New Eats: BBQ, Pizza, Small Plates & Ice Cream
Here’s a list of seven new restaurants that have either recently opened or will open soon. Your dining options include small plates, barbecue, pizza, ice cream, and more.
Bon appétit!
Cecconi’s DUMBO, Empire Stores, 55 Water Street, 718-650-3900, DUMBO
This London import, located on the ground-level of DUMBO’s Empire Stores, serves classic northern Italian cuisine, such as hand-made pasta and seafood, with a modern twist. The restaurant is part of Soho House & Co., which plans to bring a member’s only club, DUMBO House, to the top two floors of the Empire Stores complex. The eatery features a large eat-in bar, main dining room, and outdoor terrace, all showcasing amazing views of Brooklyn Bridge Park, the East River, and the Manhattan skyline. Actor Bill Murray even crashed the restaurant’s grand opening party on June 12.
Phil & Anne’s Good Time Lounge, 196 Smith Street (between Warren & Baltic Streets), 929 337-7752, Cobble Hill
Food Network superstar chef Anne Burrell and partner Phil Casaceli will hopefully breathe new life onto Smith Street with their recently opened restaurant focusing on Mediterranean cuisine with Italian influences. All dishes are served in appetizer-sized portions to encourage sharing. The welcoming spot features a long, classic bar, open kitchen, and metallic orange wallpaper adorned with illustrations of vintage guitars to reflect Burrell’s motto, “cook like a rock star.”
Pig Beach, 480 Union Street (between Nevins & Bond Streets), Gowanus
This popular barbecue joint reopened for the season Memorial Day weekend, serving up its classic ribs, burgers, chicken wings, and more. The 13,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor space has been renovated and features additional seating as well as an updated ordering system and bar pouring Frosé, specialty cocktails, beer, and wines on tap.
Toby’s Public House, 215 Columbia Street (between Sackett & Union Streets), 347-689-4209, Columbia Street Waterfront District
This South Slope (686 6th Avenue at 21st Street) beer and pizza spot has expanded west, opening a second outpost on Columbia Street in May. Offering “some of Brooklyn’s BEST pizza,” Toby’s now serves brunch including their signature Sirracotta Pizza, a classic Eggs Benedict Pizza, and a NYC Everything Flatbread pie.
MilkMade, 204 Sackett Street (between Henry & Hicks Streets), Carroll Gardens
Brick-and-mortar and subscription-based craft ice cream purveyor, MilkMade, returns after a year-long hiatus, recently relaunching its Carroll Gardens tasting room. Founder Diana Hardeman creates yummy, innovative flavors using locally and responsibly-sourced ingredients (i.e. Back in Black, a dark chocolate ice cream with Brooklyn Blackout cake; Return of the Mac, salted caramel coconut ice cream with salted caramel macaroons)—two of which subscribers get delivered to their homes each month.
Camperdown Elm, 441 7th Avenue (at 15th Street), 347-294-4786, Park Slope
Debuting Thursday, June 22, in the former Thistle Hill Tavern space, this new eatery is named after a famous elm tree in Prospect Park. Owner Nao Minami and Chef Brad Willits (Agern, Lupulo, and Aldea) bring a casual neighborhood restaurant to South Slope, serving approachable seasonal New American cuisine.
Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill, Empire Stores, 55 Water Street, DUMBO
With locations in Las Vegas and Miami, this globally-inspired, small plates eatery will open a new outpost at the Empire Stores complex this summer. Offering three kitchen concepts—a raw bar, an open fire grill, and a traditional kitchen, Executive Chef Timon Balloo finds culinary inspiration from all over the world as well as his own multi-cultural background.
Also, the team behind Freek’s Mill (285 Nevins Street, on corner of Sackett Street, Gowanus) is working on finalizing a deal to take over the space previously occupied by The Pines (284 3rd Avenue, between President & Carroll Streets) which closed in late April. BKLYNER reached out to a rep for Freek’s Mill to inquire about their plans for the location, but has not heard back yet.