Restaurants

kestrel

What restaurants have you been to in the neighborhood and what do you think of them?
Here are my reviews:
Tavern on Dean- Good atmosphere, the service has picked up somewhat and they are always really friendly, the food is nothing spectacular and very overpriced but I go there anyway.
Toms - It's Toms.
Cafe Shane - Nice but slow service, food is below average (possibly the worst french fries I've ever had), atmosphere is strangely sterile and ugly but i go there anyway.
Carls Place - Spooky atmosphere, nice fast service, apparantly the food is good but I dont eat meat so that is probably going to make any review of food I have pointless.
The fancy Italian place on Vanderbilt - The food is excellent, the staff is friendly in a Manhattan way which makes me really uncomfortable, the atmosphere is beautiful but again I get uncomfortable in there because I'm a slob and the tables are so close together and it makes me feel like I should be twenty pounds lighter and talking about film or Europe or mortgages. I go there anyway even though it's so expensive.
George's (The Usual)- Friendly diner, I've been going there for like 10 years and I'm happy it's still there and still so cheap.
Soda - Awesome pierogis and veggie burgers and fries, great atmosphere, my favorite place.
New Prospect Cafe - The best restaurant in the neighborhood, usually great service but once in awhile you get a dolt of a waiter, but that is definitely the exception. Good comfort food at 90s prices (I'm getting all zagat now)
City Lighting - Is that in our neighborhood? Anyway, great atmospehere but I gave it several chances and everytime they do something evil (take an hour for food to come, burn something, undercook something) plus they are really expensive so I've given up.
La Gamin - I'm getting lazy now. The crepes were just decent, I like sititng in there, the staff was nice, there were some annoying Williamsburgy people in there but I guess it's not the restaurant's fault. I'll definitely go back.

I know there are more but I have exhausted myself.

anonymous

Subject: Tavern on Dean and the 17% gratuity

Tavern on Dean: Yin: great inexpensive salads (i.e. cobb), great inexpensive wines (i.e. Montepulciano), friendly service, atmosphere.

Yang: yes, entrees are overpriced. And they "grat" every check for 17%, regardless of how many people are in the party. Seriously, what is the deal with that? I know how many of you like to tip 20% regardless, so they actually may be short-changing the waitstaff.

anonymous

Subject: moderator out of control on his own site

Don't get me wrong about Tavern on Dean - I am a huge fan, I look forward to going there, and I go there all the time. I can't say I have ever had a bad experience. But that 17% thing irks me. Don't worry, I'm going to tip you!

anonymous

Subject: New Prospect Cafe

New Prospect Cafe: The problem with this place is that the atmosphere's abysmally dreary -- at least in the daytime. That's the only thing that makes me totally not want to return.

anonymous

Subject: PH Restaurants

Has anyone been to that Le Gamin (SP?) on Underhill? I walked by it the other day and they had an assortment of crepes. It looked REALLY good.

I love Tavern on Dean. Even with the 17% gratuity included, the food and service is always good and that brunch deal is a STEAL!

How does everyone feel about Muddy Waters closing? I am not too upset. :twisted:

anonymous

Eh, forget Muddy Waters. The coffee there was crud and the owner was never nice. Too bad I have to trek to Gorilla on 5th Ave to get good coffee.

anonymous

Subject: Sushi?

Do you guys agree that PH can use a REALLY good Sushi place?

I went to that GEN once on Underhill and wasnt impressed.

anonymous

Subject: underhill?

Sushi on Underhill?

anonymous

Subject: Gen Sushi

Gen is on Washington and St. Marks. It's owned by Japanese people, and I think the quality and service are excellent,, as are the prices. Closed Mondays. DEFINITELY worth checking out. I live half a block away, and am thrilled they opened up. IMHO, Gen is a bit better than Guido on Flatbush. Sorry.

anonymous

I agree, I went to Gen 2 nights ago and it wsa pretty good. I only wish they'd steam the edamame!

anonymous

The prices at GEN are really good but I am a roll gal so when the roll selection is at a minimum, I get cranky.

Geido is DEFINITELY overpriced, cramped and crowded.

Blue Ribbon in the Slope is AWESOME but WAY WAY WAY too expensive. That Nana place is great too but definitely a drive.

I know, what about a THAI restaurant in PH? We can definitely use that (even though Lemongrass and Mango are SO close).

h-bomb

The sushi place on Flatbush a block from Geido is actually better in my opinion -- esp. for rolls. I don't know the name of it, but it's tiny and no one else ever seems to be in there when I've been there. Check it out.

anonymous

Subject: "guido" versus that other place on flatbush

Geido is always our first choice, but if the wait is too long, we go to the little nameless place closer to Grand Army Plaza.

The best part about Geido is that it's more than just sushi and edamame. It's fun to experiment. There's always something else you haven't tried.

anonymous

Subject: sushi tatsu

That other sushi place on Flatbush is Sushi Tatsu.

I order from them all the time, and while it's not the best sushi in the world, it's pretty good.

Yamoto on 7th Ave. is also good, and much cheaper than Blue Ribbon.

daveb

In an attempt to to stick to thread topics, I'm resurrecting this old one.

I had brunch at Saint Marks Bistro Saturday morning this past weekend and I have to say I should have just walked out. It was shocking.

Everything tasted good, mind you. However, a black forest ham and gruyere omelette turned out to be made with half-melted processed American cheese and the eggs benedict was liberally laden with big bits of eggshells throughout. It was nasty and what the hell, I ordered gruyere and they try to pass Kraft cheese slices off on me?. To top it off, the service was crap. The only good thing was the garden and a guitar player they had who was actually pretty fun to listen to.

I've been once before for dinner and while the food was good and without eggshell or factory cheese, I waited almost an hour after appetizers for my entree to come and caught endless attitude off the waitress.

I've never had anything that tasted bad there, quite the opposite, but screw this place. I'm not going back.

emily

When I moved to PH I was really eager to try Saint Mark's Bistro, as a friend in the area has always raved about it. I, too, was underwhelmed (by the food quality/price ratio more than the service). I've never been back--not because I'm avoiding it per se, but because there are always other places that I'm keener to go back to.

dailyheights

What about the bar next door?

emily

I went a few times when it first opened, and liked it, but haven't been back recently as I am too old/lame/married/enamoured of Soda/whatever.

sleighb76

I went to Tavern on Dean a couple of times and never noticed the added grat. I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't check the bill when I'm drinking and noshing. Thanks for the info. The food was pretty good, I really liked the catfish fingers. But they have no happy hour specials. That doesn't make me happy.

Soda-
My friend ordered the chicken salad, the portion was ridiculous and insulting for a $7 salad. It was a quarter breast of chicken on practically non-existant lettuce. I thought the bartender was f'ing with us. I'll go their for drinks and wings, but even their famous double fried fries aren't impressive.

Gen-
A nice local suprise. Their rolls were spectacular to look at and deliciously fresh.

There's great chinese that delivers to PH too, Hunan Wok I think. It's a bit fancier than the bullet-proof Chinese found locally.

innocent x

Big fan of Tavern on Dean, Geido, Amorina (Cucina Rustica? --- whatever it's called). Gamin I like. Good brunch place. The service is European but that's cool. I went to Beast once and would go back even if it didn't knock my socks off. Like Frannys too even if it's expensive. New Prospect Cafe has great enchiladas plate.

Cool that City Lighting is gonna be a Mexican joint. We need one around here.