A Fall Day in Williamsburg: Rooftop Bars and Smorgasburg

Whether you are looking to rooftop bar hop down hotel row or splurge on all the delicious foodie treats at Smorgasburg, there is something for everyone to do on a Fall day in Williamsburg.
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Whether you are looking to rooftop bar hop down hotel row or splurge on all the delicious foodie treats at Smorgasburg, there is something for everyone to do on a Fall day in Williamsburg.

Although I live on the Upper West Side, I decided that if I was going to spend a day in Williamsburg with my friend Tori, I might as well get an early start to my day. I took my 40 minute subway ride down to Bedford Ave and we started our Saturday with a boxing class at Overthrow Boxing. The reason why I chose Overthrow Boxing, aside from being a boxing, kickboxing and Muay Thai aficionado, was the atmosphere and history behind the boutique boxing gym.

Overthrow Boxing was previously the home of Williamsburg’s Trash Bar, an iconic spot known for hosting punk concerts and having one of the dirtiest dive bars in the entire area (pre-Whole Foods era). Today, it’s been redone while still maintaining their quirky vibe and counterculture feel. The walls are covered head to toe in newspapers, stickers, artwork and license plates. Old school TVS flash the name Overthrow, neon signs cover the walls, and overthrow graffiti is splattered on the garage doors and even in the women’s bathrooms. Their first location on #9 Bleecker, has seen regular appearances by J Lo, Usher, Will Smith, and Nina Agdal just to name a few. It’s still unknown whether they’ll venture to Brooklyn..The class itself was a great sweat. Some shadow boxing followed by partner workouts, a lot of burpees and push ups, punching bags and a final ab workout. After we freshened up in the women’s locker room, we headed out to our favorite New York weekend activity, brunch.

Post-workout class we headed to the newly opened The Hoxton hotel on Wythe Ave. With 3 eateries and a rooftop bar, they managed to make every square inch of the hotel perfectly Instagrammable. The ground floor is open for anyone to come visit and includes free wifi, no time limits and best of all…no purchase required. It’s the perfect winter hideaway, full of fun and quirky design elements to help inspire you whether you are writing your next blog post or just reading a book by the fire.

The restaurants are considered added amenities for those looking to hang out in the lobby. We originally were going to eat outside of Klein’s, the ground floor eating area with a huge grill, bar area and outdoor seating. But the outdoor area was full, so we chose to eat in the fun coffee and lounge area instead. They offer the same menus as Klein’s, which serves simple Americana dishes.

Following brunch we headed up to the best part of the hotel and the second eatery—Summerly. Summerly serves New England style food, think seafood and New England clam chowder. It mainly serves drinks and dinner, but on the weekends it opens just in time for lunch. If you’re not in the mood for New England style food, head up here anywhere and lounge in their sunchairs taking in the gorgeous views of the Manhattan skyline.

Following brunch we decided to head down by the waterfront to Williamsburg’s famous Smorgasburg. For those who don’t know what Smorgasburg is, it is the largest weekly open-air food market in America. And if there is one thing New Yorkers know how to do and LOVE to do, it’s eat and eat outside. Smorgasburg attracts over 20,000 to 30,000 people to Brookly each weekend to eat from 100 local vendors. On Saturdays it’s held at the Williamsburg waterfront and on Sundays in beautiful Prospect Park. It’s open every weekend April through November from 11AM – 6PM (rain or shine).

If you’re looking to scout out the next foodie spot or instagrammable treat, then this is the place for you. And following your workout class at Overthrow Boxing, you won’t feel as guilty downing those snacks. Some highlights of my time in Smorgasburg included a Banana coffee, Wowfulls (Ice cream waffle cone), Acai bowl served in a coconut from Amaze Bowls, and my favorite the juice station that made you juices in the actual fruit themselves from John’s Juice! I even saw a Spaghetti donut stand…but I didn’t dare taste one lol. 

Following our time in Smorgasburg, we decided to hit hotel row for some rooftop bar hopping. You might ask yourself, why is it that all of the commercial and industrial buildings are located on the same street in the same area? In 2005, there was a strange zoning code put in place. Most of the waterfront was rezoned for residential use, but the area around North 11th and North 12th streets remained zoned for commercial and industrial use only. Hence why this hotel development boom took place surrounding Wythe Ave.

We had started off at The Hoxton, the newest hotel addition to the strip, so we decided to hit The William Vale second. If you’re looking for unobstructed views during brunch or for happy hour this is the place to be. Take an elevator 22 floors up to Westlight and step outside onto the two-story roof. You are encased by what looks like a glass box, which allows you to see every inch of Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Manhattan across from you.

Following William Vale we skipped The Wythe Hotel, having already been there recently. This is where a lot of NYFW events are held. Last time I was there was during NYMFW. It’s the perfect rooftop bar to catch the sunset behind the island of Manhattan and is positioned slightly closer to the water than William Vale, but isn’t as tall.

Our last stop was at Norman on the border of Williamsburg and Greenpoint, leaning more towards Greenpoint. The restaurant and café is set within the creative and expansive warehouse space of A/D/O. The concept is centered around an open kitchen where you can watch the staff make your meal using organic and locally sourced ingredients. Since it’s part of A/D/O it features cool art installations on a regular basis. When we went there, nothing was on display at the time, but we found this left over art installation so decided to snap a quick pic. To steal Tori’s caption we were “consuming culture.”

As it hit 5PM, we decided to head back to the island of Manhattan. But rather than take the usual subway system, on this beautiful day we decided to take the ferry from the Williamsburg waterfront to 34th Street on the East Side. It costs just as much as a subway ticket, $2.75, but offers beautiful views of Williamsburg, Long Island City, Roosevelt Island and the Small Pox building and the New York skyline and it’s outdoors. It’s the perfect way to take in some sights that you otherwise might have never seen. So ditch the subway and hop on the ferry ride, you’ll make it back home just in time for dinner.

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5 comments
    1. I had never heard of the Smorgasburg before and it sounds like so much fun. I can’t believe the number of people for only about 100 vendors. Wow! Sounds like you had a fun time in one of my favorite cities in the world.

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