Rise and Shine with Fine Dining Inspired Breakfast Pastries at Butler in Williamsburg
The all-day provisions at coffee bars have sure come a long way from pre-made sandwiches and outsourced pastries. In the last few months alone, we’ve seen the debut of casual, focaccia-baking and ginger lemongrass donut-serving adjuncts at Lilia and Sauvage, respectively, and been treated to a Danish wonderland of tongue-twisting goodies courtesy of Meyers Bageri. And now, the just-opened Butler in Williamsburg has even brought a Michelin-starred pastry chef into the mix, with the aim of taking the techniques of the fine dining world, and applying them to the production of sweet and savory cafe fare.
While significantly more casual than Manhattan’s acclaimed Piora (where co-owner Ryan Butler currently performs double duty, overseeing the dessert program), the bridge-adjacent eatery is still considerably sleeker than your run-of-the-mill java house. Marrying the industrial history of the space—previously an ice cream factory, and before that, a Turkish cigarette-making facility—with a touch of modern bistro design, the 24-seater features exposed concrete contrasted against brass topped tables, as well as Carrara marble counters, rattan chairs, herringbone tile, and jaunty pineapple wallpaper in the bathrooms.
95 South 5th St., Williamsburg
Photos by Jessica Nash