You're not one to buy the hype.

So when a tiny corner bar and restaurant on the outskirts of Williamsburg is being talked about like the next great Brooklyn hipster enclave—partly due to the fact that it was one of Heath Ledger's pet projects—you approach with caution.

Allow us, then, to take you on a tour of what to expect when you're out in Brooklyn and want to stop by Five Leaves—opening Wednesday (Sept. 17, 2008)—for a beer and a bite.

First, the designer is the man behind such barroom favorites as Moto, Smith and Mills and Tailor, so you'll notice the same attention to detail, handcrafted look and hint of cool about the place. The end effect is a bar that Thomas Edison might have built for his buddies. The handmade light fixtures are steel and wire concoctions that seem right out of a lab, and the bathroom door is a massive, '20s-era boiler room door. Even the walls are covered in what the owners call "steel wallpaper" (trust us, it's cozier than it sounds).

The details, carefully labored over by Ledger who drew the floor-plans himself, are all meant to be a super casual California- and Australia-tinged cafe, coffeehouse and oyster bar, with greenmarket snacks like Sliced Radishes on Toast with Evans Farmhouse Butter.

And starting with tonight's (Thurs, Sept 12, 2008) friends and family opening party, you'll probably see a few famous faces amongst the Billyburg faithful.

OK, maybe you'll buy a little hype.

Five Leaves is located at 18 Bedford Ave (at Lorimer and Nassau), Brooklyn.




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