Tempo

carnivore

Just had dinner at Tempo last night (in the old Cucina location). We had a great meal and definitely plan to return. Prices were also very reasonable for the quality (although not cheap). Entrees were $19-$24. Entree-sized pasta portions were $17. The menu is pretty traditional, but everything was very well-prepared with fresh-tasting ingredients. Desserts were also excellent.
My favorite item: buccatini with pistachio pesto.

pitu

try their take-out sandwich place next door -- and cherry pistachio gelato

mmmm

daniel

I've eaten there twice. The first time was for "Dine-In Brooklyn", where a number of area restaurants had special prix-fixe menus for $19.52. I had asparagus crostini, the same pasta dish mentioned above, and some sorbet for dessert. We also ordered a cheese platter, which was very fun - the cheese guy comes around to your table with a large platter of cheeses, probably about 10 or 12, and tells you a little story about each one - where it comes from, how it's made, special ingredients and so forth. Erin and I were pretty impressed.

anonymous

IMO, Tempo is one of the top three restaurants in Park Slope. Folks on Chowhound.com have been giving it rave reviews.

If you can't get into Al Di La (hands down fav among Slopers), Tempo is an excellent 2nd choice (and a pretty good 1st choice too).

daveb

Miguel wrote: IMO, Tempo is one of the top three restaurants in Park Slope. Folks on Chowhound.com have been giving it rave reviews.

If you can't get into Al Di La (hands down fav among Slopers), Tempo is an excellent 2nd choice (and a pretty good 1st choice too).

Al Di La has a side bar around the corner that serves most of the same menu. You can usually get in there, no problem.

carnivore

daveb wrote: [quote=Miguel]IMO, Tempo is one of the top three restaurants in Park Slope. Folks on Chowhound.com have been giving it rave reviews.

If you can't get into Al Di La (hands down fav among Slopers), Tempo is an excellent 2nd choice (and a pretty good 1st choice too).

Al Di La has a side bar around the corner that serves most of the same menu. You can usually get in there, no problem.
Thanks for the tip- I definitely plan to check that out.

"It had a side car on it, you know those things?"

Name the quote.

anonymous

Daveb,

Unfortunately, I must say that I absolutely hate the space in that Al di la side lounge. A lot of folks on chowhound have expressed the same senitment. Same food, but not the same dining experience.

daveb

Miguel wrote: Daveb,

Unfortunately, I must say that I absolutely hate the space in that Al di la side lounge. A lot of folks on chowhound have expressed the same senitment. Same food, but not the same dining experience.

I've never had a bad moment there, but perhaps I luck out.

apple pants

I wasn't too pleased with my last Tempo meal. Anyone else think the menu has taken a turn for the worse?

longtimesloper

Wow, you dug up an almost 3 year old thread ?

Umm, we ate at Tempo about 2 weeks ago and enjoyed it.

apple pants

Just ate there, did a search, wanted to know what others thought.

MOD

Seriously stop doing that, it drives us crazy.

Ps if you are bored, go to the lounge there's plenty of time-wasting stuff there

carnivore

Mamacita wrote: Seriously stop doing that, it drives us crazy.

Ps if you are bored, go to the lounge there's plenty of time-wasting stuff there

Apple pants did the right thing. It's good to put some context to these discussions, rather than having 5 different threads about the same restaurant. I don't think it's sucha bad thing for an old thread to get bumped up, as long as it's for a reason, rather than some n00b randomly bumping old threads.

bkchickie

I've been curious about this, and this forum is the place to ask the question: Is this Tempo affiliated with Tempo Cafe space that used to be on the corner of 7th and 3rd or 4th (or not--sorry it was a few years ago and I went there before I lived in NY)? The cafe closed (not surprising to me) and is now a Mexican place.

That cafe was gawd-awful. I had one of the worst cups of coffee in recent memory there.

That experience has kept me from trying the Tempo restaurant. Maybe I should revise that opinion.

apple pants

I had a few good meals at Temp over the years, but the last meal and menu was just bland. I always thought of their food as tasty and decadent, but it felt more like a steakhouse with very basic dishes when I was just there.

carnivore

The buccatini with pistachio pesto is a standout dish.

apple pants

I think the problem is that I hate olives, and everything tasted like olives.

cyn707

We went to Tempo a few times when it first opened, and I always thought the food was good, but for some reason I can't put my finger on, I just found the food and the decor boring. So we stopped going for a while. However I had read that in December (2008) they were running a special where each Saturday night that month they donated 100% of their nightly proceeds to a charity called Modest Needs. This struck me as really generous, so we went one Saturday night and had a fantastic meal.

longtimesloper

apple pants wrote: I think the problem is that I hate olives, and everything tasted like olives.

I don't see that at all with their food. try their pasta with boar ragu, very good.

j0518

I've very much enjoyed every experience I've had at Tempo. I avoided it initially due to incorrectly thinking it was much fancier a place than it actually is (probably due to it being in the Cucina space.)

i wouldn't rank it with the top places in the Slope (although my wife would) but, if there's such a thing as an "almost" second tier, it's certainly there.

i will say this: the maple manhattan is up there with the best drinks you can get in this neighborhood.