A trip to the People’s Playground wouldn’t be complete without a stop at an iconic nosh pit. Check out some of our favorite restaurants and bars.
Nathan’s Famous
1310 Surf Ave between Stillwell Ave & Schweikerts Walk
The dogs that started it all. Nathan’s Famous has been a Coney Island mainstay since it started as a tiny hot dog stand in 1916. Today it hosts wiener-eating contests and feeds throngs of hungry tourists.
Williams Candy
1318 Surf Ave. between 15th Street and Stillwell Avenue
Satisfy your sweet tooth at this 77-year-old Surf Avenue candy shop. Its candy apples are famous, but it is also the only place where you can still get the quintessential Coney Island ice cream flavor: banana-pistachio swirl.
Grimaldi’s Coal Brick
1215 Surf Ave between 12th Street and Henderson Walk
Grimaldi’s is a Brooklyn pizza legend, and the company’s beach location is a neighborhood king. Try the white or garlic pies for a slice of heaven.
Smorgasburg
1320 Bowery St.
at Stillwell Avenue
This brand-new addition to the Coney Island scene offers more variety than you can scarf down by yourself, so bring a couple of friends to the spot’s outdoor tables. Converted shipping containers host two bars and 13 outposts from some of Brooklyn’s best restaurants, including the Red Hook Lobster Pound, Mile End, Blue Marble Ice Cream, and Queen Cobra Thai.
Peggy O’Neill’s
1904 Surf Avenue
between 19th and 20th streets
Tasty finger foods and happy-hour prices are the order of the day at this sports bar and restaurant. Watch out for flying foul balls from Brooklyn Cyclone games at nearby MCU Park!
Pete’s Clam Stop
1320 Surf Avenue
between 14th and 15th streets
Nathan’s may have cornered the market on fried clams, but Pete’s has the edge on boiled shellfish, freshly shucked and safe to eat.
Footprints Cafe
1521 Surf Avenue
at the corner of 15th Street
Conjure up the Caribbean while feasting on rasta pasta, oxtail pasta, jerk chicken, and other palate pleasers from the islands.
Cyclone Cafe
1000 Surf Avenue between
W. Eighth and W. 10th streets
(under the Cyclone roller coaster)
A quintessential boardwalk restaurant with a variety of vacation foods, including caramel apples and funnel cakes. Who can resist?
Tom’s Coney Island
Coney Island Boardwalk
at Stillwell Avenue
The family-owned Prospect Heights mainstay has recently expanded to Coney Island, serving classic diner food with a view of the beach.
Ruby’s Bar and Grill,
Coney Island Boardwalk between W. 12th Street and Stillwell Avenue.
The beloved Depression–era dive has been serving up suds since 1923, even as the Boardwalk around it has changed. A great place to get clams on the half-shell, another Coney staple.
Paul’s Daughter
Coney Island Boardwalk at
W. 10th Street
This beloved mom-and-pop food stand offers soda, hamburgers, and views of the sea.
• Gargiulo’s Restaurant, 2911 W. 15th St. between Surf and Mermaid avenues.
Dress to impress and eat with the locals at Coney Island’s century-old white tablecloth dining establishment, serving Italian fare in an elegant setting.
• Totonno’s, 1524 Neptune Ave between 15th and 16th streets
It will be worth the stroll away from the Boardwalk for a taste of this legendary pizza spot, which has been slinging pies since 1924.
