The Delancey | Best Downtown NYC Rooftop

"The beer menu at Grand Delancey is so large and detailed that it should come with a color coding key. For example, it’s broken up by flavor profile, and tells you the temperature each drink is best served at. And, since this LES spot is located in The Market Line below Essex Market, you can order in snacks from any of the neighboring vendors like Veselka pierogies, pickle plates, and dumplings from Nom Wah." - hannah albertine, bryan kim, matt tervooren

"If you live in the neighborhood, you may already rely on Essex Market for grocery shopping, securing fancy Norwegian smoked fish, or picking up a breakfast burrito with chorizo and potatoes on Sunday mornings. But you may not know that their Market Line vendors have a collaborative outdoor setup with beer from The Grand Delancey, TVs showing football games on Sundays and Thursdays, and a menu of food and drinks from other Market Line vendors like End’s Meat, People’s Wine, Nom Wah, Slice Joint, and more." - hannah albertine

"New York and Chicago are not the only pizza towns in this country. Exhibit A: Delancey. Even if you just stopped in for a glass of natural bubbles and small plates like burrata in a pesto puddle served with olive oil-ed flatbread shards or the mountainous romaine-based Jersey Salad with shaved carrots and grana padano, that’d be enough to have a satisfying meal. But you should prioritize the blistered pies topped with things like fennel pork sausage, caramelized Walla Walla sweet onions, kalamata olives, and more. The space is also an exciting room perfect for anything from a date to a family dinner, powered by candlelit darkness and good smells coming from the wood oven. It can get quite busy in here, so the best way to avoid a significant wait is to show up a few minutes before they open, or round up some friends for a pizza party—Delancey will accept online reservations for groups of six to eleven. Food Rundown Jersey Salad This is essentially the Rugrats’ Ice Cream Mountain of salad: a towering mound of crisp romaine dressed perfectly with Italian dressing, grated grana, cabbage, carrot ribbons, and chunky croutons that absorb the vinaigrette like a software engineer once had to absorb javascript. We could eat an entire bucket of this refreshing heap. Burrata Burrata is unstoppable on its own. But add toasted pepitas, shingles of flatbread, and a bright green pesto, and this is a standout appetizer that shouldn’t be missed, even though you’re about to eat so much more fresh cheese. Sausage Pie We can’t get enough of Delancey’s sausage. It has a subtle note of crunched-up fennel seed that highlights the pork without overpowering it, and when the rendered fat swirls with the mozzarella, it makes us feel like what George Frideric Handel (probably) felt when he finally finished that Hallelujah thing. Hot Salami Pie Delancey’s classic tomato-based cheese pie is excellent. So when you add Zoe’s salami, it’s also going to be excellent. Sliced onions are thrown on the pizza before baking, and while they do soften a bit, it’s not quite enough to cook out the abrasiveness—so if you don’t love raw onion or you plan on kissing another person, perhaps reconsider. White Pie A stunning crust canvas of mozzarella and ricotta that melt together like volcanic magma. We highly recommend adding prosciutto to this one, kale, and/or sweet corn (when it’s in season)." - Aimee Rizzo

"The three-floor club right off the Williamsburg Bridge is much more casual than that label implies. The main bar, basement performance space, and especially the covered rooftop filled with couches and plants are popular for birthday parties that put an emphasis on dancing and all-around raging. Many sections can be reserved at no cost." - Paul Schrodt, Stefanie Tuder