Channeling the Original Location, Veselka Opens in Williamsburg This Week

With borscht, kielbasa, pierogies, and classic Eastern European-leaning dishes, the new location of Veselka is opening in East Williamsburg, on Wednesday, June 5. It will mark the first time the Ukrainian restaurant has operated in Brooklyn. It’s now one of three locations: In addition to the original diner on Second Avenue, another location resides at Grand Central.

Last year, the restaurant signed a 48-year lease at 646 Lorimer Street, near Meeker Avenue, in Williamsburg. The building was constructed as a garage in 1918 and, before that, was a car wash.

In honor of the Brooklyn opening, Veselka has teamed up with Katz’s Delicatessen to offer the pastrogi — a pierogi stuffed with pastrami — now available for mail order and at the Brooklyn location only for a limited time. “We’re celebrating two Lower East Side icons in Brooklyn,” says Justin Birchard, spokesperson and cousin to Jason Birchard, owner and the founder’s grandson. Veselka was founded in 1954 by Wolodymyr Darmochwal, and his wife, Olha.

The Birchards say they are hewing close to the flagship in terms of the menu and vibe. “We want people to feel like they’re in Veselka on Second Avenue,” says Justin. “It’s what works.”

He cited a location they’d opened around 2010 on Bowery with a different menu that they decided to shutter because people wanted the original Veselka offerings. Aside from the Bowery spot, the location in the Market Line also closed with the shuttering of the food hall.

The 4,000 square-foot Williamsburg spot banks on the brand’s future: The restaurant has a 40-seat dining area. The rest of the space will be used as a commissary kitchen for the company’s other restaurants and for mail order. The new location will employ 30 to 50 employees in the restaurant and commissary, depending on the time of year.

During the pandemic, Birchard says, the restaurant saw an uptick in mail order via Goldbelly, as well as with the start of the Russian war against Ukraine. The new space allows the brand to go on its own to expand mail order and maintain control over the process.

Inside, the restaurant is accented with exposed brick and wood paneling, with retro details like the quilted aluminum backsplash, mounted bar stools, and vintage menu boards. There will be a full liquor license eventually, but the space opens serving just beer and wine, and will only be open for dinner at the start.

Other items on the menu include variations on pierogies, also known as varenyky, ($9 to $22), soups and salads ($9 to $23), kielbasa, burgers, and other sandwiches ($19 to $23); as well as the “Stand with Ukraine” bowl, for which proceeds go to relief efforts in Ukraine. Classics from the original make the Brooklyn menu, including beef stroganoff, Ukrainian meatballs, stuffed cabbage, and schnitzel. Full plated breakfasts, as well as items like a $10 bacon, egg, and cheese, are available all day, though breakfast hours won’t roll out until later this summer.

For now, hours will be Wednesday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m. It’s closed Monday and Tuesday.