Little King — New York, USA

Despite its diminutive size, the cosy East Williamsburg cocktail bar and restaurant Little King, opened to much aplomb. Hidden next to a busy fruit and veg shop, the space’s unassuming frontage harks back to another time with its aged, original Ralph Walker doorway.
Co-owners Sam Esterman and John Moskowitz wanted to create somewhere that looked ‘like the back entrance to something more grand, like an employee lounge of a once-grand train station’. With the aid of designer Christina Salway, Little King has been adorned with vintage pieces found at garage sales and estate auctions, including the pair of gold entrance doors and a French gilded mirror that dates back to the late 19th century. Suspended bulb lighting, bright blue upholstery and hand-stenciled herringbone floors serve the perfect finishing touch.
Little King’s food and beverage menu is equally well thought through. The small but impeccably formed cocktail list is made up of new spins on the classics, while the kitchen doles out substantial favourites, like roasted bone marrow, a signature burger and a changing selection of daily specials. Chef Phillip Vernier, formerly of Five Leaves, has recently added brunch too. From breakfast bowls to savoury waffles served with duck confit and scallion butter and a variety of Bloodies (Mary – vodka, Molly – gin, Maria – tequila, Maguey – mezcal), finding a seat will not be easy.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
749 Metropolitan Avenue
Brooklyn NY 11211
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.
-
Margaret Howell celebrates the ‘modern and grounded’ work of British weaver Peter Collingwood with a rare exhibition and calendar
One of the 20th century’s seminal weavers, the exhibition provides a serene respite from Frieze London, unfolding in Margaret Howell’s London store
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors' picks of the week
The London office of Wallpaper* had a very important visitor this week. Elsewhere, the team traverse a week at Frieze
-
Alexandre de Betak on getting lost to find himself in London
As the world-renowned artistic director opens his first personal studio in London during Frieze Week, Alexandre de Betak reflects on leaving the fashion runway behind to explore light, space and creative freedom
-
A24 just opened a restaurant in New York, and it’s as cinematic as you’d expect
Hidden in the West Village, Wild Cherry pairs a moody, arthouse sensibility with a supper-style menu devised by the team behind Frenchette
-
Seven kitchens, one fire: inside LA’s hottest new food market
At Maydan Market, chef Rose Previte turns global street food and layered design into a vibrant, fire-lit experience
-
The Viceroy Hotel Group wants you to get on your bike
Across properties in Santa Monica, Chicago, Washington DC and the Algarve, Viceroy guests can experience curated cycling routes and community events
-
Big flavours and bold design define La Nena Cantina, Los Angeles's newest Mexican hotspot
From handmade tortillas to 40-ingredient mole, this new Sunset Boulevard restaurant takes Mexican cuisine seriously
-
Aperitivo time is this Los Angeles bar’s ‘ragione di vita’
Located in Echo Park, Bar Bacetti is a welcoming haunt celebrating the great Italian ‘art of snacking’
-
This boisterous cocktail bar in Denver was inspired by Le Corbusier
A 1950s furniture showroom has been reborn as a modernist social hub in the city’s Sunnyside neighbourhood. Its cocktails? Semiprecious
-
In Los Angeles, Darling doesn’t want to be your average dinner spot
Vinyl, live-fire cooking, and California’s finest ingredients come together in this immersive new concept from a celebrated Southern chef
-
The best dinner party in San Francisco is thrown at this bistro and vinyl bar
A new chapter begins in Mission Creek as Side A opens in the former Universal Café space