Reverie (135 Metropolitan Ave.), a vegan dessert and cocktail bar, will open in the former home of Terms of Endearment in Williamsburg on May 14. It will mark the first Brooklyn location for the vegan and kosher restaurant group, City Roots Hospitality, which was founded by New York chef and restaurateur Guy Vaknin.
At Reverie, Chef Vaknin and Executive Pastry Chef Makenna Hale (who helmed Terms of Endearment) will offer a fully-vegan food menu that includes both indulgent and intricate dessert creations as well as a selection of savory small plates, plus a beverage menu of playful cocktails and mocktails.
“Over the last few years, we have sadly seen a few vegan establishments in the Williamsburg area close,” Chef Vaknin said of his decision to open Reverie in North Brooklyn. He explained that he partnered with Chef Hale “to revive a space that once was led by Chef Hale” and “to provide the community with a high-end menu and venue to push the boundaries of what plant pastry can be.”
“Dessert is often treated as an afterthought or overlooked entirely, so we feel it’s time to let the last course shine,” Chef Vaknin said. “We have a variety of vegan restaurants in City Hospitality Group, and it was a natural progression to explore a dessert-based concept along with a pastry chef who is known as a leader in the space.”
The desserts are definitely the draw at Reverie. They are elaborate and complicated, named after natural elements, like the sun and sea. Do not expect traditional chocolate cake or a scoop of ice cream at this newcomer.
Let’s start with “The Rainbow” for $27. Reverie calls “a vibrant brushstroke of flavor, texture, and color” with rosewater meringue, a red velvet tartlet with strawberry preserve, mango pâte de fruit, limoncello verbena sorbet, a pistachio matcha macaron, blueberry cotton candy in a butterfly pea flower cone, and a warm bite of blackberry pie with an ube crust.
There’s also “The Galaxy” for $26 which Reverie calls “a playful journey through the vast unknown of space combines with the familiar flavors of candy bars .” It has a rich chocolate cake base that is layered with vanilla shortbread, caramelized white chocolate mousse, and milk chocolate nougat fluff, all encased in a shimmering chocolate dome.
Another dessert highlight is “The Sun” for $26 that is meant to be a celebration “of the sun’s radiant glow, captured in both its vibrant flavors and warm, sun-kissed hues.” It includes a brown butter tartlet that holds almond orange blossom cream, white chocolate passion fruit mousse, and a glossy passion fruit glaze, served with cantaloupe sherbet, apricot curd, crunchy caramel sticks, and juicy tangerine segments.
Reverie’s food menu continues with a curated selection of savory vegan bites that have the same pretty presentations as the desserts. The offerings include elevated bar snacks and shareable dishes like a cheese plate, fondue, a panzanella salad, squash gratin, mushroom sliders, and croissant flatbreads.
The beverage menu at Reverie is an extension of the restaurant’s “culinary vision” and includes a list of “dessert-inspired cocktails” and non-alcoholic options.
There’s the “Spiced Velvet” for $19, which includes whiskey, creme de cacao, espresso, and spiced heavy cream. The “Sunbeam,” for $20, includes mango ricotta-infused tequila, Frangelico, mango syrup, lemon, vanilla, orange bitters, and torched meringue.
The list of mocktails, all for $10, includes the “Resilience” with berries, lemon, simple syrup, and club soda, plus the “Renewal” with cucumber juice, lemon, simple syrup and club soda.
Reverie will be open Monday – Thursday 4:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 4:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m., and Sunday 11:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.