waterfront+brooklyn

[reesek]

friday night we took my mom (who was visiting for the weekend) to Waterfront. she lives in Central FL and is desperate for fish when she comes. Her birthday is coming up, so I wanted to take her somewhere pretty with a reputation for good fish. I've eaten at Waterfront before - but only for catered parties.

the room was still very pretty, but that was about it. the waiter was weird when he was around (called my boyfriend "captain," didn't ask if we wanted another bottle of wine,) and was totally MIA for most of the meal. The food was average. It irriates me that the salad portions are so enormous - and then the mains are pretty skimpy - mainly because of the lack of accompaniment. my mom literally got a piece of fish on a plate. Hers, at least, was hot and she enjoyed it. My scallops were cool and drowning in lukewarm (thin!) buerre blanc. i would have told the waiter - but he declined to check back until midway through the meal. I was happy my mom had enjoyed her fish, but I left with a bad taste in my mouth. Bill for 3...2 oysters, 2 salads, 3 entrees, 1 side dish and one bottle of decent Vigonier was $210 (pre-service). It felt expensive but I wasn't sure why...until the next night.

The next night we went to The Brooklyn - Our service (from Linda) was wonderful from the start. The dozen oysters were divine and I spotted Sonoma-Cutrer for $28 - a total steal. The caesar salad was well executed, mom liked her baked oysters and all 3 entrees were excellent. My mom had alder planked king salmon, i had monkfish with crab & bernaise and rob had blue marlin (the best of the three). The bill for 2 bottles of wine, 3 apps and 3 entrees was about the same as at Waterfront - and it felt like a bargain. as rob put it - "i'm happy to pay that much for dinner, but the first bite should make me go, 'wow, that is so good.'"

the snoqualmie ice cream we had in the bar after with the rest of our wine, espresso and a creme brulee was so good. the best was the vanilla (in an almond-toffee tuile). the chocolate stout was too alcoholic tasting to me, but the banana toffee was also very good...tasted like the holidays. brulee was also good - right ratio (IMO) of crunch to cream. i do love it when the brulee is torched just before service - this wasn't, but it was still very good.

do you like the Brooklyn? It's rarely written about here, and I wonder why.

[little ms foodie]

My husband and I eat at the Brooklyn often. We love sitting at the bar and making a meal out of platters of fresh shucked oysters. I've also eaten in the restaurant a few times. The food is always great. I think the restaurant has a bit of an outdated feel but food and service is always good.

Too bad about Waterfront. They get such mixed reviews. might be worth it to let the manager know about the crappy service!

[tighe]

do you like the Brooklyn? It's rarely written about here, and I wonder why.

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Probably because we're all whores for what's new/different/creative.

I've only been to The Brooklyn once and thought the food was very good. Probably out of habit more than anything, when I'm looking for straight forward fish-house style dining, I end up at Elliott's or one of the McCormick's places. I know that my Mom loves The Brooklyn.

Edited for clarity

Edited November 15, 2004 by tighe (log)

[reesek]

my mom loves McCormicks...but i wanted to take her somewhere new to her (encouraging whorish behavior? )

it is a little old fashioned looking - but i think that adds to the appeal...we were in the bar after dinner for quite a while and i noticed rob looking over my mom's shoulder and looking...touched. it seems he was taken with the older couple who came in for dessert after the symphony. they talking the waiter about the fact that they come in to the brooklyn too often...and it was clear that they liked the atmosphere there.

i love new and hip - but nothing beats watching fritz order natalie her split of champagne. they've been married for 35 years.

[little ms foodie]

i love new and hip - but nothing beats watching fritz order natalie her split of champagne.  they've been married for 35 years.

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CUTE!

[LEdlund]

Too bad about Waterfront. They get such mixed reviews. might be worth it to let the manager know about the crappy service!

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I get the impression that they just don't care, based on the continous complaints about service that I keep hearing. To be fair, I've only eaten there once - and it was during the 25 for $25 last year. While we were treated great in the bar - our food server was awful. Plus, I didn't like the large open dining room. I felt like I was eating at a table set up on a football field. The very large tables full of business people didn't help with that either.

The Brooklyn is always a favorite. The bar is my usual place to eat when I am with friends. It is also a good place to take less "adventurous" eaters (like my family ). The menu is varied enough to make everyone happy.

Probably out of habit more than anything, when I'm looking for straight forward fish-house style dining, I end up at Elliott's or one of the McCormick's places.

The last two times I took people to Elliott's I was actually embarrased by the food, it was that bad. From now on I'm sticking to nothing but oysters and/or crab. And not taking out of town guests

Edited November 15, 2004 by LEdlund (log)

[reesek]

I get the impression that they just don't care

The last two times I took people to Elliott's I was actually embarrased by the food, it was that bad.

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i agree on both points - they would not have cared at waterfront - it was obvious...and the last time my mom was here, we went to Elliott's and i also was unimpressed with the non-raw bar food.

glad to know i'm not alone about the brooklyn!

[braincell]

I'm not sure if Brooklyn is still doing this, but it used to be that if you got on their mailing list, they would send you coupons every couple months. The coupons would be $10 off of lunch and $20 off of dinner.

If you like the Brooklyn (or work in the building, like I used to do), it was great to have those coupons handy.

--braincell

[OnlyTheBest]

I have been hearing about Brooklyn and i have been wanting to go there. Can anyone tell me if it is a quiet place. My best friend from university is comming during Christmas and is being slowly plagued with genetic deafness. She has to wear hearing aids now and if an environment is too noisy it hurts her inner ears alot. I am trying to find quiet seafood resturants. There would be no problem dining early if that might make things quieter.

Please let me know what you think of Brooklyn...I would appreciate it.

Thanks

[Really Nice!]

Can anyone tell me if it is a quiet place.

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It is not a quiet place.

McCormicks on First is quieter towards the back. The food and service are good. Another incentive is to go on Monday nights. Wine is half price.

I spotted Sonoma-Cutrer for $28 - a total steal.

We enjoy their coupon specials. We get four about every two months: 2 for lunch that are $10 off and two for dinner that are $20 off. Food and service are good.

I jumped on a bottle of Niebaum-Coppola Cabernet Franc for about $50. This too was a steal compared to the $45 retail price.

[reesek]

I jumped on a bottle of Niebaum-Coppola Cabernet Franc for about $50. This too was a steal compared to the $45 retail price.

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i need to eat out with you!

[elswinger]

I love the Clam Chowder at the Brooklyn!

I've been to Waterfront once (on my 39th birthday) and I thought the food and service to be very good (though it probably helped that there were 12 of us and we spent close to $1000). I've wanted to go back, but I still haven't been to the Canlis, nor a couple dozen other high-end restaurants that I want to try first.

[OnlyTheBest]

Can anyone tell me if it is a quiet place.

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It is not a quiet place.

Well...thats not good news. I had a feeling it was not quiet there. Thats ok...we'll have to try your suggestion then. Thanks