Huda (312 Leonard St.) is a new restaurant and bar in Williamsburg that serves Levantine cuisine, a mix of Middle Eastern food traditions from areas such as Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. The newcomer joins Levantine Mediterranean Cuisine (361 Graham Ave.), the recently rebranded Hummus Market, and the Moxy Hotel’s Mesiba (353 Bedford Avenue), in a small Levantine and Israeli food renaissance in the neighborhood.
North Brooklyn’s newest Levantine restaurant opened on November 9 in the space that was previously home to Edith’s Eatery and Grocery, the full service restaurant from Edith’s that closed this past May.
Huda is owned by restauranteur Gehad Hadidi, who also runs a long-standing French bistro in Manhattan called Le Bonne Soupe. The food at Hadidi’s latest venture is more personal, inspired by his Syrian-American heritage and his grandmother’s home cooking. To make this happen, Hadidi brought on board Executive Chef Anjuman Hossain, who also worked at local favorite Le Crocodile (80 Wythe Ave.).
Huda’s menu starts with smaller dishes like kodra baladi, which is marinated seasonal squash with sour cherries and barley tabbouleh. Other options include smashed cucumbers with smoked labneh and a carrot salad with toasted sunflower seeds, raisins, and honey-sumac vinaigrette.
Mains include kibbe naya served with toasted markouk, grilled calamari with hummus, and chicken with turmeric rice and braised cabbage. There’s also branzino baked in muhammara, Lebanese beef tortellini with yogurt and pine nuts, and a Levantine-style gnudi with a garlic sauce.
Desserts round out the menu with a ghrayabeh tart with a Yemeni-coffee-infused chocolate ganache filling and a shortbread cookie shell. There’s also poached quince and booza, which is orange blossom ice cream with pistachio butter.
Huda also serves a late-night menu at the bar from 10 p.m. to midnight. The late-night menu contains small bites, such as the “Cheap Dates,” with cardamom, cinnamon, and paprika. There’s also roasted pistachios, marinated olives, hummus, and za’atar and zeit, which is an olive oil dip.
Huda’s beverage program is led by General Manager and Beverage Director Yaz Saloom. The bar menu offers creative cocktails inspired by the Levantine region, plus a selection of Arak, a Levantine-distilled, anise-based spirit.
Drink highlights include “Dou Dou Shots,” Beirut’s famed shot of vodka, lemon, and harissa, garnished with an olive. There’s “Bunny Be Good” with mezcal, ginger, carrot cordial, lemon, and sumac salt, and the “Pacha Highball,” with bourbon, clove, cardamom-infused sweet vermouth, lemon, and soda.
Huda also offers a drink called “Italian in Beirut,” which is reminiscent of Greenpointers’ recent recipe from Naked Dog (47 Java St.), containing the combination of both Campari and Aperol. Huda’s version also has cardamom syrup and grapefruit.
Huda’s beverage program is rounded out with a rotating wine list that is curated by Hadidi. The list highlights artisan, biodynamic and female winemakers from all over the world.
Huda’s dining room was designed by Post Company and contains 64 seats, plus an 11-seat marble bar and a 28-seat private dining room in the back.
The space is anchored by cream-colored exposed brick walls, natural wood banquettes with jewel-toned green cushions, and light linen curtains framing the windows. These thoughtful touches make the restaurant feel elegant without being stuffy.
Huda is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. – 12 a.m. Reservations are available on Resy, and bar seats are held for walk-ins.