What to Do in 5 of Brooklyn’s Most Interesting Neighbourhoods

If you think New York City is big, consider the borough of Brooklyn. A cluster of over 70 diverse neighbourhoods that covers an area bigger than that of Paris, it’s safe to say: there’s a lot more to Brooklyn than Williamsburg. 

There’s never been a better time to explore everything that sprawling Brooklyn has to offer: Citi Bike continues to expand its network deeper into the borough, making it easier to get to less well-trodden neighbourhoods of Crown and Prospect Heights, as well as Flatbush and Midwood. Dekalb Market Hall, a world-class food court showcasing New York City’s best eats, is ever-growing in its offerings, and the impressive network of boutique hotels (such as the stunning 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge) makes a compelling case for staying in Brooklyn instead of Manhattan.

For first-time visitors, start with these five neighbourhoods to see the cultural and culinary best of Brooklyn.

Downtown Brooklyn/Prospect Heights

There are over 35 vendors at Dekalb Market Hall, a large and diverse food court in Downtown Brooklyn. It brings some of New York City’s best bites to one neon sign-decorated place. Fuel up with Hawaiian street food classics at Wiki Wiki,  crispy-fried arepa from Arepa Lady, and finish off with artisanal yuzu or sesame ice cream from Mochii. 

Then, take the 2/3 subway line four stops to Grand Army Plaza. This will land you outside Prospect Park, aka the Central Park of Brooklyn. In summer, Brooklyn’s famous Smorgasburg food market (known affectionately as “the Woodstock of Eating”)sets up here and in autumn, it’s one of the best places in the city to see the leaves changing.

From the Prospect Park entrance, it’s a 15-minute walk along Eastern Parkway to the Brooklyn Museum – you can’t miss the imposing Beaux-Arts building, the third-largest museum in New York City after The Met and MoMA. The permanent collection of more than 1.5 million objects includes Ancient Egyptian artefacts, the great painters of the 17th to 20th centuries and Judy Chicago’s famous 14-metre installation that riffs on The Last Supper, The Dinner Party. 

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is next door – it has a photogenic Desert Pavilion filled with cacti and succulents. In spring, Japanese cherry blossoms bloom.

Crown Heights

Spend a few hours eating, drinking and shopping in Crown Heights, a diverse, unpretentious and effortlessly cool corner of Brooklyn.

Barboncino is one of Brooklyn’s best-kept pizza secrets and Caribbean restaurant Gladys serves jerk chicken, curried goat and good cocktails in its light- and plant-filled space (it’s so aesthetically pleasing it was used in the Netflix series Luke Cage).

To drink, Covenhoven is a beer geek’s dream with its constantly rotating craft kegs, while King Tai is a craft cocktail bar with a seasonal menu and Scandi-esque muted aesthetic.

Innovative small businesses are sprinkled throughout Crown Heights – don’t miss Café Con Libros, a hole-in-the-wall café and book store, Ritual + Ceremony, a chic, well-curated boutique selling jewellery, ceramics, candles, crystals, textiles and body products, and Island Pops, an artisanal ice-cream and popsicle parlour with Caribbean-inspired flavours including grapenut, passion fruit cake and rum punch.

Red Hook

The harbour-front enclave of Red Hook was a former industrial and shipping hub; now, it’s an artistic, relaxed village atmosphere thanks to its somewhat isolated location. It’s not well serviced by public transport but, hey, it has direct Statue of Liberty Views.

Van Brunt Street is a culinary destination in its own right: there’s Fort Defiance, a homely yet hip seasonal American restaurant also renowned for its cocktails and Red Hook Lobster Pound, serving super-fresh lobster rolls.

There’s also a thriving brewing culture: Red Hook Winery and Van Brunt Stillhouse offer facility tours and tastings. In summer, three-level restaurant and bar Brooklyn Crab has a rowdy atmosphere as revellers fill up on seafood and play competitive rounds of corn hole (for the uninitiated, that’s the game where you score points by throwing a small sack of corn through a hole).

Bedford-Stuyvesant

Bed-Stuy’s rap and hip-hop roots – the neighbourhood has bred greats including Jay-Z, the Notorious B.I.G. and Mos Def – can still be felt today. You can even come face-to-face with Biggie, at the 11-metre tall mural that towers over the corner of Bedford and Quincy.

After a browse at Charlie’s, head east on Fulton and turn left onto Lewis for a meal at Peaches Hothouse, serving southern specialities such as fried chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens, grits and cornbread. Afterwards, get a buzz on at cosy drinking spot Bed-Vyne Cocktail. Then walk it off with a wander through Stuyvesant Historic District, where the streets are lined with elegant Victorian homes: it’s bordered roughly by Macon Street to the south, Tompkins Avenue to the east, Monroe Street to the north and Bedford Avenue to the west.

If you’re in the mood to shop, there’s a cluster of boutiques on Tompkins Avenue between Halsey and Gates, including homewares store peace & riot and Sincerely, Tommy, a sleek women’s fashion boutique stocking local and international designer brands. Need a caffeine hit? Crocus Coffee is a few steps away.

Bushwick

Once an area known for little more than its manufacturing, Bushwick has transformed in recent years into a colourful, buzzing place, with a heap of lively eateries that reflect the neighbourhood’s diverse diaspora. At its heart is The Bushwick Collective, a series of streets (St Nicholas Avenue, Troutman Street and Jefferson Street, bordered by Flushing Avenue to the east and Cypress Avenue to the west) taken over by enormous, colourful murals by local and international artists. It follows that art galleries are now as common as bus stops here; Koenig & Clinton, Microscope Gallery and Underdonk are just a few.

Beer gardens and gritty dive bars define the Bushwick nightlife scene; The Rookery with its outdoor seating and pub-grub, or The Johnsons with its low-key vibe, are the best places to revive yourself. Bushwick’s craft beer game is strong, too; Kings Country Brewers Collective has a large, light-filled taproom. The best eats in Bushwick appear unassuming: homely Greek joint Yia Yia’s serves a silky avgolemono, while Los Hermanos serves delectable tacos in the back of a tortilla factory.