Cafe Colette

Date Night $$$

Cafe Colette holds the corner of Berry Street and North Ninth in Williamsburg. Owner Zeb Stewart, who is also behind Hotel Delmano and Union Pool, built it as an all-day New American room with a full bar and a covered greenhouse garden in back. It opens at 9am on weekdays and runs cocktails and seasonal plates through dinner.

This is a date room and a slow-brunch room more than a late-night bar. It suits couples who want a drink and a plate in the garden, and groups who book ahead for dinner. It works less well for anyone after a loud, fast scene, since the energy stays warm rather than rowdy.

The kitchen leans on free-range, antibiotic-free, organic sourcing, with techniques borrowed from Spain, Italy, and Central America. The bar follows the seasons rather than a fixed list.

The front is a corner room with big windows and a marble-topped bar. The draw is the back: a covered greenhouse garden that softens the light and turns a weeknight drink into something quieter. The same team's design fingerprints, the warm wood and low glow of Hotel Delmano, carry over here.

The bar runs seasonal cocktails from $15, a natural-leaning wine list, and local beer. Order whatever the bar is building around the current season and pair it with a small plate in the garden. Brunch brings the standards done with the same sourcing care, so the morning cocktails hold up next to the plates rather than playing second fiddle.

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