In Red Hook, A Second Life for South Brooklyn’s Legendary Lundy’s

By Scott Lynch

Imagine being transported back to 1920s Sheepshead Bay, to the Emmons Avenue waterfront on a warm summer’s night, back when Frederick William Irving Lundy’s namesake restaurant was the talk of South Brooklyn, serving some 15,000 patrons a day and, legend has it, openly pouring booze in the face of Prohibition. The place must have been nuts! Everyone knocking back bootleg hooch and wolfing their buck-fifty lobsters and twenty-cent slabs of huckleberry pie.  

Lundy’s would have many more heydays in the nearly 90 years to follow. In the 1930s and 40s, after the first Lundy’s building was condemned and a second was built—a monster, with room for some 2,800 guests—the restaurant was said to be the largest in the nation. In the 1960s, after Lundy had spent years buying up literally every property along the waterfront, and refusing to develop any of it, this stretch of Emmons was a South Brooklyn destination frequented for its retro feel.  

And, most fatefully for our story, in 2002, five years before it shuttered for good, Sandra Nicholas, who had just moved here from Virginia, and Mark Snyder, a South Brooklyn lifer, settled into their seats at Lundy’s for a second date. The couple fell in love, made a home in Gerritsen Beach, and had a couple of kids. Then Mark opened Red Hook Winery, and last year Sandra launched a project of her own, signing a lease on the former Rocky Sullivan’s space on Beard Street.  

Photo by Scott Lynch

Soon afterward the couple were chatting about their new, still-unnamed place with a guy named Frank Cretella. As Sandra recalls, “We told him we’d love to have one of those simple, traditional Brooklyn establishments where you know what you’re getting when you walk in the door. Places of pure comfort. Places like Peter Luger’s. Places like Lundy’s.”  

Turns out, in a total coincidence, Cretella was the keeper of the Lundy’s name. “He told me ‘You should take it. Take Lundy’s. And God bless,'” said Sandra. 

Lundy’s of Red Hook—the official name is Lundy Bros, but no one calls it that—opened in December and it’s being billed as a “reincarnation” rather than, say, a relocation or a sequel. It’s an apt descriptor, because although the space oozes old-school charm, and can accommodate an impressive 100 or so guests in the cozy back dining room (complete with working fireplace) and in the more casual bar area up front (which is basically Rocky’s minus those barrels and includes a stage for live music) there’s no way you could replicate the cavernous, faded-glory vibe of the original here. This isn’t a Lundy’s theme park. 

It’s also not a restaurant you go to for Instagram content or clout. Everything looks just super normal, and lived-in. But date night, a family gathering, a special birthday, a few drinks with a friend? The new Lundy’s nails it. You will feel welcome here. You can even linger over dessert. There’s a neighborly warmth to the night’s proceedings, led by Sandra, who exudes good cheer delivered in a delicious Brooklyn accent. “The people that walk in are desperate to tell their Lundy’s stories,” she told us. “I’ve had it six times tonight in the dining room. My job, literally as I see it, is to go around memory-collecting from the guests. That’s what I love most about this gig.” 

Lundy’s clam bisque, $10 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

And, of course, you go for the food. The kitchen is headed by Steve Mannino, and he doesn’t do anything too cheffy with the tight roster of American surf-and-turf classics. Some of the best stuff is from old Sheepshead Bay Lundy’s recipes, like the clam “bisque” thick with potatoes, chewy mollusks, and bits of bacon. No one—not Sandra, not Steve, not me—understands why it’s not called chowder. But whatever; it’s creamy and briny and salty and just needs about five to ten seconds with the black pepper shaker on your table. 

Deviled egg with crab, four for $17 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Rhode Island style calamari, $23 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

A basket of Lundy’s famous biscuits arrives unbidden, a nice touch in this era of $12 “bread service,” and the deviled eggs piled high with crab meat make for a seriously decadent snack. But if you’re only getting one starter, or want something substantial to munch on at the bar, the move is the Rhode Island style calamari, a formidable pile of tender, lightly fried squid drenched in a peppy butter and red chili sauce.  

Half broiled lobster, market price (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Other surfy dishes include three or four catches of the day, mostly from East Coast fishing boats—my piece of fluke was a total butter and caper party, and I mean that in the best possible way—as well as a market-priced grilled or broiled lobster, available as a whole or half. The latter was $35 when I was there, and it reminded me how much I enjoy lobster when it’s served as simply as this.       

The “Viking” burger, $29 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Lundy’s potatoes, $11 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Creamed spinach, $12 (Photo by Scott Lynch) 

Turf entree options include a pork chop milanese, a $147 porterhouse for two, a throwback roasted chicken from the OG Lundy recipe files, and a big, fat, juicy cheeseburger that hits the spot. If you don’t get the burger-and-fries, get the side of roasted potatoes with caramelized onions and a generous dollop of sour cream. Or maybe get it anyway? The creamed spinach also does its job well. Portions are ample, so beware of over-ordering.    

Lundy’s famous huckleberry pie, feeds at least two, $24 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Dessert is an important part of the experience here, and though I was tempted by the butterscotch sundae, a too-rare offering in this city, journalistic duty required an order of Lundy’s famous huckleberry pie instead. This is very rich, buttery, and tangy—the secret-ingredient blueberries tone some of the tartness down—and though it promises to serve two, it could easily satisfy a four-top.     

Cocktails cost about $17, a beer, on tap or in a bottle or can, will set you back eight bucks, and most of the bottles of wine hover around $45 to $55. And right now, in the cold and snow and wintry mix, when deep Red Hook feels especially remote, the crowd seems to be mostly locals and old Lundy heads paying their respect. In other words, it feels warm and cozy as hell. 

“I had no lifelong dream of being a restaurateur,” said Sandra. “But these two beloved things, Rocky’s and Lundy’s, came together organically so we’re giving it a go here in this little corner of Brooklyn. It’s a different waterfront, a different neighborhood, and a different era, but it’s the same spirit.”    

Lundy’s is located at 44 Beard Street, at the corner of Dwight Street, and is currently open on Wednesday through Monday from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Brunch is coming, and, in the spring, a backyard terrace situation will enter the picture.