Cozy Royale
Restaurant · Williamsburg
434 Humboldt St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70727176/image_50802177.0.jpeg "Cozy Royale by Cozy Royale")
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72355284/Eater_at_Home__Cheeseburger__Avila_.0.jpg "Cozy Royale by Dina Ávila/Eater")
Highlights
Burger, steak frites, martinis, outdoor seating, quality meats
Burger, steak frites, martinis, outdoor seating, quality meats
"In East Williamsburg I praise Cozy Royale’s dry-aged cheeseburger — two smashed patties topped with raclette, arugula, bacon jam, Calabrian aioli, and pickled red onions — which 2022 F&W Best New Chef Calvin Eng says has the “perfect amount of umami funk.” Only ten of those dry-aged cheeseburgers are served each night; if they sell out you can fall back on the classic cheeseburger (a six-ounce patty with American cheese, pickles, onion, and “fancy sauce”). Both burgers cost $22 and are made with beef from the restaurant’s sister butcher, The Meat Hook." - Amelia Schwartz
"A restaurant started by the same partners behind the butcher shop, this Williamsburg spot revived the name of a longstanding Italian catering hall and launched during the outdoor-dining peak in 2020 with a menu that at first nodded to Appalachian foodways (pepperoni rolls, pierogies) before shifting toward more tavern-style and steakhouse dishes." - Melissa McCart
"Still no luck at Bernie’s? Try Cozy Royale. It’s right nearby, they make a great martini, and their burger comes with american cheese, a “fancy sauce,” pickles, and onion. Eat it in a big wooden booth in the tavern-like back room, and round out your order with a kale caesar." - will hartman, willa moore, molly fitzpatrick, bryan kim, sonal shah, ciera velarde
"The name of this full-service restaurant from the Meat Hook is fitting: The dark wood and mismatched vintage art displayed really do make it feel like a home dining room of sorts. Much like any tavern worth its salt, the move here is the burger, which comes with American cheese, pickles, onions, and some pretty damn good fries (there’s a fancier version of the burger with raclette on offer). If red meat isn’t what you’re after, try other cozy classics like chicken piccata. Sticky toffee pudding for dessert." - Eater Staff
"Meat is prepped by the restaurant’s neighboring sister butcher shop. For owner and founder Brent Young, there’s no question why burgers have maintained their status symbol as an American classic: "Burgers are iconic because they’re accessible," he says. "Everyone has their memory of burgers that they had growing up, they have memories of the most expensive burger they’ve had, the most indulgent burger that they’ve had." The standard tavern burger is blended the morning before service, an approximate 70:30 grind of lean meat to fat; it’s topped with American cheese, fancy sauce, pickles, and onion and served with a side of fries — a classic burger, through and through. The dry-aged burger is a more complex, richer offering, with deep, umami flavors coming from the aged meat and more elaborate toppings. "This burger is over a month in the process of making," explains Greg Bardwell, the head butcher. "That will give it its scarcity; it’s also just super special and rich." The dry-aged version begins with the trimmings of a dry-aged sirloin transformed into two two-and-a-half ounce patties that are smashed to let the excess fat render out and concentrate the beefy flavor; it’s finished with raclette, arugula, bacon jam, Calabrian chili aioli, and pickled red onions to cut through the richness, delivering pepperiness from the arugula, smoky-sweet notes from the bacon jam, and added funk from the raclette. "The [dry-aged] burger is like the complete opposite end of the spectrum from our tavern burger," Young says. "It is meant to just be a punch in the jaw of flavor." Only ten dry-aged burgers are served a day, and the overarching promise — as Young puts it — is simple: "People love burgers," Young says, "and if you do a great one, people are really going to come out." - Kat Thompson
