The 100 Best Places to Drink and Stay in Brooklyn

1. Time Out The Turkey Leg Sandwich · The 18 best sandwiches in the world right now
2. Difford's Guide 3.5 stars · Difford's Guide

The long wooden bar came out of a Pennsylvania mining-town dance hall and has been anchoring this Smith Street cocktail bar ever since. Victorian paneling, a tin ceiling, and a curtained parlor with a fireplace in the back make the whole room feel like someone's very well-stocked study. The cocktails are precise and the eponymous Clover Club is on the menu, naturally. The kind of place that makes Brooklyn feel older than it is.

1. VinePair Industry Icon of the Year · The Next Wave Awards
2. Difford's Guide 4.5 stars · Difford's Guide
3. Time Out #8 · The 30 best bars in NYC right now

A four-tap absinthe drip at the center of the bar is a replica of the one at the Absinthe House in New Orleans, and that tells you most of what you need to know. Maison Premiere is a cocktail and oyster bar in Williamsburg that commits fully to the bit: dim golden light, mock antique everything, marble bar top, the faint sense that you've wandered into another city and century. It landed on North America's 50 Best Bars list, which tracks.

1. Difford's Guide 5 stars · Difford's Guide
2. The 50 #40 · North America's 50 Best Bars
3. The New York Times 2013 · Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

1. The 50 #36 · North America's 50 Best Bars
2. Time Out #20 · The 30 best bars in NYC right now
3. Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar

The big neon sign out front survived the gap years when nothing else did, and it still draws you in off Atlantic Avenue. This Art Deco bar in Cobble Hill has been around forever, and Toby Cecchini, the bartender who invented the Cosmopolitan, brought it back to life with the booths and floral wallpaper more or less intact. The kitchen does a Reuben and a double-patty burger, but the cocktails are what fill the room on a Tuesday.

1. VinePair Industry Icon of the Year · The Next Wave Awards
2. Time Out #11 · The 30 best bars in NYC right now
3. The Infatuation The Best Cocktail Bars in NYC

Every room at this Williamsburg hotel comes with its own city-view balcony, which tells you roughly what you're dealing with. The rooftop holds a 15,000-square-foot public park with rolling hills and picnic blankets, so it doubles as a neighborhood hangout rather than a private amenity. The interior leans into the borough's art-forward instincts without overdoing it, and the skyline views from up top are the kind that make Manhattan feel like a reasonable commute.

1. AAA Four Diamonds
2. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended
3. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Floor-to-ceiling windows look straight across the East River at the Lower Manhattan skyline, a view few New York hotels can match. This eco-minded luxury hotel sits at the edge of Brooklyn Bridge Park, where salvaged materials and low-impact design feel less like a brand statement and more like a natural fit for a waterfront that was industrial wasteland not so long ago. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Key.

1. AAA Four Diamonds
2. Michelin Guide 1 Key
3. Time Out The 35 best hotels in New York City

The lobby is as big as a city block and designed, without apology, for people who will open a laptop in it. Ace Hotel Brooklyn is a Michelin Key hotel sitting on the edge of Boerum Hill, where the industrial bones and deliberately low-key atmosphere draw the kind of guests who prefer brownstone streets over Midtown. The Brooklyn Heights Promenade is a short walk, and the ground floor bar handles the rest of your evening.

1. Michelin Guide 1 Key
2. Time Out The 35 best hotels in New York City
3. The 50 The 50 Discovery

A glass-enclosed rooftop bar with unobstructed Manhattan skyline views is a reasonable argument for crossing the bridge. This Wythe Avenue hotel occupies a striking eight-story building in brick, glass, and weathered steel, with double-height guest rooms fitted out in custom furniture that leans toward retro modernism with a bit of prewar New York texture. An Eastern Mediterranean restaurant sits off the lobby for when you'd rather not wander far.

1. AAA Three Diamonds
2. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

Wood smoke hangs in the air the moment you walk into this Fort Greene seafood restaurant, which should tell you something about how the kitchen operates. Chef Tomer Blechman anchors the menu around dry-aged fish and open-fire cooking, pulling from a Mediterranean pantry that keeps things interesting without announcing itself. The bar draws a crowd that clearly has opinions about natural wine, and the pita alone justifies showing up early.

1. VinePair Food & Beverage Program of the Year · The Next Wave Awards
2. The New York Times 2026 · 2 stars, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
3. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. AAA Four Diamonds
2. Michelin Guide 1 Key
3. Time Out The 35 best hotels in New York City

A converted 1901 factory building in Williamsburg with 13-foot ceilings, original wood beams, and floor-to-ceiling windows framing the Manhattan skyline. The Wythe holds a Michelin Key, and the in-house credentials are real: Le Crocodile, the French brasserie downstairs, draws its own crowd, and Bar Blondeau on the sixth floor has views that make the room feel optional. Industrial-chic without the irony quotes, and about as Williamsburg as a hotel gets.

1. Michelin Guide 1 Key
2. Time Out The 35 best hotels in New York City

Calvin Eng's Cantonese restaurant and bar sits on a nondescript east Williamsburg corner, close enough to the BQE that you'll feel the trucks. Inside, it reads like a retro Hong Kong diner, but the kitchen runs modern interpretations of regional Cantonese food, and the MSG Martini earned a spot on Esquire's national list. The Michelin Guide gives it a Bib Gourmand, and the James Beard Foundation named Eng an Emerging Chef nominee.

1. Esquire MSG Martini · The Best Martinis in America
2. James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Emerging Chef · Calvin Eng
3. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand

1. VinePair Bartender of the Year · The Next Wave Awards · Garret Richard
2. Time Out #2 · The 30 best bars in NYC right now
3. The 50 The 50 Discovery

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. Huckberry The 50 Best Dive Bars in America

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. AAA Three Diamonds

Vintage mirrors, cherry wood, and brass gas chandeliers give this Downtown Brooklyn steakhouse an amber glow that makes every Tuesday feel like an occasion. The kitchen draws on the legacy of Edna Lewis, who ran it in the late eighties, so fried chicken and crab cakes share the menu with dry-aged prime beef. Dessert gets taken seriously, which a baked Alaska deserves. It has a spot on the World's Best Steak Restaurants list.

1. World's 101 Best #84 · World's Best Steak Restaurants
2. Esquire Turf Club · The Best Martinis in America
3. James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Pastry Chef · Caroline Schiff

1. VinePair Bartender of the Year · The Next Wave Awards · Patty Dennison
2. Time Out #15 · The 30 best bars in NYC right now
3. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. Time Out #23 · The 30 best bars in NYC right now
2. Roadbook The Best Restaurants and Bars in Williamsburg

1. James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · Ivy Mix

1. AAA Three Diamonds

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Greenpoint
2. Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East
3. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

1. AAA Approved

Rooms here are styled after the classic North Brooklyn apartment, which sounds like damning with faint praise until you see the hardwood floors, the kitchenettes, and the art books chosen with actual care. This boutique hotel in Williamsburg keeps an in-house gallery for good measure, since framed prints apparently weren't enough. Union Pool is steps away, so you'll know by midnight whether that's a selling point or a warning.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

1. AAA Approved

1. The New York Times 2025 · 1 star, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
2. Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
3. Eater The Best Places to Eat in Bed-Stuy Right Now

A converted 19th-century textile warehouse in Greenpoint, the Henry Norman is a boutique hotel where the loft-style rooms lean into the bones of the building: hardwood floors, exposed brick, and, depending on your room, a terrace or rooftop. The retro vibe extends to a vintage taxi kept on call as in-house car service, which is either charming or a lot, depending on your mood. Williamsburg is a short walk south when you need a meal.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

1. AAA Approved

1. Michelin Guide Selected Hotels

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

1. AAA Approved

1. Vogue The 25 Best Restaurants in Brooklyn, According to Vogue Staff
2. Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. East

1. The 50 The 50 Discovery

A plate-glass window in the exposed-brick wall looks straight into a working still, which tells you everything about what kind of cocktail bar this is. The Shanty is the front room of New York Distilling Company, so the gin in your glass traveled about twenty feet to get there. It sits on a quiet warehouse block in Greenpoint, easy to miss, which seems to suit the regulars just fine.

1. Difford's Guide 4.5 stars · Difford's Guide
2. The New York Times 2012 · Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review

1. Spirited Awards 2024 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar
2. Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. East
3. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

1. Food & Wine Pancake Soufflé · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
2. Punch Rosie Martini · Our Favorite Cocktails
3. Punch Best New Bartenders · Ben Hopkins

1. Punch Tomate o Tomaté · Our Favorite Cocktails

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar
2. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

The walls are painted cupcake pink, and yes, that is a bowl of Hungarian chicken broth with dumplings on the menu next to the crepes. Named for the chef's grandmother, this Crown Heights diner runs on Eastern European comfort food done with real care. The kitchen has a particular way with bread. The bar landed on Punch's Best New Bartenders list, the restaurant holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and the chef is a James Beard nominee.

1. Punch Best New Bartenders · Ben Hopkins
2. James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Best Chef: New York State · Jeremy Salamon
3. Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants

1. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City

The $12 daily daiquiri sets the tone at this Williamsburg rum bar, where the menu runs from a lager-and-rum shot combo to oysters with tepache mignonette. The couple behind it know their way around spirits, one having run the editorial side of Punch, the other having shaped Chicago's beloved tropical bar scene. A basement rum bar called Undercurrent adds another layer for anyone who shows up and doesn't want to leave.

1. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City
3. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

1. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City

1. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City
2. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City

1. Time Out #13 · The 30 best bars in NYC right now

1. Eater The Best New Bars in New York City

A Greek Salad martini built with Tomato Crop vodka and piparra brine should probably not work, and yet here we are. Kinda Nice is a Williamsburg cocktail bar from two Grand Army veterans who describe the vibe as late-night diner meets dive bar, which mostly means the drinks lean savory and strange in satisfying ways. A downstairs dive called Shenanigans is coming, if you need somewhere to spiral afterward.

1. Eater The Best New Cocktail Bars in New York City

1. Time Out #21 · The 30 best bars in NYC right now

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar

Red Hook sits off every subway line, which keeps Fort Defiance comfortably local. This all-day neighborhood bar fits eight tables and a bar counter that seats twelve if everyone breathes in. The name nods to a nearby Revolutionary War fort that once blocked the British from the East River, which gives the place more historical gravitas than most spots this relaxed have any business claiming.

1. Difford's Guide 4 stars · Difford's Guide

1. Difford's Guide 4 stars · Difford's Guide

1. Difford's Guide 4 stars · Difford's Guide

No website, no phone number, and nothing on the exterior but a small street number and white tiles that read more like a morgue than a cocktail bar. Weather Up in Prospect Heights commits fully to the bit. Inside, those same tiles climb the ceiling over a zinc-topped wooden bar with sculptural stools, turning the whole room into something between a former bathhouse and a very stylish fever dream.

1. Difford's Guide 4 stars · Difford's Guide

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Greenpoint

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Greenpoint

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Greenpoint

1. Difford's Guide 4.5 stars · Difford's Guide
2. Roadbook The Best Restaurants and Bars in Williamsburg

The line out the door on South 2nd is the most honest review you'll find. This Williamsburg slice shop has a counter, a few standing ledges, and pizza makers working in plain sight from dough to oven. The crust is thin, crisp, and taken seriously. 50 Top Pizza ranked it the top slice shop in the country, and the New York Times put it on their short list too. Order, pay, wait for your name, eat standing up. That's the whole deal.

1. 50 Top Pizza #74 · 50 Top Pizza World
2. 50 Top Pizza #1 · 50 Top Pizza Slice USA
3. The Infatuation #19 · The 25 Best Restaurants In NYC

1. Roadbook The Best Restaurants and Bars in Williamsburg

1. Roadbook The Best Restaurants and Bars in Williamsburg

1. The New York Times 2020 · 3 stars, Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
2. Roadbook The Best Restaurants and Bars in Williamsburg

Missy Robbins runs an open kitchen inside a former car body shop in East Williamsburg, which tells you something about the bones of the room before a single plate arrives. Lilia is the kind of Italian pasta restaurant where everything is handmade and the mafaldini with pink peppercorns has turned regulars into a kind of informal cult. The New York Times gave it three stars, and a James Beard semifinalist nod followed.

1. AAA Four Diamonds
2. The New York Times 2016 · 3 stars · Restaurant Review
3. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Missy Robbins

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Greenpoint

1. Roadbook The Best Restaurants and Bars in Williamsburg

A small "Cocktails" neon sign is the only clue visible through the net-curtained windows of this Williamsburg cocktail bar, which occupies a former auto-parts store near McCarren Park. Inside, ornamental plates crowd the walls, tasseled fittings hang overhead, and ceramic tiles fool the eye into reading as rugs. It feels like a great-aunt's drawing room, if your great-aunt had excellent taste and kept unusual hours.

1. Difford's Guide 3 stars · Difford's Guide
2. Roadbook The Best Restaurants and Bars in Williamsburg

1. The New York Times 2020 · Critic's Pick · Restaurant Review
2. Roadbook The Best Restaurants and Bars in Williamsburg

1. Roadbook The Best Restaurants and Bars in Williamsburg

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Greenpoint

1. Roadbook The Best Restaurants and Bars in Williamsburg

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Greenpoint

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Greenpoint

The natural wine list here won a James Beard Award, and the Michelin star belongs to the kitchen, which tells you this Williamsburg bar is doing two things at once and doing neither halfway. The room is famously small and the wait is famously brutal, but Nick Curtola's seasonal menu follows its own logic, landing somewhere between a great wine bar snack and something you'll think about for weeks. James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem is a co-owner, which explains the playlist.

1. James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurant
2. James Beard Awards 2022 · Winner · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
3. Michelin Guide 1 Star

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Greenpoint

1. Roadbook The Best Restaurants and Bars in Williamsburg

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Greenpoint

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Greenpoint

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In Greenpoint

1. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

1. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

A standing bar modeled on the Japanese tachinomi tradition, which means you're on your feet, shoulder to shoulder, and the whole room is already talking. Low-alcohol cocktails, sake, and shochu anchor the drinks list, with classics quietly reinterpreted through Japanese and Latin ingredients. The two bartenders behind the counter bring serious cocktail-bar pedigree to a room that wears it lightly, and the small bites fold Japanese technique into Puerto Rican and Salvadoran flavors.

1. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

1. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

1. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

1. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

1. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide

1. Difford's Guide Difford's Guide