It seems like every time you turn around or open up Instagram, there’s a new food hall in Brooklyn. While Smorgasburg attracts hordes of tourists who take up space on the Williamsburg waterfront, trying to get a spaghetti doughnuts, Downtown Brooklyn and Sunset Park are now home to more spacious places to try new bites. Here, a guide to the best and what you should be eating at each.
Berg’n
899 Bergen St.
Around since 2014 in Crown Heights, this 9,000-square-foot spot, from the team behind Brooklyn Flea and Smorgasburg, actually bills itself as a beer hall, putting the focus on craft brews like Other Half IPA and sour Gose from Evil Twin Brewing. To pair with your suds, there’s a rotating selection of four food vendors. Right now, you can enjoy grandma pies from Brooklyn Pizza Crew, brisket from Mighty Quinn’s BBQ, burgers from Landhaus and Filipino spring rolls from Lumpia Shack, seated either indoors at a communal picnic table or outside on the sunny patio.
Gotham Market at The Ashland
590 Fulton St.
Opened in January in Fort Greene, this 16,000-square-foot hall puts the emphasis on sit-down dining and drinking. Upon arrival, guests can grab a house-made cocktail at Bar Granger, then head to Boqueria’s first Brooklyn location for signature tapas like bacon-wrapped dates. For something quicker, try the pulled pork sandwich at Mason Jar, fried chicken at Flip Bird or Neapolitan-style pies at Apizza Regionale, owned by Dinosaur Bar-B-Que founder John Stage. Finish with Indian-inspired ice cream from Malai, the latest tenant of Gotham’s devoted pop-up space.
Dekalb Market Hall
445 Albee Square W.
Brooklyn’s splashiest food hall, Dekalb, opened in early June in Downtown’s City Point development. In addition to a show kitchen, event space and cocktail bar, the 60,000-square-foot space houses 40 different vendors, chosen to reflect the borough’s cultural diversity. The major draw here is A Taste of Katz’s—the second-ever location of the 129-year-old deli—where guests can enjoy famously enormous pastrami sandwiches. Also worth sampling: handcrafted ice cream from Ample Hills, smashed burgers from Andrew’s Classic Roadside Hamburgers by Hard Times Sundaes, Colombian corncakes from Arepa Lady, báhn mì from Bunker and smoked brisket from Fletcher’s Brooklyn Barbecue.
Industry City Food Hall
220 36th St.
Located in a Sunset Park industrial campus, this 40,000-square-foot spot has been slowly growing its roster since 2014. Today, it houses everyone from Blue Marble Ice Cream and Burger Joint to One Girl Cookies, Kotti Berlin Doner Kebab and Avocaderia, all of whom are required to both produce food on site and serve to the public. After guests get their fill in the food hall, they can enjoy tastings at Industry City Distillery and Moore Brothers Wine Company, or head to The Wheelhouse, a new bar from the Frying Pan team. Also on offer this summer are live concerts, movie nights and a nine-hole mini-golf course.
Building 77
Brooklyn Navy Yard
Coming in late 2017 to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Building 77 will transform a World War II storage facility into a state-of-the-art manufacturing hub. Similar in concept to Industry City, it will require vendors to both produce and sell food on site, with spots like The Brooklyn Greenery, The Food Sermon and Rustik Tavern already confirmed. Future guests can also look forward to Haitian restaurant Grandchamps, Smorgasburg favorite We Rub You and the first location outside Manhattan of Russ & Daughters.
