A trio of Brooklyn hospitality veterans has opened Val's, a diner and bar at 347 Van Brunt Street at the corner of Wolcott Street in Red Hook, serving breakfast all day and night alongside blue-plate specials, pinball, and pre-made draft cocktails that top out at $12. The owners, Victoria Viscusi, chef Allie Gassaway, and Laine Pelka, bring a combined 50 years of hospitality experience to the project, and they've built the kind of neighborhood hangout that locals say has been missing since another Van Brunt Street fixture shut its doors.
According to eaterny.substack.com, Viscusi, Gassaway, and Pelka want Val's to work as an all-day third space for hanging out, working away from home, and dining and drinking at affordable prices. The name is an acronym built from the trio's first names, and it also doubles as a nod to nearby Valentino Pier, per the same outlet. Viscusi was born and raised in Brooklyn, and all three owners still live in the borough, giving the project a distinctly local pedigree.
The space itself, located in the building that most recently housed Pitt's, per The Infatuation, is split into two distinct zones. There's a front room with a long bar, booths, and an eating counter by the window, and a darker back room with a smaller bar and more tables. A mini-arcade alley stocked with pinball and other games rounds out the layout, the Eater newsletter notes.
All-Day Breakfast Meets Blue-Plate Classics
Val's menu leans hard into comfort-food territory, with blueberry pancakes, buttermilk waffles, eggs, bacon, hash browns, and Texas toast served around the clock. Bar snacks include buffalo wings, three kinds of fries, and spinach artichoke dip, while heartier plates run from a bad girl salad and a cheeseburger to a tuna melt and a $32 steak-and-caesar plate. The Red Hook Star-Revue reports the menu also includes eggs, waffles, tuna melts, burgers, a kids menu, and a weekly pizza night, with weekly blue-plate specials planned on top of the standing lineup.
Gassaway, who runs Val's kitchen, previously worked as chef at Fort Defiance in 2022 alongside Pelka, according to the Star-Revue. She told BKMAG she wants the food to be accessible and simple, with no ego attached — a philosophy that tracks with a menu built around diner staples rather than fine-dining flourishes. Desserts lean into the same nostalgic register, with funnel cakes, banana chocolate malt ice box cakes, and milkshakes among the offerings described by the Eater newsletter.
Cheap Drinks and a Boozy Baja Blast
On the drinks side, Val's keeps prices low: a bottle of Bud runs $5, and a shot of whiskey adds just $2 on top of that, per BKMAG's reporting. Pre-made draft cocktails start at $12, with the menu including a cherry vanilla-vodka Coke and a “blue booze” Mexicali Blast. The Red Hook Star-Revue separately reports the drink list spans drip coffee, nitro cold brew, cocktails on draft, extensive non-alcoholic options, frozen drinks for kids and adults, and even a boozy Baja Blast, while The Infatuation notes that all cocktails are priced at $12 or less.
Pelka said the owners like their drinks very cold and served fast, a detail that fits the diner's no-frills ethos. Viscusi has said she and Pelka wanted Val's to welcome everyone as a place for socializing and gathering, while Gassaway has said Red Hook had been asking for a diner like Val's for years, since Hope and Anchor closed. That earlier Van Brunt Street spot, which Gothamist once visited at the same address, announced its closure in January 2018, according to Realty Collective.
Hours and What's Next
Per BKMAG, Val's is currently open Thursday through Sunday from noon to midnight, with plans to add more operating days soon. The Red Hook Star-Revue had earlier reported that the diner hoped to operate seven days a week and open by July 15 pending its liquor license, though the current schedule described by BKMAG reflects a narrower four-day week. The owners also plan to expand the menu later this year, according to BKMAG's report.
