Bar Bruno Gets a Terrific Oaxacan Overhaul from The Greenpoint Fish and Lobster Team

By Scott Lynch

Bar Bruno is located at 520 Henry Street, at the corner of Union Street, and is currently open from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily 

It was not their original plan to take over, shut down, and completely revamp the 15-year-old Carroll Gardens Mexican spot, Bar Bruno. But Orion Russell and Peter Juusola, the duo behind Greenpoint Fish and Lobster, really wanted the other Bar Bruno space, which was located right near their popular seafood restaurant on Nassau Avenue and quietly closed earlier this year, for an upcoming “secret” project. 

So when their neighbors told them it was either both or nothing, Russell and Juusola figured, What the hell? And a few weeks ago, after sprucing up the interior and creating an entirely new menu—still Mexican, but the dishes and preparations have been considerably altered—the team opened Bar Bruno 2.0, giving this patch of Carroll Gardens an excellent new everyday dining (and drinking) option.

Photo by Scott Lynch

“This is a beautiful little corner spot that needed some love,” Russell told Brooklyn Magazine. “And we’re happy to be here to give it some.”

Russell is the culinary director, but the ace up the team’s sleeve is chef Osmar Morales, a Oaxaca native who’s been at Greenpoint Fish for eight years and now runs the kitchen at the new Bruno on Henry Street.

Photo by Scott Lynch

You can get fat burritos and trios of tacos here, the latter made with good, chewy, hand-pressed corn tortillas and served with crocks of both fiery red and tangy green sauces on the side. The tacos come topped with things like carne asada or porky carnitas, but since these guys are seafood pros, I went with the shrimp tacos, loaded with sweet, snappy popcorn-sized crustaceans (they were terrific).

Aguachile verde with raw wild Gulf shrimp, $22 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

There are several other seafood options among Bruno’s snacks and starters, including a tuna ceviche, a bowl of steamed mussels and chorizo, and a bright and zingy aguachile verde, thick with chunks of raw wild Gulf shrimp.

Molé de pollo, $28 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Enchiladas with Oaxacan cheese, $24 (Photo by Scott Lynch)

For one of the platos grandes, Chef Morales smothers a half-roasted chicken with dank and delicious Oaxacan molé. And the enchiladas, stuffed with gooey, salty Oaxacan cheese and blanketed with salsa verde, are an equally good choice in this category. Chile rellenos, a broiled whole sea bass, and a crowd-pleasing hamburguesa poblano with fries round out what’s on offer.

The flan (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Tequila and mezcal dominate the cocktail list, and a margarita will set you back $14. Most bottles and cans of beer are priced at $7, there are glasses and bottles of wine, and a Clamato Michelada costs eight bucks.

With good food and drinks at prices that feel reasonable in a friendly, freshly renovated room, the new Bar Bruno has “essential summer destination” written all over it. “It feels great to be in Carroll Gardens,” said Russell. “It’s such a lovely neighborhood. We feel so welcomed, and everyone is so nice.”

Oh, and that other new project the team is working on at the Greenpoint location? Russell wouldn’t reveal much, but he did tell us that it should be open in a couple of months, and it will involve “brunch and martinis and burgers and late nights.”