Arthur has moved into the space that previously housed Fulgurances Laundromat.
Illustration: Naomi Otsu
Welcome to Grub Street’s rundown of restaurant recommendations that aims to answer the endlessly recurring question “Where should we go?” These are the spots that our food team thinks everyone should visit, for any reason (a new chef, the arrival of an exciting dish, or maybe there’s an opening that’s flown too far under the radar). This month: spring soba, a hyperseasonal Greenpoint bistro, brunch that’s worth waking up for (really), and more.
Arthur (Greenpoint)
This bistro’s footprint is small, but owner Kevin Finch makes smart use of the space: Grab a bar seat, from which point you can spend your meal watching chefs delicately handle skewers of charred leeks and plop precise dollops of horseradish cream onto strips of beef. During my visit, I found myself seated next to the partner of one of the line cooks; we chatted casually as we watched him work. The whole crowd already seems awfully familiar: I watched more than a few handshakes, friendly waves, and daps up between staff and diners throughout the course of the night. Arthur’s menu is highly seasonal, so I likely won’t be able to order the earthy fava beans tossed with diced ham and Dutch Gouda again until next spring. But the good news is its brioche — steaming and served with cultured butter and a couple hunks of bleu cheese — is likely to stick around. —Shay Cohen
Strange Delight (Fort Greene)
Strange Delight was one of our favorite new restaurants when it opened back in 2024, but the colorful Fort Greene seafood spot has always seemed like a perfect fit for daytime service. The skylight is being put to good use now that the restaurant is open for Saturday and Sunday brunch. The daytime service began as a collaboration with Amanda’s Good Morning Cafe, and pastries like her salty-sweet jalapeño cornbread and the Good Morning Bun luckily remain on the menu. But with proper breakfast dishes like the luscious eggs Sardou and grits étouffée, chef Ham El-Waylly has brought even more modern–New Orleans energy. And the already crowded NYC pancake landscape gets a heavyweight contender with a massive Dutch baby covered in candied pecans and jam. —Zach Schiffman
All of Our Picks, Mapped
Soba Ulala (Soho)
A good season for soba is early spring — if that’s what this is — when the noodles can be enjoyed hot or cool. It’s a good season for the new Soba Ulala for sure. The restaurant has risen on the site of the former omakase spot Hirohisa, an appreciably low-key entrant in the sushi race. Soba Ulala has some of what made that restaurant great — like a sashimi appetizer — with the added bonus of homemade soba noodles that rival some of the city’s best. The spirit of omakase hasn’t gone far: Besides the standard menu, there’s often a full page’s worth of daily specials based on the season and the current availability; the night I went, I started with a goma-dressed plate of perfect white asparagus and fiddleheads as well as a small piece of fried mackerel in a pool of cod milt, a luxury ingredient I’ve only ever been offered at multi-hundred-dollar-a-head tasting menus. (It’s either a connoisseur’s dream or an acquired taste, depending on your POV.) As for the noodles, the uni-laden bowls get high marks, but I also loved a special niku soba with its thinly sliced beef in a rich dashi. The room has the spectral quiet of a temple, and back-slapping sushi bros haven’t discovered it yet. Beat them to it. —Matthew Schneier
Bar Bruno (Cobble Hill)
The harried look spread across servers’ faces during a recent meal was probably proof that this neighborhood mainstay’s new owners — the guys behind Greenpoint Fish and Lobster — were not entirely prepared for the locals who descend with kids in tow for a very early dinner. That’s especially true when the cuisine in question is guac-and-margs–esque Mexican. But then, is there anything better late on a Sunday afternoon? The menu’s standouts, not surprising given the new management, were all seafood: sweet, fresh shrimp turned into a nicely balanced aguachile; mild cubes of soft tuna tossed with mango; and a butterflied sea bass, divorciado style, with the green salsa narrowly beating out the red to be named my own family’s favorite. —Alan Sytsma
Balera (Williamsburg)
Balera is already in demand and dazzling thanks in part to the presence of its handsome young Italian owners who run it to their taste. The kitchen is open until 1 a.m. on weekends and 10:30 during the week, turning out Roman pizzas, each made with a relatively light 180 grams of dough, rolled thin and baked until the crust is bubbly and blistered on the edges. The barely-there canvas is a boon for tomato pies, like the Rossa, sauced with an equal layer of marinara and an arrangement of anchovies, caper leaves, and olives. Any pangs for more dough can be remedied with a loaf of oil-crackled focaccia or even the cheese, mozzarella in carrozza, thinly encased sandwiches spiked with anchovy and fried proficiently. At a certain point, the lights dim and a disco ball illuminates the DJ’d room, but the standard New York City caveat applies: “No dancing.” —Tammie Teclemariam
EAT LIKE THE EXPERTS.
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