A new series looking at the best dining options within walking distance (2 miles) of city landmarks worldwide, we offer our 5 IDEAL restaurants close to the Brooklyn Bridge (Brooklyn side), New York.
No trip to the Big Apple is complete without taking a bite out of the Brooklyn Bridge. Now more than 125 years old, it carries at least 150,000 vehicles and pedestrians daily between Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York’s two most famous districts. It’s one of the city’s highlights, giving you amazing views of Manhattan and the East River. Only from here can you really appreciate the scale, the sheer enormity of the New York skyline. It’s quite the feat of engineering too, with cables and columns providing strength and majesty to pedestrians and transport alike. And best of all, it’s free. Were you to be taking in the walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn, and alighting where Tillary Street meets Adams street, you’ll have worked up a hunger. So, here are our 5 IDEAL restaurants close to the Brooklyn exit of the Bridge.
Noodle Pudding (0.4 miles)
With New York being such a vast city, finding restaurants walkable from the bridge was a tall ask. That’s not to say there’s loads of amazing food in New York, it’s just people don’t walk all that much. We think the area is so fortunate then to have such a little gem as Noodle Pudding, just 400 metres from the bridge’s exit. It has a true neighbourhood Italian feel, complete with Old Blue Eyes on repeat on the stereo, and Italian-American food which historically this part of New York is has such an affinity with.
Address: 38 Henry St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
The River Café (0.7 miles)
Michelin-starred The River Café (not to be confused with London’s wonderful restaurant of the same name) sits on the banks of the river and offers spectacular views and food to match. It’s somewhat of an institution, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, to quiet, understated applause so suited to the sophisticated style of cooking here. The menu is extensive, with their fresh fish dishes the best option in our book. It has to be one of the most romantic spots in the city, perfect for a date or special celebration.
Address: 1 Water St, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
Website: rivercafe.com
Ganso Ramen (0.7 miles)
In a city in love with Japanese food, Ganso Ramen is one of the stand out purveyors of the hearty noodle and broth wonder that is ramen. Everything is done with care and thoughtfulness, as any Japanese establishment of any virtue should. The menu straddles tradition and the more experimental, with miso ramen, an all-time classic, rubbing shoulders with a Brooklyn-inspired short-rib offering. They have held a Bib Gourmand, Michelin’s little brother which marks excellence and value, for four years, and we can see why. Bowls all come in at under $15 – just incredible for a place of this repute.
Address: 25 Bond St, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
Website: gansonyc.com
Pok Pok, NY (1.1 miles) *sadly, as of Summer 2020, Pok Pok NY is closed*
If we could eat at Andy Ricker’s homage to the food of Northern Thailand everyday we would. The food is a million miles away from the fluorescent greens and pink curries served in many a provincial Thai restaurant in England. It’s bold, assertive and spicy yet thoughtfully composed – not surprising from a chef so in love with the food of Thailand he goes back there every year to ‘research’ new dishes. The Gaeng Hung Leh here is as near we’ve come to a religious experience in a long while. Heaven.
Address: 117 Columbia St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Website: pokpokny.com
Read our full restaurant review of Pok Pok
Buttermilk Channel (1.6 miles)
Time for something closer to home to close our list, the marvellous, moreish Buttermilk Channel. It’s a homage to the American comfort-food classics, a roll call of what you crave the morning after the night before, but done with a little extra flair and panache. Arteries will be clogged and calories accumulated but who cares? You could walk it off, back over the bridge and into Manhattan.
Address: 524 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Website: buttermilkchannelnyc.com