But don't get stuck out in the cold, literally, waiting in line for your table when what you really need is a good cup of coffee.
Find a place that takes reservations for brunch. (So many restaurants don't, anymore.) To help you plan ahead — and get a happy start on 2012 — here are a handful of great Williamsburg restaurants that take reservations and have availability for afternoon brunch on January 1, 2012.
Note that some reservations may need to be guaranteed with a credit card, because this is a holiday meal.
Williamsburg Brunch on New Years Day, 2012: Where You Can Make Reservations
1. Dressler. Dressler is one of just a handful of Brooklyn restaurants that has won a Michelin star. It's wonderful. Period. ( What other Brooklyn restaurants have gotten a Michelin star?)Expensive.
- Location: 149 Broadway.
- Tel: (718) 384-6343.
2. DeStefano's Steak House. Ummmm. A fireplace in a small restaurant. It's just the right place to snuggle up with your honey while still ringing in the New Year. Plus, this meat-lovers haven gets raves for its steaks. In fact, it's even challenging historic Peter Lugers as the primo steakhouse in Brooklyn. (Note that Peter Luger's takes reservations too, but you have to book weeks or months ahead.) DeStefano's also has an earnest sense of community pride. The restaurant's founding, they say, is a "tribute to the DeStefano family and all those families that made the borough of Brooklyn and the Williamsburg community a great place to live." An Open Table winner on three counts: food, service and overall fabulousness, DeStefano's is worth a visit — unless one of your New Year's resolutions is to become a vegetarian. Expensive.
- Location: 89 Conselyea Street.
- Tel: (718) 384-2836.
3. La Piazzetta. The Salerno-born chef deftly turns out both Northern and Southern Italian cuisine at this Williamsburg eatery, founded in 2002. The brunch menu, though not extensive, is healthful and light, which is a good thing after a night of excess. (See the brunch menu here.) Full bar. Affordable.
- Location: 442 Graham Avenue.
- Tel: (718) 349-1627.
4. Le Comptoir. Think sexy French thoughts as you tuck into your croque-monsieur, ou, as the case may be, the madame version with the egg on top. Or, splurge on a traditional eggs benedict served with skillet potatoes with cured salmon. If you need to beef up your adrenalin after a long hard night of partying, try the tartine au short rib which in the US Midwest might be described as braised short ribs with apoached egg sitting on top a nice, thick slice of bread. Feeling virtuous? To start 2012 on a low cholesterol, low fat diet, order the "feel good omelet" of egg whites, baby arugula & Gruyere cheese. Read a review.
- Location: 51 Grand Street between Driggs Avenue and Roebling Street.
- Tel: (718) 486-3300.
5. Osteria Il Paiolo. This little Italian restaurant garners kisses and kudos from customers for both cuisine and service. Make a night-and-day of it. You can come here for New Year's Eve and enjoy a cotechino with lentils, downed by champagne, as a traditional way to ensure good fortune for the new year — and just come back for New Year's Day brunch. Reasonably priced.
- Location: 106 North 6th Street between Berry Street and Wythe Avenue.
- Tel: (718) 218-7080.
6. Baci Abbracci. This stylishly minimalist Italian restaurant has won enough hearts and minds (well, tastebuds) to have won both a "Diner's Choice" pick on the booking website Open Table, and a Time Out New York's Best New Pizza Joint mention in 2007. Hats off, chef Antonio Vaquero! There's a full bar (thankfully, on New Year's Day) and you can usually find parking on the street. Casual and fun, it's precisely the kind of place that makes Williamsburg the mecca that it is today.
- Location: 204 Grand Street, between Bedford and Driggs Avenues.
- Tel: (718) 599-6599.
Happy New Year!
