Brewbrew Brooklyn, at 7 Bell Slip in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, is a neighborhood café by day that switches over to a bar on Thursday through Saturday evenings. Dark green walls, patterned wallpaper, dolls on the shelves and vintage plates on the walls make it unusually cozy for a New York café. Lattes start at $5.75 and bagel sandwiches at $9. At happy hour, espresso martinis are $10 and house wine is $7. It is open until 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Sunday, and until 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
At 7 Bell Slip, at the edge of Greenpoint Landing, the new residential complex on Greenpoint's East River waterfront in Brooklyn, sits a small café called brewbrew. The line under the sign sums the place up: "Coffee until cocktails." It opens at 7 a.m. with lattes and bagels, and from Thursday through Saturday it dims the lights in the evening and serves espresso martinis.
At a Glance
The Coziest Room in a Neighborhood of Glass Boxes
The Greenpoint Landing area is a new neighborhood lined with glass-and-concrete high-rises. Brewbrew is on the ground floor of one of those buildings, but step inside and the mood is different. The walls are dark green, with one side papered in a purple pattern. Floral vintage plates hang in a circle on the wall, and yellow dolls and colorful glass bottles sit on the shelves. Lampshade-covered lights hang from a slatted wood ceiling, so the place feels less like a café than someone's living room. By the window are green velvet chairs and small marble tables, and outside the large picture window, neighbors walk past with their dogs.
The wooden menu board behind the counter lists items without prices: drip, espresso, macchiato, cortado, flat white, cappuccino, latte, Americano, plus matcha latte, chai latte, hot chocolate, cold brew and iced tea. On the shelf next to the board, bottles of whiskey and liqueur stand alongside, a preview of how the same counter becomes a bar at night.
Menu and Prices
Coffee prices are about average for New York. Drip coffee is $4, a double espresso $3.75, a cortado $4.75, and lattes start at $5.75. Cold brew is $5, a matcha latte starts at $7, and a strawberry matcha latte starts at $8.25. A hand-poured pour-over is listed separately at $7.58. Food centers on all-day breakfast items: a cream cheese bagel is $5.50, a bacon, egg and cheese (B.E.C.) bagel starts at $9, a lox bagel is $15, and an avocado bagel starts at $9. The turkey sandwich and chicken pesto sandwich are $15 each, and the "Bell Slip Sandwich," named for the café's address, is $14. Pastries and house-baked cookies are also available.
The evening bar is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with espresso martinis at $10 and house wine at $7 during happy hour. Beer and wine are also available. Coffee beans are sold in 12-ounce bags in the shop: Ethiopia, Guatemala and the "Brooklyn Grand Street Blend," each $19.50.
When to Go
Weekday mornings are quiet, with many neighborhood residents working on laptops. It pairs well with a walk along the waterfront. A few minutes' walk from the shop are Greenpoint Landing Park and Newtown Barge Park, with views of the East River and the Midtown Manhattan skyline. If you finish a walk around sunset and stop in during the Thursday-through-Saturday evening bar hours, you can have both coffee and a cocktail in one place.
The closest subway stop is the G train's Greenpoint Avenue station, but it is about a 15-minute walk to the waterfront. From Manhattan, it is faster and more scenic to take the NYC Ferry East River route from 34th Street or Wall Street and get off at the Greenpoint landing. Menu items and prices may change depending on the shop's circumstances, and orders can also be placed in advance on the shop's website (brewbrewbrooklyn.square.site).