To be honest, I went to Glasserie because of the pretty walls. Then I had dinner, and now I think it might be one of my favorite restaurants in NYC so far. Those chefs with Mediterranean backgrounds sure know what they’re doing!
You will find Glasserie in the northernmost part of Greenpoint in Brooklyn, just a creek and a bridge from Queens. Every New Yorker I’ve talked to about this place has looked at me with surprise that I would go all the way out to Greenpoint, where subways are few and streets somewhat quiet, but Greenpoint is actually one of my favorite areas of Brooklyn. Mostly because of the good cafés and restaurants, but also because of the quietness.
Glasserie serves Mediterranean food drawing inspiration from both the Middle East and southern Europe, and most of the meals are designed for sharing. We were four people for dinner, and we ordered three starters, three main course plus two desserts. We were lucky enough to be treated with some extra dishes that the chef wanted us to try (thank you!) and left the table more than satisfied. We probably should have stopped at some point, but everything was so good, it was impossible! The menu changes quite often, and we had some delicious servings of Yellowfin Crudo with watermelon; squash kataif pastry, goat cheese and okra; lamb rib with fresh corn polenta and manchego just to name a few. My stomach is rumbling writing this post, that dinner was amazingly good! Every flavour of the ingredients, all fresh from farms, was something else and it tasted like no kind of Mediterranean food I’ve ever had before. At Glasserie, their goal is to cook with intuition and they always consider how much technique and seasoning the products need to be elevated to manipulate the products the least. I think that’s a pretty good ambition to have working with food!
Given the quality of the food, prices at Glasserie are extremely reasonable, the servers were beyond friendly and there was almost a small party going on there on a Tuesday night (that’s NYC for ya!). Booking a table is a good idea, and if you find yourself hungry for a tasteful dinner in Brooklyn, I’d definitely recommend this place. There are so many places I have yet to discover in NYC, but I will need to go back here before we leave, that’s for sure. And not just because of those pretty walls!