Editor’s Note: After 12 years in Brooklyn, the Roebling Tea Room shut down in 2017. For current ideas on where to drink tea, check out our guide to NYC tea shops.
Don’t let the name fool you. Roebling Tea Room serves much more than tea. There is a brunch, daytime and dinner menu, and inventive drink concoctions like the rosemary hot toddy. It is a good place for those who toil with ordering until they know what the other person wants, or if your friend is on the wagon but you’d like a pint—you can pair tea with an appetizer, a cocktail with dessert, or order a full meal.
For the laissez-faire, settle in on one of the long, comfortable couches in the back. The interior is usually dim and moody, but the high ceilings and large windows prevent any sense of claustrophobia. Homey wooden tables and the green-tiled bar dominate the room, while a patio in the back waits for better weather (which might just be tomorrow).
The menu changes seasonally and the current term is christened “Bleak Midwinter 2008 AD.” It isn’t so bleak, however, that Roebling can’t provide an uplifting brunch menu with dishes such as salt cod hash browns or baked cheddar eggs with raisin fennel toast. If you’re very hungry, try their big Dutch-style baked pancake. One pancake is big enough for two people, served with stewed pears, baked-in cherries, and spiced butter. And if you’re tired of the ubiquitous Bloody Marys and mimosas, Roebling provides more interesting items like “Grog Galois”—a unique mix of honey mead, lemon, and soda.
The dinner menu includes appetizers like snails, chive, and pistou on brioche and meat plates with chestnut preserves. Entrées include rabbit stroganoff, drunk beans with polenta, and the ever-popular macaroni and cheese. Attending to our eco-conscience, Roebling features grass-fed and free-range meats, and tries to use local and organic ingredients where possible. While Roebling is “not currently composting,” said one waitress, “a lot of things are in transition for spring,” and the change of season should herald even more earth-friendly measures.
Desserts, surprisingly, are hit-or-miss. Try the vanilla bean panna cotta. It’s served in a generous bowl, features a perfectly pliant top and extremely satisfying, creamy vanilla interior. The apple crisp is to be avoided. There aren’t nearly enough apples and too much topping, which itself is thick and stale.
While Roebling is no secret to local Williamsburgers, it remains fairly unknown to the Manhattan-centric. On your way over you’ll pass bars Spuyten Duyvil and Black Betty, which may lure you to the area a second (or third) time.
How to get there: Take the L to Lorimer St. Walk west on Metropolitan until you hit Roebling. Roebling Tea Room is part of a brick building and will be on your left. For detailed directions from anywhere on Manhattan, click the HopStop link below. (Roebling Tea Room, 143 Roebling St., Brooklyn, 718,963.0760, roeblingtearoom.com)
Photo: Courtesy of Roebling Tea Room.
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Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram