After a trip to Montreal last year, one thing stood out to Dave Urbanos. “There was poutine everywhere,” recalls the bar-scene veteran. “It was awesome.” Now, that Quebecoise drunk-food staple is one of several items on the menu of Dave’s new Williamsburg watering hole, Sugarburg.
Presiding magisterially over the corner of Union and Metropolitan, right next to the Lorimer-Metropolitan station, Sugarburg is light-filled and eclectically furnished: a lot of gleaming wood, vintage-looking chair upholstery, intricate lamp-holders and jumbled artwork.
The decor and the restaurant itself is a collaboration between three brothers: Matt (the eldest) has lived in Williamsburg for 15 years, Dave for 9, and Adam (the youngest) for 2. “We all consider ourselves neighborhood guys at this point,” says Dave, “and we basically wanted to create a nice neighborhood bar.”
The menu, featuring the infamously sloppy poutine, is set to expand. Dave explains that their version of Montreal’s go-to late-night snack (or rather, feast) has been adapted for the restaurant: the cheese curds are breaded and fried, and there’s a bit of Cajun spice in there. “It’s a fun twist, but not too far off the original,” he says. This is perhaps representative of the rest of the upcoming menu—which is being developed to include 15-20 items of mostly American fare, with a Cajun influence. Meanwhile, you can fill up on a good selection of craft beers, wines, and a small pool of cocktails.
And the name? “We did a little history jam session one day while we were trying to think of something,” says Dave. “And back in the day there used to be not only the Domino plant, but sugar factories all along the river there.” One of Williamsburg’s nicknames was, as a result, Sugarburg—although Dave admits, “How popular it was, I have no idea.”
Click through the slideshow to check out the space, and see the current menu below.