Bark Barbecue opened its first standalone restaurant on Wednesday, July 1 at 25 Thames Street in Bushwick, an 8,000-square-foot flagship with seating for nearly 300 people, the restaurant announced. Pitmaster Ruben Santana pairs Central Texas smoking technique with the flavors and traditions of his Dominican heritage, and the name refers to the flavorful outer crust that forms on smoked meats.
Santana, a born and bred New Yorker, taught himself the craft through YouTube tutorials, experimentation, and conversations with pitmasters around the country, according to the restaurant’s announcement. Bark began in 2020 as a backyard project in Ozone Park, where Santana smoked brisket over hardwood on a makeshift rig in his garage and served it curbside to weekend lines across from Vito Locascio Field. The operation grew through Queens pop-ups, Smorgasburg appearances, and a stall at Time Out Market New York before landing a permanent home.
The menu is built on meats smoked low and slow over white oak, a process the restaurant says can take up to 48 hours, layered with Dominican ingredients including imported oregano, housemade adobo, sofrito, and sour orange. Brisket, pork ribs, smoked carnitas, pulled pork, chicharron, and rib tips are sold by weight, with specialties like longaniza sausage and coffee-rubbed beef ribs in limited quantities. New to the flagship is Cerdo a la Leña, a pit-smoked whole hog. Sides are made from scratch and include arroz congrí, mac and cheese seasoned with adobo and Dominican oregano, Dominican torta cornbread sweetened with coconut milk, and platanos maduros.
A cafecito counter opens at 9 a.m. with a Dominican cortado and other coffee drinks, plus breakfast tacos on housemade beef tallow flour tortillas until 11 a.m. What you cannot order yet is beer or wine: the restaurant said an unforeseen delay in the licensing process means beer and wine service is not available at opening, with its coffee program and non-alcoholic drinks on offer while final approvals are completed.
A ribbon cutting on opening day brought together Kenny Minaya, commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services, Jeffrey Garcia, executive director of the New York City Office of Nightlife, longtime Bark manager Julio Logrono, and Hector Garate, founder and pitmaster of Palmira Barbecue in Charleston, South Carolina, according to the restaurant. Lunch service starts at 11 a.m., the restaurant closes at 10 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday and at midnight Thursday through Sunday, it is closed on Tuesdays, and seating is walk-in only with no reservations.
Featured image: Bushwick Daily archive
