10/12/09

Awesome coffee and homemade biscuits!!

by Flushingsfinest08

I have been to this restaurant about four times, and love it each time more. The wait time is unbelieveably long, so I stick to going on weekday mornings - on the weekends the wait time can be upwards of an hour. The restaurant is super small so it is a litlle cramped, but the food is so worth it. The coffee is really good and the biscuits are so fresh, they just fall apart. I usually have a breakfast sandwich. I definitely recommend it.

• Pros: great food
• Cons: pricey, LONG wait times

04/20/09

give the owners a break! great food means trouble!

by nbagel

I have been reading all your reviews and can sympathize with all you say. Great food means wait time. All the hype means high expectations. Doesn't mean they cannot fullfill them but in a small place it does require several people working their butts off with no time off. You cannot duplicate the owners - they work hard but cannot always be there. We expect everyone to do the same job and cook as well but....

at a point everything suffers. Hopefully the owners will downsize (maybe dinner) and focus their attention on what needs the most. Obviously breakfast, brunch & lunch. And why on weekends are they not open until 10? Did I read this wrong because I own a bagel restaurant and am open at 6 am. HOT breakfast early. In that, I feel they are setting themselves up for trouble. Open earlier and there will not be those 2 hour wait times. Sounds like they are doing great but maybe need to re-evalute how they are doing it. Don't live in the moment but plan for the future! Love what they are doing and hope they can look ahead!

• Pros: trying to please all
• Cons: people complaining about waite time - done waite!

03/21/09

Weekday Dinner

by joshprosen

Sure, Brunch is alll Hype at Clinton St. But my buddies and I like it for dinner after work- Beer and Burger Special is a great choice. Reviewer said bad looking hosts, but we sit at the bar because of some especially cute and friendly bartenders.

• Pros: Friendly, Easy, Good Dinner in the Neighborhood
• Cons: What are the drawbacks?

02/22/09

Improve service, please!!!

by clintonStreetResident

We've been customers from the neighborhood for more than 7 years and I have to say we now think twice before walking down to Clinton Street Baking Company. For example, today we went to Le Gamin on 5th Street which was really good.

WHY:

The hostess on Sundays is rude and has a really short fuse with customers. Yes the place is mobbed on Sundays but that's no reason not to use words like 'please' or 'thanks'. Smiling occasionally is nice too (two or three sundays ago she didn't smile once the entire time we were there). Sometimes people have come a long way to enjoy the food and this hostess treats people badly. While we waited we were able to watch her become really nasty with some woman (not from New York and admittedly annoying) who was just asking how much longer she would have to wait.

The host on Friday night isn't much better--having loud personal telephone conversations in the waiting area at the front of the restaurant is tacky and when people are waiting to be seated it's really bad service. We felt like we'd entered a 'wise-guy joint' with this host. No one is looking for 5 star service but these people are rude!!!

What's worse is that neither of these two is particularly good looking so the attitude comes off really really badly. I hope the hosting staff isn't an indicator of where things are going at this place--it used to be a neighborhood place where you wanted to go...now it's like anywhere else downtown with decent food (actually the food is always amazing--hats off to the kitchen!!!) and nasty (though not good looking) hosts. 3 stars is generous..it's probably more like 2.5 because no matter how good the food the attitude of the hosts ruins the dining experience.

• Pros: Great Food
• Cons: Long wait and rude hosting staff

02/02/09

Undercooked chicken

by lauragleecontact

Hi My boyfriend ordered the stuffed whole chicken, and the stuffing was clearly bad... let's just say we weren't well for about 5 days. Another friend who is trained as a chef ordered chicken on a different occasion, and when she bit into it it was bloody. BEWARE!!!

I was sad to find out this because until that day, it was a very pleasant place to go. I think I will have to avoid it from now on :(....

• Pros: Good ambiance
• Cons: Sketchy

01/25/09

OVERRATED....is an understatement!

by shireen1

Ok, the "good reviews" are obviously from people who have never been to IHOP. My friend and I had the Blueberry Pancakes, the Banana Pancakes, Buttermilk biscuits, bacon and egg. I'm not sayin' the food was horrible, but definitely not worth a 2-hr wait and a $60 bill!.....I believe 85% of the patrons waiting in the cold for two hours, are there for no other reason than obtainng the braggings rights of sayin you've been to "the one and only CHSB" (i know thats what i waited in line) But, was highly disappointed. If you have a craving for pancakes and eggs go to IHOP, same food, alot cheaper and a lot less hype.

• Pros: pretty good OJ
• Cons: too expensive, horrible service, too small

01/24/09

Highly Overated...Go to IHOP instead

by Acg104

Finally got to Clinton St. after months of being too tired to wait on the line that I had been made aware of by all of the other reviews. Anyway, so as expected my friend and I waited for an hour and a half before we were seated (We went on Saturday morning by the way). Anyway, ordered the buttermilk biscuit sandwich with eggs,bacon and hash browns as well as the banana walnut pancakes..my friend had the same,but the blueberry pancakes. Not that anything was bad ( except for the biscuit which was pretty dry), but nothing was spectacular as I expected it to be. Pancakes were good, not great and I had a hard time eating them because the syrup looked like Buckley's cough syrup.

My recommendation? Skip the wait and catch IHOP on a good day.

• Pros: Restaraunt wasn't cold? No seriously..bacon and my friend liked the orange juice
• Cons: Dry biscuits...weird syrup......longest wait in history! Hum drum service as well

11/20/08

super place

by sethgg

convenient and delicious and fun and convenient and delicious convenient and delicious and fun and convenient and delicious

• Pros: quick and fun
• Cons: not many

11/03/08

Best Fried Chicken

by rosebud158

Yes, their brunches are amazing and the wait is epic but I like to go there for dinner. The fried chicken is juicy, never dry! The fried green tomatoes are cooked in a delicate cornmeal and are a wonderful complement. Steer away from the crab cakes, small and didn't taste fresh.

The baked items are always good so save room for dessert, all are amazing. Usually a biscuit with a side of jam is all I need to end a perfect meal there.

• Pros: All the baked items
• Cons: Brunch wait is epic

10/27/08

Would not recommend

by gm16

I discovered this place because of city guide. However after having brunch there this past Sunday I would say that this place is definitely overrated. We ordered a Spanish omelet and a Vanilla waffle that was topped with pecans and pears. We would recommend the Waffle but not the Spanish omelet. Most around us were ordering the Pancakes. Quite honestly, for the reviews and ratings on this site, I was expecting good food, but we both felt that we could have had this anywhere else for the same cost. Most menu items average between $12 - $18.

• Pros: Good Waffles
• Cons: Overrated..