Justin’s Williamsburg Guidebook

Justin
Justin’s Williamsburg Guidebook

Bars

As a DJ, music is important to me, so a lot of these places probably have DJs or live music.
Great cocktails, good food. Old time vibe, with live ragtime and swing music most nights. This is a perfect date night spot.
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St. Mazie Bar & Supper Club
345 Grand St
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Great cocktails, good food. Old time vibe, with live ragtime and swing music most nights. This is a perfect date night spot.
Fun, quirky spot, with a few different spaces where DJs play mostly vinyl records, live music, and an outdoor area with a food truck. Great place to dance, meet someone new, check out the local music scene, and get some affordable (for Brooklyn) drinks in your system.
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Union Pool
484 Union Ave
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Fun, quirky spot, with a few different spaces where DJs play mostly vinyl records, live music, and an outdoor area with a food truck. Great place to dance, meet someone new, check out the local music scene, and get some affordable (for Brooklyn) drinks in your system.
Fully stocked, European soccer bar located right around the corner. They serve savory pies (one of my favorite things) and a variety of sausages - great for your late night, post-drinking food-fix.
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Banter Bar
132 Havemeyer St
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Fully stocked, European soccer bar located right around the corner. They serve savory pies (one of my favorite things) and a variety of sausages - great for your late night, post-drinking food-fix.

Food scene

Here's some slightly fancier fair, as well as some options for the more budget-conscious among us.
Lots of choices of burrito 🌯, and other Mexican food favorites, including vegetarian and vegan options. Hardly authentic, but delicious, still! There is a bar, too. The staff is great. Lots of room to accommodate larger parties. My go to: rajas enchiladas suizas en salsa verde con arroz y frijoles.
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Taco Chulo
318 Grand St
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Lots of choices of burrito 🌯, and other Mexican food favorites, including vegetarian and vegan options. Hardly authentic, but delicious, still! There is a bar, too. The staff is great. Lots of room to accommodate larger parties. My go to: rajas enchiladas suizas en salsa verde con arroz y frijoles.
Delicious, nutritious vegan food, juices, pastries, and more. Don't let the fact that it's all vegan stop you from checking this place out. It's affordable and SO GOOD. Highly recommended.
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by CHLOE
171 N 3rd St
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Delicious, nutritious vegan food, juices, pastries, and more. Don't let the fact that it's all vegan stop you from checking this place out. It's affordable and SO GOOD. Highly recommended.
This is one of my favorite little gems in the neighborhood. They play great music, have a constant rotation of anime, kung-fu, and other fun movies, a wild collection of toys, and the food is cheap and good! My go to is the Bibim Bap. The kimchi hot dog is also delicious... And I usually stay very far away from hot dogs. They have a good selection of sake and Asian beers. Good spot for a date, or to hang out with some friends. I go here as often as possible.
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Snacky
187 Grand St
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This is one of my favorite little gems in the neighborhood. They play great music, have a constant rotation of anime, kung-fu, and other fun movies, a wild collection of toys, and the food is cheap and good! My go to is the Bibim Bap. The kimchi hot dog is also delicious... And I usually stay very far away from hot dogs. They have a good selection of sake and Asian beers. Good spot for a date, or to hang out with some friends. I go here as often as possible.
Not qualified to say it's best falafel in the city... But it's the best I've had. Super tasty, healthy, and budget friendly. I go here often.
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Oasis
168 Bedford Ave
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Not qualified to say it's best falafel in the city... But it's the best I've had. Super tasty, healthy, and budget friendly. I go here often.
This place packs up at night, but is generally pretty empty during the day. The food is delicious! I recommend the Fatoush, and the Shakshuka (you can add steak). It's great for dates, and has enough table space for groups and families. It's right around the corner from my place. Highly recommended.
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Zizi Limona
182 8th Avenue
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This place packs up at night, but is generally pretty empty during the day. The food is delicious! I recommend the Fatoush, and the Shakshuka (you can add steak). It's great for dates, and has enough table space for groups and families. It's right around the corner from my place. Highly recommended.
Best Indian food in the neighborhood, in my opinion. Order take out, or eat in! It has a nice little atmosphere.
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Tikka Indian Grill
185 Grand St
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Best Indian food in the neighborhood, in my opinion. Order take out, or eat in! It has a nice little atmosphere.
Small chain of taquerias with good food, and a bar. I like getting the Al Pastor plate with escabeche (pickled peppers & carrots) and tortillas on the side. I often eat here before stopping at the Knitting Factory's free comedy show on Sunday nights.
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Taqueria Diana
129 2nd Ave
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Small chain of taquerias with good food, and a bar. I like getting the Al Pastor plate with escabeche (pickled peppers & carrots) and tortillas on the side. I often eat here before stopping at the Knitting Factory's free comedy show on Sunday nights.
Great food at this awesome brunch spot. Light, airy atmosphere. Truffle hash browns are so crispy and delicious. Boozy coffee. And they know their way around an egg. Highly recommended.
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Egg Shop
151 Elizabeth St
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Great food at this awesome brunch spot. Light, airy atmosphere. Truffle hash browns are so crispy and delicious. Boozy coffee. And they know their way around an egg. Highly recommended.

Live Entertainment

Live Music (Hip-Hop, Rock, etc.), DJs, Stand-up Comedy, Spoken Word Poetry, and more.
Legendary venue featuring a variety of local up and comers and renowned musical acts. One of my favorite nights is the free comedy show on Sunday nights starting at 9 PM. I've seen impromptu sets from Chris Rock, Aziz Ansari, Ilana Glazer, comedians from SNL, and so many more. Make sure to arrive early, as it tends to get packed!
Knitting Factory Brooklyn
361 Metropolitan Avenue
Legendary venue featuring a variety of local up and comers and renowned musical acts. One of my favorite nights is the free comedy show on Sunday nights starting at 9 PM. I've seen impromptu sets from Chris Rock, Aziz Ansari, Ilana Glazer, comedians from SNL, and so many more. Make sure to arrive early, as it tends to get packed!
Popular music venue.
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Brooklyn Steel
319 Frost St
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Popular music venue.

Nightlife

Night clubs, dancing, etc.
Not super close to the apartment, but this is an excellent night club, and you must go if nightlife is something you are looking for on your stay. More of an underground and artsy vibe. Dope DJs, cirque-du-soleil-esque performers. Tons of people flock to this place nightly. They often have free nights (check their website or social media). I've seen some wild things here. So fun.
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House of Yes
2 Wyckoff Avenue
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Not super close to the apartment, but this is an excellent night club, and you must go if nightlife is something you are looking for on your stay. More of an underground and artsy vibe. Dope DJs, cirque-du-soleil-esque performers. Tons of people flock to this place nightly. They often have free nights (check their website or social media). I've seen some wild things here. So fun.
I know this place mainly as a night club! And it's good. I've danced in their basement on numerous occasions to some great DJs, both local and international (I.e. Soulection, Henry Wu). Great for underground, soulful house music, boogie, funk, Disco, broken beat, and more. This is a place for music heads, and dancers. The sound system is warm and enveloping. They also have food! Which I knew but haven't fully experienced. It looks delicious, though. 😋
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Black Flamingo
168 Borinquen Pl
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I know this place mainly as a night club! And it's good. I've danced in their basement on numerous occasions to some great DJs, both local and international (I.e. Soulection, Henry Wu). Great for underground, soulful house music, boogie, funk, Disco, broken beat, and more. This is a place for music heads, and dancers. The sound system is warm and enveloping. They also have food! Which I knew but haven't fully experienced. It looks delicious, though. 😋
I'm a bit biased, because I DJ here on occasion, but Bembe is lit! It's a small night club focused on music from the African diaspora: afro beat(s), reggaeton, cumbia, salsa, dembow, merengue, bailed funk, dancehall and more. The DJs are top-notch (not saying that to toot my own horn, swear), they have open percussion, attended to by very talented players, but open to everyone. There's live music once in a while. Favorite nights: Monday for the ESO!! Party (DJs Reaganomics & Dirty Finger are residents w/ special guests weekly), which specializes in more underground and eclectic sounds, and is less packed than weekends. Also check out DJ Beto when he plays there - he's a personal friend and an amazing DJ. It's almost always a party at Bembe. So fun to dance there. And try the Dce Morena - it's tequila with coffee grounds and a lime and it's soooooo good. Note: it's cash only!
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Bembe
81 S 6th St
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I'm a bit biased, because I DJ here on occasion, but Bembe is lit! It's a small night club focused on music from the African diaspora: afro beat(s), reggaeton, cumbia, salsa, dembow, merengue, bailed funk, dancehall and more. The DJs are top-notch (not saying that to toot my own horn, swear), they have open percussion, attended to by very talented players, but open to everyone. There's live music once in a while. Favorite nights: Monday for the ESO!! Party (DJs Reaganomics & Dirty Finger are residents w/ special guests weekly), which specializes in more underground and eclectic sounds, and is less packed than weekends. Also check out DJ Beto when he plays there - he's a personal friend and an amazing DJ. It's almost always a party at Bembe. So fun to dance there. And try the Dce Morena - it's tequila with coffee grounds and a lime and it's soooooo good. Note: it's cash only!

Recreation

If you want to stay active while you're in NYC...
This is a big, awesome park, with tons of amenities. There's a pool, a track, baseball field, basketball court, skate park and more. Great place for a jog, to take the kids, people/dog watch (all the cute dogs hang out here), and more.
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McCarren Park
776 Lorimer St
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This is a big, awesome park, with tons of amenities. There's a pool, a track, baseball field, basketball court, skate park and more. Great place for a jog, to take the kids, people/dog watch (all the cute dogs hang out here), and more.
Atypical movie selection, food & drinks, vintage movie theatre experience. They host an event called Spoons, Toons & Booze here... A Saturday morning cartoon party with boozy breakfast. So fun!
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Nitehawk Cinema
136 Metropolitan Ave
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Atypical movie selection, food & drinks, vintage movie theatre experience. They host an event called Spoons, Toons & Booze here... A Saturday morning cartoon party with boozy breakfast. So fun!

Records

I'm a huge music nerd. If you are, too, you might wanna check these out!
Easily one of the best record shops in NYC. Diverse, well curated selection, ranging from surface level staples, to deep gems, from the old to the new. No price gouging, they know what they have, but these records are priced to move. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. There's a few scattered listening stations. Great place to dig for producers, DJs, and audiophiles.
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Human Head Records
289 Meserole St
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Easily one of the best record shops in NYC. Diverse, well curated selection, ranging from surface level staples, to deep gems, from the old to the new. No price gouging, they know what they have, but these records are priced to move. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. There's a few scattered listening stations. Great place to dig for producers, DJs, and audiophiles.