Best Tasting Menus In Brooklyn
Blanca
261 Moore St
Brooklyn, NY 11206
(347) 799-2807
www.blancanyc.com
Bushwick's Blanca sits quietly next to famed sister restaurant Bushwick. But there's nothing quiet about its 20+ course, $195 tasting menu. Chef Carlo Mirarchi, also of Roberta's, creates dishes influenced by Japan in their simplicity and by Italy in their flavors. The food flourishes among the sparse, 12-seat space. All diners are arranged down a long counter facing the kitchen. The menu changes constantly, but you'll find exceptionally fresh pasta and seafood are often on the night's rotation.
Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare
200 Schermerhorn St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 243-0050
www.brooklynfare.com/chefs-table
Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare is Brooklyn's only three Michelin-starred restaurant. Cough up for dinner here; the 18-seat restaurant offers tasting menus for $244. Wine is available beginning at $60 per bottle. The Boerum Hill restaurant focuses heavily on seafood, with a menu inspired from omakase in Japan. As such, dishes are decided upon daily, with Chef Cesar Ramirez preparing and presenting each to guests. Your meal might include a lobster claw with pickled radish and grapefruit or snapper in an olive oil ponzu sauce. Whatever you eat, expect an experience well worth the splurge.
Battersby
255 Smith St
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(718) 852-8321
www.battersbybrooklyn.com
This 20-something seat Cobble Hill restaurant serves some of Brooklyn's best dishes in a bustling, casual environment. "Spontaneous tasting menus" are available upon request, and chefs and co-owners Joseph Ogrodneck and Walker Sterm take that spontaneity to heart. The chefs improvise each tasting menu as orders come in, resulting in dishes like ricotta gnudi with lemon confit and rigatoni with Brussels sprouts, breadcrumbs and bacon. Battersby is primarily walk ins only, but takes reservations for five-course ($75) or seven-course ($95) tastings for groups of four or less.
Traif
229 S 4th St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(347) 844-9578
www.traifny.com
Couple and co-owners Jason Marcus and Heather Heuser cheekily named their Williamsburg restaurant after the Yiddish word for non-Kosher food. The decidedly pork and shellfish heavy kitchen offers an under-the-radar 11-course tasting menu for $45. The meal serves up dishes like tuna tartare on tempura Japanese eggplant and bacon doughnuts with dulce de leche and coffee ice cream. Three diners or more are preferred to conduct the tasting, and the restaurant is open to dish requests.
Chez Jose
254 S 2nd St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
e-mail chezjosebk@gmail.com for reservations
This Williamsburg pop up shop serves a tasting menu on Tuesdays and Thursdays in an old Williamsburg taco joint. Each night includes two reservation-only tastings at 7 and 9:15 p.m. Miraculously, couple and co-owners Jose Ramirez-Ruiz and Pam Yung handle everything from cooking to wine pouring (BYOB). Each $55 meal is comprised of about ten courses built from fresh, local produce. You'll try anything from buttermilk panna cotta topped with confited tomatoes to rhubarb with almonds and buckwheat. While meat and seafood do make appearances, the menu is veggie heavy. Fair warning: reservations can sell out months in advance.
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Adrienne Smith manages Lifestyle & Entertainment content for CBS Local. Follow her on Twitter.
