The Brooklyn Life

Nestled between Fort Greene and Bedford-Stuyvesant, Clinton Hill is a historic neighborhood of tree-lined streets, brownstone townhouses, and majestic mansions. The area is residential, culturally diverse, and family-friendly, and the design school, Pratt Institute, gives the neighborhood artistic integrity. 

All of this character is reflected in Clinton Hill’s numerous restaurants, bars, and attractions, which are in walking distance of the 464 Classon Avenue property.

Where to eat

For Italian food, Locanda Vini e Olii, housed in a restored 120-year-old pharmacy building, is a local favorite, with Chef Michele Baldacci’s menu consisting of traditional Tuscan fare. It still has the original sign “Lewis Drug Store” as its frontage and kept much of the original woodwork, including apothecary drawers and rolling ladders. Aita is also popular, and is known for its rustic Italian food sourced from local produce.

Contemporary Southern is on the menu at Marietta, where locals keep coming back for its Memphis fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, and its signature burger. An alternative location for Southern cuisine is Soco, which serves Creole/Cajun barbecue and soul food in a modern restaurant/bar setting.

Other neighborhood stables are farm-to-table restaurant and providore, Alice’s Arbor, which sources its produce from local farms in New York and New Jersey, and French art-nouveau bistro, Three Letters, which offers a North American take on traditional French cuisine. There is also Speedy Romeo or Il Porto for wood-fired pizza, and Buka for African cuisine.

If you have a sweet tooth, Dough, is famous for its doughnuts that come in a spectrum of flavors from simple cinnamon sugar, to creative combinations such as tropical chili and chocolate and earl grey.

There are even more great restaurants in Brooklyn  

Grab a drink

You can’t go wrong if you head to Fulton Street or Myrtle Avenue where the unpretentious and casual Clinton Hill neighborhood bar scene is located. 

On Myrtle Avenue, there is gastropub, Putnam’s Pub and Cooker, as well as Brooklyn Tap House, The Emerson Bar, and camper themed bar, Splitty. Meanwhile on Fulton Street, there’s the 50’s style lounge Hanson Dry, and Fulton Grand Bar for craft beer and whiskey. Hot Bird located on Atlantic Avenue is a former autoshop converted to a bar, with an outdoor patio and fire pit, and a wide selection of craft beer.

For some live music to accompany your drinks, Sisters is a bar/restaurant that was converted from a former community hardware store. The décor pays homage to the Victorian mansions in the area, with a small music stage for local acts and a DJ booth. If jazz is more to your liking, Jazz 966 hosts live music every Friday night.

Go Exploring

Rent a Citi Bike or walk and explore the aesthetically pleasing neighborhood, especially around the Pratt Institute where you can admire the historic mansions along Clinton Avenue, built by the school’s founder, oil tycoon Charles Pratt, for his family. The 25-acre campus also doubles as the Pratt Sculpture Park, which has 60 sculptures erected on its green lawns and around its rose gardens. For more on the area’s history dating back to the Revolutionary War, check out BLDG: Brooklyn Navy Yard, where admission to the museum is free. There are a number of local boutiques and thrift shops to meander through such as Urban Vintage on Grand Avenue that sells antique furniture and vintage glassware. 

If you want to relax, Body by Brooklyn on Park Avenue is a spa, bathhouse, and restaurant/bar inspired by spa towns in France, Russia, and Turkey, and has a traditional banya, as well as wet/dry massage rooms. Or get moving at Move With Grace on Myrtle Avenue which is the community’s first yoga, pilates and fitness studio.