Room to Rome Dumbo goes Deutch: Visitors wear their finest Bavarian outfits
COURIER L 46 IFE, SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2019
TBy Chandler Kidd his space could be its
own Little Italy!
An enormous
new Italian restaurant in
Williamsburg offers its visitors
four distinct dining experiences.
Ainslie Italian Wine Bar and
Beer Garden, which opened in
a former warehouse on Sept.
12, slices its space into a rustic
wine bar, an expansive beer
hall, a cocktail lounge, and a
relaxing rooftop patio, which
allows people to see the eatery
in multiple lights, according one
of its owners.
“Because of the size of
the building, we felt like we
wanted to give people multiple
experiences — every room
has a distinctly different
atmosphere,” said Sergio Riva,
who owns the space with Mario
Riva and AJ Bontempo, along
with three other eateries in
Manhattan.
Visitors will be greeted
with a classic Italian wine
bar when they walk into the
space. The 90-seat area also
features an open kitchen,
complete with a giant woodburning
oven for pizza.
Behind the kitchen is a
giant beer garden, which is
broken into two sections —
a bar and beer hall featuring
with communal tables, and an
outdoor garden. The owners
had to demolish a portion of
the former warehouse to create
the outdoor oasis, said Riva, but
they managed to make good use
of the materials.
“The roof was removed to
create the outdoor portion of
the garden,” Riva said. “All
the beams that held the roof in
space, we used those beams
to make the tables in the beer
garden.”
The bar offers 16 beers
on tap, including selections
from local craft breweries
and a list of European brews,
including an Italian lager Forst
and the German helles lager
Weihenstephaner.
On the second floor, above
the kitchen, is an intimate
cocktail lounge that resembles
a private club. The space, which
can be used for private events,
is designed for more intimate
gatherings, said Riva.
“We created a cozier and
warmer feeling with a lot of
fabrics, velvet, couches and
coffee tables, giving it a living
room feel,” Riva said.
Above the lounge, past a
final set of stairs, is a rooftop
bar that will be open during
warm weather. Installing this
area was a challenge, said Riva,
because the original warehouse
had a sky light bay every 20 feet,
so the roof had to be completely
redesigned.
The different areas are not
cut off from each other, and
there is easy flow between
them.
“We wanted to create an
environment where everyone
could see each other and
interact,” Riva said.
Each area also offers the
same food menu, which focuses
on wood-fired pizzas, pastas,
and a variety of pub foods.
Ainslie 76 Ainslie St.
between Keap Street and Union
Avenue in Williamsburg, (347)
725–3400, www.ainsliebk.com.
Tue–Thu, 5 pm–2 am; Fri–Sat, 3
pm–3 am, Sun, 3 pm–2 am.
By Bill Roundy It’s prost-party celebration!
Brooklyn is ready for
Oktoberfest, the annual
German celebration of beer,
bratwurst, and brass bands! The
festival debuted in Munich in
October of 1810, but Bavarian
partiers later moved its start date
to September when they noticed
that October was too chilly for the
outdoor party.
Here in Kings County, the party
goes on as long we want it to! Here
are the best places to break out
your lederhosen and hoist a stein of
Deutsche beer this season!
Das Boot
A beer hall by the sea kicks
off the week of indulgence with
a special price on Warsteiner’s
Oktoberfest beer, served in a
gigantic boot-shaped mug that you
can keep! Get a full glass boot for
$20; refills are $10; and you can
use it to wash down pretzels and
sausages from the kitchen.
Draft Barn Beach 3029 Stillwell
Ave. between Bowery Street and the
Boardwalk in Coney Island, (718)
484–0161 www.draftbarnbeach.
com. Sept. 27; 6–9 pm. Free.
Stein and the City
The Brooklyn Reserve series
will transform a courtyard in
Industry City into a Bavarian
beer garden for two Saturday
afternoons this fall; with the
Hungry March band playing on
Sept. 28; and polka band Chris &
Ronnie on Oct. 26. You can just
show up and purchase ale and food
from Kotti Berliner Döner Kebab;
but a $30 advance ticket will score
you reserved seats, a beer stein,
two drink tickets, and a t-shirt.
Industry City Courtyard 1-2
(238 36th St. between Second and
Third avenues in Sunset Park,
www.cityfarmpresents.com). Sept.
28 and Oct. 26. Noon–6 pm. Free
with RSVP ($30 VIP).
Under bar
The space under the Manhattan
Bridge will become a giant beer hall
for two days during Oktoberfest
Under the Archway. The Dumbo
Station will serve Sixpoint’s
DumboWeisse (and other brews),
and you can munch on pretzels,
brats, veggie brats, and saurkraut
while listening to Smitty’s Polka
Band on Friday night, Street Beat
Brass Band on Saturday afternoon,
and BB and the Polkahaus on
Saturday evening.
Archway Under the Manhattan
Bridge (Water Street between
Anchorage Place and Adams Street
in Dumbo, www.dumbo.is). Oct. 4;
4–9 pm; Oct. 5; 1–9 pm. Free.
Haus party
Learn how to throw your own
Oktoberfest party with all the
fixings! This cooking class will
teach you to make pretzels from
scratch, along with homemade
mustard, bratwurst, and saurkraut.
Cook Space 603 Bergen St.,
Suite 202, between Carlton and
Vanderbilt avenues in Prospect
Heights, (718) 230–8400, www.
cookspacebrooklyn.com. Oct. 4 at
7 pm. $115.
Queens of the Fest
Few things can induce us to
leave the County of Kings, but
the Queens Beer Festival is one of
them! The fourth annual festival
in Long Island City will feature 25
breweries from Queens, Brooklyn,
the Bronx, and upstate, each
offering unlimited pours of at least
two beer types apiece. Your ticket
gets you two hours of samples, or
you can splurge for an extra half
hour for just $10. And if you need
food, the Long Island Flea is right
next door.
Queens Beer Festival (5-25 46th
Ave. at Fifth Street in Long Island
City, www.queensbeerfest.com).
Oct. 5–6 at 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm.
$49 ($59 early admission).
Holy daze
Party in the church! The Zion
German Evangelical Church
celebrates German culture with
an Oktoberfest party, featuring
dancing to an oompah band, a
feast of brats, saurkraut, and
potato salad, and wee bit of
beer.
Zion German Evangelical
Lutheran Church 125 Henry St.
between Clark and Pierrepont
streets in Brooklyn Heights, (718)
852–2453, www.facebook.com/
ZionGELC. Oct. 5; 4–8 pm. $25
($20 seniors, $15 kids).
Forest feast
The German beer halls of Black
Forest Brooklyn will deliver a
double-fisted set of Oktoberfest
parties this year! First up is an
evening beer bash at its Fort Greene
location on Oct. 7, where the brass
band Slavic Soul Party will bring
down the Haus. Then, on Oct. 12,
its Smith Street spot will host a pig
roast with a full Bavarian meal, a
keg-tapping ceremony, and a mugholding
competition.
Black Forest Fort Greene 733
Fulton St. between S. Elliot Place
and S. Portland Avenue in Fort
Greene, (718) 935–0300, www.
blackforestbrooklyn.com. Oct. 7 at
9 pm. $10.
Black Forest Smith Street
(181 Smith St. between Warren
and Wyckoff streets in Boerum
Hill, (718) 522–1806, www.
blackforestbrooklyn.com. Oct. 12
at 2 pm. $45.
Giant new Italian spot
opens in Williamsburg
for Dumbo’s Oktoberfest Under the Archway party, happening this year
on Oct. 4 and 5. Noemie Wurtz
Across the creek: Beers fans at the Queens Beer Festival toast with a wide variety
of different brews. Corazon Aguirre
Welcome: Ainslie’s front area features a 90-seat wine bar. Thomas Laurance
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