I grew up in San Francisco, so of course I was familiar with Tartine. My mom waited in its famously long line, and when I was old enough to drive, I made the same patience-testing journey. Little did I expect that Chad Robertson, the bakery’s founder, would make the leap to the East Coast and start a completely new concept. (Date still TBD!) Beyond bread news, I took a spin through Brooklyn’s recently opened and soon-to-debut restaurants and rounded up the very best. There’s a Texas-style barbecue spot with Mexican influences, a Cobble Hill red-sauce joint revitalized by a 12-year Long Island Bar worker, and a globe-trotting Tamil pop-up from a former Top Chef contestant.
Recent Brooklyn Restaurant Openings
Gloria
544 Union Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
https://www.instagram.com/gloriabklyn
Opened August 20
The team behind the Australian cafe Glory Days opens Gloria, a neighborhood restaurant with produce-driven cooking and influences from coastal California, the Mediterranean, and Australia. Right now, the menu features late summer produce, like a peaches and heirloom tomato, and a cold endive and bean salad. This walk-in-only newcomer has already started dinner service, but keep your eyes out for lunch.
Kirbee’s
55 McGuinness Blvd S, Brooklyn, NY 11222
https://www.instagram.com/kirbees_greenpoint_brooklyn
Opened August 30 (Eater’s opening feature)
If you find yourself hankering for barbecue, Brooklyn just got another promising contender. Two of Texas barbecue’s brightest talents have teamed up for a daytime smokehouse in Greenpoint. Chuck Charnichart of Lockhart’s Barbs B Q and Goldee’s co-founder Jonny White team up for a flavorful, never boring spread of barbecue where Texas meets Mexico: lime-zested pork ribs, cult favorite green spaghetti, brisket, and more.
Sam’s Restaurant
238 Court St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
https://www.samsbrooklyn.com
Reopened September 10
When this 96-year-old Cobble Hill red-sauce institution announced its closure in 2025, the neighborhood was devastated. Lucky for us, it’s been given new life under Georgia Fulton, a former regular and 12-year veteran of Long Island Bar. Before taking the keys, Fulton spent six months learning the ropes from third-generation owner Louis “Lou” Migliaccio. The menu offers familiar classics from the past—brick-oven pizza, baked clams, celery and olives, and veal parmigiana—and completely new dishes like rigatoni alla vodka and pork chop Milanese. The inside was kept mostly unchanged, so expect the same red vinyl booths, checkered tablecloths, and wooden telephone booths.
Brooklyn Openings On Our Radar
Mythily
129 Havemeyer St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
https://www.mythily.nyc
September 30
Chef Rasika Venkatesa, the former chef de cuisine at San Francisco’s Mourad and A Top Chef season 21 contestant, is giving her globetrotting pop-up a permanent home in Williamsburg. At Mythily, she melds the flavors and techniques of Tamil cooking with seasonal New York produce and fine-dining finesse. Think masala pecans, lamb sukka dumplings, and tilefish in a nagapattinam manga curry. Drinks will lean low-ABV and nonalcoholic, including options featuring house cordials, ferments, and spice-infused shochu.
ALTBAU
184 N 8th St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
https://altbaubakery.com
Open Fall 2026
One of America’s most influential bakers is coming to Williamsburg, and he’s opening up a new project in a skylit, 7,500-square-foot Williamsburg warehouse. Tartine co-founder Chad Robertson moved to New York to create ALTBAU with baker Pam Yung, an alum of Semilla and London’s Flor. But if you think this will be a carbon copy of Tartine, think again. The menu is much more expansive: Breads, pastries, focaccia, sandwiches, salads, occasional pizzas, plus flour milled on-site from regional grains. Beyond the ground-floor café, there will also be an event space for classes and visiting baker residencies.
