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An overhead photograph of a chicken that’s been fried whole and dissected into parts with its talons still on.
Wenwen is one of several hot new restaurants in Greenpoint.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

19 Restaurants That Make Greenpoint a New York Dining Destination

From Wenwen to Bernie’s, here’s where to eat in this Brooklyn neighborhood right now

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Wenwen is one of several hot new restaurants in Greenpoint.
| Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

Once a heavily Polish enclave home to factories, film studios, and artists' workshops, Brooklyn’s northernmost neighborhood has become a full-on culinary destination in recent years. Greenpoint has been quietly amassing some of the most compelling restaurants in the city — even if neighboring Williamsburg hogs all the limelight. The diversity here is staggering, spanning everything from top-tier tacos to Polish butchers and bakeries unchanged for generations. Here are the 19 restaurants to try in Greenpoint right now.

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Eric Sze and Andy Chuang, the duo behind 886, a casual stir-fry shop in the East Village, continue to spread the gospel of Taiwan’s diverse foodways. Wenwen is the more elegant of the two restaurants but it shares the same boozy DNA as 886, especially with upscale riffs on Long Island ice tea highballs (try the family-sized version for $69). Line up early when Wenwen opens for the BDSM chicken (the birds sell out quickly), or drop by later for numbing celtuce with Sichuan pepper, crispy fried tofu with garlic-soy paste, and youfan sticky rice with bacon and dried scallops.

Customers pick at dishes with red chopsticks at a crowded dining room table.
Wenwen is for adults, too.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

Achilles Heel

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Achilles Heel is one of those places that strikes the right note any time of day: casual or date-ready, good for a full-blown meal or just drinks. Technically more of a bar, this spot from restaurateur Andrew Tarlow (behind North Brooklyn heavy-hitters like Diner), still has a substantial small plates section that changes frequently, with whatever’s in season. During the winter time, Achilles Heel has a fireplace for warming up.

Archestratus

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A neighborhood staple since 2015, this hybrid cookbook store, specialty grocer, and Italian cafe doubled in size over the pandemic, leaving plenty of space for Italian pastries, pop-up dinners, and a specialty sandwich menu offering saucy Sicilian staples like a gooey meatball parm on focaccia. Indoor and outdoor seating is available.

Two rainbow cookies displayed on a plate.
A rainbow cookie from Archestratus.
Caroline Hatchett/Eater NY

This narrow Sichuan restaurant sticks to a small menu — currently only available for takeout — to offer the best possible renditions. All served with tongue-tickling spice and priced at $15 and under, diners can order the entire menu of string bean salad, spicy wontons, mapo tofu, noodle soup, and eggplant with chile-garlic sauce to create a very affordable at-home tasting menu.

Karczma

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One of the remaining hold-outs from when Greenpoint was teeming with Polish food, Karczma serves up classics like white borscht in bread bowls, sausages with cabbage, and the lesser-seen creamy pickle soup. During the colder months, the old-fashioned dark-wood tavern dining room is especially cozy.

Oxomoco

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Justin Bazdarich’s Greenpoint hotspot is an airy, plant-filled dining room that feels like you’re on a splurge-y vacation. Sip frozen grapefruit palomas as you dive into tuna tartare, lamb-squash blossom tacos, and shrimp ceviche tostadas.

A bustling dining room packs customers at tables and a high-top bar.
Inside the plant-filled dining room.
Louise Palmberg

Di An Di

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Another naturally-lit, verdant Greenpoint favorite is this Vietnamese restaurant that was opened in 2018 by the team behind the Lower East Side’s now-shuttered An Choi. It’s hard to go wrong with any of the noodle soups, which come accompanied by house-made riffs on sriracha and hoisin, but the Hanoi-style pho with fatty brisket, a scattering of scallions, and a single, sunny yolk, stands out. Much of the menu is designed to be shared, and the long tables in the back room are ideal for larger groups.

Di An Di
Di An Di is a group-friendly restaurant.
Gary He/Eater NY

Fulgurances

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A Parisian hit has come to Brooklyn and built out a space in a former laundromat, Fulgurances is a “chef incubator” that feels more like a fancy dinner party. A restaurant without a permanent chef, Fulgurances hosts visitors to reconstruct the entire menu and wine pairings every few months, for an $89 tasting menu.

Paulie Gee's Slice Shop

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Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop had lines down the block from the moment it opened in 2018, an off-shoot of a sit-down pizzeria a few blocks over. Order the Hellboy Squared, an “upside down” Sicilian slice with pepperoni, hot honey, and a sesame seed bottom, or the Freddy Prinze, a vegetarian version without meat or honey. A bar in the back offers beer, more seating, and screenings of classic movies.

A hot pours hot honey on pizza pie atop an orange table.
Pepperoni cups act as hot tubs of grease.
Alex Staniloff/Eater NY

Taqueria Ramirez

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Like a slice of Mexico City tucked into residential Brooklyn, this counter-service taqueria serves street tacos piled high with longaniza (a cousin of chorizo), al pastor, suadero, and other meats. The small space with no alcohol is meant to keep customers moving, but it only sort of works: Customers take videos of the tripa being charred with a handheld blowtorch or consider their options at a salsa bar with cilantro, onions, and other toppings. Expect to find a line around peak meal times.

A knife cuts thin al pastor meat from the spit, which is caught by a gloved hand holding a tortilla.
A staffer cuts pork for al pastor tacos.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

Chez Ma Tante

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Chez Ma Tante is Brooklyn brunch royalty. Opened in 2017 by Aidan O’Neal and Jake Leiber (these days of Le Crocodile fame) the lines haven’t stopped coming for French Canadian bistro fare, yes, but most importantly for the pancakes. Brave the lines around the weekends, or stop by for a solo meal at the bar, when it’s easier to get in.

Chez Ma Tante’s spare dining room with dark wood tables and bar
Order Chez Ma Tante’s pancakes.
Stephen Yang

Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop

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Long before Manhattan Avenue was lined with trendy coffee shops, this local stalwart was serving sprinkle-dusted doughnuts by the dozen. Not much has changed at this cash-only bakery since 1953, which suits the clientele just fine. Doughnuts start at just over a buck each and breakfast sandwiches are equally reasonable — prices have refused to rise with the neighborhood’s profile. The early morning weekend rush sees a mix of old-timers and night owls drifting home from nearby nightlife spots like Good Room and Ponyboy in search of warm crullers. 

Two boxes of donuts, one containing pastries with bright pink icing and sprinkles; another with dark brown frosting and sprinkles.
You can’t go wrong at this old-school donut shop.
Diana Hubbell/Eater NY

Rule of Thirds

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This Japanese restaurant from Sunday Hospitality (behind Sunday in Brooklyn and the relaunched El Quijote) has plenty of group-friendly booths inside, as well as “winter village” set-ups in the attached backyard that can seat between five to 20. The menu features dishes like pork jowl with yuzu kosho and chicken karaage, but leave room for the white sesame soft serve. Bring the experience back home at the team’s next-door sake shop Bin Bin.

The interior of a restaurant which features a lot of wood and a square bar with several seats around it.
Pull up a chair at Rule of Thirds.
Gary Landsman/Rule of Thirds

The dining room at this high-ceiling restaurant warrants entry on this list alone, while the food is good enough for a celebration or important date. Order the bread basket and dips to start, then graduate to dressed-up veggies (the little gem salad is layered with tahini and curry leaves) and proteins, like fall-apart za’atar ribs or a kabocha squash that’s just as good.

Inside the plant-filled dining room of Nura, a high-ceilinged restaurant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
The high-ceilinged dining room at Nura.
Catherine Dzilenski/Nura

Frankel's Delicatessen & Appetizing

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This Jewish deli by Zach Frankel, a native New Yorker from the Upper West Side, and partner Taylor McEwan quickly became a neighborhood institution. The decidedly unkosher bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich makes for a killer hangover cure, and the recipe for the brisket piled on thick-cut challah comes from Frankel’s grandmother Anita. Though quite a few of the offerings could hold their own against swankier spots like Russ & Daughters or Barney Greengrass, the setting is decidedly frills-free.

A pastrami and egg sandwich.
Breakfast sandwiches are the perfect hangover cure.
Frankel’s

Forma Pasta Factory

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Forma Pasta Factory serves something we wish was more common in Brooklyn: well-portioned, actually good bowls of pasta starting at $13. Part of the secret is that the “factory” — really, all of the pasta is made in-house — operates as a fast-casual business. Order at the counter from a sandwich board menu, grab a number, and then wait patiently for spaghetti pomodoro or pappardelle bolognese to arrive. Some of the best dishes here are the daily pasta specials. Many of the restaurant’s noodles can be ordered in bulk to take home.

A bowl of orecchiette pasta with broccoli rabe on a crowded table.
Orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe, a special at Forma Pasta Factory.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Cool World

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From the group behind Pebble Bar and a kitchen led by Wildair alums Quang Nguyen and Amanda Perdomo, this Greenpoint newcomer is undeniably hip. The restaurant does solid bistro fare with some creative twists (think duck confit croquettes, fried chicken sandwiches, wedge salad with granola, and warm pretzel buns). Overall, the spot, located across from McCarren, feels something like a Brooklyn younger sibling to the Odeon, with warm lighting well-suited for dates.

A fried chicken sandwich with fries on a white plate.
The fried chicken sandwich at Cool World.
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

Bernie’s

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Neighborhood spot Bernie’s feels like a nostalgic time warp, despite opening in 2018 by Zach Frankel (of nearby Frankel’s) and Taylor McEwan. The restaurant channels vintage Americana, complete with gleaming red booths and checkered tablecloths with crayons for the kids. Don’t skip the chicken piccata or parm, best followed up with a cherry-topped sundae.

Thinly pounded fried chicken topped with capers, lemon, and parsley on a white plate.
Capers aplenty on the chicken piccata.
Stefanie Tuder/Eater NY

Peep’s Kitchen

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Peep’s Kitchen is one of Greenpoint’s most slept-on restaurants, a small family-run operation that’s churning out some serious fried and glazed chicken. The gangjeong chicken is stir-fried in a sticky, sweet sauce, then topped with sesame seeds and almonds, while the padak (a more traditional fried chicken) comes with a scallion salad, a refreshing topping. Both are boneless, but we’re not complaining. It’s easy to pick out the spot by its blue mural depicting chicks grazing in chef’s hats along McGuiness Boulevard. There’s no seating, but the restaurant is located a short distance from McCarren Park and delivers on most ordering platforms.

A paper container is lined with aluminum foil and filled with saucy glazed chicken, sesame seeds, and sliced almond.
Boneless chicken is done-up with sesame seeds and sliced almonds.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Wenwen

Eric Sze and Andy Chuang, the duo behind 886, a casual stir-fry shop in the East Village, continue to spread the gospel of Taiwan’s diverse foodways. Wenwen is the more elegant of the two restaurants but it shares the same boozy DNA as 886, especially with upscale riffs on Long Island ice tea highballs (try the family-sized version for $69). Line up early when Wenwen opens for the BDSM chicken (the birds sell out quickly), or drop by later for numbing celtuce with Sichuan pepper, crispy fried tofu with garlic-soy paste, and youfan sticky rice with bacon and dried scallops.

Customers pick at dishes with red chopsticks at a crowded dining room table.
Wenwen is for adults, too.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

Achilles Heel

Achilles Heel is one of those places that strikes the right note any time of day: casual or date-ready, good for a full-blown meal or just drinks. Technically more of a bar, this spot from restaurateur Andrew Tarlow (behind North Brooklyn heavy-hitters like Diner), still has a substantial small plates section that changes frequently, with whatever’s in season. During the winter time, Achilles Heel has a fireplace for warming up.

Archestratus

A neighborhood staple since 2015, this hybrid cookbook store, specialty grocer, and Italian cafe doubled in size over the pandemic, leaving plenty of space for Italian pastries, pop-up dinners, and a specialty sandwich menu offering saucy Sicilian staples like a gooey meatball parm on focaccia. Indoor and outdoor seating is available.

Two rainbow cookies displayed on a plate.
A rainbow cookie from Archestratus.
Caroline Hatchett/Eater NY

Chiko

This narrow Sichuan restaurant sticks to a small menu — currently only available for takeout — to offer the best possible renditions. All served with tongue-tickling spice and priced at $15 and under, diners can order the entire menu of string bean salad, spicy wontons, mapo tofu, noodle soup, and eggplant with chile-garlic sauce to create a very affordable at-home tasting menu.

Karczma

One of the remaining hold-outs from when Greenpoint was teeming with Polish food, Karczma serves up classics like white borscht in bread bowls, sausages with cabbage, and the lesser-seen creamy pickle soup. During the colder months, the old-fashioned dark-wood tavern dining room is especially cozy.

Oxomoco

Justin Bazdarich’s Greenpoint hotspot is an airy, plant-filled dining room that feels like you’re on a splurge-y vacation. Sip frozen grapefruit palomas as you dive into tuna tartare, lamb-squash blossom tacos, and shrimp ceviche tostadas.

A bustling dining room packs customers at tables and a high-top bar.
Inside the plant-filled dining room.
Louise Palmberg

Di An Di

Another naturally-lit, verdant Greenpoint favorite is this Vietnamese restaurant that was opened in 2018 by the team behind the Lower East Side’s now-shuttered An Choi. It’s hard to go wrong with any of the noodle soups, which come accompanied by house-made riffs on sriracha and hoisin, but the Hanoi-style pho with fatty brisket, a scattering of scallions, and a single, sunny yolk, stands out. Much of the menu is designed to be shared, and the long tables in the back room are ideal for larger groups.

Di An Di
Di An Di is a group-friendly restaurant.
Gary He/Eater NY

Fulgurances

A Parisian hit has come to Brooklyn and built out a space in a former laundromat, Fulgurances is a “chef incubator” that feels more like a fancy dinner party. A restaurant without a permanent chef, Fulgurances hosts visitors to reconstruct the entire menu and wine pairings every few months, for an $89 tasting menu.

Paulie Gee's Slice Shop

Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop had lines down the block from the moment it opened in 2018, an off-shoot of a sit-down pizzeria a few blocks over. Order the Hellboy Squared, an “upside down” Sicilian slice with pepperoni, hot honey, and a sesame seed bottom, or the Freddy Prinze, a vegetarian version without meat or honey. A bar in the back offers beer, more seating, and screenings of classic movies.

A hot pours hot honey on pizza pie atop an orange table.
Pepperoni cups act as hot tubs of grease.
Alex Staniloff/Eater NY

Taqueria Ramirez

Like a slice of Mexico City tucked into residential Brooklyn, this counter-service taqueria serves street tacos piled high with longaniza (a cousin of chorizo), al pastor, suadero, and other meats. The small space with no alcohol is meant to keep customers moving, but it only sort of works: Customers take videos of the tripa being charred with a handheld blowtorch or consider their options at a salsa bar with cilantro, onions, and other toppings. Expect to find a line around peak meal times.

A knife cuts thin al pastor meat from the spit, which is caught by a gloved hand holding a tortilla.
A staffer cuts pork for al pastor tacos.
Adam Friedlander/Eater NY

Chez Ma Tante

Chez Ma Tante is Brooklyn brunch royalty. Opened in 2017 by Aidan O’Neal and Jake Leiber (these days of Le Crocodile fame) the lines haven’t stopped coming for French Canadian bistro fare, yes, but most importantly for the pancakes. Brave the lines around the weekends, or stop by for a solo meal at the bar, when it’s easier to get in.

Chez Ma Tante’s spare dining room with dark wood tables and bar
Order Chez Ma Tante’s pancakes.
Stephen Yang

Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop

Long before Manhattan Avenue was lined with trendy coffee shops, this local stalwart was serving sprinkle-dusted doughnuts by the dozen. Not much has changed at this cash-only bakery since 1953, which suits the clientele just fine. Doughnuts start at just over a buck each and breakfast sandwiches are equally reasonable — prices have refused to rise with the neighborhood’s profile. The early morning weekend rush sees a mix of old-timers and night owls drifting home from nearby nightlife spots like Good Room and Ponyboy in search of warm crullers. 

Two boxes of donuts, one containing pastries with bright pink icing and sprinkles; another with dark brown frosting and sprinkles.
You can’t go wrong at this old-school donut shop.
Diana Hubbell/Eater NY

Rule of Thirds

This Japanese restaurant from Sunday Hospitality (behind Sunday in Brooklyn and the relaunched El Quijote) has plenty of group-friendly booths inside, as well as “winter village” set-ups in the attached backyard that can seat between five to 20. The menu features dishes like pork jowl with yuzu kosho and chicken karaage, but leave room for the white sesame soft serve. Bring the experience back home at the team’s next-door sake shop Bin Bin.

The interior of a restaurant which features a lot of wood and a square bar with several seats around it.
Pull up a chair at Rule of Thirds.
Gary Landsman/Rule of Thirds

Nura

The dining room at this high-ceiling restaurant warrants entry on this list alone, while the food is good enough for a celebration or important date. Order the bread basket and dips to start, then graduate to dressed-up veggies (the little gem salad is layered with tahini and curry leaves) and proteins, like fall-apart za’atar ribs or a kabocha squash that’s just as good.

Inside the plant-filled dining room of Nura, a high-ceilinged restaurant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
The high-ceilinged dining room at Nura.
Catherine Dzilenski/Nura

Frankel's Delicatessen & Appetizing

This Jewish deli by Zach Frankel, a native New Yorker from the Upper West Side, and partner Taylor McEwan quickly became a neighborhood institution. The decidedly unkosher bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich makes for a killer hangover cure, and the recipe for the brisket piled on thick-cut challah comes from Frankel’s grandmother Anita. Though quite a few of the offerings could hold their own against swankier spots like Russ & Daughters or Barney Greengrass, the setting is decidedly frills-free.

A pastrami and egg sandwich.
Breakfast sandwiches are the perfect hangover cure.
Frankel’s

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Forma Pasta Factory

Forma Pasta Factory serves something we wish was more common in Brooklyn: well-portioned, actually good bowls of pasta starting at $13. Part of the secret is that the “factory” — really, all of the pasta is made in-house — operates as a fast-casual business. Order at the counter from a sandwich board menu, grab a number, and then wait patiently for spaghetti pomodoro or pappardelle bolognese to arrive. Some of the best dishes here are the daily pasta specials. Many of the restaurant’s noodles can be ordered in bulk to take home.

A bowl of orecchiette pasta with broccoli rabe on a crowded table.
Orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe, a special at Forma Pasta Factory.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Cool World

From the group behind Pebble Bar and a kitchen led by Wildair alums Quang Nguyen and Amanda Perdomo, this Greenpoint newcomer is undeniably hip. The restaurant does solid bistro fare with some creative twists (think duck confit croquettes, fried chicken sandwiches, wedge salad with granola, and warm pretzel buns). Overall, the spot, located across from McCarren, feels something like a Brooklyn younger sibling to the Odeon, with warm lighting well-suited for dates.

A fried chicken sandwich with fries on a white plate.
The fried chicken sandwich at Cool World.
Emma Orlow/Eater NY

Bernie’s

Neighborhood spot Bernie’s feels like a nostalgic time warp, despite opening in 2018 by Zach Frankel (of nearby Frankel’s) and Taylor McEwan. The restaurant channels vintage Americana, complete with gleaming red booths and checkered tablecloths with crayons for the kids. Don’t skip the chicken piccata or parm, best followed up with a cherry-topped sundae.

Thinly pounded fried chicken topped with capers, lemon, and parsley on a white plate.
Capers aplenty on the chicken piccata.
Stefanie Tuder/Eater NY

Peep’s Kitchen

Peep’s Kitchen is one of Greenpoint’s most slept-on restaurants, a small family-run operation that’s churning out some serious fried and glazed chicken. The gangjeong chicken is stir-fried in a sticky, sweet sauce, then topped with sesame seeds and almonds, while the padak (a more traditional fried chicken) comes with a scallion salad, a refreshing topping. Both are boneless, but we’re not complaining. It’s easy to pick out the spot by its blue mural depicting chicks grazing in chef’s hats along McGuiness Boulevard. There’s no seating, but the restaurant is located a short distance from McCarren Park and delivers on most ordering platforms.

A paper container is lined with aluminum foil and filled with saucy glazed chicken, sesame seeds, and sliced almond.
Boneless chicken is done-up with sesame seeds and sliced almonds.
Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Related Maps