05/02/09

Like the feel, not the food

by aldo2002

They show the soccer, which I appeciate but the food's pretty blah, brunch options are very limited and unimpressive. my french onion soup was very uninspired (really people its not difficult) my mother lives in france so likes going here when she visits so she can chat to the french staff - but i grew tired of it rather quickly due to the food. Again, the space and vibe are pleasant, there's a fun band on the weekend.

• Pros: Vibe is nice, enjoy the euro vibe steps from home
• Cons: Food is very average to poor

01/12/09

neighborhood favorite

by 246mag

i've been going here for years, even before i moved to nyc, just visiting friends. staff is almost always friendly, though when they get really busy (think brunch) service & quality of food suffer. For a spot like this, on Smith st., its just plain fun! My Faves - goat cheese & beet salad, french onion soup, scallop & mushroom brochettes.

• Pros: live music on weeknights & sundays, friendly bar staff
• Cons: long waits for brunch, hurried service on sundays

08/31/08

Manager is a rude mess

by rpnyc

We enjoy the food and the vibe of the place. We like sitting outside on nice nights. And yes, the service isn't fantastic by any means and the place is overpriced for what it is/the quality of the food but generally we like Bar Tabac. BUT the manager is arrogant, rude and not very good at his job. He behaves as if he's doing you a favor, is rarely polite and has been downright RUDE with no provocation. It's unfortunate that the owners of what is generally a fun place decided to hire such an incompetent manager.

08/22/08

Brooklyn Favorite!

by citilivin

This is my new favorite place in Brooklyn! They have the best beers on tap ans great food. They have great outdoorseating as well. Defintiely the best bistro in Brooklyn that I have found!

07/31/08

Overpriced and overrated

by sfrucht02

Great location, authentic European feel to it, nice patio seating, but the food was not really memorable. It was overpriced, so were the drinks. The waitress was a ghost most of the time. The place filled up with people by eight o'clock and it took forever to get a check. Might as well be cash only because they only take American Express.

07/22/08

Can't say anything bad!

by AmityM

Comfy French restaurant with live music even on a Mon. night. The outdoor dining was great and it was a relaxing atmosphere. The waitress was on point and very attentive. Very positive experience. Would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a restaurant in the Cobble Hill area. I bet it would be a great brunch place too!

07/06/08

Good atmosphere and food

by wisebrain

I enjoyed the ratatouille and croque madame. The outdoor seating is very nice and it's very casual here.

• Pros: Outdoor Seating
• Cons: Bathroom door doesn't close

03/23/08

Rude, Quality of Food is Decreasing And Don't Expect Them to Remember Your Reservation

by ThomasTT

I have never taken the time to write a review for a restaurant...until now. We went to Bar Tabac for dinner on Saturday night. We had an 8:30 reservation. We arrived right on time at 8:30 and waited for a few minutes before anyone even acknowledged our party of four. Then, after a man finally greeted us quite coldly, I explained we had a reservation. He didn't even speak to me and in a very annoyed way, grabbed their reservations book, quickly flipped through it while shaking his head back and forth. He turned to our group and said with not an ounce of apology "We have nothing right now. It will be 15-20 minutes." And then strode past us toward the back of the restaurant. He would not even stop as I tried to ask him if there was a problem with our reservation or a mistake on their end. We were so shocked to be treated so rudely with no acknowledgement of our reservation at all. No apology. We should have walked right out the door, but since every place was bound to be crowded on Smith, we decided to stay. We then ordered 4 pints of Palm Ale from the bar, but that was only after trying to order Stella Artois, which they were out of. The bartender says, "that will be $32." And I said, "wait a minute, these 16 oz pints are $8 each?" And she said, "yeah sorry about that." Stellas are $6, and she recommended a replacement that is $2 more. Even overpriced hotel bars don't charge $8 for a beer. We were finally seated and were disappointed in the service. We had to ask twice for our bottle of wine. And to top it all off, the food has really decreased in quality. Not recommended. Try any of the other great places on Smith instead.

11/11/07

Awful Service at Sunday Brunch..A Tried and True Favorite is Slipping

by jschinn

I've been to Bar Tabac for dinner, late night, and brunch many times. The service has always been somewhat disinterested, adequate at best. But the food has been good, nice atmosphere, reasonably priced, so always worth a go. In recent months I've noticed a downturn.

Today at brunch we had a terrible experience. The food was fine, and it came promptly. But the service was awful: Our server was a distracted young woman, we didn't receive any water after asking for it, we didn't receive any sugar for the coffee after asking for it and finally had to ask the table next to us to borrow theirs. We never received any attention from the server after the runner brought out the plates. Fine, fine, whatever...one subpar service at brunch is no big deal.

But then, the capper came when the waitress--whom we hadn't seen for a very long time--came over and asked if we would vacate the table because people were waiting. We'd been at the table for a total of 40 minutes, after waiting 15 minutes ourselves. Awfully damn fast for a server to ask us to leave, as we were finishing only our second cup of coffee, that we'd only even received because we insisted on it when she brought over the check.

I replied that we'd be happy to leave, because we'd received bad service and this put the appropriate end to the meal. I complained to the manager (maybe?) on the way out the door and he responded with a boldly snotty attitude. He said he had people waiting and we needed to leave. "Maybe next time you go someplace else," he said.

Yes, sir, we will. I'd recommend others do the same.

11/06/07

What happened to this place?

by keky64

I agree with the downhill reviews. I also frequented this place often a for a few years. I went back after a long rest about two months ago and was very disappointed with my meal, I just let it slide thinking they were having a bad night. Yesterday I stopped in for an onion soup and a calamari salad and was so completely disgusted with my food that I paid the bill and left without even making a dent in the salad! It was so disgusting the calamari looked boiled, were huge like tires and while I was waiting (I had a table outside) the seafood delivery truck pulled up and started unloading boxes that contained Calamari from CHINA!!!! I was so grossed out at that point but when the salad arrived it was even worse. A crappy diner in the suburbs could serve a better salad! The lettuce was past freshness, the tomatoes were mealy and they threw some huge slices of onion on top, no love whatsoever! The onion soup was beyond gross, it was like dishwater with soggy onions and cheap swiss cheese that immediately turned into a rocky lump, what happened to the intensely flavored onion soup with depth of flavor topped with gruyere??? At least that's what I remember having here once upon a time.

What happened to this place? It's a real shame.

• Pros: Cute place but you can't eat the decor
• Cons: BAD food