Thomas Beisl

[Steve Plotnicki]

Four of us had what I consider a fine meal at Thomas Beisl, the new Austrian influenced bistro that is directly across the street from BAM in Downtown Brooklyn. We started with a platter of the charcuterie (is there not a German word for this?) which was comprised of two tasty Salamis, some thinly sliced Smoked Bacon (especially delicious) some Black Forest Ham (a little mild) and some Chicken Liver Terrine served with a small bowl of Cornichons. A good dish for the table to split and it offered good value at $13. My appetizer of Salmon Tartar with a Tomato Fondue was less successful as it was lacking in both salt and acidity.

I followed with a Pot au Feu (again, Taflespitz?) Short ribs that were deboned and then sliced against the grain into long, moderately thick slices that gave the appearance of brisket. Delicious broth with a sparse but perfectly poached assortment of vegetables. Quite tasty and one of the better Pot au Feus I've had in the U.S., as well as the perfect thing to eat on a night when my car was showing the external temperature at 10 degrees. Brrrr. Also pretty good value as it came in at $17 I believe for enough food for two people. My dessert of Strawberries with Yogurt and Whipped Cream was fine but not worth the calories as Mrs P might say.

We BYO'd and brought a 2001 J.J. Christoffel Riesling Kabinett that was just terrific. A 1999 Domaine Gramenon Cote de Rhone Sierra le Sud was less successful as I thought it a bit diluted albeit still having the peppery kick that a CdR can have. There was also a half bottle of a Nuits-St.-George Blanc but I'm not sure of the producer and vintage. Arlot?

There was a bit of a scene when the bill was presented as they intitially charged us $30 a bottle for corkage. I started to put up a fuss and the manager came over which resulted in a long and philosophical conversation about corkage and what was the appropriate price to charge at a place in Bkln where the entrees are $15-$17. At first he told us that it was supposed to be $25 and not $30, but eventually he decided to charge us $25 for all three bottles. So if you intend to BYO here, I would check the price before you go. Otherwise my meal was quite enjoyable and I wouldn't hesitate to go back. And the place although not quite full, had a friendly and lively atmosphere.

[La Niña]

Let's not forget the desserts.

Among the four of us, we had the berries and cream (as Steve mentioned), hazelnut & chocolate palatchinken, farmer cheese strudel, and linzertorte. All mit shlag, of course. They were all good, albeit falsely described on the menu. The "strudel," although very nice, had no dough - it was basically a baked cheese custard. The palatchinken were not "chocolate hazelnut" - they were filled with hazelnuts and dribbled with chocolate sauce. The linzertorte had not enough rasberry jam, and too much allspice.

They did bring us over glasses of eau de vie on the house.

My main course was zwiebelrostbraten, which was nicely done (rare), covered with crispy fried onions and roasted cippolinis. The liver terrine came with a lovely compote. The shnitzel was well done, too - although the accompanying cucumber salad was a bit mild for my taste. Spaetzle was very nicely done - good texture, good taste - very authentic.

All in all, a very satisfying meal, and a nice atmosphere - and aside from the misunderstanding about corkage, reasonably priced for what it is.

I'll definitely go back and work my way through more of the menu.

[Toby]

Where did the chef cook before? How would you compare the restaurant, in terms of food, to Danube?

[Steve Plotnicki]

He cooked at Vienna 79 back in the 80's and had a long stretch at Cafe des Artistes before opening this place. And the food is much more simple then what they serve at Danube. It's tavern food. Simple plates. Tasty though.

[jaybee]

I had six oysters as a starter They were only fair, but that may be the luck of the draw? Schnitzle as a main was good, but on tasting, Steve's dish was the big winner of the evening. Fragrant, tasty and hearty.

The schnitzle was served with cucumber salad and "home fries". The quality of the veal was very good. A linzer torte with very good schlagg for dessert. Good torte but short of the Lichtman standard.

The place is a tavern. Comfortable. Service a little disorganized as to who does what. Our waitress, a Parisien lass, informed Steve that she came from the 9th and didn't like restaurants. Typical.

The quality of the food is good, prearations are basic and tasty, and prices are reasonable. Having brought our own, I didn't look at the wine list, but the manager said their wines range from $20-40. The NSG Blanc was Domain L'Arlot.

There is protected parking across the street at BAM.

We started at 7:30 and left close to 11, and were offered a complimentary eau de vie.

Edited January 24, 2003 by jaybee (log)

[MichaelZ]

Three of us dined at Thomas Beisl last night, pre-Twelfth Night at BAM. Total check, with tip was under $100 for a very enjoyable meal. Service was friendly and attentive, with none of the kinks common to new places. The house-made hot mulled wine made an excellent aperitif on a frigid night, and the wines by the glass were well-selected and reasonably priced.

As for the food, the starters were just what you'd hope for/expect. Chicken liver terrine was rich, but in a way that melded the liver flavor smoothly into the accompanying fruit garnish. Endive salad with apples, pears, cheese, etc was a great example of a bistro dish. Soup of the day (Butternut Squash) was just right for the weather, but less exceptional than the other choices.

Mains - Two had the Weiner Schnitzel, which was perfectly fried, and served with parsley potatoes and a cucumber salad. Spatzle were cheerfully substituted for one of us on request. The Goulash, with beef cheeks, was served on spatzle, just right to absorb the well-made sauce. A small dish of pickles accompanied this.

Desserts - What would you expect from a Vienese style place. The Napoleon of Chocolate and the crepes (apricot and chocolate hazelnut) were both excellent.

All in all, a fine experience - both on its own and price/value. Only downer was that the coffee wasn't hot when served, but was quickly replaced on request.

We'll be back. Parking is available in the BAM lot across the street, and the place is very close to several subways.

[Suzanne F]

Thanks so much for the reports. As noted in this thread and this other thread, he's a chef worthy of interest.

Edited January 25, 2003 by Suzanne F (log)

[laura]

It is really great to find such a pleasant restaurant across from BAM. I concur with all of the previous posters about the place. Thanks ,Steve, for observing that the pot au feu could serve two, it did and the price was l6 dollars., a tremendous bargain for the quality and quantity. I had heard good things about the spatzle {sp} so they very nicely gave us a sample, it was excellent,

not in the least bit gummy and overcooked , as it often can be. The palatchinken were good, the filling of apricot jam , was too sweet and sugary.

The only problem was the coffee, not good, neither the espresso or the regular' . Oh well, that is typical for NY restaurants, I don't know why I continue

to order coffee as I am so often disappointed. I would definitely return.

[twhalliii]

Went here tonight for dinner... a nice stroll through the neighborhood and with the lovely cool breeze, we ended up walking out of Park Slope toward BAM and to the patio of Thomas Beisl... I really enjoyed the food, but at 8:30pm on a saturday night, the place had the feeling of a morgue. When we arrived, there was a single two top eating indoors, and maybe five tables on the patio. Any word on if this place is in trouble? I haven't been in a while, but maybe I'll start going more often. There seemed to be only one server on the floor, she was very nice if very slow, and no one on staff seemed too pleased. I said 'Thank You' to Chef Beisl on the way out as he was sitting at the bar with nothing to cook at 9:30pm. ouch.

Dinner-- my Mrs.-to-be and I shared the savory crepes stuffed with smoked trout and saurkraut and topped with a creamy mushroom gravy, and she had the Wienerschnitzel (perfectly done) and I had the Beef Cheek Goulyash with spaetzle. A large glass of Gaffel Kolsch beer forf her, a big bottle of San Pellegrino fofr me, and we were out of there at just over $50. VERY reasonable. The food was excellent, I loved every bite on the generous plate. We philosophized as to why the place wasn't doing better (ranging from bad service issues to slow weekends in August to the popularity of Austrian cuisine) but no matter; despite the less than stellar turn out, the food was as good as I remembered which is, to me, the sign of a good chef. Stop by if you're in the neighborhood, I'm sure your visit would be appreciated.

[Sneakeater]

FWIW, I think the blessing and curse of Thomas Beisl's business is that it's largely BAM-dependent. It's outside the more populated part of Ft. Greene; most locals have to walk a bit to get there. (And there are a lot of decent-or-better restaurants they'd pass on the way.) So I don't think it gets a whole lot of walk-in traffic (and I don't think any of us would call it a destination: if you have to travel to get there, you'd do much better traveling to Blaue Gans). If you go on the night of a BAM performance, though -- either before or after -- Thomas Beisl is packed.

Edited August 13, 2006 by Sneakeater (log)

[H. du Bois]

Do yourselves a favor and go to see The Illusionist at BAM. Let the imagery of early 20th century Vienna seep into your bones, then cross the street and eat at Thomas Beisl. It's a nice film/food pairing.

ETA: I had the paprika chicken with spatzle (a special), and a glass of Gruner Veltliner. My companion had something vegetarian but delicious nonetheless with mushrooms. Both were very good, and the bill was very reasonable. I agree with SE - their business is BAM driven.

Edited September 13, 2006 by H. du Bois (log)

[lambretta76]

Granted, I've only been for brunch, but I find it to be quite a good value - very good food and reasonable (nbut not cheap) prices. There seems to be alot of care put into everything they make - I imagine once Flatbush Ave. gets luxury-condoed that they'll do much better business-wise...