HotelChatter

While waiting for their table to open up, guests can hide out in the small alcove at the front of the restaurant—sip a Toby Maloney cocktail as you take in the scene.

As we mentioned before, all the ingredients are sourced as locally as possible, which fits with the locally-sourced room amenities like Brooklyn Brewery beer and a specially curated record collection. But as far as the menu itself goes, dishes here definitely border on the experimental side of things. Settle into some mouth-livening appetizers like Vidalia onion "petals" with lemon zest and vanilla salt ($5) or blistered shishito peppers ($6).

Main courses center on traditional fare with slight creative "twists"—a Burnt Bread soup ($10) comes with olive oil ice cream, a carpaccio of tete de cochon (yup, pig's head, $15) is served with geoduck clam, green apple and mustard flower, and an inventive barbequed skate wing is brought to life with caramelized lime, daikon radish and coriander ($19).

Whole animal dishes (chicken, bass, prime rib and suckling pig) are also available to feed larger groups between 24 and 52 people—for these occasions, try out the restaurant's closed-off private dining area next to the kitchen. A little VIP treatment, even in Williamsburg, goes a long way.

[Photos: HotelChatter]