Little Gems to Check Out In/Around the City - From Bushwick to the Bowery
As a runner, there are dozens of cool places and spaces that I pass by and have begun saving to my list on Google Maps. Places I would never have noticed if it weren’t for my running excursions. With that, I’ve compiled a RUNNING list of cool gems to check out in and around the city.
Take a look and be sure to check back for more!
Bushwick
OSTUDIO
OSTUDIO is first and foremost the place where makers gather under one roof; where members work together towards the goals of fine craft and collaboration. If you are a designer, architect, photographer, or any other type of creative, here is your new home! A spacious venue that is just 20 min away from downtown Manhattan, with affordable pricing, flexible rental periods and amenities that foster collaboration and retail opportunities.
A beautiful welcoming space, OCAFE offers a delectable menu with fresh ingredients, delicious baked goods, and some of the finest coffee in NYC and Brooklyn. Come visit our in-house grocery, ODELI, for locally sourced and sustainable goods from fellow small businesses. The wine bar, OSTUDIO at night, is an intimate restaurant with a monthly chef residency. Each month we will be visited by a different culinary master, who will bring their unique style and menu to our kitchen.
Cafe Erzulie
Erzulie is the Haitian Voodoo spirit of love, beauty, and dance. A flower and cafe, serving delicious Haitian-inspired food and coffee by day and a cocktail bar, with tasty drinks and enchanting rhythms by night. Their online marketplace also boasts bewitching merchandise perfect for anyone. Their cafe and backyard garden will transport you from the busy city streets to the lush Caribbean tropics.
JUPITER DISCO
If you’re in the market for a space-themed bar in Bushwick, Jupiter Disco might be your very best bet. It’s dark, there are multicolored tube-shaped lights on the ceiling, and it feels a little like Star Wars meets Blade Runner. The music is normal, however, and it attracts young people from the neighborhood who aren’t necessarily into sci-fi. And once you get past all the cheesy little details, you’ll find this is just another good place to sit in the dark and have drink. - INFATUATION
PALMETTO
Sitting in Palmetto BK’s banquet seating feels like a day at a seaside spa in the middle of Bushwick. With bright white walls, palm-tree-filled murals, hanging plants, and a record player spinning at all times—the laid-back atmosphere is a welcomed respite. Go for the Jakarta-Colada to escape colder days or pick a unique bottle off their menu of natural wines.
YOURS SINCERELY
NYC’s very first sustainable all-draft cocktail bar is celebrating its one-month anniversary of serving 20 on-tap-only drinks in addition to house-made sodas, craft beers, wines, a whiskey, and a light food menu. Its 3-year-old sister restaurant, Dear Bushwick, located at the same Wilson Avenue address, inspired the Northeast U.S. and English rustic country kitchen fare. - AMNY
MAD TROPICAL
This place isn’t really “mad” tropical. Sure, there are some potted plants and bright barstools, but mostly it just feels like the bar that was here before it. That bar was called Tandem, and, like that place, Mad Tropical is a semi-divey spot where you can hang with a date upfront or hit the dance floor in the back. Dance parties occur Thursday through Sunday, so if you need somewhere in Bushwick to get a little weird, this is a perfectly good choice. And if you get hungry midway through your dance party, there are tacos and Mexican pizzas.
BedStuy
LunÀtico
LunÁtico was founded in 2014 by musicians Richard Julian, Arthur Kell, & Rosita Késs. Having performed themselves in bars and venues across the globe, as well as sharing a passion for food, wine, and spirits, the trio routinely kicked around the idea of opening their own. Their idea was to combine the sophisticated elements of the cocktail bars they loved with the funkiness of their favorite music spots.
BOERUM HILL/COBBLE HILL/DWNTWN BKLYN
FRENCH LOUIE
Warm and comforting, Doug Crowell and Ryan Angulo’s second restaurant — they also operate Buttermilk Channel — opens with a handsome wood bar, continues with chocolate-leather banquettes throughout, and ends with expansive outdoor seating. Despite the name, the food at French Louie is less traditional French and more New American with a French-Canadian accent. Snails, served with bacon over grits, are a favorite appetizer, and three varieties of steak-frites are the menu’s centerpiece entrees. Given the neighborhood, it’s probably not surprising that brunch has become perhaps the biggest draw, with plenty of egg options, plus a “crème brûlée French toast,” a creamy, crisp-shelled rendition of the weekend favorite. -NY MAG
BARELY DISFIGURED
Barely Disfigured sits on the site of a short-lived "house of ill-repute" on Smith Street in Brooklyn's iconic Cobble Hill neighborhood. Taking it's name from a poem by French surrealist Paul Eluard, Barely Disfigured mixes seductive, secretive and surrealist vibes and has become a favorite for locals as well as cocktail-hunting aficionados. With a 22-person curving marble bar, 1,800 square foot garden (with room for 100+ people), and iconic red bedroom area, Barely Disfigured provides the perfect scene to enjoy its ambitious yet delicate cocktails.
LEYENDA
Leyenda is a pan-Latin-inspired cocktail bar and restaurant by the people of the renowned Clover Club (that is just across the street!) and Ivy Mix, named Best American Bartender at Tales of the Cocktail. Leyenda celebrates the spirits and imbibing traditions of Latin America and beyond in creative and classic cocktails as well as traditional and modern takes on Latin dishes from across Central and South American and the Caribbean.
BROOKLYN SOCIAL
Located in the former Society Riposto, a private Sicilian Club, we opened the doors to the public in 2004, and have been a great place for cocktails, beer, and panini nightly ever since. Behind a nondescript facade step into a preserved vintage club, where members only used to sip grappa, play cards, socialize. Many pictures of the original members, dating back to the 1920's, still line the walls, and their antique clock still hangs above the curved deco bar, ticking away the hours till closing time.
LUCALI
Lucali was founded by Mark Iacono in 2006 in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. There was a candy store, Louie's Candy Store, across the street from where his father was born that Iacono, a Carroll Gardens native, frequented in his youth. After Louie died, his wife Rosemary put the place, at 575 Henry Street, up for rent. Iacono decided to lease it to open a pizzeria.
He had no experience making pizza prior to opening the restaurant. He mainly wanted to avoid a beloved neighborhood space from being snatched up and transformed into something bland. He initially wanted to open a traditional neighborhood New York-style slice shop, but wound up with a sit-down restaurant. He learned from watching other New York pizzaiolos, like the way Dom DeMarco of Di Fara Pizza adds a lot of fresh basil to his pies. After experimenting until he was happy with the results, he opened the doors in 2006. - The Infatuation
WILLIAMSBURG
PINKERTON WINE BAR
Low-key, intimate wine bar offering small plates, charcuterie and cheese, and a raw bar. Located on a quiet, tree-lined street with a distinctive European feel, we also have a lovely outdoor patio that is very popular in warm weather. Come and taste through our constantly rotating selection of artisanal wines and craft beers.
THE EMERSON BAR
The Emerson transports you the moment you walk in to what they accurately describe as a glittering deco wonderland. Prepare to be confused about why you’ve never been there before.It can accommodate any mood you are in, from a cheap beer and pool night to wine and an art show. While you could always pop in on your own or with a friend, The Emerson is a spacious bar that allows you to bring in a large group. - via Brokelyn
MANHATTAN
SAINT TUESDAY
Nestled in the sub cellar of the Walker Hotel Tribeca, Saint Tuesday offers live music every evening and a cocktail program focused on simple recipes, fresh and quality ingredients, and modern variations of American classics. Open seven nights a week--with live music from 9:30-midnight every evening--Saint Tuesday is quickly becoming a staple of the TriBeCa neighborhood.
The cocktail program is stripped down, with simple cocktail recipes, the emphasis always being on quality and fresh ingredients. Juice is squeezed fresh to order; spirits are never infused. The brief menu always has a range of spirits and styles of drinks to showcase the wide array of cocktails possible from a few, quality ingredients, but we always encourage our guests to be adventurous and select the bartender's choice option, where one of our many skilled bartenders--certainly not mixologists--will create a custom drink for the guest's particular palette.
1803
Inspired by New Orleans’ vibrant culinary scene, 1803 is a partnership between Chef Rafi Hasid, owner of Brooklyn’s celebrated restaurant Miriam, and Tal Lavi of Amsterdam Ale House and a longtime veteran of New York’s restaurant world. The space, evokes the sultriness of an evening in the French Quarter, complete with balconied and outdoor dining, contemporary tropical motifs, and an intimate underground jazz club, Bon Courage.
Weather Up
Her first venture the original Weather Up, a tiny bar with subway tiles and a bronze bar opened in 2008 in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, and was regarded by connoisseurs as the borough’s first true craft cocktail bar. Weather Up TriBeCa, opened on Duane Street and has brought a high dose of cocktail culture to the stroller-beset neighborhood. With its pyrotechnics, suspenders, and tattoos, the cocktail scene in New York appears, at times, to revolve around a troupe of Barnum & Bailey escapees. But those who frequent Weather Up, a Prohibition-style cocktail lounge, need not worry. - New York Times
LE DIVE
Inspired by the laid-back Parisian watering holes beloved by bohemians in the 10th and 11th arrondissements, this chic destination should feel right at home in the cool kid enclave dubbed "Dimes Square" in the Lower East Side. - Guest of a Guest
COLBO
Colbo NYC is a multidisciplinary retail space in The Lower East Side, New York founded in Fall 2021. It's the latest project for co-founder Tal Silberstein, who oversees creative direction in addition to designing Colbo's in-house clothing line. Silberstein spoke with FORM about drawing inspiration across fashion, art, and music, and what lies ahead for the brand.
PAUL’S CASABLANCA
Paul’s Casablanca is a bit more luxe than Beatrice Inn and a bit more party-oriented than Paul’s Cocktail Lounge. But, the common denominator is that you’ll definitely have a good time whether it’s getting sweaty and body-rolling on the dance floor, or people watching the celebrities, influencers, and fashion it-girls that frequent the space. So far, the SoHo spot has been a go-to for fashion week after parties and had a launch party hosted by Purple Magazine. On regular nights, the music sets the mood, from hip-hop Thursdays with DJs like Mark Ronson and Q-Tip to Morrissey and Smith Sundays.
SOCIALISTA
Socialista is a private, members and invite-only experience, located in New York, London, Dubai, and Miami by Giuseppe Cipriani. Socialista is a representation of how the privileged pre-revolution Habaneros lived, a Caribbean playground, filled with the romance, excitement, music and flavors of the Cuban socialite culture. Inspired by the eclectic architecture of old Havana, the diverse interior combines colonial European influences with 20th-century modernism. The design features French antiques and plantation-style rattan furniture, covered in rich velvets and brocades, resembling a stately home that has stood still in Cuban History. A tribute to the Caribbean island's rich cocktail history, the menu will offer a mix of quintessential Cuban drinks and Socialista signatures.
CHLOE 81
THE crowd is thinning on the sidewalk of West 12th Street. The Beatrice Inn, having held the title of go-to hot spot of the New York fashion elite for the last two years, is finally experiencing a little healthy competition. Enter Chloe 81. As with Beatrice, there’s an unmarked door and a descent down unassuming concrete stairs that leads to the dark catacomb-like bar, which brims inside with youth, beauty and good times.
GEM WINE
Gem is a restaurant by Flynn Mcgarry located in the lower east side. Menus are intended to showcase the frequent and varied changes in our microclimate throughout these special months. Forgoing our usual singular menu for the season, their menu will changes weekly with what’s available from our farm partners.
