Chestnut (Reported Closed)

Recommends

segale

Joined 5 years ago

Love it!. This is one of the greatest meals in Brooklyn. The service is great, and the food is creative and always amazing. The ice cream dessert is by far the best in the city.

Recommends

woodhull

Joined 6 years ago

Fabulous All-Around. I love absolutely everything about Chestnut -- the food is amazing (and though not inexpensive, worth every penny!), the Tuesday/Wednesday prix fixe is an extraordinary deal, and the service is casual and just right. The hanger steak, free-range chicken, and buckwheat crepe with gravlax are fabulous, and the ice cream they have for dessert borders on divine (and I don't even love ice cream). Thus far, the only dish I haven't been wild about was the salt cod appetizer. That said, I plan on sampling every last thing on their amazing (and seasonal) menu.

Recommends

laneykiralt

Joined 6 years ago

great brunch!. i went to chestnut last valentines day and i thought it was great, but not worth mentioning. popped in for brunch last weekend and it was such a pleasant surprise. cute outdoor space, quiet and relaxed, fabulous oatmeal pancakes and fries. overall, a nice brunch menu that has something for everyone.

Recommends

brooklynbirdie

Joined 6 years ago

TO DIE FOR!. the food here is AWESOME!!!! i also had that fig-stuffed pork chop with polenta. so creative and delicious!! for sure the highlight of the meal. the quinoa-stuffed calamari also blew me away, as did the gnocci!!!!! delicious! and to top it all off, the chocolate budino was heavenly!!! i would definitely return.

Recommends

rotorboy

Joined 6 years ago

great service, amazing Chocolate Bulino. Cute restaurant in Brooklyn. Service is excellent. Food quality is good, and prep in nice. Perhaps a tad pricey for brooklyn, but the restaurant really earns it strips for its chocolate bulino, a warm cross between dense dark chocolate pudding and cake.

Very much worth the trip.

Recommends

amazer

Joined 6 years ago

Casually elegant neighborhood eatery with best porkchop in NYC!!. I had heard good things about Chestnut, but was not expected to be blown away by the freshness of the ingredients on the menu. The decor is simple and elegant, exposed brick reinforces the feeling of being at home- even though the restauarnt was packed, I felt like the chef was cooking just for me. I dined here last night with my fiance and friend, and fell in love. I had planned on eating light, but once I got started I couldn't stop, the food is hard to resist, even if you diligently monitor your fat intake. They start you off with homemade bread and pickles. The pickels were incredible- thier sweetness just lighted my palette up. My friend had the gnocci appetizer, to die for! The oyster mushrooms and truffle oil made me want to mop up every last bite with my homemade foccacia. The beet salad was also delicious, red and gold beets with marcona almonds- not your typical beet and goat cheese salad I have see one hundred times. I had the striped bass- which was cooked to perfection, perfectly tender and mosit in a delicious chive vinaigrette. But the real star of the menu was the porkchop- truly one of the best dishes I have ever eaten. Huge, moist, and delicious-stuffed with agridolcie figs over creamy white polenta. I gasped when I had the first bite- I was so sad I didn't order it- I easily could have polished off the whole thing, and I am not a big girl! The deserts were indulgent delights, the chocolate budino was rich and delicious, the cheesecake was light and fluffy with a perfectly flaky crust that made me jump for joy. Oh, and did I mention that our server was eight months pregnant? She couldn't have been more accomodating! If I were pregnant- I wouldn't have had a tenth of her energy! With extremely generous portions and prices that make nearby Grocery look criminal, I would tell Manhattan and Brooklynites alike to run, not walk to this little treasure of a place.

Recommends

pusan1

Joined 8 years ago

Best food on Smith by a long shot!. I love this place! This is by far the best food on Smith street for the best price. I have to say I am shocked by the last couple of user reviews as I ate here with my husband last week with a large group from out of town and we all agreed that our experience was as close to perfection as we'd come in a long time. I tried the pork chop stuffed with figs over creamy polenta on the recommendation of the fantastic wait staff and I must say it was superb. I find it perplexing that the last user review would complain of its sweetness when 1) the figs would suggest the dish is on the sweet side and 2) The menu describes the sauce as agridulce. Any savy diner would know that agri implies savory, and dulce implies sweet. It was a perfectly balanced dish. My husband had the ravioli and they were unlike anything one might expect. Again, flavor and texures balanced perfectly. I should also note that the owner has been in every night I've eaten at Chestnut and he, along with the staff ,are all very gracious. Do yourself a favor, try Chestnut, you won't be disapponted.

Recommends

lbaler

Joined 7 years ago

Maybe I just didn't order the right dishes. On Tues & Wed nights, Chestnut has $25 Prix Fix dinners. As most of the entrees alone are around $20+, it's the most economical way to try Chestnut out. Overall, I thought the chef was trying to hard to balance different tastes out in the same plates. The grilled calamari appetizer was stuffed with quinoa & romesco, a barley like grain and onion/ tomato sauce. It was very spicy and overpowered the overall flavor of the calamari. The pork chop with the stuffed figs didn't quite work for me either. It was a bit too sweet and I found myself eating the pork and the figs separately. My girlfriend liked the pumpkin ravoli which were unconventional but it wasn't something I would've wanted as a main meal.

I'm not a dessert guy typically but it was the best part of the meal. Great homemade ice cream.

Recommends

winenshine

Joined 6 years ago

Huuuge disappointment for such a small space. The fact that we had made a reservation several days in advance seemed the least bit important to the floor staff, who reservation or not, were just taking first come first served. We sat a well 15 minutes after our reservation time and were then charged for our "waiting" drinks. My party decided on the chef's tasting menu and wine pairings. which were bitterly disappointing. Considering the price, we were not served proper meat till the end, and all the tasting wine courses were well off base! Dry, cheap, acidic whites throughout, with no thought to proper taste matchings. A very misguided rose and then a completely inappropriate Cote du Rhone for a heavy meat course. The first rule of desert wine pairings is that wines should always be as sweet or sweeter than the food, however our sommelier served us an off-dry auslese, which was downright bitter compaired with the perfunctory cheesecake and pastry 101 flourless chocolate. We asked for, and got another pairing, but some crappy 10-yr. Tawny Port we could have picked up at any 3rd rate liquor store. All in all, an embarrassment meant to impress out of borough friends, and an overall disgust at potential. Waste of hard-earned money.

Recommends

sunniecastner

Joined 7 years ago

Where's the fabulous fresh bread and fantastic desserts I remember?. What happened? We were looking forward to the fabulous fresh melt in your mouth bread that we've had twice before while visiting the city. This essential comfort food brings the meal together - yes, my friends and I had a good meal but not outstanding - a fantastic dessert would have helped. Where were the little chocolates? The luscious handmade icecream? Service was great, bar small with an interesting but limited selection of wines. I'll ask around before I try again - We were all let down.