Fredrik Berselius’ guide to Brooklyn

_{Liz Clayman}

“I really like the sourcing at Devoción. They buy direct from family run coffee plantations in Colombia when the coffee is freshly harvested and [it] always tastes freshly roasted. Sometimes it can be as little as 10 days from farm to cup. I like to drink espresso. Like many places in Williamsburg, it is housed in a former warehouse, so the decor is all exposed brick and glass. As the roastery is on site, the aromas are wonderful too.” [Various locations]

“This baker is extraordinary and has worked his way around the world picking up inspiration. His finely laminated viennoiserie is a treat as is the pavé loaf, fermented for 96 hours.” [Various locations]

“Perhaps an unexpected choice for comfort food, but I really enjoy this Greenpoint Japanese izakaya-like restaurant serving hearty and healthy food. Everything is made in house, from fabulous shoyu-koji karaage chicken to the seaweed chips and salad with yuzu dressing. I like the salmon saikyo-miso bento boxes and my three-year-old daughter adores their chicken buns. Their pastries are very cute and well made too.”

“This wine-focused locavore place owned by chef Nick Curtola is truly excellent, its reputation is justified. It is great for chef outings as it has a succinct menu of small plates that’s ever evolving and innovating and we can try everything for a real variety of flavors. I am very partial to the yellow fin tuna dressed tonnato-style with yuzu kosho and cured small plates such as raw Montauk scallops with finger limes and white soy. We like the charcuterie and cheese plates too, whilst desserts are exactingly made and always have a quirky edge.”

“One of the pioneers of farm-to-table, nose-to-tail eating that’s been going strong since 1998, so kind of a modern classic. I think it is a really important to introduce children to where their food really comes from. I like to order simple dishes like trout with butter greens or chicken cooked in a brick. Service is good and friendly.”

“My wife is half Tibetan and we, understandably, have a weakness for momos, a kind of dumpling that is so delicious. There are a number of momo trucks we visit and also some good Mexican taquerias. The best selection is within Smorgasburg, the huge open-air market that is reopening in April in Brooklyn on Saturdays.”

“My favorite romantic restaurant is Le Crocodile within the supercool Wythe Hotel. It is the quintessential French brasserie New York-style run by Aidan O’Neal and Jake Leiber who also run Chez Ma Tante (a favorite cafe of mine currently closed for refurbishment), they’re excellent restaurateurs. They serve up simple, hearty French dishes, but in the best iterations ever, whether a steak tartare or a trout with marcona almonds. The choice of terrines and rillettes is excellent and makes you feel transported to France.”

_{Evan Sung}

“Restaurant Ilis, opened by my good friend Mads, who was the co-founder of Noma in Copenhagen, is somewhere I am really excited about. It is like nothing else in New York with their own spin on dishes with a Scandinavian nuance. The menu is thrillingly different, especially if you order the tasting menu, Field Guide, where the chef decides what you eat based on what is most seasonally available, much like a Japanese omakase. For example, glazed eel is paired with kohlrabi. I find the intersection of French and Japanese food fascinating. The restaurant is vast and beautiful with an open kitchen with wood burning oven.”

_{Jordan Sapapally}

“Yuu Shimanso is very interesting in the way he is mixing Japanese omakase with French inspiration. He calls his cooking style ‘omotenashi’. The place is small and stylish and has only 18 seats and does two sittings. Think turtle soup, albeit made with matsutake mushrooms, [that] is an extraordinary take on bouillabaisse.”

“Cibone is a new find in Greenpoint that is part ceramic and kitchenware store and also has an excellent dashi bar.”