A good BYOB restaurant is hard to find. But when you do, it’s great news for two different reasons: either because bringing your own bottle is a great way to save money while dining out or, you’ve been waiting for the right moment to uncork a special bottle of vino from your home cache. With these 10 places, now is the time.
But, before you set off, wine bottle under your arm, a couple of tips to keep in mind. One, make sure to bring a bottle opener, just in case the restaurant doesn’t have one or is too busy to provide you with one. And two, be mindful about the amount of bottles you bring and also the type of alcohol you turn up with. Most BYOB restaurants tolerate wine and beer, for example, but deeply frown upon the sight of, say, a bottle of vodka or whisky. Now go forth, and drink responsibly.
Al Badawi
Set on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights where there has long been an Arab enclave of tea houses, pastry shops, and restaurants, Al Badawi is an excellent Palestinian restaurant (with a mini-chain of eight different outposts of sister restaurant, Ayat, sprinkled around the city).
Portions here are enormous, so it’s best to organize a meal at al Badawi with a bigger group of people. And bring some nice wine to pair with tender Lamb Chops, flatbread stuffed with cheese and sprinkled with crushed pistachios and Mansaf, jameed-marinated lamb shanks. 151 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn Heights, albadawinyc.com
Banh Anh Em
Banh Anh Em couldn’t just be one of the best, most game-changing Vietnamese restaurants in New York City, which also happens to bake its own bread in house for what is the best banh mi sandwich in New York City, if not the entire country. No, they had to be BYOB too!
The fare that Banh Anh Em produces is not only stellar; it happens to be northern Vietnamese cuisine, a bit different than the south, where sugar is sprinkled into every bowl and plate and vegetables are a bit more plentiful. Northern Vietnamese fare is harder to find in North America, but this East Village spot is leading the charge to introduce New York diners to it. And the fact that you can bring your own bottle of wine or beer to pair with the meal makes it ever better. 99 Third Ave., East Village, banhanhem.com
BK Jani
A Pakistani restaurant with a loyal following, BK Jani is a Williamsburg meat-a-palooza with a BYOB policy. Regulars swear by the tender Lambchops, the pricey Black Angus Ribeye, and the Fried Chicken Sandwich. And then there’s the burger, a.k.a. The Jani, which made our list of the best burgers in New York from unlikely restaurants. Featuring a thick patty topped with mint chutney that has a slight kick to it, you’ll certainly want to bring a nice Pinot Noir to go with that dish. 479 Grand St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn bkjani.com
Dept. of Culture
Nigerian-born chef Ayo Balogun is a talented storyteller and chef. At his Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn restaurant, he serves a multi-course dinner and tells a personal anecdote about each course, often making the 12 or so diners—all amassed around one shared table—crack up in laughter.
Dept. of Culture doesn’t serve any alcohol, but diners are encouraged to bring whatever they want to drink, as if you’re at a dinner party. If you forget wine, Balogun has a stock of random wine bottles that he’ll provide for you for free. Balogun’s other restaurant, Radio Kwara, located in nearby Clinton Hill, is also BYOB. 327 Nostrand Ave., Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, deptofculturebk.com
Lucali
Does this popular Cobble Hill, Brooklyn restaurant hate its customers? Or are they just trying to make us prove our loyalty? To get a seat at the table at Lucali, you have to line up on the sidewalk in the afternoon and if you’re lucky you’ll finally reach the reservation receptionist who will give you a time to come back with your dining companions—maybe in a few hours—and so you either go home and return at the designated time or kill a few hours in the neighborhood. Just to add to the anachronism, Lucali does not take credit cards. It’s as if the folks at Lucali got stuck in a Y2K warp and never made it to the 21st century.
That’s the annoying part. The not-so-annoying part is that Lucali makes some of the best pizza in New York City, which is quite a feat considering the Big Apple is the pizza capital of the country. (Pro tip: first timers should get the calzone). Plus, the place is BYOB, so you can eat and drink with abandon until you’re no longer frustrated that you had to dedicate the entire second half of your day to this place. 575 Henry St. Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, lucali.com
Mắm
Mắm is the most authentic Vietnamese restaurant in New York City and the kitchen refuses to produce dishes that cater to local tastes. Instead, the eatery dishes out funky shrimp-paste-laden delights that you’d certainly encounter on the streets of Hanoi. Another soulful touch comes in the seating, which comprises tiny plastic stools and low-to-the-ground tables, very similar to the ubiquitous dining set-ups in Vietnam.
The Chinatown restaurant also happens to have a generous BYOB policy, so you can turn up with whatever bottle you think will pair with northern Vietnamese fare (hint, riesling often wins). The restaurant only puts pho on the menu in the cold weather months, and it’s worth putting a reminder on your calendar for it, as the northern noodle soup is the most authentic Hanoi-style pho in town. 70 Forsyth St., Chinatown, no website
Panna II Garden
Suggest going to Panna II Garden for dinner and most New Yorkers will just stare back at you, wondering what you’re talking about. But say instead “the Indian restaurant in the East Village with all the Christmas lights,” and you’ll definitely get a response, like,. “Oh, that place.”
There once was a time before the pandemic when there were about three other restaurants crammed into the facade of this building that had competing Christmas lights flickering for your attention. Now, sadly, it’s just Panna II—an interior stuffed with so many blinking Christmas lights, many in the shape of chili peppers, like it’s trying to give Santa Claus an epileptic fit.
Let’s make one thing clear: you don’t come to Panna II for the food. It’s not the worst thing you’ll ever eat, but there are far better Indian restaurants in New York City these days. You do, however, come here to impress out-of-town guests with the dazzling light display and the chaos of servers trying to navigate a very tight, diminutive dining room. Oh yeah, the place also happens to be BYOB, so the already affordable Indian fare just got even more affordable. 93 First Ave., East Village, pannatwo.com
Tartine
A mainstay that sits on the undisputed cutest, most West Village-y West Village intersection of West 4th and West 11th Streets., Tartine is technically a French restaurant. But it’s an old-school French restaurant, still serving up rustic Gallic cuisine as if François Mitterrand were still the president of France. Tartine used to be a full BYOB restaurant, but these days they’ve laid down a couple of rules: for every two diners, you get to bring one bottle, free of charge. After that, it’s $20 per bottle as a corkage fee. 253 W. 11th St., West Village, tartine.nyc
Wu’s Wonton King
A perpetual favorite among the city’s Cantonese-food-loving oenophiles, Wu’s Wonton King serves up above-average southern Chinese fare in a casual environment, allowing diners to bring a cherished bottle of vino (or two or three) to pair with sesame chicken, braised duck, roasted suckling pig, or the seemingly hundreds of other offerings on the menu. 165 E. Broadway, Chinatown, wuswontonking.com
Spicy Village
Big Tray Chicken, that’s what brings most diners to this diminutive spot in Chinatown. It also doesn’t hurt that Spicy Village is BYOB, so you can pair a nice bottle of wine with that enormous serving tray of bone-in chicken pieces stewing in a rich Sichuan-peppercorn-and-star-anise-studded sauce. Add in some soup dumplings and some spicy oxtail, and you and a group of friends will walk out of Spicy Village full and satisfied. 68 Forsyth St. Chinatown, spicy-village.com
