NYCGuide
The Best Restaurants In Cobble Hill
photo credit: Kate Previte
Cobble Hill—not to be confused with Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, or adjacent Carroll Gardens—is a quiet neighborhood with an impressive restaurant scene. On tree-lined streets, often trafficked by platoons of strollers—you’ll find Detroit pizza, one of the city’s first Yemeni restaurants, a Lebanese-Mexican taqueria, and two beloved places where you can sit at the bar with a burger. Here’s where to eat in Cobble Hill.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Kate Previte
The tiny Italian restaurant is run by one man, who will take your order, close the curtain when the sun starts getting into your eyes, and then bring you soft artichokes swimming in olive oil, and a rigatoni alla gricia that tastes homemade, but better. Be warned: Lillo Cucina is cash-only, has no bathroom, and doesn't serve alcohol. But Long Island Bar is approximately 150 feet away, for a nightcap (and a bathroom).
photo credit: David Lee
The answer is always Long Island Bar. This diner-like spot on Atlantic Avenue works for drinks at the counter, a casual evening of cheese curds with friends, or a low-key celebration dinner, when you can finally justify adding that bottle of champagne to your order. (No really, the menu says “Add Bottle Of Champagne” for $100.) But even if you’re just here for a perfectly mixed White Negroni, consider the burger. Neither two inches thick and priced like a steak, nor smashed into crispy oblivion, it’s just a soft, manageable burger with one or two patties, a blanket of cheese, and a small toothpick with an American flag on it.
photo credit: David A Lee
A Cobble Hill classic since 1986, the city’s first Yemeni restaurant (as far as we know) is still a lively community gathering place. It’s also a necessary pilgrimage for anyone who loves lamb, and we happen to be card-carrying members of that particular fan club. Two of the best parts of every meal at Yemen Cafe are complimentary: the marag, a thin yet deeply flavorful lamb soup, and a tandoori flatbread ideal for dipping in it. Slow-roasted lamb haneeth, a hefty portion of richly spiced meat barely clinging to the bone, remains Yemen Cafe’s most popular dish, and for good reason. You’re in not just for a superlative meal here, but for some superlative leftovers tomorrow.
photo credit: Emily Schindler
Eating at Bobbi’s Italian Beef feels like riding a DeLorean through a wormhole and ending up in the 1980s. Vintage Vienna Beef posters line the walls, old movies loop on the TV, and the booth seating reminds us of going on pizza dates as teenagers. As the name suggests, Italian Beef is the specialty here, and it’s some of the best you can get in New York. They also make great Chicago dogs (prepared according to a strict set of rules laid out in that Vienna Beef diagram on the wall), and both personal-pan and tavern-style pizzas.
La Vara is the sort of place someone might take you if they were trying to convince you to move to Cobble Hill. The Basque restaurant has a long wine list and a bunch of small, beautiful plates—things like deviled eggs with green tahini, iberico ham with crispy artichokes and anchovy aioli, and slow roasted suckling pig with tximitxurri. The brick-walled dining room has a few big booths, so bring your parents here for a thank you dinner after they’ve helped you decorate your seventh new apartment in five years. Or come with a friend and sit out front—during the warmer months, it feels like attending a neighborhood block party.
photo credit: Teddy Wolff
Right next door to La Vara you’ll find Saint Julivert, a seafood restaurant from the same team. On the weekends, both are packed with Cobble Hillers, who are smugly grateful to have both spots right in their neighborhood. Bring someone who loves fish just as much as you do, sit at the bar or outside, and share a bottle of wine, and a bunch of different little bites. We especially like the head-on shrimp with yuzu mayo, the whipped mackerel on grilled sourdough, and the cod pot pie.
The panzerotto at Panzerotti Bites makes us wish that every frozen pizza pocket of our youth would take a trip to Puglia to learn a thing or two. Made to order and oozing with cheese and tomato sauce, the classic fried version is perfect for a light weekday lunch. It also works as an afternoon snack during a beery Saturday at nearby Talea, for example with friends who just had a baby and no longer drink at night. Panzerotti has some tables, but it’s pretty dark, so sit out back under hot pink umbrellas or take your to-go panzerotto on a walk.
Only a handful of places serve Detroit-style pizza in NYC, and La Rose has some of the best. The takeout spot on Smith Street sells pizza by the slice and pie, and you'll find combinations like the Dirty Martini, with olives and vodka sauce, or the Moby Dick, with anchovies and boquerones—all with a crispy cheesy crusts, and ladlefuls of red sauce. One word of advice: Don't plan to eat this pizza standing up. Take a seat at the tiny counter inside, or at a small table out front, or add on a few Peronis to your order and head to Brooklyn Bridge Park.
On weekdays after 8pm, Ten Ichi Mart is the most crowded place in Cobble Hill. A line starts forming around 7:45pm inside the Japanese market, which offers half-price sushi every evening. Stop by for $5 rolls before they sell out. But even if you’re too early for half-off sushi, this place is still worth a visit—for high-quality takeout nigiri, a quick onigiri for the road, sushi-grade raw fish for a DIY sushi night, and hot prepared foods like pork buns, and chicken karaage. Plus, they’ve got fun Japanese chip flavors.
Karazishi Botan is a neighborhood spot and then some. The ramen place on Smith Street has a lot of classics, like the signature Pan Head with pork and miso broth, or the Point Blank with pork-based shoyu broth. But they also have specials—like a chicken-based ramen that comes with a scoop of mashed potatoes and a shot glass of lemon on the side. (A pretty wild ride.) There's lots of counter seating, plus a spacious heated backyard, so come for a weeknight dinner that feels a little more exciting than usual.
Every neighborhood needs a spot where you can drink a pet-nat and have a server tell you to order two-to-three small plates per person. In Cobble Hill, that place is Bar Bête. Here, you can split tuna toast and crispy duck fat-fried potatoes at a marble table, and look deeply into someone’s eyes as you both realize that yes, those potatoes might be the best thing on the menu, and yes, you will be here on a regular basis. End your meal with the yellow cake, which has a cake-to-icing ratio of 1:1 and a liberal shower of flaky salt.
photo credit: Kate Previte
Cobble Hill locals probably don’t want you to know about Big Tiny, an always-crowded French bistro that only takes reservations by phone. Cozy wood paneling, warm globe lights, wall-mounted bicycles, and art deco posters are the perfect setting for excellent versions of bistro classics like escargot, tartiflette, and cassoulet. And the Big Tiny burger is one of the best in the neighborhood. A thoughtful wine and beer list changes often—come here with your friends who love wine but not necessarily wine bars. It’s also a great date-night spot.
photo credit: Kate Previte
If we were mayor, we would require every neighborhood to have a good bagel shop. Thankfully, Cobble Hill already adheres to the rule. Shelsky’s is an appetizing store and deli on Court Street, and it’s where you should go for a chewy bagel with smoked fish or a pastrami and egg sandwich on rye. We like to keep it classic with the “Member of the Tribe”—a bagel with your choice of plain or scallion cream cheese, plus a thick layer of buttery nova. Perfect for a Saturday morning stroll, or a Sunday brunch, after a particularly harrowing experience at the Trader Joe’s across the street.
Cobble Hill isn’t exactly known for its Sichuan food, but you can get a proper, fiery bowl of mapo tofu at Shan. They’ve got those creamy dan dan noodles we all want in our takeout rotation, plus some flashier dishes worth changing out of your sweatpants for, like black truffle soup dumplings and spicy whole crabs. Try and snag one of the tables across from the bar, where you can get a view of the Mount Gongga mural glowing behind the bartender.
photo credit: Will Hartman
Henry Public is a perfect Sunday night restaurant. Lacey curtains and glass dividers between some of the booths make it feel like an old tavern house or pub, and they have a very solid burger that's made with fancy grass-fed beef and served with salty fries. Come with friends and share some deviled eggs, or come alone with a book. Just be prepared to be interrupted by a friendly stranger who's curious about how the themes in whatever you’re reading relate to a story they recently saw in the New Yorker.
The stretch of Atlantic Avenue in Cobble Hill has long been a destination for great Middle Eastern food. This relative newcomer marries Lebanese cuisine with flavors from another part of the world: Mexico. Cheers to the happy couple! Named for the cedar tree on Lebanon’s flag, this fusiony taqueria has excellent tortas, a crisp za’atar quesadilla, and—if you can snag one before they sell out for the day—a taboule ceviche tostada loaded with herbs on a crunchy homemade tortilla. Pop in for a very good lunch or weeknight dinner and enjoy the cheerful art that remixes imagery from Mexican and Lebanese cultures (a luchador here, a tube of Le Phare du Cap Bon harissa paste there).
Spend enough time in Cobble Hill, and you’ll eventually find yourself on a date at June Wine Bar. The narrow room lined with glowing bulbs is always home to at least four or five pairs getting to know one another, either at the long marble bar, or in one of the booths tucked to the side. Part of the appeal is the fact that you don’t have to commit to a full meal. Pair some skin-contact chardonnay with a plate of translucent charcuterie or crispy tuna croquettes, or, go all out with a burger topped with caramelized onions. Natural wine is the focus here, but the food isn’t an afterthought.
