Greenpoint, you are so spoiled! Now it will be even more difficult to figure out where to go for dinner or a cocktail because there has been an explosion of new places! Can’t keep up? Here is a brief rundown of all the open and soon to be open bars, restaurants and coffee shops in the hood. It’s kind of insane, right?! Let us know in the comments if you have tried any of the new places and what you think. Stay tuned for in depth reviews!
Officially Open in Greenpoint:
Achilles Heel (180 West St) We saw it finally opened on Instagram via @mfade. Tarlow considered the history of the Greenpoint waterfront when he designed the menu and space. According to Grub Street, Achilles Heel is “a café and bar meant to evoke the always-open grocery and drinking spot that once sustained Greenpoint dockworkers at its West Street address between 1900 and 1960.” Grab a coffee and a fresh snack sourced from Marlow & Daughters on your way to the Ferry and enjoy an afternoon Hemingway Daiquiri or a glass of wine near the piano after a long day at the office. Coming soon… a New England Style Clam Chowdah!
Torst (615 Manhattan Ave) A fancy beer bar for beer nerds. This spot was great for an after work beer and a delicious cheese plate. The beer list is extensive and the tapping system is state of the art. As described on Gothamist: “Tørst offers a selection of 21 draft and 200 bottled beers, including rare, international brews not seen before now in the States … the guys installed a custom-built draught system called the Flux Capacitor, which allows individual draft lines to be temperature and pressure customized for specific beers, plus a system that allows for four different temperature controls.” Like I said, it’s for beer nerds.
Jimmy’s Diner (92 Calyer St) Formerly Calyer, Jimmy’s Diner #2 has opened up literally overnight! This photo sent to me by Paulie Gee. The menu will be similar to the Union Ave location. Get ready for mac n’ cheese, fried chicken and perhaps some key lime pie?!
Spina (107 Franklin St) It’s a flower shop slash coffee shop and get this -the coffee is BLUE BOTTLE! Spina’s main business is social event planning, but after a visit to Italy and San Francisco, owner Paul Tsang and his partner Vanessa Chinga-Haven decided to start serving coffee in the new Franklin St space because, “coffee is aromatic and flowers are aromatic,” Paul told Greenpointers. How lovely.
Broken Land (105 Franklin St) I have been spying on the shutdown Veronica People’s space and late one night last weekend we ran into the owner in front who said they were going to open that night for a few hours, even though they are still waiting on a few things like artwork and a huge terrarium to flank the door. Seems like it will be a chill bar with nice cocktails, beer and wine. Look out for a future terrarium class there!
Alameda (195 Franklin St) According to contributor Kerry it’s a “killer” cocktail bar by the Haslegrave Brothers, with a drink called The Roberto Burns she described as like “sex below deck,” and a pleasing edibles menu, with a $9 burger and roasted fruit and goat cheese baguette.
Propeller Coffee (984 Manhattan Ave) Open in the former Beata Delicatessen, reader @lizful sent us this photo and said, “The space is beautifully large and light-filled and the cappuccino was perfect.” We love that they preserved a little bit of Greenpoint history by keeping the old Beata sign intact. Really excited to sample an espresso! Can Greenpoint have too many coffee shops?
River Styx (21 Greenpoint Ave) – We snagged this menu sneak peek from @TheMeatHook on Instagram. The website says “See You Soon!,” but that’s not what the NY Times says… “from the team behind Brooklyn’s Roebling Tea Room, which opened last night on a quiet, riverside street in Greenpoint — is not: another neighborhood eatery that takes itself too seriously” The menu that features burgers, lamb wrapped in grape leaves, chicken liver tortillas and ramp raviolo, plus some really interesting cocktails.
The Bounty (131 Greenpoint Ave) A new seafood restaurant that according to the
website is serving classic cocktails, small plates and a raw bar with a full menu coming soon. Back in April, The Bounty told Eater they’d be “serving seafood from the North Atlantic region, made with a hint of Southern charm … like crab cakes, whole grilled fish, a raw bar (oysters, clams, etc), a burger, and eventually, when blue crabs are in season in the Chesapeake, Maryland-style steamed crabs.”
Coming Soon:
Little Dokebi (85 Driggs) Greenpointers on “the other side” of McGuinness are excited for this. A sign on the door reads: “Little Dokebi, Korean Street Food, June!”
Fornino (847 Manhattan Ave) Look out for this second location to open either this Monday or next Monday!
This is on-the-balance not good news. Very distressed at the sudden loss of Calyer, far and away the best restaurant to open in the new gentrifying Greenpoint. And how does yet another coffee place make up for Beatta, a great neighborhood deli ? And do all these new upscale bars fit in the neighborhood? I guess they will from now on. As a Greenpoint resident since the mid-80s, mixed feelings for sure.
Thanks for your comments. It is very overwhelming. Do you think GP is over saturated with bars and coffee shops?
Learning of Calyer’s closure literally brought tears to my eyes. Much like learning that Oznot’s Dish closed ten or so years ago. Both places were perfection—amazing and interesting food, well designed surroundings, super friendly staff and none of the pretentious BS that so often goes with restaurants that are of this caliber. If Calyer couldn’t make it, what is wrong with the economic reality of this neighborhood?
The owner of Beata Delicatessen retired. The space was originally going to be a bar, but he opted for a quieter business.
I missed out on Cayler, they reportedly had awesome food before their chef left in 2012, but even so it was pricy. I called Jimmy’s in williamsburg, the GP number is 347 889 6323. Not sure if they deliver yet, will find out soon :P.
Jimmy’s isn’t doing delivery for a few weeks 🙁
Yiorgi, I have to agree about Calyer. My wife and I live on McGuinness Blvd, so it’s about a 15 minute walk for us, but we’ve trekked in the rain just to have a weekend cocktail there. It almost feels like it got replaced by a Chili’s.
I’m on the fence about the overall change to the neighborhood. On the one hand, I love that more places have opened up over the last year or so, and that the waterfront is being emphasized via Transmitter Park, the East River Ferry, and the menus at some of the new joints. On the other, I’m worried that all of this is just foreshadowing how overcrowded and bland things might be once (if?) that massive Greenpoint Landing project happens. To me, the food & drink of Greenpoint wouldn’t be complete if, for example, Steve’s Meat Market on Nassau gets pushed out.
Question for Jen: any idea what’s going on with the old Wasco Automotive space on McGuinness? I know a restaurant is opening soon — saw a bunch of chairs being delivered about 4-6 weeks ago, and it looks like kitchen ventilation is fully installed on the roof — but things are slow coming, and I have no idea who’s behind it or what the vibe is going to be. Any leads?
Definitely been keeping an eye on it but not sure what is going on there. Will investigate.
BTW – I think the same people who owned Calyer own Jimmy’s so I think it was likely a strategic/financial move.
I think you’re right Jen- the Calyer was owned by the people running Jimmy’s.
I think people have forgotten that when the Calyer first opened it was, like many of the new places opening now in Greenpoint- an expensive “small” plate restaurant that had a staff that was better at looking good than serving food and drink. It took the Calyer a while to iron out the wrinkles to become what I thought was one of the best places in Greenpoint. So, I’m sad that it’s gone, but I’d hardly say it’s fair or realistic to compare Jimmy’s to a Chili’s. I’ve eaten at the other Jimmy’s for years and if they can make it work it’ll certainly fill a niche in the neighborhood.
That said, this last weekend I did a blitz of all the new places in around Franklin st. I’m no foodie, but I found it strange that most of the menues had striking similarities- most served oysters, most had seafood dominated menu (River Styx, Alameda, and the Bounty, haven’t eaten at Achilles Heel, but quickly racked up a bar tab there), and all were on the expensive side for Greenpoint both in food and drink. Everywhere I went I found the service to be pretty good except Achilles, but the place was packed and I think the Bartender was a bit overwhelmed. I also drank at Broken Land- which by comparison was priced more in line with other places in the area and I liked the what they did with the place.
Can Greenpoint sustain so many similar places once the shine of being new wears off? I don’t know, probably not. I walked by a new place all the way up on Commercial st. next to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory (couldn’t tell if it was a bar or restaurant, it was having a private party at the time) – I have no idea how that place is going to survive
Agreed. Everything is just too expensive and same same. Tried Torst and it was comically overpriced, even for my beer snob friend who routinely buys those large Belgian bottles. I love a great beer, but I’m not sure >$10 for a smallish pour is ever worth it. Out of all of these, the only place I’m honestly excited about is Little Dokebi. I’ll take great cheap ethnic food over oysters and “artisanal” cocktails any day.