'Burg Vinyl Bar Serves Natural Wine, Small Plates, Eclectic Tunes

By Emily Davenport, amNY

A Williamsburg eatery has quickly established itself as a go-to spot in the neighborhood for good vibes and to-go libations.

Please Tell Me is a vinyl bar inspired by classic Japanese listening rooms. Tucked away at 749 Metropolitan Avenue, this cozy spot strives to make the guest’s listening experience that of going to a full bar.

“It’s small and intimate, it’s not a big space. The concept was to pay homage to Japanese hi-fi system listening rooms where they are a bar and serve food,” said Eric Griego, co-owner of Please Tell Me.

For a small space, Please Tell Me packs a huge punch when it comes to its sound system. For the Please Tell Me team, curating the right music for the space was crucial — DJs who have come through Please Tell Me have spun everything from hip-hop and Amapiano to UK Grime and Nigerian pop.

“I’ve seen DJs around New York for a while and you don’t always get really good curated hip hop and R&B, like the new stuff they don’t play on the radio or the stuff that’s coming from smaller, independent artists,” said Griego. “You really have to go to a club scene to get that kind of good music, especially in this area of Williamsburg. We wanted to bring that to more of a lounge, date night sort of spot.”

Please Tell Me’s bar highlights a selection of natural wine and boasts a selection of cocktails that are made with natural ingredients. The menu features different shareable options, including saganaki (fried halloumi with honey, flaky salt & figs), fava bean hummus (served with grilled snap peas, chive oil, pita crackers), calamari, and croquettes (wild spring onions, gruyere, potato, caramelized ramps).

“Our chef has worked at a number of different places. Our tapas are plated and priced to be shared between two people. We really have gone deep into organic and natural wines that are hard to find in our area,” said Griego.

Please Tell Me also does brunch on weekends, allowing guests to really lean into the drink program that the bar offers.

“We have DJs during brunch, it’s much more centered around our drink program,” said Griego. “I think especially in the summer with the good weather, we’ve got outdoor seating and it’s a really nice space to enjoy the weather and get good music.”

Please Tell Me leans into the “hole in the wall” archetype with a literal hole in its wall — okay, it’s not quite a hole, it’s a take-out window that sells wine.

The window is open every Wednesday for Winyl Wednesdays, as well as on Saturdays and Sundays for take-out. The wine is served alongside a selection of Please Tell Me’s mini sandwich options.

“[New York] extended the legislation that they had for Covid for restaurants to be able to offer patrons to-go beer, wine, and cocktails. A lot of restaurants stopped, so we thought, we have a really cute sort of coffee window, we have this wine identity. Let’s do something like that,” said Griego.

Griego and the team partnered with their wine providers to pick out some summer wines and make sandwich options to pair with the wine but also satisfy the law requiring food with to-go alcohol. Soon enough, the wine window exploded in popularity with Please Tell Me’s customers as well as passersby in Williamsburg.

“We get a lot of people just want to stop by, they’re walking their dog or they want to go to the park and we’ll just hook them up with a bunch of natural organic wines to go,” said Griego.

In addition to Winyl Wednesdays, Please Tell Me hosts a variety of themed events, partnering with local businesses to elevate their nights and brunches even further throughout the summer. The music that is spun will match whichever group is coming in that day, ranging from R&B to Japanese jazz fusion.

“It’s definitely centered around good music, and we’re gonna try and get some of our neighbors involved. Music is almost a part of the menu, and that comes with different groups,” said Griego. “If you’re someone who likes music, likes to go out to eat, and maybe leave that door open to dance, what we’ve got is like a really good date night spot for that exact kind of vibe.”

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here to see the original story.

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