I dined at Speakeasy last night with two friends. Apologies for not having my camera — it was late (around 9 pm), and I had just returned home from a stressful grad class, and I forgot to bring it.
For 9 pm on a Monday night, the place was pretty full. There were a large number of people there who were just chilling at the bar, and most tables were full. The atmosphere inside was quite nice, and I personally thought the decor looked great. The chandelier is gorgeous! The crowd was also very diverse. My friends also spotted a famous actor there dining (but I didn’t know who he was).
Food: we started with spicy wings as an appetizer. They came with a sort of sweet-spicy glaze and were topped with fresh cilantro. Excellent, I thought. Between us for dinner, we tried the roast chicken, the miso-glazed salmon and the… short rib? All were really great — flavorful and well-seasoned — and there really is something to the idea of “comfort food.” Suddenly, we all felt kind of snuggly and content (seriously, we did). We waited a really long time between our wings and the entrees, which was really the only problem we encountered during the evening. Also, a few “key” items were not yet available, namely the lamb and the steak. Will have to go back for those another time.
Not bad for opening night.
The prices, as noted by several readers, are a little too high. If the entrees were all $3 less, I’d probably go for dinner there quite often. Also, my Heinekin was $6 (!!!). I’m really looking forward to them serving brunch, especially on a snowy morning, since I live close by.
Anyone else go last night? I know this place has received a lot of flack in the comments, but do go check it out before hating on it! I thought it was lovely overall.
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34 Comments
Glad to hear a good review ; But as you say…with those prices, I’ll probably stay away. Also my impression from the outside looking in… it wouldn’t take much to fill the place as it looked really small.
Come on guys, good food is not cheap! These prices are not expensive!
Agreed that thoughts on the prices maybe should be reserved until sampled, but $6 for a beer is pretty unfortunate.
I’d disagree. Good food can be cheap and mediocre food is often expensive. I definitely plan on trying the place but 17 bux for a piece of poached salmon or 15 for fettucini with chicken is expensive unless its really something great.
My partner walked past it last night (we can see it from our bay window on Clinton Avenue). He agreed about the prices, but I think we’ll let it settle in and give it a try when brunch begins. I’ll be back with a review!
I think it’s alright to have at least one place in the neighborhood that’s slightly pricier, and for those of us living in the Fulton area, it’s great to finally have another place where to have a quality meal. One can only eat so many $2.99 dumplings from Eagle City.
I am reserving judgment until I try the food. That being said, I was definitely disappointed after seeing the menu/prices. I would have been happy with either a reasonable neighborhood place or a pricier place serving innovative cuisine. But Speakeasy seems to be offering typical food at high prices (at least for C.H.).
I’ve never seen an establishment receive such shit before opening, and it continues to be disappointing when I read this blog and have to read everyone’s premature and petty hate, In my opinion all of the damn resraurants in this neighborhood are pricey for what they are, except for maybe Castros and the diners sprinkled throughout. Thank you Lesterhead for going out there and reporting back about the truth of this new restuarant. I wish it much success.
oh and before the spelling police get me sorry about the resraurants i do know that the proper spelling is restaurant.
Wobash, calm down. Why are you taking this so personally? Do you have something at stake or are you really THAT invested in a stranger’s success deserved or not?
For residents to simply state that the price point of the menu items is disappointingly high is not ‘hating’, nor is it any reflection of the cuisine. It just is what it is; a simple statement of opinion. To call it premature is erroneous as well, the menu has been posted with the prices set. If a comment is made that $6 for a Heineken seems unreasonable I think we can all, based on our previous experience with Heineken and its typical cost, claim without fear of rebuke or contradiction that the price is high.
If paying high prices for food is a personal mission for you, then go to. For me, I assume that you’re in the minority and that will likely hurt the establishment’s chances.
I have to agree with Wobash — I’ve been reading these posts and I can’t believe how many complaints there were about the decor before the place was even finished, and now about the expensive food, which no one has even tasted. No, the entrees are not under 10 bucks but there aren’t too many local places where they are anymore. I checked out the prices for salmon entrees at several local spots: $15 at Chez Oskar, $18 at Luz, $18 at LouLou’s, $17 at Tamboril…most of the restaurants around here (and I do consider FG/CH too closely related to separate), especially new ones, are not cheap. Real estate is driving everything up and CH is a hot spot so get ready to pay for it — for food, for beer and for apartments. If not, well…the B38 goes straight to Applebee’s…
Just returned from eating there tonight for the first time. Prices were pretty much comparable to any other restaurant in this neighborhood. The decor was stylish, relaxing and comfortable. The short ribs were tender and smooth enough to eat without a knife. AMAZING! Clientele was beauitful, service was exceptional and there were ample buybacks for the amount of cocktails I consumed with my friends. I hate Heinkeken so instead I spent $6 on Tanqueray and Tonic. It was the perfect place for me to go and “calm down” content with the fact that I have better things to do with my time than bash a perfectly fine restuarnat for no good reason.
oops! I did it again! LOL!
And house of wax to answer your question: yes, i am highly interested in the success of small businesses in new york city especially since there is a very high risk of every street corner being bought out by a Starbucks instead of an institution that is home grown and locally owned. Many might not drop $6 for a Heineken at a small business establishment but they wouldn’t think twice about dropping $5 for a caramel mocha latte at above mentioned corporate coffee chain. I agree that a $6 Heineken sorta sucks and a caramel mocha latte ultimately tastes better, but then again I don’t drink the stuff and I couldn’t tell you the first thing about bar overhead. However, I do know what a fabulous chandelier looks like….and Speakeasy has it!!
Ditto Wobash. However,maybe it’s just a case of how face to face discussion allows for a more authentic reading/understanding of another’s message. Anyway-Personally, I love hearing the perspectives of others. I do not, however, expect others to give a damn about my opinion of a restaurant. In fact, I often don’t tell friends of negative experiences(unless a place is not clean) that I have at local restuarants- cause that is just my experience. I wouldn’t want folks to avoid a place just because I had bad service, or didn’t enjoy something. Isn’t being able to make an independent , choice about where we patronize something beautiful?
I still don’t get why you edit out posts that you don’t agree with. If you can not stand criticism then maybe you should try a different hobby. You do critique everybody and everything else you come across. Please explain your shallowness.
Well, look- I don’t think we were ‘bashing’ or ‘hating’ the place; simply criticizing it based on our initial impressions. I still think the place is ugly, but I recognize that that’s a subjective criticism. I also think the prices are high; this neighborhood needs more moderate choices- we already have several places to go for $15 entrees. I guess when you strip it down, that’s my main complaint; Speakeasy isn’t really filling a gaping void the way I hoped it would.
The price of the food goes hand in hand with the quality and the quantity of the food as well as the overall dining experience. I will reserve judgment until I actually DINE there.
Having said that, the demographic of the nabe is changing, moving upwards, so I am not surprised to see more “Manhattan” type prices and places opening up.
Ditto houseofwax. I’m definitely going to try it and I hope it knocks my sox off but if not there are already quite a few restaurants in the area that serve pretty much the same fare.
The B38 runs on Dekalb and Lafayette Aves. Which Applebees are you talking about poster?Now if you said the B25 I am with ya (smile).
I was talking about the Dekalb route to the Applebee’s on Flatbush. I haven’t taken it up Lafayette further than the area of Greene and Tompkins/Throop.
$15 entrees are ‘Manhattan’ prices??? When would that have been true? 1988?
The name alone is dumb.
Oh my, I posted a LONG review of the resto yesterday and it was removed! How cowardly. I called attention to some shortcomings of the restaurant but kindly noted that they will surely be worked out in time. I mean, give me a break, what a useless blog — why have the comments field at all? Isn’t this a community space? I’m done with this place.
6 dollars for a beer? try manhattan prices… 7.50 for a bud, 8 for corona,stella….try a chimay for 12.50 (the 12oz.)
Chaz- You posted your comment in the “Speakeasy Opens TONIGHT” post and it’s there. Not deleted.
Dined there the other night – decor’s nice, the owner is really attentive. The food was really enjoyable, though it took a while to get out of the kitchen. The only exception I take from the place are the drinks. For a Frenchy, I was kinda appalled by the wine selection. When I asked what wines they had by the glass, I should have turned it down when the waitress described wine varietals instead of names. I wasn’t really in the mood for a beer, so I optimistically plodded ahead. Ordering a sauvingon blanc (never learned the wine company), I got a glass (slightly on the small side, though not painfully so) of ice-cold plonk you’d expect at a diner. My priority wasn’t to just sloshed so I left it on the table after a sip or two.
The tap water tasted funny, like the ice was old and had accumulated ‘freezer burn’ odors.
All that said, they were really nice – they brought out some inoffensive sparkling rose cuz it was my birthday – and the food was great. I had the ribeye – tasty though you have to trim a decent amount of fat off. My wife had the short ribs and the baked mac and cheese. All three were winners.
I don’t really see where people can complain about the prices. They’re fine for what you’re getting. I’ll go back at some point, though I’ll order a mixed drink and bottled water next time.
I ate there last night, Thursday, 10.25. And yes, we did wait a while for our food. But it seems like they are still figuring out how to manage the time.
They said they only had wine by the glass, but when I asked for a bottle, the manager brought it over himself. The place is homey. We asked the people around us what they had. The chef was on Top Chef. The decor (even in the bathroom is warm). Music is sweet. And C’MON…it’s the first NICE restaurant in our hood. I can walk to it! Rather than perusing Dekalb every weekend.
Tried Speakeasy last night (10/26), and it was good, but not great. The decour was nice and the place felt friendly. But the menu was somewhat limited and not particularly exciting. And the service was (painfully) slow: I waited almost 15 minutes for a house salad. But those things could be overlooked if the food was perfect; it was not. My salad and my wife’s steak salad were underdressed, and the gnocchi with my shortribs were a little gummy. On the other hand, the meat was cooked well and was well seasoned. Of the three desserts they offered, they were missing the only interesting one–the four chocolate mousse–so we went to Olea for dessert. Since Josie worked at such amazing NY restaurants as WD-50 and Vong, I would have thought that her food would have been more innovative and polished. I’ll chalk some of this up to growing pains, so I’ll give it another try in a month or two.
BTW, Speakeasy isn’t the first NICE restaurant in Clinton Hill. There’s Locanda Vini e Olii, and I think Luz is officially in CH too. Both of which are priced similarly to Speakeasy but have more interesting food.
I went to speakeasy last night and found it lame and amateurish. The menu is boring, limited, uninspired, and yes, very expensive given that lack of inspiration or even polish.
My meal was gummy and pasty and bleh. And what’s with listing wines only by the name of the grape–as if that’s enough information to make a decision?
This place makes sense in Sioux City Iowa, not here.
I was sooo ready to just love this place. Josie was a major plus, but I won’t be back until they work out the kinks. I have eaten at some of the best restaurants in the world, some mega expensive others mega cheap. I don’t care about the price if the food is good.
The atmosphere was great. We ordered a range of things to share and really to test the kitchen. The calamari, a hard one for many restaurants was perfect, and the chipotle aioli was wonderful too. The spinach dip was BLAND and cold, we had to send it back!!! The steak salad wasn’t dressed, the caprese was, nothing to write about at all. The big crime of the evening was the chicken entree. The mushrooms and haricot verts were great…but the chicken tasted as if someone accidentally gave a punch when it should have been a pinch of salt. If my boyfriend wasn’t famished and if we hadn’t waited 25 minutes for the darn thing, that would have certainly gone back!!!
I really do wanna love them and I am convinced they can work these kinks out…so I will go back, but I will give it some time.
Have been there twice now, and though all wasn’t perfect, there’s lots of good to report. First is the decor and warmth of the place — I’m not typically a fan of gold accents, but the drapes are beautiful and work (someone spent big bucks on the set in the back, that’s heavy silk). Love the painted ceiling, too. The wine is defined by region (for the red), not varietal. That didn’t strike me as strange for a house wine, which is pretty clearly what they are — and the Cotes du Rhone is actually pretty tasty. Between the two trips, we’ve had the ribeye, salmon, leg of lamb and calamari. The ribeye was great – nicely seasoned (salt/pepper) and flavorful. Personally, I’m not surprised to be cutting fat from a ribeye, since it’s a fattier (and therefore more flavorful) cut. My wife loved the salmon, and the bite I stole was pretty good. Unfortunately, I can’t say much for the leg of lamb. Smelled great, but the flavor didn’t match the aroma. Pretty bland. Oh, cheesecake was great if you like a dense (and I mean dense) style. I do, and I loved it. Beyond the food, the ownership/management is very attentive, warm and friendly. They deserve every chance to succeed. One question: Is Josie a part-timer? I didn’t see her there last night.
i went to speakeasy tonight for dinner. maybe they’ve worked out the kinks because i and the friend i went with thought it was great. the atmosphere is very warm and pleasant. the service was great. and i thought the food was extremely good and what i got anyway was moderately priced. it’s true there’s a price range but i had a salad ($6) and veggie burger ($8). that’s pretty reasonable i’d say. the two of us got two appetizers, two entrees, 5 glasses of wine, 1 dessert and 1 coffee and the bill was $80. i think that’s pretty reasonable. and more so, it was just pleasant all around. very down to earth and comfortable. i’m glad it’s only a block from my place and i plan to go there often.
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