Borikén Restaurant & Bar

Borikén opened on Bay Street in 2025, a block south of Lakruwana, as a collaboration between Al Rosario of Brooklyn's Kiosko 787 and Richard Astudillo and Sophie Serrano of Counter & Bodega in Manhattan. The name is the Taíno word for Puerto Rico, and the small room leans into it with wood, stone and tropical touches, and two Puerto Rican flags flying out front.

Start with alcapurrias, empanadillas and pinchos, or the picadera, the island's mixed fried platter, at happy hour. Then mofongo, pernil or bistec encebollado with arroz con habichuelas, and tres leches to finish. The bar mixes tropical cocktails, and midweek there is a prix fixe with an optional add-on of sangria or mimosas. Reserve on weekends, when walk-ins are not guaranteed, and combine it with a walk past Tappen Park and the Stapleton waterfront a few blocks north.