Baby Blues Luncheonette is serving up one of the best new brunches in Brooklyn

By Scott Lynch

(Scott Lynch)

It’s kind of a dream come true, to have a place like the brand-new Baby Blues Luncheonette open in your neighborhood. A restaurant that’s warm and welcoming with chill vibes, a menu that feels familiar yet fresh, and food that really hits the spot. Like a local joint that’s been there forever, but spruced up a bit, featuring less greasy, and more nutritious, fare than all of those Brooklyn diners of yore.

In fact, even if you don’t live right around this patch of East Williamsburg on Montrose Avenue, Baby Blues is so inviting and satisfying that it’s worth traveling from a neighborhood or two over just to check it out.

Owned and operated by first-time restaurateurs Costa Damaskos and Jake Marsiglia (they both are back there cooking in the open kitchen beyond the counter) this brunch-all-day place pays homage to the classic Greek diner with retro decor galore, but without descending into theme park territory.

“I used to run a design agency, and my office was next door,” Damaskos tells Brooklyn Magazine. “Me and Jake have been friends for a long time, and we felt like there was nowhere to eat in the neighborhood in terms of like, healthy food we could eat everyday.”

So last March they signed a lease on this place, and set about creating exactly that.

Brunch by design (Scott Lynch)

Nearly every table was filled by late morning on opening day last Saturday: the cafe-style sidewalk seating, the soft-backed stools at the counter, the row of tables before a blue banquette along one wall, and the awesome five- or six-tops jutting out from the other.

Counter culture (Scott Lynch)

These latter face the visual highlight of the place, a trio of industrial floor-to-ceiling metal shelving units packed with old VHS tapes, records from Damaskos and Marsiglia’s own collections, working stereos and vintage mini TVs, plus a bunch of Baby Blues swag.

Most of the eating excitement here resides in the Baby Blues menu’s “Breakfast Corner.” There’s avo toast, sure — Damaskos is Greek, but hails from Sydney, Australia — and a couple of expected egg-based platters, but things like grilled halloumi cheese and homemade tzatziki make multiple appearances as well.

An early favorite for a signature dish is the “Like a Greek Bagel,” a slab of dense, grainy sourdough slathered in a salty whipped feta with a pile of lovely smoked salmon and slices of heirloom tomato on the side for stacking on top. Delicious. It’s worth mentioning that these tomatoes, like all of the produce we had at Baby Blues, were high-quality, farm-stand-style fresh, an important detail in a place filled with such attentive and/or clever touches.

‘Like a Greet Bagel,’ $23 (Scott Lynch)

Similarly, the “Zorba Plate” features two eggs, grilled halloumi cheese, Greek potatoes, homemade tzatziki, and heirloom tomatoes.

The ‘Zorba Plate,’ $21 (Scott Lynch)

There are also egg salad, grilled cheese, or bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches to be had, three different Greek-leaning salads, and a bunch of fruity bowls and toasts, including homemade banana bread covered in cashew ricotta and a crunchy baklava crumble that made for a first-rate coffee companion.

Baklava banana bread topped with cashew ricotta, $16 (Scott Lynch)

Baby Blues Luncheonette is located at 97 Montrose Avenue, between Leonard Street and Manhattan Avenue, and is currently open on Wednesday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Tuesdays.