The Hottest New Restaurants in Brooklyn Right Now (2024)

Chris Coe/Cafe Mado.

A new dinner spot for Red Hook and an all-day cafe from the Oxalis team join the list this month

by Emma Orlow and Eater Staff Updated Aug 5, 2024, 1:35pm EDT

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| Chris Coe/Cafe Mado.

This spring, the owners of Mariscos El Submarino closed their Greenpoint restaurant, Mystica, and turned it into another location of their popular seafood counter. Just like the Jackson Heights location open since 2020, the second Submarino has shrimp co*cktail, seafood tacos, and more. The aguachile, which comes in a volcanic stone bowl, is as good as ever.

• Open in Google Maps

Luke Fortney/Eater NY

From an alum of Hungry?, a now closed Thai takeout spot in Greenpoint, comesChinta. The bright and airy space serves a separate brunch menu that includes pandan pancakes, but you can also order from the entire dinner list (which is set up like a scrapbook, each dish photographed on a Polaroid). Don’t skip out on the cold shrimp and pomelo salad starter served like a summer parfait.

• Open in Google Maps

Emma Orlow/Eater NY

Esse Taco isn’t the best new taqueria in town, but it’s certainly the most popular: The Williamsburg restaurant opened in May, and it seems to have had a line out the door ever since. The taqueria takes its cues from Mexico City: The owner, Enrique Olvera, is behind the Mexican fine dining restaurants Cosme and Pujol. The menu has four tacos — rib-eye, al pastor, chicken, and mushroom — served in thin cutlets.

• Open in Google Maps

Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

After 70 years in the East Village, Ukrainian diner Veselka has expanded to Brooklyn. The new location has the same menu as the original: beef stroganoff, Ukrainian meatballs, stuffed cabbage, schnitzel, and borscht. “We want people to feel like they’re in Veselka on Second Avenue,” says Justin Birchard, a spokesperson. “It’s what works.” The 40-seat restaurant is one of three Veselkas in the city.

• Open in Google Maps

Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet/Eater NY

Recently, chefs have been taking over the cramped grills at New York gas stations, serving everything from smash burgers to Crunchwrap Supremes. Blue Hour, in a Bushwick BP, is the latest to try it. The restaurant sells chicken over rice, chopped cheese, and other bodega fare, plus smash burgers and Hawaiian loco moco. The owner, Ali Zaman, runs Little Flower Cafe in Astoria.

• Open in Google Maps

Devlin Claro/Blue Hour

There are probably a hundred ways to have a meal at Strange Delight. You could sit at the bar alone and pick at its reasonably priced seafood tower “for one”. Or, you could come with a group and fill every inch of a table with foods inspired by New Orleans, like hush puppies and charbroiled oysters. However you do it, be sure to order the restaurant’s fried seafood loaf, one of the year’s best new sandwiches. It’s made with lettuce, tomato, and fried shrimp or oysters on milk bread.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

Theodora is laid out like a railroad apartment, and each section of the restaurant has a slightly different feel. There’s the bar up front, which feels like a Mexican co*cktail bar, and some more seats by the grill, much like a chef’s counter. In the back, the dining room has a party vibe with loud music and big booths for groups. The menu is a bit of a departure from the team’s other restaurant, Miss Ada — it’s all about wood-fired seafood and homemade bread.

• Open in Google Maps

Theodora

Daphne’s isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel — but it excels at making tasty Italian American food in a comfortable setting that’s a bit more playful than nonna’s (think: green tomato vodka sauce). The menu, from an owner of Decades pizzeria in Ridgewood, is full of remixed classics, like beef tartare with lasagna chips.

• Open in Google Maps

Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

Park Slope’s Sawa turns out compelling Levantine dishes that center around breads made in the restaurant’s oven. The menu is divided into four categories: dips, mezze, entrees, and sweets, with around 20 dishes. The hummus, kibbeh nayeh, and whole fish show off the best of the kitchen.

• Open in Google Maps

Francesco Sapienza/Sawa

Cafe Kestrelopened at the end of June in a Red Hook space that has housed several other food businesses over the years. It’s a lovely little storefront with just a few tables, that feels right for a date night — don’t be deterred by the white tablecloths. Owner-chef Dennis Spina years back was known forRoebling Tea Room, and more recently, the kitchen at Metrograph. Standouts include the fried squash blossoms with honey; the skate wing with fava beans; as well as a chicken dish with a potato tower with carrots and capers. End the meal with a saffron rice pudding that resembles a creme brulee. Simple and elegant — with reasonable portion sizes. Oh, and don’t forget a side of mac and cheese for the table.

• Open in Google Maps

Emma Orlow/Eater NY

At the border of Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, an area that is due for a breakout slice shop, a new name has entered the ring:La Flor. Owner Giancarlo Villa spent time working at Roberta’s and then was part of the original team at Upside Pizza, eventually helping the company grow from Midtown to locations in Greenpoint and Nolita. His own takeout counter opened not far from the Brooklyn Museum or Prospect Park. There are plain slices, as well as pepperoni, jalapeño, ranch; bruschetta; and stromboli.

• Open in Google Maps

Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Beforeitclosed at the end of 2023, Oxalis in Prospect Heights was known for its tasting menu, which made it, for most people, more of a special occasion spot than a casual weeknight joint. Cafe Madoopened in its place from the team as an all-day cafe with French, Italian, and Californian influences. In the morning, you can stop by for baked goods and coffee; later in the day, you can sit down for lunch or dinner. Bread comes from the team’s Laurel Bakery in the Columbia Waterfront District.

• Open in Google Maps

Chris Coe/Cafe Mado.

This spring, the owners of Mariscos El Submarino closed their Greenpoint restaurant, Mystica, and turned it into another location of their popular seafood counter. Just like the Jackson Heights location open since 2020, the second Submarino has shrimp co*cktail, seafood tacos, and more. The aguachile, which comes in a volcanic stone bowl, is as good as ever.

• Open in Google Maps

Luke Fortney/Eater NY

From an alum of Hungry?, a now closed Thai takeout spot in Greenpoint, comesChinta. The bright and airy space serves a separate brunch menu that includes pandan pancakes, but you can also order from the entire dinner list (which is set up like a scrapbook, each dish photographed on a Polaroid). Don’t skip out on the cold shrimp and pomelo salad starter served like a summer parfait.

• Open in Google Maps

Emma Orlow/Eater NY

Esse Taco isn’t the best new taqueria in town, but it’s certainly the most popular: The Williamsburg restaurant opened in May, and it seems to have had a line out the door ever since. The taqueria takes its cues from Mexico City: The owner, Enrique Olvera, is behind the Mexican fine dining restaurants Cosme and Pujol. The menu has four tacos — rib-eye, al pastor, chicken, and mushroom — served in thin cutlets.

• Open in Google Maps

Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

After 70 years in the East Village, Ukrainian diner Veselka has expanded to Brooklyn. The new location has the same menu as the original: beef stroganoff, Ukrainian meatballs, stuffed cabbage, schnitzel, and borscht. “We want people to feel like they’re in Veselka on Second Avenue,” says Justin Birchard, a spokesperson. “It’s what works.” The 40-seat restaurant is one of three Veselkas in the city.

• Open in Google Maps

Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet/Eater NY

Recently, chefs have been taking over the cramped grills at New York gas stations, serving everything from smash burgers to Crunchwrap Supremes. Blue Hour, in a Bushwick BP, is the latest to try it. The restaurant sells chicken over rice, chopped cheese, and other bodega fare, plus smash burgers and Hawaiian loco moco. The owner, Ali Zaman, runs Little Flower Cafe in Astoria.

• Open in Google Maps

Devlin Claro/Blue Hour

There are probably a hundred ways to have a meal at Strange Delight. You could sit at the bar alone and pick at its reasonably priced seafood tower “for one”. Or, you could come with a group and fill every inch of a table with foods inspired by New Orleans, like hush puppies and charbroiled oysters. However you do it, be sure to order the restaurant’s fried seafood loaf, one of the year’s best new sandwiches. It’s made with lettuce, tomato, and fried shrimp or oysters on milk bread.

• Open in Google Maps
• Foursquare

Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

Theodora is laid out like a railroad apartment, and each section of the restaurant has a slightly different feel. There’s the bar up front, which feels like a Mexican co*cktail bar, and some more seats by the grill, much like a chef’s counter. In the back, the dining room has a party vibe with loud music and big booths for groups. The menu is a bit of a departure from the team’s other restaurant, Miss Ada — it’s all about wood-fired seafood and homemade bread.

• Open in Google Maps

Theodora

Daphne’s isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel — but it excels at making tasty Italian American food in a comfortable setting that’s a bit more playful than nonna’s (think: green tomato vodka sauce). The menu, from an owner of Decades pizzeria in Ridgewood, is full of remixed classics, like beef tartare with lasagna chips.

• Open in Google Maps

Lanna Apisukh/Eater NY

Park Slope’s Sawa turns out compelling Levantine dishes that center around breads made in the restaurant’s oven. The menu is divided into four categories: dips, mezze, entrees, and sweets, with around 20 dishes. The hummus, kibbeh nayeh, and whole fish show off the best of the kitchen.

• Open in Google Maps

Francesco Sapienza/Sawa

Cafe Kestrelopened at the end of June in a Red Hook space that has housed several other food businesses over the years. It’s a lovely little storefront with just a few tables, that feels right for a date night — don’t be deterred by the white tablecloths. Owner-chef Dennis Spina years back was known forRoebling Tea Room, and more recently, the kitchen at Metrograph. Standouts include the fried squash blossoms with honey; the skate wing with fava beans; as well as a chicken dish with a potato tower with carrots and capers. End the meal with a saffron rice pudding that resembles a creme brulee. Simple and elegant — with reasonable portion sizes. Oh, and don’t forget a side of mac and cheese for the table.

• Open in Google Maps

Emma Orlow/Eater NY

At the border of Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, an area that is due for a breakout slice shop, a new name has entered the ring:La Flor. Owner Giancarlo Villa spent time working at Roberta’s and then was part of the original team at Upside Pizza, eventually helping the company grow from Midtown to locations in Greenpoint and Nolita. His own takeout counter opened not far from the Brooklyn Museum or Prospect Park. There are plain slices, as well as pepperoni, jalapeño, ranch; bruschetta; and stromboli.

• Open in Google Maps

Luke Fortney/Eater NY

Beforeitclosed at the end of 2023, Oxalis in Prospect Heights was known for its tasting menu, which made it, for most people, more of a special occasion spot than a casual weeknight joint. Cafe Madoopened in its place from the team as an all-day cafe with French, Italian, and Californian influences. In the morning, you can stop by for baked goods and coffee; later in the day, you can sit down for lunch or dinner. Bread comes from the team’s Laurel Bakery in the Columbia Waterfront District.

• Open in Google Maps

Chris Coe/Cafe Mado.

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