I am breaking up my New York guides by the Boroughs I visited! Today I wanted to share with you how we spent Labor day weekend in Brooklyn. We flew into New York the weekend of Labor Day for Rhys’ cousins wedding! We arrived early Friday morning in New York and immediately headed to The Williamsburg Hotel in Brooklyn. We had quite the morning, our flight was extremely delayed, we were ready on the tarmac to leave, had to go back to the gate and change planes. By the time we arrived, we were so exhausted and hungry we couldn’t wait to relax for a little before we started our day.
After our not ideal morning of flying, we headed straight to The Williamsburg Hotel. After we checked in, we relaxed in the room for a bit, showered/ freshened up from our long day of traveling and then headed to the hotel bar. Everyone from Rhys’ family was starting to arrive, so we caught up with them before heading out to dinner.
Where we stayed:The Williamsburg Hotel
The hotel is situated right in the heart of Williamsburg, close to the water, which makes it more convenient to get to Manhattan if you plan to go there from Brooklyn. There is absolutely no need for a car, we walked everywhere from our hotel. Hail down a cab, getting an uber or walking is the best way to get around. Even better they have a Tuk Tuk car (pictures below) that’s part of the hotel. You can schedule rides with them and they will take you where you need to go for that day or night!
We arrived and had some issues with our room, but it was only because everyone in my boyfriends family name is John and one of his uncles took our room haha. I loved the style and feel of the lobby and the bar area. The rooms were so cute and I loved the vibe, but the Queen room we were in was a little small. We quickly learned that both hotels we stayed at in New York which were more boutique hotels had smaller rooms, but great common areas!
Again the location was perfect! Close to shopping, restaurants and the water. Saturday morning before we headed north for the wedding, I took a stroll around the neighborhood. This is one of my favorite things to do in the morning when I am somewhere I haven’t been before. You get to see the city in a different light than when there are a ton of people up and walking around. We were told when we were out to brunch at 11:00 am and were the only ones in the restaurant, that New Yorkers don’t get up early and head to brunch around 1:00pm! If you live in NYC is that true?
Rhys’ sister Morgan has lived in New York for the last year, so she was our own little tour guide throughout the trip. Sharing below where we ate and how happy I was with all of the places she took us!
Where we ate:
Greenpoint Fish
Our first stop was at Greenpoint Fish, which is a fresh seafood market and raw bar that was located in an area called Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Any chance we are on the east coast, we find a way to eat all types of fish. Oysters particularly are one of our favorites. Aside from the dozen oysters we ordered, we had a couple drinks and Rhys and Morgan shared TWO orders of the daily Crudo because it was THAT good! The restaurant itself isn’t huge so on busy days I would suggest getting their early than normal. We arrived around 4:30 and when we left an hour later the restaurant was packed! Great place to go for an appetizer or if you want a light meal before a night out!
TIP: Oyster Happy Hour Monday thru Friday 2-6pm/ Saturday & Sunday 4-6pm.
Emmy’s Squared
I am never one to turn down Pizza. If you have ever read any of the fun facts about me you know that I could eat pizza for every meal. This was our first pizza stop on our New York eating extravaganza. Emmy’s squared offers Detroit styled squared pizza, Italian sandwiches and one of the most delicious burgers I have ever had. Everything we ordered we shared with the table, so we were all able to get a taste of all of Morgan’s favorites. We started off with a bottle of red wine, mixed olives and the red leaf salad. Trying to take our time so we weren’t super stuffed when it came to the main course. We kept going back and forth if we should get one or two burgers. We decided with The Colony and The Emmy pizza. I was unsure about The Emmy at first because I am not a fan of dipping your pizza in ranch, but the ranch on this was just lightly drizzled on. The Emmy ended up being my favorite of the two! After we finished drooling over how delicious the pizza was it came time for dessert aka Le Matt the burger. Wowzers, if you are ever looking for a mouthwatering burger in Brooklyn this is a must! The five of us split one burger which was just enough after all the other food we consumed, but I would definitely go back and have this alone. Take everyone you know here!
Tip: They also have a location in the East Village as well as Nashville, Tennessee.
Van Leeuwan
Remember when I said our dessert was the burger at Emmy’s clearly I was joking, because after we walked around for a while after dinner we worked up an appetite for something sweet. This ice cream shop Van Leeuwan was popping and clearly a fan favorite in Brooklyn. Not only do they have regular ice cream on their menu, but they have an array of Vegan items as well. I had a the vegan peanut butter and chocolate chip and it was beyond delicious! Inclusive to all diets, so bring all your friends!
Tip: They have multiple locations in New York, Los Angeles and they even have ice cream trucks.
Sweethaus
One of the cutest spots in the neighborhood. I was out exploring, aimlessly walking around and ran into this cafe. If we didn’t have plans to go to breakfast after I definitely would have grabbed something because everything looked delicious.
Llama Inn
I would be lying if I said I was immediately excited to go to Llama Inn. I can be a little picky when it comes to what I eat and after looking at the menu I was unsure if there was going to be anything I wanted to eat for breakfast. Well for starters their menu online was a little different than what they offered in the restaurant, plus I don’t think that I ever had Peruvian food before. Wow, was I wrong! Everything we had was insanely delicious. I think I learned from this stop that I need to venture out of my comfort zone more, sometimes it will work out great and sometimes it wont. We started with Empanadas, Beet and goat cheese salad and we each got our own main dish. I had the most delicious scrambled eggs EVER, they just melted in my mouth. Aside from the food, I also loved how the space was designed. Great spot for a date night or brunch with your girlfriends!
One of my favorite things about New York are the buildings. These were some of my favorite little spots that caught my eye, when I was out on my walk!
Thank you so much for stopping by and reading! Let us know if you visit any of these places, we would love to hear about your experience! I especially want to know about all the yummy food you ate! 