In a neighborhood where you can find some of the best Italian in the city, our favorite place to begin is the trio of restaurants along Court Street owned by Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli. From a casual slice at F&F to a long memorable meal at Frankies 457, the boys have range. AND they keep it fresh with a consistent rider of collaborations and events with their many chef friends from around the world.
On Fridays and Saturdays, this tiny bread-focused bakery opens its doors at 7am to a line already forming. In addition to classic sourdoughs, ACQ does nutty, dense loaves very very well. If you’re closer to Carroll Park, they also sell their bread at the weekly greenmarket!
When CSG opened in 2010, they quite literally changed New York’s sandwich scene forever. Their inventive combinations are still as sharp today as they were nearly 16 years ago, and that keeps us coming back. And while there are tons of cold cuts, vegetarians rejoice - something Court Street Grocers does very well is meat-free sammys!
Originally started in Williamsburg, the Carroll Gardens outport of La Bicyclette Bakery on court street makes classic French boulangerie like croissants and baguettes every day but Mondays, making this a reliable place to pick up a little something to pick up your day.
From the group behind Gertie & Gertrude’s, Trudie’s is their take on a classic American tavern. Start with a tiny ‘tini and warm pretzel service before working your way to roasted chicken or the lamb schnitzel with blackberry sauce.
This 121 year old Sicilian foccaceria space is now open as Bar Ferdinando, an all day Italian bar and cafe. Think coffee, aperitivo hour, and, mercifully, walk-ins only!
A longtime neighborhood favorite to those in Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill, with exciting seafood options and a mole half chicken served with rice and beans. This is a great spot for outdoor dining with a marg and an app of guac.
This fun Cantonese-American spot from chefs Wilson Tang and Sal Lamboglia, is convivial, fun, and full of classic dishes we all know and love (alongside a few of Tang’s Dim Sum hits.)
There’s nothing quite like the Swoony’s burger…a double smash patty with thousand island, American cheese stacked between a homemade english muffin and served with extra crispy friends. It’s famous for a reason!
Yes, this is THE Lucali. This celeb-haven for pizza goers also happens to make really good simple pizza. You go for the classic pies, and stay for the calzones…and don’t be silly and go at a normal dinner time unless you want to wait your way through hours. A late-night bite is the best plan to get in on the good stuff.
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We might get scolded by neighborhood locals for the inclusion of the IYKYK gem, but we can’t talk about CG without mentioning GYC. Cash only and open only during the warmer months, this all-outdoors yard bar is the perfect use of what would otherwise be wasted space above Carroll Street station. Bring your pals, grab a beer, and soak up the sun
For the beer lovers out there, Queue Beer on a more industrial block of the neighborhood aims to bring their favorite brewers from around the world and highlight the best ways to serve them. One very cool thing they have on offer is Guinness in a Czech side pull. And if like us you don’t totally know what that means, the translation is: ultra-creamy Guinness!
Take a step back in time to the ice cream parlors of your childhood at Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain. Get a coke float or an egg cream, or BOTH, and relish in what it felt like to celebrate winning that soccer game when you were eight years old.
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This multi brand menswear store is just what the Brooklyn fashion scene has been missing. While Red Wings and raw denim had their moments, it’s really cool to see a local shop stocking heavy hitters like Paraboot, Our Legacy, and Margaret Howell.
We love this little shop that feels like it belongs in the South of France. This is a good spot for giftable finds and re-ups on chic versions of daily household items.
Any good Italian neighborhood needs a good Italian bakery, and here are two of our favorites. Head to Mazzola & Court Pastry to get your fill of biscotti and Italian rainbow cookies.
Right off of Carroll Park, this is the little wine shop that could. Serving up all of your favorite natural wines, and new discoveries too, Smith & Vibe is a good go-to before heading over to a friend’s for dinner.
This family-fun thrift & vintage shop is a treasure trove of clothing, home & knick-knack delights. You can hardly ever stop by Yesterday’s News, and leave empty handed.
This eco-conscious women-owned boutique is everything you want from a south Brooklyn shop. Head over for rentable clothing from cool-girl brands, art prints, accessories, and small-business owned brands.
Wedged between the F&F empire is Black Gold, part record store, part pour-over only coffee shop. We love their mix of new and used records and impeccably selected staff picks.
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At the heart of the neighborhood is Carroll Park, which is a very active park. In addition to the picnic tables there are bocce courts, water play areas, basketball courts, and dozens of very old trees to provide shade.
One the cusp of Cobble Hill & Carroll Gardens is one of our favorite movie theaters in the city. It’s exactly what you want from an old school cinema: butter popcorn, coke icees, and slightly sticky floors.
Indie, weird, and extremely cool, Jalopy Theatre is the Brooklyn we were all promised. If you can make it, try to catch one of their annual Brooklyn Folk Fest which this year is happening November 6-8 at nearby (larger) St. Ann’s Church.
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We’d be remiss to write about Carroll Gardens without mentioning a few Italian American greats which haven’t survived the last few years as the neighborhood, like all of NYC, grows, changes, and becomes more expensive. G. Esposito & Sons Pork Store served as neighborhood butchers and sandwich extraordinaires for 100 years, and just a few doors down Caputo’s Bakery brought Italian breads to the neighborhood for over 124 years…and supplied the bread to Court Street Grocers. A major slice of old Brooklyn lost but remembered.