Patois or Saul

[jturn00]

I've been meaning to try both places, and now that I am being taken out for my birthday I am trying to decided a good place to go (In brooklyn -> cobble hill/smith or court street area). I've narrowed down my choices to Patois and Saul.

Any comments?

Thanks,

Jeff

[Sneakeater]

It's been ages since I've been to Patois, so I can't vouch for its current quality, but based on experience in the long-dead past I'd recommend Patois.

Patois is nouveau bistro done to a fairly high standard. Saul is a very safe, unchallenging, eager-to-please version of haute cuisine. (eGullet poster gaf nailed it when he said Saul could be one of the better restaurants in Minneapolis.)

In other words, you can get a much better version of what they give you at Saul simply by getting on the subway. Patois strives for something more ordinary, but to me it's more satisfying -- and, oddly, harder to find in this town.

(OTOH, the two places seem incomparable. Saul is MUCH fancier than Patois. What kind of birthday celebration are you looking for?)

[jturn00]

I am not sure what type of celebration I am looking for.... But I've always been interested in these two places.

Jeff

[Sneakeater]

Actually, now that I think about it, Patois isn't that "nouveau". (I still prefer it, though -- but that's a highly personal call.)

[MichaelZ]

I much prefer Saul, particularly for an "occasion". It is a much more polished restaurant, and I've always left with a warm and pleasant feeling about the place. Patois, to me, is a neighborhood place, by no means a destination, and rough in respect to many details. This is part of the "charm" of the place, I suppose, but leaves me favoring Saul for a birthday or other event.

[Sneakeater]

FWIW, I agree with you that Patois is not a destination. I just think that Saul is sort of a failed destination.

I probably also agree with you that Patois isn't that suitable for a celebration.

I guess I just think that neither of those two places is that suitable. (Which I acknowledge isn't very helpful.)

[jturn00]

We ended up going to Saul and the meal was very nice. Service was very good and I really enjoyed the ribeye. As for comments on being a destination, we were looking for a place in brooklyn that was near home but nice. Saul was the place. We will probably try patois in the sometime near future.

jeff