Reverie Williamsburg redefines indulgence—where sculptural desserts lead the menu, cocktails spark imagination, and vegan dining is elevated to art.

At 135 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, a sensory shift is about to unfold. Opening May 14, 2025, Reverie invites you into a world where dessert is not the final act—it is the story. Created by City Roots Hospitality and helmed by chef-entrepreneur Guy Vaknin, this plant-based restaurant in Williamsburg is part dreamscape, part destination: a lush, botanical retreat where indulgence is reimagined through the lens of plant-based artistry.

This is not simply a place to eat cake and sip cocktails. It is a space designed to awaken the senses. To challenge what you think you know about vegan cuisine and elevate dessert from afterthought to centerpiece. Inside, nothing feels conventional. Every course is crafted to surprise, every detail designed to inspire. Here, sweets lead the menu, cocktails double as sculpture, and the experience unfolds like a multi-sensory poem.

Reverie Williamsburg also marks the Brooklyn debut of Vaknin’s restaurant group, best known for reshaping New York’s vegan and kosher dining scene. Here, the sweet course leads the narrative, supported by savory small plates that whisper rather than shout.

A dessert-focused concept that defies genre, yet feels inevitable. At a time when diners crave immersion and emotional connection, Reverie answers not with noise but with nuance. It whispers, and you lean in.

The Vision Behind Reverie: Guy Vaknin’s Next Chapter

Chef Guy Vaknin has never been one to follow convention. From redefining vegan sushi at Beyond Sushi to shaping elegant plant-based dining at Willow and Coletta, his culinary path has always centered on innovation, intention, and emotional resonance. With Reverie, Vaknin turns his focus to a genre too often overlooked: dessert.

But this is not a pivot. It is an evolution.

With Reverie Williamsburg, he wanted to create a place where dessert does not play a supporting role. Instead, it commands the stage. Paired with intricate cocktails and curated in a space designed for wonder, every element is layered with meaning.

Dessert, here, is not just sweet. It is sculptural. Seasonal. Deeply considered.

The name Reverie is no accident—it suggests something otherworldly, a drift into memory, dream, and imagination. And that is precisely what this dessert-focused restaurant in Brooklyn invites.

Inspired by his Moroccan-Israeli roots, his creative partner and wife Tali, and the botanical textures of nature itself, Vaknin builds a narrative in flavor. Citrus glazes carry floral notes. Fruits are smoked, frozen, or torched. Sorbets arrive slowly, melting beneath petals. The plating tells stories. The taste finishes them.

The result? A concept that feels deeply personal but universally inviting—where the act of dessert becomes something akin to ritual. And in a city known for pushing boundaries, Reverie adds something rare to the mix: softness.

Sculptural Sweets at Reverie Williamsburg

The dessert program at Reverie is led by Executive Pastry Chef Makenna Hale, whose creations feel architectural in form but deeply grounded in flavor. Her inspiration is drawn from nature—botanical textures, aquatic movement, lunar moods, and floral shapes—transformed through pastry into something nearly cinematic.

This is not “plant-based” as a trend or gimmick. It is vegan fine dining in NYC at its most considered.

Hale’s menu shifts with the seasons but carries a consistent point of view: dessert should delight the senses and stir the imagination. Each course is a story in color, texture, and tone. “The Rainbow” travels from soft rosewater meringue to earthy ube streusel in kaleidoscopic layers. “The Sea” arrives glazed in aquamarine, its salt-kissed cream and citrus notes mimicking tide and foam.

The Rainbow may be Reverie’s most joyful creation—a tasting arc of flavors that build in complexity, from rosewater meringue to blueberry cotton candy in a butterfly pea flower cone. But it is only one of several edible narratives. The Garden layers lavender sponge, beet mascarpone, and thyme ganache beneath chocolate sable “soil,” while The Hive honors nature’s pollinators with jasmine milk tea semifreddo, fig caramel, and honeycomb tuile. Each dessert unfolds like a miniature landscape—evocative, emotional, and entirely unexpected.

No detail is ornamental. Every element—from the smoked fruits to edible petals—serves a purpose. The work is delicate but never precious. It lingers on the palate and in memory.

Where Dessert Is not the Finale—It is the Philosophy

Reverie is also certified kosher under the International Kosher Council, staying true to City Roots Hospitality’s values of inclusivity. Yet this is not a place built around dietary restriction—it is a space of creative expansion. Even the savory courses, though elegant, are meant to serve the sweet ones. This is a quiet rebellion against the traditional three-act meal. At Reverie, dessert is not the finale. It is the point.

Savory small plates serve as gentle interludes—refined bites like truffle cheese with micro carrots or squash gratin with brioche breadcrumbs—designed not to compete, but to prepare the palate for what’s to come.

Refined Savory Notes at Reverie Williamsburg

While dessert leads the story at Reverie Williamsburg, the savory offerings serve as refined preludes. Quietly composed dishes that prepare the palate, not distract from it. They do not follow the typical script. Instead, they offer a different kind of satisfaction: layered, seasonal, and intentionally understated.

The Root Vegetable Tart exemplifies this balance—beet labneh and carrot tahini cream beneath ribbons of persimmon and radish, topped with dill and a crisp beet tuile. It’s a dish that feels as sculptural as it is grounded in flavor.

On the lighter side, the Panzanella Salad reimagines rustic comfort through the lens of precision—heirloom tomatoes, pickled red onion, and roasted red peppers mingled with toasted sourdough and basil oil. It’s texture-driven and refreshing.

Then there is the unexpected: Salt Potatoes, served with cultured butter and black garlic cream, their tender insides hidden beneath a salted crust. It is the kind of restraint that rewards attention—a grounding note before the crescendo of sweets.

They temper the palate with warmth and restraint—inviting you to notice more when the sweeter notes arrive.

A Cinematic First Impression: Reverie’s Sensory Welcome

Stepping into Reverie Williamsburg is like entering a different essence of New York. The noise softens, the lighting dims, and suddenly you are enveloped in a world that feels curated not just for taste, but for feeling. This is not a minimalist dessert bar. It is lush, layered, and purposefully cinematic.

The space is a study in contrasts: soft botanicals climbing raw industrial beams, warm brass details reflecting pale green and violet tones, textures borrowed from gardens and greenhouses. The design is neither whimsical nor austere. It floats somewhere in between. A little mysterious. Entirely intentional.

Every table at Reverie feels like a stage. Dishes arrive like small performances—each one plated with sculptural precision. You might be served a citrus-cream dome with a sugar veil or a quenelle of sorbet topped with candied florals. The visual narrative is strong, but it is never performative. It invites curiosity. It slows you down.

That same attention to composition and restraint is reflected not just in what is served, but where it is served.

Inside Reverie Williamsburg: Stillness Made Visible

Once home to the beloved neighborhood café Terms of Endearment, the space has been quietly reimagined for something altogether different.

Designed by Studio RB, the interiors at Reverie Williamsburg speak the same language as the food: layered, global, and serene. Natural textures—polished wood, raw stone, and living greenery—anchor the space in calm, while sculptural light fixtures and artful ceramics suggest the dreamscape that unfolds with each course.

There is a softness to the environment. Not minimalist, not maximalist—just enough. The lighting glows low, inviting quiet conversation. Plates, glassware, and table settings are chosen with the kind of restraint that signals care without pretense.

Tucked into the back of the restaurant, an intimate private dining room offers a setting for celebrations or intimate tastings. For larger gatherings or exclusive evenings, Reverie also offers full space buyouts, providing guests with their own private entry into this immersive, slow-moving world.

Reverie Williamsburg Menu: Dessert, Reimagined

While Reverie offers a complete dining experience, dessert is the soul of the menu, and the first thing you will want to consider. Each course is layered with technique, texture, and unexpected combinations that remind you this is more than plant-based cooking. It is edible storytelling.

You might begin with a trio of delicate amuse-bouches—petite fruit jellies, brûléed citrus crisps, or a play on “soil” made from cocoa and crushed hazelnuts. From there, the menu branches into expressive plated desserts: imagine roasted stone fruit resting in saffron syrup with fennel pollen and almond cream. Or a layered confection of sesame sponge, miso caramel, and smoked vanilla mousse. Each dish aims to evoke emotion as much as flavor.

Signature dishes include “The Rainbow,” a progression through color and texture—rosewater meringue, lychee gel, ube streusel—each layer adding complexity to its kaleidoscopic build. “The Sea” evokes tide and salt, glazed in aquamarine and anchored with a whisper of brine and citrus. Each dessert feels like a quiet story, unfolding on the plate.

Cocktails as Art and the Essence of the Experience

For those who want a full progression, Reverie offers a prix-fixe tasting experience that moves from savory bites to dessert-led creations, all accompanied by custom cocktail pairings. It is not about traditional courses—it is about rhythm and mood.

“Our vision is to elevate dessert beyond the expected, where senses are heightened and the palette uncovers a surprise with each bite. We are redefining what dessert can be—artful, immersive, and truly unforgettable.”

Reverie’s cocktail menu echoes the pastry philosophy: layered, sensory, and slightly surreal. Ingredients are deconstructed and dramatized—beet reduction, black sesame, cardamom smoke, and fruit leathers are as likely to appear as vanilla and citrus. Mocktails are equally expressive, often incorporating foams, floral infusions, and surprising rim treatments. Each drink complements its counterpart—never overpowering, always curious.

A few standouts: Sunbeam, a mango ricotta tequila creation topped with torched meringue, and Crimson, a beet gin cocktail deepened with pink peppercorn and red wine vinegar. Even clarified milk punches like Orchard, with oat milk, vanilla, and blackberry, drink like a dessert without ever crossing into excess. The non-alcoholic menu reflects the same imagination, with options like Resilience, a sparkling berry mix that reads as both vibrant and restorative.

Whether you are coming for a celebratory evening, a date with someone who loves details, or a solo experience at the bar just to take it all in, Reverie welcomes you with quiet confidence.

Reverie Williamsburg: A Soft Disruption in Brooklyn’s Dining Scene

In a borough where bold menus and louder flavors often steal the show, Reverie offers something different—quieter, more introspective. It does not compete with Brooklyn’s culinary theatrics. It gently redraws the map.

By placing dessert at the forefront and crafting a space where cocktails, atmosphere, and emotion carry equal weight, Reverie reimagines what it means to dine out in New York. It invites you not just to taste, but to feel. To pause and to notice.

This is not about chasing trends or staging photo ops. It is about presence. Reverie reflects a larger shift in Brooklyn’s food scene—one that values intention over spectacle, and experience over expectation.

For Guy Vaknin, it is another thoughtful mark in a career that continues to redefine what plant-based dining can be. But for Williamsburg, Reverie is more than a restaurant. It is a destination for beauty, balance, and just a little bit of magic.

Reverie arrives at a time when diners are craving not just meals, but meaning. It is not designed to shock or impress—it is built to resonate. A space to pause. And a reminder that beauty, when done with care, does not need to shout. In a borough always reinventing itself, Reverie Williamsburg offers something rare: a reason to slow down—and stay.

Reverie opens on Wednesday, May 14, 2025

📍 135 Metropolitan Avenue—Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Monday–Thursday: 4:30–10:30 PM
Friday–Saturday: 4:30–11:30 PM
Sunday Brunch: 11:30 AM–10:30 PM
🔗 Reservations available via Resy