8 Awesome Places to Eat in Brooklyn for First Timers!

Brooklyn is one of the boroughs of New York City, and there are plenty of great food to eat here! While looking through our Brooklyn food photos, I was almost salivating as I thought about all the good food we ate. We had the best pizzas in Brooklyn, indulged in the most satisfying smoked pork, ate delicious lobster rolls, discovered a famous Ramen restaurant from Japan, and had brunch at two quaint cafes. Brooklyn is definitely able to satisfy every foodie! Below is a list of our eight recommended places to eat in Brooklyn for first-timers, arranged in alphabetical order. Also read: 9 Fun Things You Must Do in Brooklyn, New York!

1. Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

This well-known ice cream shop is housed in a 1922 refurbished fireboat house near the famous Brooklyn Bridge. Even though it was winter, we still wanted to check out the ice cream because of all the good reviews we had read. We ordered the Chocolate ice cream ($4.50) which had a nice velvety texture with a delicate sweetness. The chocolate is produced in-house by Brooklyn Ice Cream factory using naturally processed cocoa powder and pure cane sugar extract. You can check out our full review of Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.

Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
Address: 1 Water Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA (The Corners of Old Fulton and Water Street)
Phone: +1 718 246 3963
Opening Hours: Daily 12pm to 10pm

2. Buttermilk Channel

Buttermilk Channel is an American bistro offering delicious brunch and comfort food. It offers both indoor and al fresco seating. On the staff’s recommendation, we ordered the Hot Sausage Egg Scramble ($14). The scrambled egg was mixed with sausage, bell peppers, and onions. For sides, there was some bittersweet greens, a potato cake, and slices of toast. All the ingredients were on point and we enjoyed this savoury dish. However, we wished the portion could have been a little bigger.

Buttermilk Channel
Address: 524 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231, USA
Phone: +1 718 852 849
Opening Hours: | Mon – Thur: 11.30am to 3pm, 5pm to 10pm | Fri: 11.30am to 3pm, 5pm to 11.30pm | Sat: 10am to 3pm, 5pm to 11.30pm | Sun: 10am to 3pm, 5pm to 10pm |

3. Cafe Luluc

Cafe Luluc is a quaint and cozy cafe that offers tasty brunch. It is supposed to be a French bistro but as far as we could tell, the only thing “French” was the decor; the menu was essentially American. We ordered the Luluc French Toast with Nutella and Fruits ($13) and a side of two sunny-side up eggs ($3). The french toast tasted great with Nutella, and the fruits provided a refreshing balance. Service was hit and miss, but on the whole it was a very good experience considering the price and food quality.

Cafe Luluc
Address: 214 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
Phone: +1 718 625 3815
Opening Hours: | Mon – Fri: 8.30am to 3.30pm | Sat & Sun: 8.30am to 4.30pm |

4. Grimaldi’s

Grimaldi’s is a pizzeria located under Brooklyn Bridge. This well-known pizza joint bakes its pizzas in a brick oven with coal fire – this gives the pizza a nice smoky flavour. We ordered the Small Pizza ($14), a margherita pizza with toppings of sliced mozzarella, basil, tomato sauce and virgin olive oil. I liked the crisp crust and the white mozzarella, but the tomato sauce didn’t really impress. As for service, the staff seemed quite cold and nonchalant.

We found out that Grimaldi’s is embroiled in a famous pizza feud with Juliana’s, another pizza joint that is located just nearby. To find out more, you can check out our full review of Grimaldi’s. We have tried the pizzas from both joints and our vote goes to… Juliana’s! Grimaldi’s has become a little over-commercialized and if you only have time to visit one pizza joint, we definitely recommend Juliana’s instead.

Grimaldi’s
Address: 1 Front Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (Under the Brooklyn Bridge)
Phone Number: +1 718 858 4300
Opening Hours: | Mon – Thur: 11.30am to 10.45pm | Fri: 11.30am to 11.45pm | Sat: 12pm to 11.45pm | Sun: 12pm to 10.45pm |

5. Ichiran

Ichiran is a new Ramen restaurant in Brooklyn. It is the first US branch of this famous Ramen chain from Japan. The restaurant offers both table seating and solo booths – we chose to sit at the table. And unlike other US restaurants, there is no need for tipping here. We ordered the Classic Tonkotsu Ramen ($18.90) with extra Dried Seaweed ($1.90). I liked the noodles which were thin and firm. The pork slices were succulent and tasty too. However, the tonkotsu broth was the highlight, with a delicious savoury flavour and rich creamy texture. The taste was enhanced with Ichiran’s signature red pepper sauce.

We enjoyed this dish very much, but to be honest our expectations were a little higher considering how famous it is in Japan. And we had to travel deep into Brooklyn just to find this joint. This was a slightly unnerving experience because we were worried that we might take the wrong subway line and end up in some unsavory neighborhood. I would recommend this restaurant if you have spare time in your NYC itinerary.

Ichiran
Address: 374 Johnson Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206, USA
Phone: +1 718 381 0491
Opening Hours: | Sun – Thur: 11am to 11pm | Fri & Sat: 11am to 12am |

6. Juliana’s

As mentioned earlier, Juliana’s is another pizzeria located under Brooklyn bridge, near to Grimaldi’s. Like Grimaldi’s, the pizzas are baked in a brick oven with coal fire. The pizza rivalry between these two joints is perhaps the most famous pizza feud in New York City! After having tried the margherita pizza from Grimaldi’s, we decided to order the small Margherita Pizza ($18) for comparison’s sake; though we were a bit hungry so we decided to add sausage toppings ($3) too.

Now for the verdict: the pizza looked almost identical to the one at Grimaldi’s, but my first bite quickly revealed the difference. The crisp crust was delicious with the perfect amount of bite. The mozzarella was creamy and savoury, and the sausage toppings were scrumptious too. But the highlight was the delicious tomato sauce, which had a rich tangy flavour without being overbearing. For us, the clear winner in this pizza feud is definitely Juliana’s. Therefore, make sure you eat at Juliana’s if you only have time to visit one pizzeria.

Juliana’s
Address: 19 Old Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
Phone: +1 718 596 6700
Opening Hours: Daily 11.30am to 3.15pm, 4pm to 10pm

7. Smorgasburg Industry City

Smorgasburg is a famous weekend food market in Brooklyn featuring up to 100 vendors. It is organized by the same people behind the Brooklyn Flea Market. When we visited Brooklyn in December 2015 during winter, it was held indoors at the Industry City building. Once winter ends, the location of Smorgasburg shifts outdoor to the Williamsburg neighbourhood. You can visit the Smorgasburg website for more details.

During winter, Smorgasburg shares the Industry City building with the Brooklyn Flea Market. Therefore, when we visited there were lots of vendors and the place had a nice bustling vibe. After walking around, we decided to buy a Lobster Roll ($18) from Red Hook Lobster Pound. This is a very famous bistro in Brooklyn with rave reviews online. Indeed, the lobster roll did not disappoint. The generous portions of lobster meat were tender and juicy, and it tasted even better with the savoury melted butter. Together with the crisp buttered bun, this was a delicious treat that left us very satisfied.

Smorgasburg Industry City
Address: Industry City, 241 37th St (2nd Floor) Lincoln Rd. Brooklyn

8. Smorgasburg Williamsburg

Once winter is over, Smorgasburg is held outdoors at East River State Park in Williamsburg. We visited the food market here when we went to Brooklyn in April 2017. We preferred this location over Industry City because it was much cooler and more airy here. We had a wonderful view of the Manhattan skyline across the East River, and there seemed to be a wider variety of vendors too. This time round, we tried the ice cream sandwich from The Good Batch. As far as cookies and ice cream combinations go, this was a nice sweet treat worth trying.

However, our favourite vendor was Carnal. This stall has just two items on its menu: smoked beef and smoked pork. The area around the stall was so smoky that we couldn’t even see clearly at times. This is because the meat was slowly smoked over a barbecue pit behind the stall. We ordered the 48 Hour Pork Shoulder & ‘Nduja ($10) and waited for quite a long while. Ultimately it was worth the wait (and coughing from too much smoke). The smoked pork tasted amazing with a nice smoky flavour. It was so soft that it seemed to melt in my mouth. And inside my mouth, the savoury juices from the fatty meat oozed out in copious amounts, sending my taste buds into a state of ecstasy. This was definitely a joy for my palate!

Smorgasburg Williamsburg
Address: East River State Park, 90 Kent Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211, USA

This article is part of our completely free and fantastic Ultimate New York Travel Guide for First Timers. Why spend days researching when all your holiday information is simply a click away?