Openings and Closings: Breakfast, Boardgames, and Beer
Welcome back to another installment of openings and closings. We have a lot of goodbyes this week, from Polish diners to party brunch spots. Don’t despair, though, since there are lots of good things coming to the borough as well. We welcome several new Mexican spots, a boardgames cafe, and an ice cream parlor with swings inside.
Openings:
Bedford Stuyvesant
Boca Santa
480 Madison Street, between Throop Avenue and Marcus Garvey Boulevard.
This Bed-Stuy restaurant opened last month. Before finally opening their brick and mortar, Boca Santa was in residence as a pop-up at Doris, also in the neighborhood. Now, you can visit them on their own and enjoy their authentic Mexican dishes — tacos, aguas frescas, guacamole, and quesadillas are all on the menu.
The Coyote Club
417 Throop Avenue, between Quincy Street and Lexington Avenue.
This new Bed-Stuy bar opened up in November. The spot has leather couches, lots of wood detailing, and even some old-school pinball and arcade games. Some nights, they have DJs playing until late, with happy hour specials every day from 5:00pm-9:00pm.
Brooklyn Heights
Clover Hill
20 Columbia Place, between Joralemon and State streets.
Clover Hill in Brooklyn Heights opened mid-December, and is the neighborhood’s latest spot for breakfast, brunch, and lunch. The restaurant closes at 3:00pm every day, but before that serves a large variety of creative dishes. These include buckwheat crepes with eggs and sweet potato, fried pickled fennel, and a pistachio scone with satsuma marmalade.
Flatbush
What’s the Scooooop
1214 Cortelyou Road, between Argyle and Westminster roads.
Neighbors have reported that this new Cortelyou ice cream spot has finally opened to the public. Word on the street is that they’re serving up Blue Marble ice cream, and that the inside is complete with swings to sit on while you enjoy your scoops.
Fort Greene
Taqueria Fort Greene
154 Carlton Avenue, between Myrtle and Willoughby avenues.
This new Fort Greene taqueria opened up in December. You can enjoy all the classics here, like burrito bowls, quesadillas, chimichangas, tortas, and churros.
Greenpoint
OHHO Coffee
146 Nassau Avenue, between McGuinness Boulevard and Newel Street.
At OHHO Coffee you can get classic coffee, or try one of their creations, like a sweet potato latte or shaken espresso. This new coffee shop opened up mid-December, and in addition to hot beverages, you can enjoy Korean favorites like bibimbap, kimchi, and barbecue. Have a seat at one of their marble cafe tables and eat up.
St. Agrestis Taproom
233 Eagle Street, between McGuinness Boulevard and Provost Street.
Time Out reports that St. Agrestis has opened a new taproom in collaboration with Greenhook Ginsmiths in Greenpoint. The taproom will allow guests to taste the amari on-tap negronis and spiked hot chocolates all at an Italian-style communal table.
Park Slope
Sip & Play
471 5th Avenue, between 11th and 12th streets.
This new South Slope coffee shop comes with a twist. On site, you can play one of over 200 board games they have while enjoying your drinks and pastries. The spot is brand new, and opened only at the beginning of January.
Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Hasen Stüble
1184 Nostrand Avenue, between Fenimore and Hawthorne streets.
This new Prospect Lefferts Gardens Beer House opened five weeks ago. Currently, they’re just serving up drinks, but according to their Instagram this biergarten will also be a cafe come Spring. Enjoy your brew outside on the patio, or at one of their cozy wooden tables indoors.
Sheepshead Bay
Red Crab Juicy Seafood
1724 Sheepshead Bay Road, between Voorhies Avenue and Shore Parkway.
The latest branch of this seafood chain set up shop in Sheepshead Bay mid-November. Red Crab serves up po-boys, fish and shellfish by the pound, and raw oysters. They have specials almost every day on their various dishes, so be sure to check out their page before a visit.
Closings:
Brooklyn Heights
Teresa’s
80 Montague Street, between Pierrepont Place and Hicks Street.
This Brooklyn Heights Polish diner has closed for good. A tipster reported that the spot closed early this month, after reports earlier last year about owners wanting to put the restaurant up for rent.
Cobble Hill
Watty and Meg
248 Court Street, between Kane and Baltic streets.
Pardon Me For Asking reports that Cobble Hill’s Watty and Meg has closed its doors after 12 years, as of the first of this month. The restaurant also announced its closure through a sign on the door, writing that the news was delivered with “a heavy heart”.
Park Slope
Seed
242 5th Avenue, between President and Carroll Streets.
Seed announced its closure to Park Slope neighbors with a sign on their door in December. “We can’t thank our customers and this wonderful community enough for the support over the past four years,” the sign read, calling the goodbye “bittersweet”.
Woodland
242 Flatbush Avenue, between St. Marks Avenue and Bergen Street.
After a long fight, protests, and many SLA hearings, Woodland has finally closed its doors for good, Eater reports. Owner Akiva Ofshtein had previously told Bklyner that he felt the complaints against his restaurant were due to his primarily “African-American and Caribbean-American clientele,” and received assistance from the Black Institute prior to closing. Despite this, the brunch spot eventually lost the fight for their liquor license and could not survive without it.
Red Hook
Grindhaus
275 Van Brunt Street, between Visitation Place and Pioneer Street.
Grindhaus announced to their Instagram followers that their last day of business would be this Valentine’s Day. In the meantime, they’re hosting a Michelin-starred chef at the restaurant from the 24th-27th of January, and are encouraging guests to make reservations for both those special nights and their final bow.
