<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nManhattan once thought it owned fine dining in New York. Not anymore. Brooklyn has some exceptional upscale eateries\u2014some that will go fork to fork, spoon to spoon, knife to knife with the best fine dining institutions in Manhattan. From Michelin-starred restaurants to white table cloth eateries to somewhat casual but well-executed fare, these are some of the best elegant dining options to anchor your Brooklyn food tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA vegetable terrine from La Vara, in Brooklyn. Photo credit: Howard Walfish<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Aska<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe Scandinavian dining and cooking phenomenon is represented at Aska, a Williamsburg restaurant that serves up Scando minimalism on a plate via a multi-course tasting menu and it\u2019s delicious. The Michelin-starred spot should be on anyone\u2019s list who likes fine dining. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>La Vara<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nChefs Alex Raij and Eder Montero, who also run Txikito in Chelsea and Saint Julivert Fisherie in Cobble Hill, focus on the Jewish and Moorish culinary legacies in Spain at this Cobble Hill eatery. La Vara isn\u2019t stuffy. It\u2019s more casual but when the plates start hitting the table, you\u2019ll see this is refined Spanish cooking to the core.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Maison Premiere <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nCocktails and oysters. That\u2019s the big draw at Maison Premiere, a lovely restaurant in Williamsburg with a romantic, leafy garden. But there\u2019s more than oysters on the menu here: spicy clam toast, lobster rolls, and steamed clams round out the menu. Ordering a sazerac, which is theatrically made tableside, is one of the great restaurant experiences in New York. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Olmsted<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nNamed for Frederick Law Olmstead, the landscape architect who designed nearby Prospect Park (and this other park you might have heard of called Central Park), this Prospect Heights eatery serves up elevated American fare by talented chef Greg Baxtrom. Olmsted is a classic Brooklyn fine dining experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>River Cafe <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nRestaurants with views don\u2019t have to serve good food. And yet Michelin-starred River Cafe, set on the East River with stunning views of the lower Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge, is one of the best restaurants in Brooklyn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Italian fare<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIn New York, in general, and Brooklyn, in particular, there seems to be an Italian restaurant on every block\u2014almost as if it\u2019s some kind of contractual obligation or law. There are Italian-American restaurants and places that focus on Italian regional fare. There are also some good and not-so-good Italian eateries in Brooklyn. The four below, a mishmash of elevated and old-school places, should give you your red sauce fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGourmet pasta? Count us in. Photo credit: Gabriella Clare Marino<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Al Di La<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nTranslated loosely as \u201cthe great beyond,\u201d Al Di La is a longtime Park Slope eatery with a focus on the cuisine of Veneto. It\u2019s been a neighborhood favorite since they first fired up their burners a few decades ago. Expect a wait any time of the week, but it\u2019s worth it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Bamonte\u2019s<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nOpened in 1900, Bamonte\u2019s is a classic red sauce joint in Williamsburg. The food isn\u2019t going to win any awards but that\u2019s not the point. Here you just want to take in the ambience where you\u2019ll see old Italian-American families, maybe a mobster or two, enjoying big portioned pasta dishes and straw-wrapped bottles of Chianti. The restaurant is located at 32 Withers St. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Ferdinando\u2019s Focacceria<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nLocated just across the BQE from Cobble Hill, Ferdinando\u2019s has been serving up Sicilian fare since 1904. Today the place feels like an edible museum. The one specialty to bite into is the spleen sandwich, a typical Sicilian street snack that is hard to find outside of Italy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Lilia <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nMissy Robbins is the toque in the kitchen at this perpetually popular pasta palace in Williamsburg. Lilia has four or five pasta dishes on the menu at one time and they\u2019re usually all winners. Start with the croquette-like cacio e pepe frittelle to begin the meal with a flavor-popping bang. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Pizza: The best of the best<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nPizza and Brooklyn are pretty much synonymous at this point. After all, you can spot at various places on the planet restaurants called \u201cBrooklyn Pizza.\u201d The borough doesn\u2019t necessarily have its own pizza style; it\u2019s more New York pizza: generous amounts of cheese and a crispy underside dough thanks to the gas-burning ovens. Slice shops are ubiquitous in Brooklyn but if you want to ensure you\u2019ll get a quality pie in the borough, add one of these five spots to your Brooklyn food tour. <\/p>\n\n\n\nPizza and Brooklyn…name a better duo. Photo credit: Mary Kresge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/span>L&B Spumoni Gardens<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIn Bensonhurst since 1939, L&B is a classic. The Italian-American fare on the menu here is rather ho-hum, but the thick-crust square Sicilian pizzas here are worth the trek from any part of the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Lucali<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nShow up to Lucali, a BYOB pizza place in Cobble Hill, at 5pm. Put your name on the list, go somewhere for a drink and wait to be called. It might be hours. But it\u2019s worth the wait at this legendary pizzeria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Ops<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nLocated in Bushwick, Ops is one of the best pizzerias in the city. They use a special blend of flour here that somehow makes the pizza dough extra tasty. Ops also has a great list of natural wines to pair with the pizzas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Paulie G\u2019s<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nInventive wood-fired pizzas in Greenpoint. Paulie G\u2019s is a popular stop on the Brooklyn pizza tour of any self-respecting pizza lover. You can get pies topped with guanciale, kale, orange blossom honey, red grapes, or brisket from Hometown Bar-B-Que. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Roberta\u2019s<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nA true Brooklyn dining institution and one of the first real hipster restaurants in the United States, Roberta\u2019s is often mobbed by mustached, beanie hat-wearing hipsters for a reason: the thin-crust creative pizzas are excellent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Top-notch sandwiches<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nSandwiches are universal. Take some bread, stuff some delicious things between said bread, et voila! You\u2019e got a sandwich. It sounds easy, but sometimes a good sandwich is hard to find. In Brooklyn, there are a few edible masterpieces in the form of sandwiches. Here are some of the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNothing beats sandwich on freshly baked slices of sourdough. Photo credit: Switching Lanes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Brennan & Carr<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nSince 1938 Brooklynites have been patronizing Brennan & Carr for its excellent roast beef sandwich. It\u2019s served on a kaiser roll and then doused in pan drippings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Defonte\u2019s<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWedged between Red Hook and Carroll Gardens, Defonte\u2019s is a Brooklyn institution on bread. Since 1922, the people at Defonte\u2019s have been making overstuffed Italian-accented sandwiches. There are dozens on the menu to choose from. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Nathan\u2019s<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nIs a hotdog a sandwich? It\u2019s been debated for years and we\u2019re not about to enter the conversation, but we needed to include Nathan\u2019s and, well, a hot dog is more related to a sandwich than it is, say, pizza or a steak. The Coney Island location of Nathan\u2019s Famous Hot Dogs is where, on every July 4, the famous hot dog eating contest takes place, the American gluttony televised around the world. The dogs here really are classic New York and Nathan\u2019s, which has been slinging dogs since 1916, is an iconic Brooklyn eating institution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Stand-out steak<\/strong>houses<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nManhattan has a grip on steakhouses that it has yet to soften. That said, there are some excellent steakhouses in Brooklyn. Ever heard of Peter Luger? The New York fooderati love to besmirch this longtime steak-serving institution, but Peter Luger is still worth a visit. And so is the newest kid on the block, Gage & Tollner. If you have a fix for steak, no Brooklyn food tour would be complete without these spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSteak and baked potato is another fabulous combination to try while in Brooklyn. Photo credit: hiwarz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Gage & Tollner<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nGage & Tollner first fired up its steak-cooking burners in 1879 and went through the 20th century as one of the most popular restaurants in Brooklyn. It shut down in 2004 and the space became a TGI Fridays and then an Arby\u2019s. But in 2021 something miraculous happened: the original Gage & Tollner reopened in the space and today is serving up some of the finest steaks in the borough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Hometown Bar-B-Que<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThis Red Hook meat mecca isn\u2019t a steakhouse but we\u2019d be remiss to pass on Hometown Bar-B-Que anyway. After all, it\u2019s the best barbecue in the city, if not north of the Mason-Dixon line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Peter Luger<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThe legendary Peter Luger is a must-visit for anyone who loves steak. New Yorkers seem to take pleasure in kicking Luger when it’s down\u2014it recently lost its Michelin star\u2014but don\u2019t let that stop you: the famously gruff waiters and the top-notch steak are still there, as they have been since the 19th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>St. Anselm<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nNearly everything at this superlative Williamsburg restaurant is cooked over an open fire. Including the stunningly delicious steak. St. Anselm\u2019s ax-handle ribeye is a mountain of meaty goodness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Dessert<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nBrooklyn does sweet stuff too. There are ample amounts of ice cream parlors, bakeries, and sweet shops\u2014you could do a Brooklyn food tour on dessert alone. But if you want classic Brooklyn desserts, here are two spots to put on your radar.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNothing like a good New York cheesecake on your Brooklyn food tour. Photo credit: sabotrax<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Junior\u2019s<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nJunior\u2019s didn\u2019t invent cheesecake. But now this downtown Brooklyn diner is synonymous with the dessert. You can\u2019t walk out without dipping a fork into this soft, delicious Brooklyn sweet treat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Junior’s has been dispensing world-famous cheesecakes for almost 75 years. Photo credit: Junior’s<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Peter Pan Donuts<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nFor over six decades family-owned Peter Pan has been baking and frying excellent doughnuts in Greenpoint. The blueberry buttermilk doughnut has become legendary here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Miscellaneous foods<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nNot every restaurant can fit into a neat Brooklyn category\u2014unless of course we were publishing a print doorstop-sized guidebook to eating in Brooklyn. But one cannot pen a dining guide on a Brooklyn food tour without including the below restaurants. They\u2019re too good to ignore and if you\u2019ve come to New York to eat, these are\u2014to borrow the famous phrase from Michelin\u2014\u201dworth a special journey.\u201d Even if you’re done with your Brooklyn food tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe options for great places to eat in Brooklyn is truly endless. Photo credit: Kelpgreen.D<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Aunts et Uncles<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nNot that you\u2019ve ever thought of the phrase \u201cCaribbean vegan cuisine\u201d before but after a visit to Aunts et Uncles in the Little Carribean swath of Prospect Lefferts Gardens, you\u2019ll never think of the phrase again without Aunts et Uncles. The kitchen has mastered making plant-based versions of Caribbean classics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Bonnie\u2019s<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\nThis impossible-to-get-into inventive Chinese spot in Williamsburg has become an instant classic. Bonnie\u2019s Cantonese-American menu has dishes like fuyu cacio e pepe mein and a cha sui mcrib, a play on the McDonald\u2019s classic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Diner<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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