Neighborhood Guide
Best Food in Brooklyn: A Neighborhood-by-Neighborhood Guide
Brooklyn isn't a neighborhood — it's a borough bigger than most American cities, and "best food in Brooklyn" means something different depending on which train you're on. Here's what's actually worth the trip, organized by where you'll find it.
Williamsburg
The borough's biggest concentration of destination food, and the easiest to reach — one stop on the L train from Manhattan.
Peter Luger Steak House — the dry-aged porterhouse that's been served since 1887, no menu to speak of. Full details in our iconic NYC foods guide.
L'Industrie Pizzeria — thin, blistered, genuinely excellent slices with a line that moves fast. Full details in our pizza guide.
Kellogg's Diner — a real 24/7 diner if you're out late on this side of the river. Full details in our open-late guide.
Smorgasburg (Saturdays) — the original location of NYC's biggest outdoor food market. Full details in our food markets guide.
DUMBO
Juliana's Pizza
Patsy and Carol Grimaldi sold Grimaldi's and retired nearly two decades ago — then came back in 2012 and opened Juliana's in the original 19 Old Fulton Street storefront, using the same coal-fired oven. The Grimaldi's name now operates separately next door. The rivalry between the two is a real, ongoing New York pizza argument, and this is the original building.
Carroll Gardens
Lucali — no menu beyond pizza and calzone, no reservations, and one of the most talked-about pies in the city. Full details in our pizza guide.
Bushwick
Roberta's — the pizza that launched a thousand imitators, in a compound that still feels like the neighborhood's early-2010s DIY roots. Full details in our pizza guide.
Midwood
Di Fara Pizza — Domenico DeMarco's Avenue J institution, still hand-cut with scissors. Full details in our pizza guide.
Park Slope
Masalawala & Sons
Park Slope is one of Brooklyn's most food-dense residential neighborhoods, but it rarely makes tourist-focused "best of" lists — and Masalawala & Sons is exactly the kind of find that argument is missing. From the team behind Dhamaka and Semma, it's a genuine celebration of Bengali and eastern Indian cooking, not another neighborhood Italian spot.
Downtown Brooklyn
Junior's Restaurant & Bakery — the cheesecake that put Brooklyn on the dessert map since 1950. Full details in our iconic NYC foods guide.
DeKalb Market Hall — 40+ vendors under one roof, including a Katz's outpost. Full details in our food markets guide.
Build it into your trip
Most of Brooklyn's best food is spread across neighborhoods that don't connect easily to each other — pick one or two per visit rather than trying to cover the whole borough in a day. See our 3-day food itinerary for how Brooklyn fits into a broader NYC trip.
Related Guides
Want the full plan before you land?
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