Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean is the perfect destination for an eating and drinking weekend adventure with friends. Make your way through Flatbush, Brooklyn for some of the most authentic Caribbean food you can find in New York, and in the process, you'll support small local businesses, enjoy local delicacies at every turn, and explore a unique and vibrant neighborhood in the process.
Flatbush is home to one of the largest and most diverse Caribbean populations in the world, and I’d highly recommend gathering a group of friends and using these recommendations for your own little food and drink tour in this lively neighborhood.
Coffee + Bakeries
Lips Cafe
Part cafe and part bar, Lips Cafe was a great meeting spot to gather the troops and start our day of exploring with an oat milk latte. Between the bold decor, the extensive food and coffee menu, the vibrant drinks, and the colorful wall art, Lips Cafe is a vibe, and I can see why it’s a local staple.
Errol’s Caribbean Bakery
Errol’s sells Caribbean style breads, buns and pastries as well as some other delicacies. We ordered a piece of sweet bread from here, which was simple and sweet. If we had more room for food, we would have also opted for their patty coco bread or jerk chicken.
Immaculee Bakery
This no-frills bakery serves up authentic Hatian patties, where you can place your order from the outdoor window and choose which type of patty you’d like.
The menu on the outside of Immaculee is written in french, so I’d just ask for their assortment of patties for the day, which should include a variety of fish and meat fillings.
Allan’s Bakery
This bakery is another no-frills, third-generation Caribbean bakery in Flatbush, which offers a great assortment of baked goods, including coconut drops, black cake, currant rolls, and Allan’s Bakery’s famous hard dough bread. The hard dough bread was my favorite, and it's perfect for a large group to share and snack on.
Cafes + Lunch
Rain Eatery & Juice Bar
Rain Eatery is a great spot for some refreshing smoothies, including their widely known Island Breeze smoothie. Plus, if you’re looking for something heavier for lunch rather than a snack, Rain Eatery & Juice Bar’s mac & cheese, corn soup, and coconut shrimp are very popular for a reason. This was a refreshing stop for our group to pack in the tropical fruits before continuing on our food journey.
Peppa’s Jerk Chicken
Peppa’s Jerk Chicken is a staple in Brooklyn, and if the name of the restaurant isn’t obvious enough, you need to order the jerk chicken! Serving authentic, flavorful Jamaican cuisine, Peppa’s is also known for their oxtail and escovitch fish if that’s more your thing. I’d recommend getting a platter to-go to bring to the park to share with your friends — and bring all the napkins you can stuff in your purse because this lunch can get messy.
Hibiscus Brew
Hibiscus Brew is one of the cutest cafes that I’ve come across in New York. Between the colorful food aesthetics and the pink, floral decor throughout the shop, this needs to be a stop for both a food or beverage treat plus an Insta photo.
Hibiscus Brew is the type of place that is perfect to suggest when catching up with a friend, where you have options for all types of foods and beverages in a cheery, aesthetically pleasing setting.
In addition for being famous for their signature sorrel drink, which is hibiscus herb steeped with ginger and sweetened with agave, this spot offers juices smoothies, coffees, sandwiches, salads, and vegan pastries. This spot is authentic, vibrant, and you can tell there’s a wonderful sense of community here.
Explore
Shop
There’s a lot of local shops that you can check out when in Flatbush that really showcase the Caribbean culture. Tafari Tribe is a family owned fashion brand with its roots from the family’s Jamaican heritage. There’s a great mix of fun patterns, elegant styles, and bold accessories that are great peek into the Flatbush neighborhood and the Caribbean culture it encapsulates.
African Record Centre was our favorite shop to pop into, and you can definitely spend some time in there. This spot is run by two brothers whose goal is to introduce African music to those who come by. This spot also carries a great assortment of African attire, jewelry and antiques. Definitely makes this a stop when you’re here!
Picnic in the Park
Now that you’ve brought some of the pastries and meals to-go, this is a great time to set up a picnic in Prospect Park, which is adjacent to the Flatbush spots listed above. If you need a supermarket for any additional food and beverages, Labay Enterprises is the neighborhood staple that offers more local Caribbean goods, especially its exotic fresh fruits and juices!
Dinner + Drinks
Aunts et Uncles
This is a vegan Caribbean eatery that is half lifestyle concept shop and half plant-based cafe and bar. Can a restaurant get any more Brooklyn than that? Aunts et Uncles is also super high-quality when it comes to the food, drinks, and aesthetics, so I’d be happy either coming here with friends for a group dinner or even coming solo to work from here during lunch.
Even though we only had enough room for drinks, the veggie burger and mofongo are at the top of my list to order from here. Plus, I want to snag something from the lifestyle concept shop because the items emulated the hip vibes of the restaurant.
The Rogers Garden
The Rogers Garden is a rum bar with fantastic vibes that is known for its vibrant and absolutely delicious rum-based cocktails. There’s a fun outdoor garden that is the perfect atmosphere for a late afternoon cocktail.
Some of the drinks that I’d highly recommend from when I checked out The Rogers Garden are the Miss Ting or Maracas Bay, but you honestly cannot go wrong with any of their cocktails! This will be a great move for a group looking to outdoor drink during the warmer months that are just around the corner.
Zanmi
Zanmi is a restaurant that offers Haitian specialties, and this would have been a stop for dinner if we had any more room in our stomachs! This is perfect for a nicer, sit-down option when in Flatbush that is known for its authentic, high-quality food in large portions.
Zanmi in Creole means "friends", which epitomizes the value of community in their restaurant. I’m looking forward to making this a stop during my next visit!
Flatbush is one of the most fun, vibrant neighborhoods in New York, and if you have the ability to go out and support some of these local businesses here and try some local, authentic Caribbean cuisine while you’re at it, I know you won’t regret it.
Let me know of any other spots in Brooklyn's Little Caribbean that I should check out the next time I'm there!