On the northernmost end of Brooklyn, history and modernity collide in the Greenpoint neighborhood. Polish restaurants and bakeries speak to the area’s immigrant roots, while a seemingly endless string of new bars and restaurants have made Greenpoint one of the buzziest neighborhoods of the moment. I am, of course, biased, calling the neighborhood home myself. But even before relocating here, I was a regular visitor. So if you’re wondering where to drink in Greenpoint, I offer my personal list of favorites—some new, some (very) old, all delicious.
Before the Greenpoint riverfront was a near unbroken string of high-rise condos, restaurateur Andrew Tarlow (Diner, She Wolf, Marlow & Sons), opened Achilles Heel in 2013 on a tucked-away side street. While the morning coffee program was eventually nixed, the cozy corner space still packs in nightly crowds for its simple, yet perfectly executed, drinks program and seasonal food menu. One of the only bars where I regularly order a vodka cocktail (the Local Stranger, with vodka, Averna, ginger, yuzu, and honey), Achilles Heel continues to hit the mark more than a decade later.
The raison d’être at Bar Americano is aperitivo hour. Thus the bar is often busiest in the late afternoon and early evening hours, when small groups pack the sidewalk tables to sip spritzes and nibble on plates of olives and manchego. The bar’s house Americano cocktails (both a “classico” with Campari and a bianco) are deliciously easy drinking and the go-to choice from 3
This Article was originally published on IMBIBE Magazine
