Bonnie's
Cantonese restaurant · Williamsburg
398 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71661437/Dina_Avila_Eater_Thanksgiving_2022_Thanksgiving_Jook_19504.0.jpg "Bonnie's by Dina Ávila/Eater")
Highlights
Modern Cantonese American restaurant with inventive dishes and cocktails
Modern Cantonese American restaurant with inventive dishes and cocktails
"At a birthday dinner we once attended at Bonnie’s, the candle came poked through the eye of a stuffed trout instead of a cake. Impressive, and also delicious. If MSG martinis and a penicillin made with pu’er tea sound fun, book early to get the big round table at this Cantonese American spot in Williamsburg." - will hartman, bryan kim, neha talreja, sonal shah, molly fitzpatrick, willa moore
"How Far In Advance Should You Book? Like a few other spots on this list, Bonnie's is only tough on weekends. Book a week ahead for those tables. This Williamsburg restaurant, which opened in 2021, is still busy, but it’s no longer camp-out-on-the-sidewalk-the-day-before busy. Is that because their Cantonese American food has gone downhill? No. It’s just what happens when the hype train moves on to, say, a new bakery or wine bar on the Lower East Side. Tables on the patio are especially easy to get your hands on, and the MSG martini and salt and pepper squid taste just as good out there." - bryan kim
"Bonnie’s is a Cantonese American restaurant in Williamsburg that’s run by someone who used to work at Win Son. Think of it as a party with food that’s so delicious you’re only going to want to share out of politeness. We especially like the whole stuffed rainbow trout, the crispy squid, and the fantastic soy-sesame-dressed chrysanthemum salad. Try a cocktail or some golden chicken broth made from the poaching liquid of Bonnie’s cold chicken dish." - willa moore, bryan kim, will hartman, sonal shah, arden shore
"The Brooklyn Cantonese American restaurant the chef opened in 2022 is presented as the practical, home-forward foundation for the cookbook’s approach: cheffy but accessible, designed for cooking at home rather than elaborate restaurant service. The reviewer highlights an "extra-plush Hong Kong egg scramble" whose key technique is "just a little cornstarch, evaporated milk, oil, and water," and pairs it with taro-root diner hash browns and a sweet-and-spicy ketchup. Menu-linked ideas include shrimp-paste butter that elevates charred cabbage, string beans with fermented fuyu butter (a personal favorite), salt-and-pepper seasoning with a Chinese-ranch dip for pork schnitzel, silken tofu zhuzhed with soy sauce and chile crisp, and a suggested quick beefy black bean garlic sauce—all examples of familiar dishes given clever, home-friendly upgrades." - Rebecca Flint Marx
"This Cantonese American restaurant is bringing back its famous brunch for one day only on Sunday, March 30 at 10 a.m.; tickets are $70 and reservations will be released to the public on Friday, March 7 at noon. Expect owner and chef Calvin Eng’s fun approach to Chinese American mid-morning dishes via a prix-fixe, family-style menu. The dishes come from the forthcoming cookbook Salt Sugar MSG, which means there will be Golden Lava French Toast and hash browns; the ticket includes a copy of the book (which publishes on March 18) and a T-shirt. The owner and chef opened the restaurant in late 2021 and initially offered weekend brunch in early 2022, but he and the team decided to nix the service just after eight weeks because “it was a logistical nightmare,” he told Eater at the time." - Nadia Chaudhury
