Craving a Late Night Snack of Rotisserie Pig? Cooks & Captains Will Have You Covered

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — New details were shared Monday about the restaurant taking over the 5th Avenue location of the former Grand Central Oyster Bar — and they involve suckling pig, tapas and ceviche, among much more.

The future Cooks & Captains, to be located at 254-258 5th Ave., is the work of Peter Best of Best Restaurant Group, a restauranteur whose other notable Brooklyn ventures include Streets in Williamsburg and SoCo in Clinton Hill.

Best said Cooks & Captains will feature an understated ambiance that will be welcoming to families and adults alike. The restaurant will be divided up into multiple sections, including a dining area that can be rented for large parties, a demonstration kitchen where guests can watch their food be prepared, and a bar where people can also take meals.

Some describe the restaurant's menu as "New American 2.0," meaning an organic take on New American cuisine. Among the planned dishes Best mentioned were whole rotisserie chickens, All-American hamburgers, and a cold station featuring sushi and ceviche.

Cooks & Captains will open for lunch at noon, and run until about 11 p.m. during the week and until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Starting at around 11 p.m., it will offer a late-night menu that Best said will include small plates, such as tapas, suckling pig right off the spit, rice plates and tacos.

Drinks will include craft cocktails put together by a mixologist Best is bringing up from Texas. (He also said that the head chef will be known to foodies, though he declined to provide a name.)

Overall prices will generally run from around $8 to $20 for most dishes, he said, part of his goal of keeping the restaurant affordable.

The restaurant's request for a liquor license was approved Monday by Community Board 6's licensing committee. However, one committee member voted against the business, saying that he feared it would further encourage late-night carousing and drinking on 5th Avenue.

Best said he understood the concern, but that the neighborhood needs late night dining options. He also said that Cooks & Captains, which is food-oriented, won't be a likely spot where evening partiers craving pizza and burgers will wind up.

The restaurant will have a soft-opening in January, Best said, with an official opening in February.

[Editor's note: a small change was made to the above Instagram post, for technical compatibility issues.]

Pictured at top: The future home of Cooks & Captains. Photo by John V. Santore