Add another great restaurant to the food goings-on in trendy Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Cozinha Latina, a recently opened Brazilian joint that favors small plates and to die for drinks, delivers on its name: it is a real deal Latin kitchen.  

Headed by Brazilian-American chef Shanna Pacifico, whose bona fides include Savoy, Back Forty, and Pacifico’s Fine Foods in Crown Heights, Cozinha Latina serves up tapas-style nibbles and larger dishes meant for sharing in a cozy, warehouse-style space – an oxymoron, yes, but a well-executed one – that evokes the feeling of Brazil’s vivid urban centers. Walls are covered in Pichação, a Brazilian style of graffiti inspired by heavy metal band logos from the 1980s, and well-fed plants dot the sills of floor to ceiling windows that stream light across the spacious bar and dark wood floors.  

By day it’s bright and airy; by night it’s a seductive date spot or intimate birthday dinner destination, with candle-created shadows dancing on the high tin ceiling and couples sharing secrets at tables pushed up against a plush leather banquette that runs the length of Cozinha Latina’s dining room.

To start, order the Coconut for Two. It’s a drink with the heft of an appetizer and the visual appeal of the best Instagram pic you’ve ever taken. From here, order the Pão de Queijo ($7) and Yucca Fries ($7) with ancho pepper BBQ sauce and lemon aioli: the former is required comida for any Brazilian meal; the latter is an ideal share plate wherein smoke, citrus, and spice collide. Follow these with the Whole Roasted Delicata Squash ($15) in green Romesco with quinoa and creamy Brazilian cheese then finish with Picanha ($24), Brazil’s favorite steak, dressed in a tangy garlic confit.

After dinner, visit the restaurant’s upstairs lounge for music, art, and more cocktails.