Brooklyn bound? Get started with our kind of fun.

STAY Housed in a renovated 1901 cooperage, the Wythe Hotel offers pitch-perfect Willamsburg charm for those looking to stay like a locavore. Here the chandeliers are period, ceilings are vaulted, and tiling is pre-war penny. But the details are pure Brooklyn—think furniture crafted by natives, handmade soaps from Goldies in nearby Rockaway, custom wall coverings by Flavor Paper, and mini fridges stocked with small-batch ice cream from Andrew Tarlow’s Marlow & Sons. Speaking of, head downstairs for brunch at Reynards, where local celebs Tarlow and Sean Rembold serve eggs mayonnaise and burgers all day. // Williamsburg

CHILL In on-the-cusp neighborhood Greenpoint, just north of Williamsburg, denim shop Loren’s curation of handmade jeans has garnered a cult fan base that reaches from Manhattan to Tokyo. Nearby, take some time for tea. At marvelous Bellocq, tea “sommeliers” will walk you through their library of chic yellow canisters brimming with loose leaves and even suggest pairings of delectables both savory and sweet. 
// Greenpoint

Photo of Bellocq by Anna Williams

ART Well-worth the hike to Bushwick, Centotto is the area’s coolest gallery but without any pomp. In the living room of a tattooed Italian professor by the name of Paul D’Agostino, the gallery culls provocative language-based works from emerging artists. // Bushwick

EAT Among the latest crop of avant-garde pop-up restaurants, Scandinavian Frej (pronounced fray) is the talk of the town. Open Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in an open-air garage, Frej serves new Nordic cuisine in a diner-friendly format—just $45 for the five-course prix fixe—to 18 eager foodies at a time (reservations may be made months in advance). For chef duo Richard Kuo and Swedish-born Fredrik Berselius, Frej is a labor of love. Look for dishes loaded with seasonally foraged ingredients. 
// Williamsburg

SEE For after-dinner drinks and a movie, Nitehawkhits the spot with screenings of the indie variety and tableside cocktail service in each of its three theaters. If the fiddlehead ferns and oyster cream foams at Frej left you peckish, then the addictive house popcorn—tossed with cotija cheese, lime, and cilantro—is a must. 
// Williamsburg

DRINK Manhattanites eat their words after dark, bridge-and-tunneling to Brooklyn where the nightlife is heating up. Beneath the Williamsburg Bridge, settle in alongside the young, beautiful, and elaborately bearded at the Art Deco-style bar at Donna. Designed by similarly groomed brothers Oliver and Evan Haslegrave, the former 1800s flophouse opened this spring with vaulted ceilings and reclaimed pine floors. Order a classic cocktail and snacks, including lengua (beef tongue) tacos and pig-face terrine. This is a proper hipster establishment. 
// Williamsburg

This article was published in 7x7's October issue. Click here to subscribe.