Unrated: This is a restaurant we want to re-visit before rating, or it’s a coffee shop, bar, or dessert shop. We only rate spots where you can eat a full meal.

Sailor’s striped awning and paintings of seafaring vessels will put you in the mood to eat something that used to live in salt water. This nautical-themed bistro from the folks behind Joseph Leonard and the former Breslin chef serves a lot of seafood, like skate cheek and peas in parsley sauce. The white tablecloths and flickering lamps make the space feel fancier than your average neighborhood spot, but lots of dishes hover around $20 or less. Use any surplus funds on wine and profiteroles.

Colonia Verde has a lot going for it: it’s the most fun restaurant in Fort Greene, it serves tequila cocktails and shrimp tacos with the softest tortilla swaddling, and the tables are large enough to fit everything you’ve ordered, which we hope includes the salted peewee potatoes with spicy mayo. The restaurant is like a well-decorated cave that sprawls through a couple of rooms and a greenhouse, finally opening onto a spacious garden decked out in string lights. They throw Sunday Asado here almost every month—essentially, a barbecue party for the neighborhood with guest chefs.

If you want to eat pasta in a garden, go to LaRina. Their back patio has ivy on the walls and colorful tiles, and their spritz comes garnished with both an olive and an orange slice, which we endorse. This spot is as good for a group celebration as it is for a solo meal at the bar, where you might listen in on a first date and feel happy to be alone with your smoked spaghetti aglio e olio.

It’s not every day that dinner begins with rhododendron kombucha in the backyard of a Fort Greene townhouse, convincingly retrofitted into a Japanese tea room. This restaurant stands out for its kaiseki-style dishes with Polish flourishes, like a traditional potato dumpling crossed with sweet mochiko flour, then filled with warm cheesecake, and served over raspberries and sour cream. But Ikigai is just as noteworthy for operating as a non-profit—they donate earnings from their $185 tasting menu to Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, an organization that combats food insecurity. Remember this for a special occasion that feels thoughtful and relaxed at the same time.

At this tiny, subterranean restaurant, you’ll eat something seasonal, drink something natural, and wonder how a space so underground can be so full of light. The tables are mostly occupied by dates, or groups of two who don’t date but are here to talk about who they date. But we also like coming here alone, snagging one of the coveted bar seats reserved for walk-ins, and ordering a solo steak tartare. The a la carte menu changes frequently, but with dishes like crab toast, and stinging nettle and ricotta dumplings, it feels like it was French once upon a time, and then things sort of spiraled, but not in a bad way.

Ah, Miss Ada. The internet knows her, the internet loves her. And don’t get us wrong, so do we. We’re not sure how she became the hummus-loving poster child of Fort Greene, but it probably has something to do with the backyard, which feels like a treehouse where you can eat the neighborhood’s best Israeli-leaning Mediterranean food. This isn’t really a stay-for-hours kind of spot, and you might get the sense that they need your table back, now. But in the meantime, order things like grilled octopus and shakshuka, and then head around the corner to Dick & Jane’s for a post-dinner cocktail that will be decidedly calmer.

If Dekalb Avenue between Vanderbilt Ave. and Fort Greene Park were the neighborhood's hottest club, the outdoor seating at Saraghina Caffè would be the best table in the house. This Italian restaurant is where you should sit with a negroni or a spritz, not worry how long you’ve been there, and listen to a dog bark, a baby cry, or perhaps both at the same time. Maybe you’ll order a pizza and the evening will turn into dinner, and maybe it won’t—nobody really seems to care.

Just Added

Just Added

There may come a time when you would like to eat a kale salad and french fries in the neighborhood. Or seven oysters and three cocktails. Or a Bloody Mary, and maybe a french dip, too. For those times, it's Walter’s you want. You might see an employee in a bowtie, but don’t be fooled—this place is as casual as any other neighborhood spot. Come in a sweatshirt for brunch with fellow Bloody Mary enthusiasts, have a drink at the bar while you wait for your table at Colonia Verde, or do as we do: Start with a deviled egg (they are sold individually, which feels like an underrated idea) and an amaro spritz, and then head to the not-so-secret bar in the back for karaage (see below).

Karasu is a Japanese speakeasy in the back of Walter’s, except nobody calls it a speakeasy and it’s definitely not a secret. That’s probably why we like it so much: there’s no password or fake door, just low lighting and a lot of Japanese whisky. Order the prime rib for two, some karaage, and anything from the cocktail menu. In case you need a pre-dinner drink, they have a happy hour on Monday-Thursday from 5-7pm.

If you like to eat jerk chicken and drink tequila, you should do so at Island Shack, a casual Caribbean spot on South Elliot. Whether you get this chicken in wing form or as an entree, it’ll be covered in a smoky dry rub and doused with sticky, spicy sauce. Bring a group to this high-energy spot, drink a Ma Gloria with watermelon and tequila, and also share some Trini-style roti and curry goat. If you time it right, you might even stumble upon a DJ, someone doing karaoke, or an impromptu dance party.

If your day has been too long to cook anything, but also too exhausting to interact with anyone who wants to tell you how many small plates you should order, head to Forma Pasta Factory. Sitting under a yellow umbrella in their large backyard, with a bowl of spaghetti pomodoro and free bread, is an experience that rivals many a fancier outdoor meal. And the $18 pasta-and-a-glass-of-wine deal will convince you that you must have a glass of wine tonight, because it’s basically free. There might be a line at prime dinner time, but it moves pretty fast because it is, hello, a pasta factory.

If you didn’t know you could have an excellent lunch at Woori, you might easily pass this Korean spot by. Now you know, so you never need to make that mistake again. Head to Fort Greene Park with a Lunch Special box, which comes stuffed with things like bulgogi, mandu, and kimbap, as well as an extra order of tteokbokki with cheese. There are a few tables, so if you do stay and dabble in a midday Diet Coke with your bulgogi, there is a high chance they will bring you a large mug for it (with ice), and make you feel extremely well taken care of.

Café Paulette is a Certified Relatives Restaurant, aka somewhere where your grandma will be able to hear you, and won’t be uncomfortable with how small the plates are. You’re here for the steak frites, so order as many of these as you’ll need (one order feeds two people, or one very hungry person and a grandma), along with a bottle of natural wine, and a few oysters. Outside, a younger crowd lounges on the sidewalk patio as if they do this every night (which they probably do), and next door you’ll find Café Paulette’s little sister wine bar, Petit Paulette, which is perfect for a pre-dinner glass of wine and funky cheese.

Every neighborhood has at least one wine bar serving small plates. In Fort Greene, it’s Rhodora. The wine list features small-farm, natural winemakers, which means anything you drink was probably made by someone named Brigitta who majored in International Relations before "finding themselves." Snack on some cheese or crab dip at a table on the sidewalk, but know that it’s the frequent pop-ups Rhodora hosts (check out their Instagram) that make it one of the more exciting places to eat in the neighborhood on any given night.

That one time we went to Habana Outpost before an international flight, the frozen margaritas eased our pre-flight jitters, the leftover cuban sandwich was excellent plane food, and our large suitcase fit right into the mix. What we’re saying is that at this lively Cuban/Mexican/American spot on a corner on Fulton Street, anything goes. Bring a big group, bring a dog, get a $50 pitcher of something frozen and some diner-esque food, and take a seat on the large patio under a rainbow umbrella. And yes, you should get the World Famous Grilled Corn.