Came here for lunch, got incredibly lucky with walking in…read more The food was divine, service incredible, and vibes were fun but warm & cozy. - yellowfin tuna + gnoccho fritto: perfect little bites - squash blossom + mackerel: such amazing flavors and the mackerel sashimi was so well cured - seafood rice: so warm and comforting. - blue crab & soft boiled egg: great flavors and the baguette was soooo fresh I cry - fried tilefish: absolutely insane. The fish was perfectly crispy & airy on the outside while juicy on the inside, and the sauce was so well-balanced. Leaving so full & grateful

snagged a Monday reservation for 5:45 and was looking forward to this meal for some time! it was…read morejust me and another friend so we were excited to catch up and just YAP! the inside is intimate and the vibes are good for date night for sure we immediately got to ordering and to be honest im not overly impressed with the food. everything was solid but nothing really hit home for me. fluke was a bit lemony for my liking, thought the softshell crab wouldnt be fried, seafood rice was just lacking big seafood pieces, pomordoro was tasting a bit leafy/stringy service was great and food came out promot i just wasnt impressed- they change their menu weekly so maybe i came an off week

Our experience here started off a little rocky but only went uphill from there. We walked in around…read more8:30 PM on the 4th of July to an empty establishment, minus 2 people sitting at the bar. The host seemed extremely annoyed/ confused at our presence, asking if we had a reservation, asking if we were wanting to dine in, and then going back to the kitchen to ask if we could be served. We were confused why it seemed like a hassle, because the place was completely empty! However, once we were seated, the server informed us that the kitchen would be closing within the next 10 minutes, which made sense of the host's demeanor, however, we didn't understand why she couldn't have relayed that information to us before seating us, so that we weren't made to feel unwelcome! ASIDE FROM THAT- our server was very sweet and attentive and ALL OF THE MAIN DISHES WE GOT WERE DELICIOUS: the ravioli, the tile fish, and the 1000 layer Japanese sweet potato. The bread starter was a little bit lackluster because half of it was cold/ the other half warm, but everything else was DIVINE! The bar area was so cute as well, especially with the random art on the walls, and the dark lighting made it a good environment to have a cute date or a girls night! I will say, I do understand why the host may have been annoyed seeing as how it was 10 minutes before kitchen closing on a holiday evening, however, it did set a negative tone for our dining experience that could've been avoided with proper communication so that we could've chosen to dine elsewhere before being seated. I will definitely still recommend this place to anyway. The food is great!

Have been here half a dozen times now and I'm comfortable saying this may be top 5 for food in all…read moreof Williamsburg. However... People have seemed to realize this so make a res.

Everything about this place felt cool and effortlessly vibey. The staff was friendly, stylish, and…read moregenuinely great to chat with. I also loved that the artwork on the plates is a tribute to the owners' family--it was such a thoughtful, personal touch. This feels more like a cocktail bar that happens to serve great food, and I mean that in the best way. Every cocktail was expertly crafted and unique. The standouts were the Limoncello Milk Punch (my favorite!), the Mela Tini, and The Bialetti. The food was excellent, too. The Smashed Meatball Parm was a clever twist on the classic sandwich. The grilled romaine salad was next level, with crispy pancetta adding salty little bites of joy. The grilled wings weren't especially meaty, but they more than made up for it with their smoky, flavorful seasoning. Overall, I really enjoyed this spot. It's the kind of place that's perfect for starting the night with drinks and bites or ending the evening with one last great cocktail.

Review I'm truly so…read moreconfused why this spot has so many positive reviews. As a bar that is known for their cocktails, they definitely do not deserve to be in the top 50. Maybe Sunday is not the best night to go for the first time? The two stars are for some of the food and service, as Matt was a dream, but if you're looking for mind-blowingly-delicious cocktails and yummy Italian fare, go elsewhere. Felt like the bartender was in a bad mood and taking it out on the drinks, as anything that was built was over-shaken and flavorless. Everything tasted like watered down booze and the food seemed like an after thought. Puttanesca Martini, was the cocktail I was really looking forward to. Did not get all the flavours they tried to achieve, just tasted like tomato water. Was sincerely disappointing. Don Fanucci should've been an interesting take on a manhattan, but was definitely shaken, not stirred, and tasted like watery bourbon. No hints of thyme or apricot, even think the olive oil was forgotten. Was the least favourite and most undrinkable of the night. Sardinian Nights sounded refreshingly delightful, was excited for the plum and pandan flavours, but again just tasted like a lot of soda with a splash of rye. Beet Busdown actually had some flavour, didn't get any of the beet or balsamic, but was at least drinkable. Gemma's Sauce and the Limoncello Milk Punch were the best of the night, but I'm sure both were batched and 3 oz poured over ice, so saved from being over-done/over-shaken. Was also bummed to not try the Arancino, they were out and didn't have them available until the next day, so we opted for the Ossobuco Croquettes, don't. The charred cipollini was the best part of the dish, the pesto trapanese extremely needed for the VERY dry croquettes. The Grilled Baby Romaine and the Rigatoni all' Amatriciana were the highlights of the night, food-wise, but that's not saying much. I was really looking forward to trying this spot but overall was just too expensive for what it was. Can get much better cocktails and Italian fare elsewhere.

Lilia has been on my Brooklyn bucket list for a long time, and I finally got to try it -- and…read morehonestly, it was incredible. Of course, we did what we always do; showed up without a reservation haha... It was packed, and the hostess told us the was no way they could seat us. Defeated, we went outside ans sat on a bench trying to figure out our next move. Then the unimaginable happened. One of the people running the floor passed us outside, started chatting with us, and said, "let me double-check". A few minutes later, he came back and got us a table! He make sure we understood that we only had it for a short window bc they needed it back at a certain time -- but we got at least hour and a half to enjoy it so we were THRILLED. To us that was more than enough. He really went out of his way to make it happen, and honestly wish I remembered his name so I could give him the credit he deserves. And the service from there was outstanding. Even though we knew we had a time restriction, we never felt rushed or hurried for a second. Everything felt relaxed, attentive, and perfectly paced, which made them whole experience even better. Once we sat down, we started ordering as quickly as possible. The grilled clams were insanely good -- flavorful and with just the right little kick. The Nduja & sungold tomato toast was surprise favorite. The tomatoes were so juicy, and the flavors were perfectly balanced. Simple, but SO good. The little gem salad was fresh, crunchy and exactly what we needed in between all the richer dishes. For pastas, I had the mafaldini with parmigiano, one of their signatures, and it was delicious. BUT... I have to give the win to my husband's pick, rigatoni alla diavola. I know they are completely different dishes, and Im usually a white-sauce kind of girl, but there was something about that bold, spicy flavor that just HIT THE SPOT. And dessert... The vanilla soft serve gelato and the warm rasberry tart together were the perfect combination -- creamy, warm, fruity, and just the right way to finish our lucky dinner. Lilia was absolutely worth the wait and definitely lived up to the hype. Another Brooklyn spot checked off the list -- and one I'd happily go back to.

I managed to get a reservation for 4 at 6:30pm when my friends were visiting. I'm not sure why this…read moreplace is so hyped because I found the experience to be good, but definitely absolutely not worth having to snag a resy not at 9pm via priority notify. For starters: the bread was good (hard to mess up though?) the squash was fine, and I wish the tomatoes had been heirloom or thicker cut. For mains: the sheep's milk agnolotti was not for me, it was oddly sweet, I'm honestly not sure why it's so popular. The rigatoni and gnocchi were very good - the rigatoni was perfectly al dente paired with good flavor and the texture of the gnocchi was perfect. Highly recommend ordering these. Dessert: they definitely don't skimp on the dessert, we each got our own but the gelato options were definitely shareable. They also had amaro options which I always appreciate but didn't get this time. The space was a little cramped indoors though that didn't bother me as much as the temperature. It was a really hot summer day and I don't think they had air conditioning? Or if they did it definitely was not at an ideal temperature as I didn't feel like there was much air circulation.

There were 4 of us for dinner and I was instructed to order…read morefor the table. Time to roll up my sleeves here. We started with the hamburger. The sauce was delicious and the whole burger was amazing 8.8/10. The grilled whole shrimps were good but to pricey 8.5/10. The polent bread 9/10. Thick and fluffy! The 2 sheets lasagna verde 8.5/10. Beautiful and tasty. You must get the pork T- bone 9/10! Thick tender and juices flowing like a wet dream. Skip- Wagyu skirt steak it was chewy 7/10. Crispy potatoes- 7/10 Raw tuna w fried green tomatoes 7.5/10. We ended the night with the first 2 desserts on the menu. It was a great meal!!!

Solid spot for dinner and hang time in an area that I really never try to hit when I visit the…read morecity...a friend and I were hitting Nowadays afterwards so we came in for a meal and both thought it was great. My highs: the wagyu skirt steak with butter was charred just right, and I liked the taste of that salted caramel chocolate mousse. As a neighborhood spot, this does a perfect job of serving as a date night spot, or a place I could bring extended family, or even a place where I could bring young kids, based on the two tables near us that featured couples with their young children. I never love restaurants that serve entrees without sides, so it was really strange ordering the steak and having it NOT come with fries or a veggie on the side. Also, likely because we came in for a 9:30 reservation, service was a little too fast for my liking; our server came by a couple more times than needed to grab our dinner order, so we were essentially done at Rolo's within an hour. Next time, I'll be more explicit to slow down our order or to try and create some distance so that we don't feel a little rushed. Otherwise, great vibes and a great time. Looking forward to a return visit before I hit Nowadays the next time I'm in town!

I came here with a couple of friends on a Sunday morning. We made reservations the night before and…read morewere seated promptly. It's a small restaurant with great open lighting. Our waitress was really helpful and we ordered everything she recommended. Her recommendations were perfect. We shared the truffle egg toast which was delicious. We had the ham and egg griddle sandwich, it was fine but I'm not a huge fan of breakfast meat. But the star of the show was the poached eggs, harissa & yogurt. The harissa sauce was amazing, spicy but not overwhelming. The yogurt was such a great addition to the meal . I'd recommend this place to anyone looking for a new brunch spot in the area!

My husband and I arrived around 3:45, not realizing the menu switches at 4. Rather than letting us…read moreknow, the staff didn't come to our table until after 4 -- a little awkward since we were the only ones there. No one brought us water, and we were thirsty and ready to order drinks but had to wait a while before anyone came by. The food was good, but the service left us feeling really unwelcome, so we won't be back.

I was such a fan of this place! The vibe is chill and cool, and the food and drinks were great! I…read morehighly recommend the drink She Smokes When she Drinks, plus the Brussels sprouts and tuna bites.

Really great brunch spot in Greenpoint! Seating is very limited, and we made do with seats at the…read morebar on a Sunday. We got: -The double stack banana pancakes -Steak and eggs -Chicken n biscuit sando -latkes Food was very filling and delicious. Service was very understaffed. It did take a long wait for water refill, and I had to get the waiter's attention several time. Solid spot in Greenpoint!

I came here with a friend for a pop-up. We made reservations in advance, which was good because it…read morewas completely booked up. We sat indoors, but there was a beautiful covered patio out back. We shared a scotch eggs, the late summer tomatoes, and the chargrilled squid on toast. They had a few beers on tap from Talea, which I ordered. While it took a while to get our food after we had ordered, the staff checked in on us and let us know that the wait time from the kitchen was longer than usual. The food was good, especially the squid. Overall, I really liked this spot! It was super cute and would be a great choice for a date or to catch up with friends.

Layla's is one of those Williamsburg spots that just feels easy to be at. The vibe is warm and…read morelively without being chaotic, so it works for a casual hang or a low-key date. I got ciders and they were really refreshing and hit the spot. Overall a cute, reliable neighborhood bar I'd come back to.