Bernie’s
American restaurant · Greenpoint ·
Hearty American comfort food, red-checkered tablecloths, crayons
Hearty American comfort food, red-checkered tablecloths, crayons
"On any given Saturday at Bernie's, there's a good chance you'll see a five-year-old and a 35-year-old hosting birthday dinners in adjacent booths. This retro Greenpoint tavern combines all the best parts of celebrating as a kid (friends, ice cream sundaes, crayons) with the best parts of celebrating as a grownup (friends, martinis, crayons)." - will hartman, bryan kim, neha talreja, sonal shah, molly fitzpatrick, willa moore
"This retro tavern on the border of Greenpoint and Williamsburg has been busy since it opened in 2018, but servers Marty and Missy’s meteoric rise to TikTok stardom effectively doused one of the hotter tables in town with kerosene. On a recent Saturday, we counted 84 people queued outside, but the wait just makes it feel cooler when you finally get in. Anyone who still refers to themselves as a “90s kid,” or considers liking dirty martinis a core personality trait will feel at home. Millennials whose employment situation supports lining up for dinner at 4pm A vintage T-shirt for a softball team sponsored by an obscure local business, sourced at Beacon’s Closet The massive mozzarella sticks, for the cheese pull Challenging your date to a crayon game of tic-tac-toe" - bryan kim, molly fitzpatrick, willa moore, will hartman
"If you show up to Bernie’s at 5:30pm on a weeknight (when it usually doesn’t have a line, by the way), you’ll probably see at least one Williamsburg-born five-year-old celebrating their birthday with an ice cream sundae. And even at 8pm, when that kid is almost certainly asleep and dreaming of ice cream, there are still sundaes on every checkered tablecloth at this spot on the edge of McCarren Park. Slide into one of the leather booths with friends who also want to eat transcendent mozzarella sticks at the fancified TGI Fridays, and pair your fried cheese with an extra cold martini. Sing someone happy birthday. Ask for crayons, if they’re not on your table already." - willa moore, sonal shah, bryan kim, will hartman
"Bernie's feels like the kind of place where everyone should know your name. Unfortunately this Greenpoint restaurant stays pretty busy, so the staff here can't possibly remember the name of every person they encounter. If you haven't been yet, come for a burger at the bar, or eat some mozzarella sticks and baby back ribs in a booth with your friends. Bernie's is pretty much a better, alternate-universe version of TGI Fridays, and you should make regular appearances in the dim, tavern-like space." - team infatuation
"How similar is it to TGI Fridays? The resemblance is spooky. You could slap some Fridays branding onto Bernie’s, and it would take everyone a few weeks to notice. The Greenpoint restaurant is what that chain would have been in a more perfect world: a true neighborhood tavern with red checkered tablecloths, stained glass lamps, and mozzarella sticks that are incredible in the moment even if forgettable thereafter." - bryan kim