New York Home > Nightlife > Five Leaves Left
Photo Credit: Jamie Chung
Published September 12, 2008
You're not one to buy the hype.
So when a tiny corner bar and restaurant on the outskirts of Williamsburg is being talked about like
the next great Brooklyn hipster enclave—partly due to the fact that at one point it was Heath Ledger's
pet project—you approach with caution.
Allow us, then, to take you on a tour of what to expect when you're out in Brooklyn and want to stop by
Five Leaves—opening Wednesday—for a beer and a bite.
First, the designer is the man behind such barroom favorites as Moto, Smith and Mills and
Tailor, so
you'll notice the same attention to detail, handcrafted look and hint of cool about the place. The end
effect is a bar that Thomas Edison might have built for his buddies. The handmade light fixtures are steel
and wire concoctions that seem right out of a lab, and the bathroom door is a massive, '20s-era boiler room
door. Even the walls are covered in what the owners call "steel wallpaper" (trust us, it's cozier than it
sounds).
It's all meant to be a super casual California- and Australia-tinged cafe, coffeehouse and oyster bar, with
greenmarket snacks like Sliced Radishes on Toast with Evans Farmhouse Butter.
And starting with tonight's friends and family opening party, you'll probably see a few famous
faces amongst the Billyburg faithful.
OK, maybe you'll buy a little hype.
Five Leaves
18 Bedford Ave
(at Lorimer and Nassau)
North Williamsburg - North Side
Brooklyn, NY 11222
Five Leaves
18 Bedford Ave
(at Lorimer and Nassau)
North Williamsburg - North Side
Brooklyn, NY 11222