Inside the Buzzy Brooklyn Café DAE, Where You Can Shop, Eat, and Drink—But Not Snap
There’s a TikTok sound that accurately describes the mental gymnastics you face when you come upon a near-perfect space like Dae, Brooklyn’s newest, and perhaps most curious, design haven: “Shit, shit, shit.” Like many popular, pretty things on the Internet, it’s a mixed feeling of desire and anxiety; you want, but you also don’t want to disrupt. Fortunately, the stakes inside are far less extreme than its decor might suggest. Just no pictures, please.
Housed in a former unremarkable real estate office, Dae is impressive and dramatic, especially against its sleepy Carroll Gardens backdrop. (The fact that its name is the prefix “greatness” in Korean feels apt.) Sun bounces off its brutalist stainless steel bar inside, which serves as both a center of commerce and a visual focal point. Its sleek countertop is “infinity style,” explains Carol Song, who opened the concept café with her longtime friend Suea Cho earlier this summer. “It was the first thing we knew we wanted.” The idea was to leave its reflective surface completely bare—sans cash register, even—a visually striking setup that contrasts the rest of the space’s minimalist, wooden aesthetic with blocky, Donald Judd-esque tables and vintage Scarpa chairs. But then the crowds started lining up.
