09/26/09

Bad service, decent food

by lalapine

We live in the neighborhood and have seen the place before, so we finally stopped it because it looks nice--exposed brick, open oven, nice atmosphere. We ordered an appetizer and our entrees. They brought us our drinks, bread, and salad in a timely manner.

In the midst of finishing the salad, our waiter asked if we would move tables so that the restaurant could accommodate a large group of 10, 4 adults and 6 children. The table they offered us in its place was right next to the door, so we declined. The only other table they had to offer us was next to a man with his daughter who had been crying the whole time we'd been there, so we declined that table as well. They kept saying that the man with his daughter was about to leave as they had paid their bill, but the waiter cleared us up from our table before they had a different table set up for us so we had to stand around for awhile. After they finally got us a table, we were feeling pretty annoyed so we decided we'd rather pay for the appetizer and just leave. The manager came over and tried to talk us out of it, but we kept insisting we wanted to leave, so she basically held us there until our entrees came out and then said, oh well your food's here already, and then walked away. The waiter said he would offer us free desert or a glass of wine, but we don't drink and a $5 tiramisu isn't adequate compensation for moving people who have already started their meal. I pointed that out to them as well as that the large group they let in were clearly tourists whereas we lived in the neighborhood and would likely have come back if the service hadn't been so poor. The manager then brought us the menu and said we could order anything on it on the house (I wonder if we could have ordered a steak to go?), so we finally just told her to take one of our entrees off the bill but that we would pay for the appetizer and the other entree. When she brought us the bill, she had taken off the appetizer and left both entrees on the bill. We just paid it so we could get out of there because we were so annoyed and weren't able to enjoy our meals, though the food itself was fine.

I should also mention that though they seated the 6 kids, after a few minutes, the kids decided to go outside and play football, so restaurant didn't even end up needing our table.

• Pros: Good location, decor
• Cons: Poor service, poor management

04/06/09

Nice cozy place with delicious food!

by CSMobileUser

I love SEaport area on a nice sunny day. Last Saturday I found another jewelry hidden - beautiful italian rustic trattoria with a brick oven for pizza lovers. I am not a pizza fun, but it was just amazing-thin crust, crispy with fresh rucola and best prosciutto i've tried. And spaghetti carbonara was just perfect,

I love the seaport area and last Saturday I found a hidden jewel behind Fulton street.good food and service but the pizza was the highlight . Delicious well cooked but simply delicious. A nice joint with real Italians!!!

• Pros: Example: best croissants in town
• Cons: What are the drawbacks?

03/26/09

Great choice in the seaport

by andrewgibson2003

We just moved to the Seaport area so are busy sampling the local bars and restaurants. This is tricky because the seaport area has a mix of good places (which tend to be the older places, there for some time and off the main tourist drag), so-so places (if you see Wall St types inside, they are probably past their prime) and bad (the ones who cater to the one-time-only visitor never expected to return.

We tried Il Brigante unsure of what to expect, since it looks a bit touristy from the outside. Having lives in Little Italy, Chelsea and the UES, I know my NY Italian restaurants and this one is definitely better than average. The decor is a bit kitsch - like it's trying to look Italian but just looking kitsch, but the ambiance is actually quite cozy (mostly in a good way, but tables are VERY close together too). Most important of all, the food is surprisingly good - we ordered a mix of appetizers for the table, which were quickly and appreciatively devoured. Main courses were great too - pasta was perfectly cooked, with a great sauce. Dining companions all seemed to rellish their food too, and pretty much everything in front of us was soon eaten.

I would definitely recommend this place. It's not THE best Italian in NY, but it's one of the better ones I have eaten at and I will definitely make it a staple in my new neighborhood scene.

• Pros: Surprisingly good Italian with good ambiance
• Cons: a bit cramped