Lobster roll window in the park · $$
A shack in the park's old Smokestack Building, under the bridge and around the corner from the ferry landing: order at the window, then eat on the patio or take it down to the water. The lobster roll comes New England style, chilled in a split-top buttered bun with a swipe of mayonnaise and lemon butter, at $29 to $40 with chips and a soft drink; the shrimp roll is $16 to $21 and a cup of clam chowder $8. Open 11am to 8pm, and to 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
Walk in11 Water Street
Fine dining under the bridge, since 1977 · $$$$
Moored under the Brooklyn Bridge since 1977, with the Manhattan skyline across the water, flower arrangements and a pianist in the room. Dinner is a three-course prix fixe at $215 a head, Wednesday to Sunday from 5pm, with dishes such as Dover sole, venison loin and the Chocolate Brooklyn Bridge for dessert, and it is in the MICHELIN Guide without a star. Men need a jacket and a collared shirt, and casual jeans, sportswear and sandals are not allowed. Tables can be booked up to a year ahead.
Book well ahead: tables go weeks out1 Water Street
Coal-oven pizzeria · $$
Patsy and Carol Grimaldi founded Grimaldi's in this building, sold it and retired, then came back in 2012 to open Juliana's here, around a hand-built coal-fired oven. Patsy died in February 2025; the pizzeria carries on. Whole pies only, no slices: the classic Margherita, with DOP San Marzano tomatoes and locally made mozzarella, is $28 for a medium. There are no reservations and complete parties only, so expect a line at peak times. Open daily 11.30am to 3.15pm and 4pm to 9pm; the gap is for stoking the oven.
Walk in19 Old Fulton Street
Bakery café, from 6.30am · $
The early start: Butler's DUMBO café opens at 6.30am on weekdays and 7.30am at weekends and closes at 6pm, so it beats Barbuto's 8am breakfast by an hour and a half. It pours Intelligentsia espresso alongside its own baked goods, a croissant at $4.25 and a ham and cheese croissant at $5.50, and cooks a short breakfast menu: avocado toast on sourdough with salted ricotta at $14.75, or an egg, bacon and cheddar sandwich on scallion brioche at $15.
Walk in40 Water Street
Food hall with a rooftop · $$
A run of New York kitchens under one roof, with three bars and a fifth-floor rooftop that looks at both bridges and the Manhattan skyline. Ess-a-Bagel, a Manhattan name since 1976, does the bagels; Clinton St. Baking Company does its blueberry pancakes; Fornino, Jacob's Pickles and Masaharu Morimoto's hand-roll counter, Mori Mori, cover the rest. Open from 8am every day, until 10pm Sunday to Thursday and 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, with each kitchen keeping its own hours. Order at the counters and find a seat.
Walk in55 Water Street
Brewery taproom · $$
The second taproom of a small brewery in Ridgewood, Queens, with 20 rotating taps that lean towards smoothie-style fruited sours and hazy IPAs, alongside oak-aged lagers and barrel-aged stouts, plus frozen cocktails and four-packs to take away. Open from noon every day, until 11pm Monday to Thursday, 1am on Fridays and Saturdays and 10pm on Sundays. The beer names run to whole sentences and the strengths to almost 14 per cent, so read the board before you order a second.
Walk in43 Main Street
Brooklyn Heights restaurant, wild game in season · $$$
A Brooklyn Heights institution for more than 50 years, now at 72 Henry Street, with a seasonal American menu, an award-winning wine list and an annual Wild Game Festival on the specials through the autumn and winter. From the regular menu, Maryland crab cakes are $22, honey-ginger duck $43 and steak au poivre flamed in cognac $54. Dinner from 5pm every evening, until 9pm Monday to Thursday, 9.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 8.30pm on Sundays, with brunch from 11am to 3pm at weekends. Book on its own site.
Reserve ahead72 Henry Street
Breakfast is not included in the room rate; only the hotel's breakfast packages cover it. Barbuto Brooklyn serves it a la carte on the ground floor from 8am to 11am on weekdays, from house granola at $16 to eggs Benedict at $24, with brunch from 9am to 3.30pm at weekends, and Neighbors Café in the lobby does coffee, pressed juice, smoothies and Brooklyn-made snacks from 7am to 5pm daily; in-room dining starts at 7am. The best outside option is a couple of minutes away: the Breads Bakery counter in the Pier 1 Pavilion, open 7am to 8pm every day, for coffee and the chocolate babka the bakery is known for. For a sit-down breakfast before 8am, Butler on Water Street opens at 6.30am on weekdays.
Grimaldi's at 1 Front Street, around the corner from Juliana's. The name is the famous one, but it is now one of more than 40 Grimaldi's across a dozen US states and the United Arab Emirates, and the couple who founded it sold it and later opened Juliana's in the original building at 19 Old Fulton Street. If you are going to queue for coal-oven pizza under the bridge, queue there.
