette, charred lemon skillet mussels and whole fried fish for a little DIY seafood tasting. 

Birds of a Feather, from the same brilliant team behind Cafe China, has been a popular Sichuan destination since opening in 2017. Its mapo tofu is the best in the borough and the spicy soft shell crab, Chungking spicy chicken, and spicy cumin lamb are excellent, too. Less hot options are available as well, like the braised or steamed whole fish and duck dishes. 

Unstoppable Unapologetic Foods revived the name of its decade-long operation from over the bridge in Manhattan last year, and Park Slope’s Masalawala and Sons ultimately made it to our list of 2022’s best new restaurants. The self-billed “celebration of India’s yesteryears” has sensational dahi vada, keema kaleji with uplifting pao and gawa ghee all on the menu. 

Even in the absence of booze or a bathroom, crowds still flock to this tiny pasta emporium for peak-form house-made meatballs, fettuccini with speck and zucchini, branzino, lasagna and broccoli rabe. There's lots of bars nearby for the other two things. 

Atti’s “fine Korean barbecue” can be a feast of a treat, depending on how many of its excellently sourced cuts of meat you select for further expert grilling assistance at your table. And, even with all of its marvelous filet mignon and American Wagyu, you’ll still be thinking about its egg soufflé long after leaving. 

Hometown Bar-B-Que is The Five Boroughs’ best destination for the smoky brisket, pulled pork, and ribs you’re craving. Want more Brooklyn-ish fare? Try the Vietnamese hot wings, Oaxhacan chicken, and jerk rib tips–spicy, sticky, jewels of unctuousness. The cavernous space and Redhook location impart real character to the establishment itself. Also–and we say this knowing it’s controversial–the $28 pastrami on rye with mustard (only available on weekends and best enjoyed going halfsies with a friend) stands toe-to-toe with even the most venerated of New York’s Kosher-delis.

Cozy up in a creaky corner or near the fireplace and you’ll feel right at home over Vinegar Hill House’s hearty, seasonal new-American plates in no time. It also has two outdoor dining areas across its backyard and sidewalk. 

Many places claim the title ‘gastro-pub’ but so few do it with the elan of The Good Fork Pub. Yes, they have burgers, fries, and a Philly cheesesteak, but their rotating menu presents occasions for GFP to cheekily play with your expectations, slipping Korean flavors into places you wouldn’t even think to look. Menu standouts include one of the best veggie burgers around and dumplings that shut gastro-imp Bobby Flay down. A beautiful meal, nice selection of craft beers, and gorgeously-appointed room–this is a pub unlike any you’ve met before.

Nura has been comfortably situated near the front of Brooklyn’s restaurant scene for a few years now. Its verdant interior has space for days at its huge center bar and across its nicely-spaced, handsome booths. Highlights from its exceptional menu shine considerably bright. You could visit for the house baked bread alone, and menu items like the grilled prawn make it worth many returns.

The fragrant cuisine of Iran gets the spotlight it deserves at one of New York's relative few Persian restaurants. Dine on roasted eggplant dip, beef-and-potato kebab and rosewater sorbet at this traditional Persian spot in Prospect Heights led by the chef-owner who moved to the city from Iran in the 1980s. 

The couple behind Manhattan favorite Fish Cheeks crossed the river to open this restaurant with “modern interpretation of hundred year-old Thai recipes” to great success a few short years ago, as it was introduced to the Michelin Guide and named a James Beard Award semifinalist shortly after. It's also a top spot for heat seekers, a sensation that ascends as you go down the menu, climaxing with the fiery beef tongue curry.

This Smith Street Szechuan restaurant follows Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Hupo from the same owner. The popular address fills up fast for mapo tofu, Chongqing chicken and lamb dry pot.  

One of the best new restaurants of 2020, this wife and husband run business serves Caribbean-inspired menus in a lovely space intended to evoke vacation vibes. Sip beachy punch and cocktails with braised oxtail, jerk chicken and jackfruit tacos. Kokomo also gets a head start on every weekend with bottomless brunch on Fridays from 11am-4pm. 

This Prospect Heights favorite is worth the trip for the lovely garden out back alone, and the food has been dazzling lucky visitors since 2016. Olmsted recently switched to multi-course tasting menus, with a continued focus on local, seasonal ingredients. 

Legendary pizziaolo, Dom Demarco sadly passed away in 2022 at 85 years young, but his legacy persists through his family who continue to pump out incredible pizza for a hungry public from their unassuming Midwood storefront. There’s a reason Di Fara is consistently regarded as a standard bearer: their pie is a hybrid of slice-shop and artisanal styles, making it simply, truly, the perfect New York-style pizza.

The Speedy Romeo team’s Michelin-starred Oxomoco focuses on wood-fired dishes in a gleaming white, flora-filled dining room. Taco options like the beet beet “chorizo” variety, lamb barbacoa and market fish share menu space with tostadas, terrific guacamole and all manner of cocktails, including frozen drinks. 

The most dinner party-like experience of all recent years’ promised dinner party-like experiences, Dept of Culture actually delivers on what was once just a trending promise. Its rotating tasting menu is influenced by north-central Nigeria, and has included a bright pepper soup with red snapper and dynamic wara ati obe.

Named for the titular fifteen dishes served family style on its prix fixe pick, this western Turkish restaurant serves more variety in one seating than most places can in a few visits. The atom labneh, Tarama, kimyon garlic shrimp are among some of that number’s best bites. 

A pop-up made permanent in 2020, the bright and airy Rangoon serves traditional Burmese dishes based on generations of family recipes. Small plate standouts include the ginger pork meatballs, along with terrific curries like the lemongrass chicken and spicy beef varieties, and noodle options like the coconut chicken soup.

Claro’s menu may be brief, but its Oaxacan-inspired cuisine doesn’t skimp on flavor, inspiration, or quality. All tortillas, cheeses, sausages, and moles are made in-house, reflecting chef/owner T.J. Steele’s deep commitment to quality and fidelity. Plus, the entire restaurant is naturally gluten-free, making this a compromise-free meal for those with an intolerance. The Memela de Maria Sabina is a beautiful tortilla piled with mushrooms and goat cheese crema that should not be missed. And there’s a reason the complex, smoky mole negro takes top billing over its short rib vehicle. 

Vegan Ethiopian cuisine tops tables across Ras Plant Based’s mural-lined 65-seat space. Equally suited to small parties and larger groups, its easy to share selections like seitan tibs, royal trumpet mushroom dulet and gomen to pair with crafty cocktails. 

This small, no-frills Bed-Stuy roti shop serves truly stellar Caribbean food. Almost every bite offers a bolt of fragrance, flavor, or texture–often, all three. Doubles (small stuffed dough pockets) come standard with a craveable chickpea stew, and you’d do well to grab an order as a quick snack or appetizer. The more substantial bakes and rotis (a stuffed bun and a burrito-like wrap, respectively) are savory, spicy, and comforting. This is the kind of food you’ll find yourself obsessing over long after your last bite.

The unique Middle Eastern cuisine at Tanoreen has been impressing in Bay Ridge since 1998. The menu is extensive, and the mhammara is a must order: walnuts, pomegranate molasses, red bell peppers and spices pureed into a rich dip that goes well on almost anything. 

Style is buttressed by substance at this Brooklyn Heights outpost. The room is comfortable, understated bistro-chic. It calls itself a tavern, but that appellation feels tongue-in-cheek; the menu is seasonal, including deft recompositions of old favorites. It doesn’t hurt that the cocktails are equally smart and tasty, or that the craft beer selection is excellently curated.

Run by husband and wife team Eder Montero and Alex Raij, this charming Cobble Hill tapas joint celebrates the Jewish and Moorish influences on Spanish cuisine. Its menu is equal parts unique, crowd pleasing, and easy to share. 

You’ll get a spread of selections like red lentils in berbere sauce, mashed split peas simmered with tomato, and a chickpea stuffing with kale at this vegetarian Ethiopian charmer. Visit with a group and you might just manage to try everything on the menu; or come alone so you don’t have to share. 

For the pizza-secular whose conception of New York City pizza is limited to the triangular street-slice, order a square pie at the window and experience enlightenment. Any day during warm weather months, the outside picnic tables are populated by multi-generational parties of the neighborhood faithful, happily fighting over the corner piece and slurping spumoni. For the pizza pious, this out-of-the-way spot is a Mecca worthy of pilgrimage. 

Chef Nick Perkins, a veteran of Andrew Tarlow’s Williamsburg empire of Diner and Marlow & Sons, brings some serious chops to this Bed-Stuy beauty. In the 30-seat dining room (marble-topped bar, cushioned banquettes) designed by Perkins’s brother, Russell, the toque turns out Mediterranean-focused plates that are always elevated but never fussy.

Haenyeo’s stately corner on Park Slope’s 5th Avenue gives it presence, but the food is what earned it a Michelin Bib Gourmand and keeps its tables packed. This isn’t the Korean food you’re thinking of. Well, at least some of it is, and it’s delicious. But chef Jenny Kwak has real vision. For proof, order the Dukboki fundido: spicy, umami-soaked rice cakes topped with melted Oaxaca cheese and crumbled chorizo.

The roomy counter at Agi’s is so lovely you might want to swap your laptop for a cute little notebook or eschew your work-from-wherever plans and simply bask in its loveliness. Do so over coffee, tea and espresso drinks and marvelous menu items like leberkäse breakfast sandwich, nosh plate and fantastic baked goods. 

Em Vietnamese Bistro followed the highly-regarded Em Vietnamese Restaurant farther south in Brooklyn last year. The second Em is billed as a Vietnamese tapas spot and boasts the duo’s only full bar. 

There’s a lot to recommend Peppa’s, but the perfectly grilled smoked chicken keeps us coming back. You can easily pay a lot more for NYC’s finest fowl, and this stands up to the best of them.

Daily changing menus mean you shouldn’t get too attached, but the variety is one thing that will keep you coming back to this convivial, natural-wine–focused restaurant. Recent menu items included yellowfin tuna, olive oil poached cod and fried chicken. 

Stepping into Bamboo Garden’s shimmering banquet hall feels a bit like crashing a glitzy wedding. Despite steep competition, this Brooklyn Chinatown destination boasts some of the five boroughs’ best Dim Sum, a fact well-known to locals, so weekend brunch is lively as conversations buzz and plates pile high. But any time of day on any day of the week (if the place isn’t hosting an actual wedding) you can enjoy massive portions of quality chinese food in tranquility.

Win Son isn’t afraid of having a point of view and a sense of humor. The Taiwanese-American menu is chock-full of delicious smile-inducements like The Nutritious Sandwich, a rich, sweet, spicy affair of ham and pickled pineapple served on what is, essentially, a donut. The room is buzzy, often peopled by those in the know, so you may have to wait but that’s just an opportunity to dip a toe into their inventive cocktail program.

This daytime only, cafeteria-style vegetarian spot beneath a Hare Krishna temple in Downtown Brooklyn draws fans from near and far. Menus are frequently updated and a main dish like the spinach lasagna, plus sides, soup, salad and bread runs $12. 

This Michelin Bib Gourmand spot has been a Cortelyou Road favorite since 2009. Its stellar adobo, the national dish of the Philippines, features chicken braised in a soy-vinegar mix to remarkably rich effect with a buttery finish.

This unassuming, family owned and operated bodega is home to some of Brooklyn’s best Mexican street food. One bite of a carnitas taco–rich, tender confit pork bits paired hand-in-glove with their brick-red house-made chili de arbol salsa–and even the snobbiest Californian will sing a different tune. Same goes for their Chicken Quesadilla, which is tastier than it has any right to be–beautifully-seasoned and luxurious. There’s only about four seats and a bench out front at which you can sit to enjoy your meal, but take that as tacit confirmation of Reyes’ status as a bonafide hidden gem.

This airy Williamsburg pasta parlor has perfected the form, as evidenced by the crowds that still accrue six years after it first opened. Many visit for the mafaldine with pink peppercorn, and mains of land and sea also abound.