A Highly Anticipated Restaurant from a Marlow & Sons Alum Opens in Williamsburg Friday

Williamsburg gains a new luncheonette and bar this week with the opening of Gertie, from credentialed neighborhood restaurateur Nate Adler. After a year of anticipation and a pop-up trial run in a Crown Heights food hall, the casual rotisserie restaurant will finally open at 357 Grand St. at Marcy Ave. with limited hours on Friday before eventually going all-day.

For the project, Adler — a partner at standout East Village neighborhood Basque restaurant Huertas — has partnered with general manager Flip Biddelman and a chef who already has tons of neighborhood cred, Will Edwards, who used to work at Williamsburg stand-bys Reynard, Marlow & Sons, and Diner. Like those restaurants, Gertie is supposed to be a casual local spot, offering a straightforward menu in a 70-seat space that also has an outdoor patio.

Only the luncheonette portion will open on Friday, operating from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and serving just breakfast and lunch. Once a liquor license in, the restaurant will be be an all-day affair, serving a rotisserie oven-focused menu of spit-roasted meats, fish, and vegetables.

Breakfast, served until 4 p.m., includes a bialy with smoked salmon, cream cheese, and pickled beets, as well as an obligatory egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. An afternoon menu is starting at 11 a.m. and features six different sandwiches, including a classic deli variation with rotisserie meats, provolone, and Italian dressing on a challah roll.

Dinner and the bar will debut in the coming weeks and extend the hours to midnight. Then, from 5 p.m. until late, it’s all about the rotisserie with a whole roasted fish, half or whole chicken, lamb, a pot pie filled with roasted meats and veggies, and a family-style rotisserie duck that has to be reserved ahead of time and comes with scallion pancakes, fried rice, and lettuce cups.

The bar will churn out boozy sodas, wines, and drafts, as well as $13 cocktails like the “Dirty Gertie,” made with aquavit, vermouth, and pickle brine. Bar snacks will include pizza bagels, corn dogs, mini veggie gyros, and pretzel twists. A late-night menu served after 9 p.m. will have a reuben and the egg and cheese breakfast sandwich.

Gertie opens with its limited hours on Friday, February 22. Stay tuned for a full menu and photos of the space later this week.