Williamsburg's Newest Blocks for Dinner Are South of Grand Street

Three storefronts within two blocks of Berry and South 4th Street got new tenants between mid-September and late October. The first is a corner cocktail bar, the second an old-school steakhouse and the third a diner built to stay open 24 hours. Each moved into a room another business had left, and each comes from someone who already runs a Brooklyn bar, diner or cocktail program. Mythily, Coffee Stain and Dokidoki opened along Havemeyer Street, and Harbour Kafe and Shenanigans opened on Borinquen Place, so the South Side now has two short stretches where most of this year's new places are. On the North Side, the biggest news this fall was a departure.

Three Rooms Near Berry and South 4th

All three of the new places near Berry and South 4th moved into storefronts with a known history. That's why they feel familiar on day one even though the names are new.

My Friend Duke opened on Saturday, September 12. According to Eater NY, it has a hunter-green awning, a wooden shelf of spirits and neon-pink signage. Eater credits the bar to the team behind Mug's Ale House, so this South Side corner bar comes from people who already run one.

Booth's Extra Fine opened in early October in the room Mighty Quinn's took in 2023, after that barbecue brand got its start at Smorgasburg. Greenpointers reports that Pfannerstill was raised in Kentucky and cooked at Café Boulud and Dovetail. He named the restaurant for his grandfather, Booth, whose photographs from nights out line the walls. Starters include steak tartare, devils on horseback, and a plate of warm potato chips with blue cheese and rosemary called "a Martini's Best Friend." A chilled seafood section has shrimp cocktail, tuna carpaccio and smoked fish dip.

Williamsburg Diner is the room meant to keep this corner going around the clock. The storefront at 82 S. 4th St. had been empty since Taqueria Casa Imelda closed more than a year ago. Greenpointers reported on October 16 that the owners were aiming for a soft opening by the end of October and a full opening by mid-November, serving diner classics 24 hours a day. Selamaj opened Bushwick Diner in 2015 after years helping run his family's coffee shop and restaurant. That makes this a second diner from someone who already runs one a few neighborhoods east.

Put the three together and these few blocks cover a whole evening. You can start with a drink at the corner of Berry and have a steak on South 2nd. Once the diner is fully open, you'll be able to get eggs at whatever hour the night ends.

Havemeyer and Borinquen Filled In Over the Summer

The second cluster sits east of the first, along Havemeyer Street and Borinquen Place. According to Eater NY's July openings guide, its openings started in July, so by the time Booth's opened, this stretch already had a cafe, a cocktail bar and a dive bar running.

1. Dokidoki, 160 Havemeyer Street, opened July 2. It's a Japanese-Latin cocktail bar.
2. Harbour Kafe, 172 Borinquen Place, opened July 6 and serves Hong Kong-style cafe drinks and pastries.
3. Shenanigans, the downstairs dive bar and dance space at Kinda Nice, 168 Borinquen Place, opened July 10.
4. Coffee Stain, 142 Havemeyer Street, opened July 12 and serves coffee, matcha and pastries.
5. Mythily, 129 Havemeyer Street, between Grand and South 4th, opened September 30.

Mythily is the dinner reservation on this stretch. Top Chef alum Rasika Venkatesa built it from a pop-up and then a residency at Fulgurances Laundromat, and named it for her grandmother. Eater NY describes the cooking as "progressive South Indian," drawn mostly from Tamil Nadu. The menu includes benne dosa with Jimmy Nardello pepper chutney, and a tres leches cake made with saffron-cardamom milk as a play on ras malai. Like the operators near Berry, Venkatesa tested her food in front of New York diners before signing a lease.

Havemeyer meets South 4th, so the two clusters connect. A walk from Coffee Stain down to My Friend Duke stays on the South Side the whole way.

The Waterfront Is Opening More Slowly

Toward the river, Kent Avenue's new arrivals are on a longer timeline. Naked Tomato opened on Wednesday, October 14, at 476 Kent Avenue in the Williamsburg Wharf development. It belongs to chef Eyal Shani's Good People Group, which also runs Miznon, Port Sa'id and the Michelin-starred Shmoné. Shani's earlier Naked Tomato in Hudson Yards has closed, which leaves Williamsburg and Miami as the two current locations. "When I open a new restaurant, the place itself has to become an ingredient, and Williamsburg has its own rawness and energy that is very special," Shani told Greenpointers.

The rest of the Wharf is still on its way. Breads Bakery was announced for the development in February with signage up and a 2026 opening target, per Greenpointers. A wine bar and restaurant from Popina owner James O'Brien is planned for 484 Kent Avenue, but Brooklyn Bridge Parents reported in August that it isn't expected until 2027. The development's plans include a promenade and green space along the water.

The inland blocks have filled faster because their rooms already existed and their operators came in with followings.

North of Grand, a Founding Cafe Closed

On the North Side, this fall's biggest story was a closing. Partners Coffee served its last day at its original cafe and roastery, 125 North 6th Street, on Sunday, September 27, after nearly 15 years. The company started in Williamsburg in 2012 as Toby's Estate Brooklyn and changed its name in 2019. In a post quoted by Greenpointers, Partners wrote that "our lease is up and despite our best efforts to preserve our beloved founding cafe, we have had to face the heartbreaking reality that it is no longer possible to stay." Its cafe at 145 Bedford Avenue stays open.

Greenpointers also reported in September that the Sweet Chick flagship at 164 Bedford Avenue appeared to have closed after 13 years, though there was no formal announcement.

There have been some North Side openings too, tracked in Eater NY's September roundup. Susu's opened September 23 at 229 Kent Avenue near North 1st Street. It's a neighborhood bar with vinyl DJs on weekends, from brothers Michael Bishop-Myers, an alum of the Pencil Factory in Greenpoint, and Steven Bishop. On Grand Street, Gotham Burger Social Club opened its first permanent Brooklyn location at 216 Grand, at Driggs, after two years at Threes Brewing in Greenpoint. Further east, Food Street took over the former Mad for Chicken space at 617 Grand, at Leonard. Up on Lorimer, Ferguson's Country opened at Bayard Street from the team behind Baba and Baba Cool. Tbili, a Georgian cafe at 442 Lorimer near Maujer, opened October 4, per Eater NY's October guide. Most of these are again Brooklyn operators opening their second act.

November Dates Within Walking Distance

The new rooms near Berry are a short walk from Domino Park, which is the easiest way to plan a November evening around them.

• November 9: SKATE at Domino Park opens its season, which runs through February 21, 2027. A Learn to Skate program runs with Fireworks Skating Academy.
• November 14, 11 a.m. to noon: NYC Parks Urban Park Rangers lead a free Discovery Hike on waterfront ecosystems on the Bushwick Inlet Park lawn, covering native plants and shoreline habitat.
• Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 North 6th Street: Avalon Emerson & the Charm on November 5, Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam on November 9 and 10, Nation of Language on November 13, Julia Jacklin on November 18, Guster on November 19 and 20, and Jamila Woods: 10 Years of HEAVN on November 22, according to the venue's calendar.
• Brooklyn Bowl: Dave Schools and Friends on November 5 and 6, the Rock and Roll Playhouse's "Music of Queen for Kids" on November 8, and The Pharcyde & Slum Village on November 12, per its show listings.

For a Saturday on the South Side, start with coffee at Coffee Stain on Havemeyer and walk west on South 4th to the river. From November 9, you can skate at Domino after dark and finish at My Friend Duke or Booth's Extra Fine, both within a few blocks.

If you own on the South Side and want to know how these new openings fit into what your home is worth, The Heard Khedr Team can walk you through the block-by-block picture. Book a Home Valuation.