How Did Zagat Do In Southern Brooklyn?

Hannah Frishberg -
The 2017 Zagat’s review guide, photo via Amazon. Top right, Sheepshead Bay’s Roll-N-Roaster, bottom right Bay Ridge’s Tanorren, photos via Zagat

Renowned foodie guide Zagat has released their 2017 edition, and it lists 26 noteworthy restaurants in southern Brooklyn. This is the number of restaurants listed in the print guide and searchable on the website, mind you. No southern Brooklyn restaurants actually ranked in the elite guide’s best of list.

While Zagat’s gets props for accurately locating restaurants in their respective neighborhoods (they even list L&B Spumoni Gardens as being in Gravesend, which is correct, if tough to admit for some locals) they lose points for listing majority Italian and American spots, for the most part completely ignoring southern Brooklyn’s impressive Russian, middle eastern, and Chinese eateries.

Of all the southern Brooklyn neighborhoods, Bay Ridge is apparently the most frequented by Zagat reviewers, with 12 area restaurants listed. That list includes classic Italian bakery Paneantico with a 4.5 out 5 rating, white tablecloth Areo with a 4.4, and middle eastern favorite Tanoreen with a 4.7. (In the world of the Zagat 1 to 5 rating range, a 4.6 to 5.0 means “extraordinary to perfection” and a 4.1 to 4.5 means “very good to excellent”.)

Sheepshead Bay had six ranked restaurants — two Turkish spots (Sahara and Taci’s Beyti), two seafood joints (Jordans Lobster and Randazzo’s), and two sandwich places (Brennan and Roll-N-Roaster).

Bath Beach had two spots listed — Malaysian joint Nyonya and Italian eatery Tommaso.

Not a single Dyker Heights or Boro Park restaurant made the list. (In past editions, however, Papa Pasquale has merited a shout-out.)

In Bensonhurst, Villabate Alba scored a 4.7 and Tenzan, a Japanese spot, also made the list with a 4.1.

Besides L&B (which scored a 4.4) Gravesend also got a mention for Pio Pio. Over in Flatlands, the Mill Basin Deli scored a 4.3, and in actual Mill Basin, La Villa Pizzeria got a 4.1.

While the good turnout of restaurants for southern Brooklyn may make it seem as though Zagat has finally realized we’ve got tons of incredible food down here, they still pay inordinately more attention to eateries in artisanal heavens like Williamsburg, where close to 100 restaurants were ranked.

What do you think of these pics? Are these really the best restaurants in southern Brooklyn? Let us know in the comments.