Gus And Marty's - Review - Williamsburg - New York - The Infatuation

"Gus and Marty’s, a Greek spot in northern Williamsburg, right off McCarren Park, fits very neatly into a category of restaurants that include places like Shukette and Frena. Excellent fresh bread coming out of a very visible oven, dips that make that bread even more exceptional, plenty of options for wine by the glass (in this case natural wines from Greece), and mains that you’re a bit too full to care about by the time you’re done with the dips. photo credit: Jovani Demetri photo credit: Jovani Demetri photo credit: Jovani Demetri Pause Unmute From the founders of brunch spot Egg Shop, Gus & Marty’s is also a loud restaurant—the kind of large, cement-walled, smoke-filled space where you’ll have to yell to be heard by your group of friends (see also: Theodora). All this can be helpful to get the energy up if you’re pregaming for a night out in Williamsburg. Use this spot for that, as well as for eating whole, fried anchovies with slices of battered lemon. Seriously. Besides the pita and dips, the crunchy, salty morsels of fish are our favorite thing here. Food Rundown Dips The taramasalata with trout roe that pop like candy is the dip to focus on, though we like the tzatziki as well. But the real reason to order the dips is for the hot pita dotted with leopard-like black spots. It comes out of the big oven in the open kitchen (the main reason for all the smoke). A trio of dips is $32, and comes with as many pitas as you need. If you’re with more than two people, get the trio. photo credit: Jovani Demetri Fried Anchovies You must order the anchovies. Please, for your sake, order at least one plate of these for every three people. Make sure you get one of those slices of fried lemon for yourself—they make the dish. Feta Saganaki A nice shareable add-on to your dips, the filo-wrapped hot cheese arrives sizzling with thyme-infused honey to your table. It's sweet and salty and pretty filling. PlayMute video credit: Sonal Shah Crispy Whole Shrimp While there’s nothing wrong with these six well-fried, shell-on shrimp, it does feel like a dish we’d prefer to eat with our toes covered in white sand, and not steps away from McCarren Park. Eat while hot. photo credit: Will Hartman Petit Gyro When they say petit, they mean it. Each of these gyros consists of about 1/3rd of what you might get from a more casual Greek deli, and there are two of them, plus a mound of fries and some spiced tzatziki. We like the version with pork souvlaki and sweet peppers. photo credit: Sonal Shah Minced Meat Pie This is the kind of dish that feels a little better suited towards picking up from a bakery than eating in a restaurant, but we would order it again—except this time at the end of the meal to take home and eat the next morning. The beef ragu inside is nice and bright with tomato paste, and the pastry is flaky and crunchy. photo credit: Will Hartman Lemon Chicken The jus of this half chicken is nice and lemony, but overall, this isn’t the roast of our dreams. The breast was a bit dry, and we wish that the lemon potatoes had more of a crunch. photo credit: Will Hartman Baklava Sundae Excellent vanilla ice cream, a few squares of nutty baklava, honey, and luxardo cherries. Get it. photo credit: Will Hartman" - Will Hartman