We're neighborhood originals and can happily & honestly say, that our experience at Cafe Spaghetti…read morewas EXCELLENT! When we arrived they seated us at a table in a smaller section that we really weren't comfortable in. I was unaware of the various sections they have within their restaurant and picked what I thought was their larger inside seating area. Thankfully, our hostess (and every server that came through) was super accommodating and we had a short wait for a cleared table in the backyard area. Everything from drinks to food was tasty and flavorful. EVERY staff member from the bus boys to our amazing waiter Tommy, was warm, friendly and were all smiling and welcoming.... It's a Brooklyn thing that should always continue that many establishments forget about. Gia and I shared the Cacio è Pepe rice balls and pepperoncini clams for appetizers and skirt steak (app Brussels sprouts on the side) and the bronzino as main courses. All were top notch! Lots of textures and delicious. And if you go, MAKE SURE you try their made-in-house Tiramisu. It's spectacular and not to be missed. So light and so delicious. Pair it with an Espresso martini and every bite brings you closer to heaven! We'll be back for sure and will finally be able to reco a solid Italian spot within Cobble Hill. Thanks Cafe Spaghetti Crew... you guys are the best

You know when you crave something very specific? Your mom's cooking. Your aunt's chocolate cake…read more Something that just hits a very particular spot. Cafe Spaghetti's meatballs are that for me. I walked in, the hostess found me a seat at the bar, and the bartender was attentive from the start. The whole place has a great energy. Old Italian music mixed with just enough 'ABA and 80s electro to somehow make perfect sense. The Caesar was easily big enough for two, and everything felt very reasonably priced. But yes...the meatballs. They were perfect. Soft, rich, a little fatty in the best possible way. The kind of bite that makes you stop and think, wait... what is this? I've had plenty of meatballs, but this is THE meatball. The benchmark now. The one everything else gets compared to. Wonderful place. Definitely somewhere I want to bring friends and family just so I can say, "You have to try this meatball."

There was a lot of hype when Swoonys opened and reservations were hard to get. I grabbed one on a…read morerainy day and realized it is in the former Longshoreman space, which I used to love. I went specifically for the burger and flavor wise it delivered. The smash patty was rich and well seasoned. The only miss for me was the English biscuit style bun. It tasted good but the texture did not fully work with the burger. Fries were excellent and easily a standout. Drinks were fine but nothing memorable. The space is dimly lit, romantic, and thoughtfully designed, and service was attentive throughout. Because the location feels a bit out of the way, I do not see myself rushing back, but I am glad I tried it. Also their matchbooks are beautiful and were honestly one of my favorite details of the night.

Nice spot nestled in Cobble Hill area. Service was on point, drinks were Ok. For Appetizers, we…read morehad the Brussel sprouts (good!) and the smoked bacon (eh...). Don't bother with the bacon - nothing special. They're known for their smash burger which looked really good and my wife and cousin enjoyed theirs. I had the Short Rib au poivre and my cuz had the roasted chicken. Gotta tell ya - OK but nothing that really wow'd us on those two choices. The fries, though, were killer shoestring fries - hot n salty!! Yum. Glad we found this spot, friendly enough, but not sure anything's here to lure me back - maybe the burger and fries!

Celestine was great. Nice view, great service, great drinks... what can one complain about? Well,…read morefor one, the amount of gristle on my steak. But I'll get back to that later. APPS We started with the crispy zucchini, which was absolutely the star of our night. The whipped ricotta with hot honey was delicious! Great flavor, A+ dish. DRINKS I ordered the mango paloma and it was perfectly sweet without being overly sweet, with a good punch of tequila without overdoing it. Very well done. My wife ordered the watermelon cosmo and really enjoyed it. MAINS For our mains, we shared the smoked half chicken and the NY strip steak. I was a bit wary about ordering smoked chicken, expecting it to come out dry, but it was tender and moist. Unfortunately, it was just a bit bland, and the fried artichoke was inedible. It tasted like it had been sitting in the oil too long. the star of this dish was the lime! the lime is seasoned and hit with a flame so when you squeeze a couple drops of the lime on the chicken.. WOW! amazing flavor bomb! I almost asked for another lime. The NY strip was tasty, tender, and perfectly cooked. Unfortunately, there was way too much gristle. If you know steak, you know sometimes there's a little gristle. No big deal, you can't escape it sometimes. But this was too much. I threw out at least 1/4 of the steak because the gristle was just too thick to even cut around. One thing my wife and I both agreed on is that the dishes needed some potatoes. Oddly, the only spud option on the menu is a side of french fries for $14. Some mashed or roasted potatoes would have made a BIG difference here. DESSERT Anyway, we finished up with the lemon cake. The passionfruit curd tasted fresh and delicious! It really brought the cake to the next level, and you could tell this dessert was made in-house instead of being one of those frozen desserts so many restaurants order from distributors. All in all, a beautiful place for a date night. Take a walk along the water before or after your meal to make the night perfect.

The food was absolutely amazing. The service was to be desired…read more We unfortunately did not have time to enjoy entrees as service was so slow and we had plans after dinner, but the appetizers and dessert we did receive were 10/10. I am so sad we didn't make it to entrees because the menu looked amazing and what we did get to snack on was out of this world. The view of the Brooklyn Bridge from the patio is unreal. I absolutely recommend this restaurant, and I am sure our slow service was a fluke. Next time we are in NY, we will definitely give Celestine another shot for entrees.

I came for dinner on a Friday night to meet my friends. Due to some transportation and weather…read moreconsiderations, I ended up arriving quite a bit earlier than our reservation and just stood by the host table. It gets really busy, as they do take walk ins and have bar seating. I actually was seated a little earlier than our reservation and the host let me keep my travel bags at the front behind the host stand which was much appreciated. So we wanted to come here because they had a restaurant week special with a 3 course meal for $60. It is flexible, and if there was someone in our group who wanted to order off the regular menu, that could be accomplished. Everyone in our group went with the restaurant week menu, which i will also note was more vegetarian friendly than the normal menu. I ordered the she-crab sherry soup for my starter, the fish and chips, and the devil's food cake for dessert. I absolutely loved the soup, and they poured the sherry on table side so you could really taste it. The fish and chips were also fantastic, the fish was fried perfectly and really flaky, and I liked that it came with both vinegar and tarter sauce. The devil's food cake was good, but the other desserts were incredible. My friends and I ordered all of the dishes on the menu so we could share and honestly, nothing was bad, but the stand out dessert was definitely the strawberry sorbet. We couldn't stop eating it. I hope it is on the regular menu too in the future, it is that good. We also ordered oysters at the beginning to share. Our waiter noted that, but we realized we didn't receive them with our appetizers so we asked about it, and we received them later in the meal. The server apologized, and took it off our bill which was not necessary, but much appreciated. Overall, an excellent experience. I also loved the decor, it feels very European, and the light fixtures are lovely.

We came here last night to celebrate my birthday. We wanted something slightly different from a…read moretraditional steakhouse, and these guys have a Korean flair. Let's start off with their convenience. Located right off the F train at Metrotech, you couldn't ask for an easier trip into Brooklyn. And before 5pm, you can hit up their happy hour. We were early for our dinner reservation so we sat at the bar and ordered their teeny martinis. I had Gibson and my wife ordered a dirty vodka martini. Both were beautifully made and delicious. For dinner, we got the wedge salad, crispy hen of the woods mushrooms, pork pot pie, and steak frites. The wedge was a bit too fancy but decent. The mushrooms were very heavily seasoned which I actually loved. The pot pie was very good and the steak was exactly what you expected. We did order the foie gras au poivre sauce, only to find out that they didn't have any that night. We finished off with the sticky toffee and it was great. Our server was very attentive and checked in on us numerous times. The space itself is a beautiful historical restaurant. Overall the food is good, and the atmosphere is not the traditional stuffy steakhouse you find in Manhattan. I don't know if I'll necessarily go out of my way to come again, but it's a overall good spot to eat at.

Food: grilled artichoke and burger were delicious (5 stars). The sea bass was 3 stars. The fish…read moreitself was tiny and lacked flavor but the broth was delicious, a bit salty but flavorful. Service: friendly but incredibly SLOW. After finishing my appetizer and waiting what seemed like forever for my entre, the waitress asked if everything was ok. I told her I'm still waiting on my entre. I was prepared to leave to be honest. I saw she went to the kitchen and about 10 minutes after, I received my meal. Ambiance: dim lights, intimate set up. Great for a date or gathering with close friends. Sorry, I didn't get to photograph the burger. My date was so hungry they ate it out before I had a chance to take a photo. If you go, definitely try the burger and grilled artichoke.

Pointed out large Roach crawling up kitchen wall and staff tried to kill and it ran down crack…read moreI get it's nyc but pretty gross and nothing said to us like sorry we are embarrassed etc Spent $250 on food and wine and not a great way to end dinner w roach... Chicken good Wine good Artichoke great Meat olive melon tray yummy

Wow what a cool find! After walking over the Brooklyn bridge into Dumbo, we ventured off to vinegar…read morehill house for a much needed breakfast. Everything about this place was just the perfect vibe we were looking for. Easy menu. Good food. Great people. I could stay all day here just talking to our bartender and kitchen staff. The comte cheese in the omelet was divine! The sourdough peach pancake was sinful! My boyfriend even had a shot with hr cook! Such great times! Will be back for sure next time we're in town.

Had a yummy brunch here today. Service was great and the food was delish! We sat outside in their…read moreback garden which was super cute. Only critique is their pricing being a bit steep.

My wife and I had dinner last night and we had a pleasant overall experience…read more We were seated in the back room along the wall and despite the tables being very close to one another ( the person next to me was dropping way too many expletives for my liking) it was a nice vibe with low lighting and excellent music not too loud that we could hear one another just fine. I had the very good burger with very good French fries while my wife had the Tomato and Ricotta plate and string beans with garnish. We had two glasses of white wine ($15) which was good. We will come back - maybe sit at the walk up bar on a lazy Sunday - and will try to order something other than their burger Total bill with tip $150 - not cheap Enjoy

We finally made it into Lonnie's for dinner. Yes, it's only been open for a couple of months, but…read moreit isn't often that a full-service restaurant with a good pedigree moves into the neighborhood, so I feel that I've been remiss. It's a winner. We showed up before our reservation, but the lovely hostess quickly got our table ready and there was no wait at all. Really, every staff member we encountered was sweet. The Sundowner (an old fashioned, flavored with grapefruit and amaro) hit the spot after a long day with my family, and the winelist has a few good options by the glass as well. We enjoyed the octopus skewers (SUPER tender, which is half the battle), the tempura squash blossoms (so delicious), a light and fresh cucumber soup with crabmeat, a simple lettuce salad with a bright and addictive dressing, the seasonal tagliatelle (corn, tomatoes, butter), the burger (can't be sad about it), and my favorite bite, this stone fruit/cured ham/stracciatella situation that blew my mind, despite the peaches not being perfectly ripe. Lonnie's isn't perfect, but they are still new and the issues are minor and will probably shake out over the coming months. Those Minor Issues: 1. If it were my place, I think I'd want my servers to tell tables there are only two squash blossoms in an order, and we should add another on for the third person at our table. This is a good practice for any shared plates. 2. The food running could be tighter. There was a slight hiccup (we saw some more) where they brought us some complimentary desserts right after we got our drinks. I was all for accepting them because I'm a terrible person, but my wife sensibly and kindly told the server that it was probably for another table. 3. No kid menu as of yet, although there were several kids throughout the restaurant (this is Boerum Hill). Some might say this is a feature though, not a bug. Similarly, the light is low and gorgeous, so I couldn't capture any of the beautiful plates I'm talking about in a photo (only a cocktail). Not a real issue for me, but it could be for some. Much like any other excellent, interesting restaurant these days, this is not a cheap meal. However, I appreciate that the burger comes in at $26 (not that bad these days), and it includes excellent fries (having to add them on is an insult). All in all, a place we're happy to have in the hood.

We recently celebrated a family member's college graduation at Barbalu in Brooklyn, and we found…read morethis hidden gem. This cozy, family style Italian restaurant offers a warm atmosphere and an impressive bar. We enjoyed refreshing drinks, including peach spritzes, classic old-fashioneds, and Aperol spritzes, all while soaking in the inviting vibe. We ordered burrata and shrimp / calamari to start. Our meal featured a variety of entrées, and everything was delicious. The bronzino was a standout, while the ribeye steak earned rave reviews. The lamb chops and roasted chicken also delighted our taste buds, and we wrapped up with their delightful tiramisu. Barbalu truly made our graduation celebration special. Special thank you to Adriana and the staff for great service.

Salty, bland, and overpriced for small portions with slow service. Ambiance exuded PE-backed…read more"upscale Italian" restaurant that had no soul. I had the short rib ragu; the pasta was al dente but the sauce was lackluster - way too salty yet still bland and 1-note. Meat was tender but wish there was more. Portions were tiny for a $28 pasta. House bread was stale. Overall, not the worst if you have $60 to spare for dinner and eat a bite somewhere else beforehand. Ambiance is strange: hard uncomfortable wooden chairs and tables complemented by a florescent half empty deli counter.