10/06/08

THIS IS THE PLACE FOR GREAT FOOD!!!!.

by PAPAPANDA212

I recently enjoyed a fantastic dinner with three friends. The food was unlike anything I have ever tried before and trust me I enjoy a great italian meal. The place was beautifully decorated and the staff was quick, responsive and looked neat. I cannot say enough about the calamari and the lasagna...WOW. One might read and say " You ordered Calamari and Lasagna how can anyone mess that up". That can be the furthest from the truth and these dishes can be so easily messed up if one does not know what they are doing. Anyone who has written a bad or negative comment of this place must have been having a bad day or does not really know what quality food is. To those I say enjoy Pizza Hut Pasta because then this is what you deserve to eat. I will be back and this time I will be inviting friends from the old country who know how to appreciate a great meal with great friends.

• Pros: GREAT FOOD & STAFF
• Cons: NADA, ZIP,

08/18/08

Fresh, Fresh, Fresh!!!

by mangopuppy

This was my first time visit this restaurant and it surprise me a big time!! The ingredients are so fresh which it's hard to forget the tast of the food. We had Frittura Con Verde for appetizer which contains fried calamari, shrimp and zucchini, served with spicy tomato sauce. The seafoods are very fresh, yum! I had dinner - Sweet Italian Sausage with Spianch & String Bean as side dishes from their Ruby's Grill selections. The veggies are extremely fresh as well... absolutely will go back again!!

• Pros: Everything!!
• Cons: None!~!

08/09/08

excellent

by pld

outstanding brushetta and pasta dishes (especially the seafood linguine and meat lasagna), friendly atmosphere, great decor.

08/07/08

Rudy, the owner, has personality and style!

by CPapagni

This place is a find. Probably the best fried calamari I've had in a while; light and crispy. Good salads -- very innovative. The desserts were straight forward and delicious. A cozy atmosphere, friendly staff, and the price is right. Don't miss out on the perfectly prepared pasta dishes.

07/24/08

Smoked scamorza here I come!

by biancaor

I was born in Rome and i am a fan of a certain hard to find local dish, a hard cheese which is grilled and I was overjoyed to find it as one of the items in the "Rudy's Grill" section in Epoca's menu. It is a great option for vegetarians, and moderately priced at $12 with a choice of two side dishes, I recommend it with the lime sauce. While not super "haute cuisine' Epoca is an honest, welcoming and low key Italain restaurant, with a well chosen if small and mdoerately priced wine list, great pastas and nice desserts. I have to correct previosu posters since they started taking credit cards a whioel ago (not Amex though) and they also have live music on thirsadys. It fills up a much neeedd niche in fort green and it has becoem some of a local fixture also thanks to the friendly

nd warm owner Rudy, and the nice staff!

06/25/08

Can do better

by Elleboogie70

The first issue I have with this restaurant is that it does not take credit cards - that is always a red flag. In this day and age everyone with a business should have credit card services unless they are hiding from the government.

Secondly, the bar is too small (it can only hold three people) and has very limited selections. Thirdly, the food is inconsistent; the restaurant tends to be a bit on the warm side and can be a bit dark but romantic if you like that sort of thing (I have nothing good to say about the flat screen TV that was added recently).

The food has its good days and it has its off days ? maybe this is due to the changing of chefs but lord knows that if you are going to pay that type of money, at the very least you want to take away from the experience something memorable. I cannot say that for the food recently there is no wow factor.

The service, bar and food needs work and the sooner the better

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Cash Only & Inconsistent Food

06/12/08

Absolutely Loved It

by kellychoosie

We went on a friend's recomendation, who lives in the area. This is truly one of those hidden gems. The restaurant is charming, with the candle light, brick wall rustic celling. It has a homey feel, but there is also safistication to it like the lamps and stright edges of the prominant mirrors. All sets up a great atmosphere. Well than comes the food, amazing. The bruschettas are the tasties I've tried. The ingriedients were interesting and fresh, high quality. I loved the spaghetti, done just right. My friend had the tuna steak, I tried a piece it was delicious. Another friend had the steak with a great suace he was raving about. The service was fast a friendly. The wine was great. Save some room for desserts, because they are fresh and delicious. Zabalione with fresh fruits, out of this world... Yes the cash only thing is annoying, but if you come prepared it's fine and the prices are very affordible. We had such a good time, we are already planning another visit. It's a short trip from downtown Manhattan and it's so worth the trip. I highly recommend this down to earth, increadible food, cute place. We are definately hooked!

• Pros: Amazing Food/Great, friendly service
• Cons: Cash Only

05/31/08

In the dark!!!

by sundaze3333

If you like candlelight dining, then this is not place. Checking out the neighborhood with some friends. Place looks nice and dimly light. One of my friends heard about this place and we decided to give it a try. Menu and specials looked interesting but food tasted awful. I had to look closer at my order to figured out what I ordered. Another thing was that it was cash only and it was written on the bottom of menu. We couldnt see it in the dark! Food was not good for quality and overpriced!

• Pros: None
• Cons: Cash only

03/19/08

Great Brunch

by karmasguide

We had a terrific time for brunch. The atmosphere was very friendly and easygoing. Our waitress was the nicest person. She took really good care of us. We had the best eggs benedict in town and the frrench toast that was amazing. We loved the mimosas and belinis. We stopped by last night again for dinner and loved the candle light and the food. The spaghetti was great and my friend had the steak she raved about. The service was very attentive; this time we had a waiter, who was great. It will become our new spot. Belissimo

• Pros: Great food, service, atmosphere, inexpensive
• Cons: gets crowded at night

02/20/08

What's the Missing Ingredient?

by saiso714

It was good service that was missing this past Sunday at Epoca. While looking for a new place to have brunch my friend and I decided to give it a try. We were greeted by our host and seated promptly. That was a great start, so we thought. But, after about 10 minutes of not having anyone take our order we started to worry. Finally, after getting someone's attention our orders were taken. We felt weird about the wait but still wanted to give the place a chance. Someone else came by to take our order and we informed her that we were being helped already. Now, it appears to us that there might be a communication issue between the staff. The interesting thing is that the restaurant was not even crowded. Sadly enough two separate tables were serviced before ours despite them showing up after we did. The waiter who took our order never came back to check on us. He passed us several times. It was the second waiter who actually bought out our meal. Unfortunately, we had to ask for our drinks which we would have never gotten if we didn't ask the host to pitch in and give us some service. Oh, and my friend never received the coffee she ordered either. I did finally manage to get our waiter's attention and explained to him our disappointment with the service. He offered us complimentary drinks. However, we did not want to run the risk of being overlooked some more so we declined. Thank goodness the food was okay. Otherwise, brunch would have been a complete waste. Needless, to say Epoca's first impression was a definite "miss." There are too many ?hits? taking over Brooklyn for me to give this place a second chance.

• Pros: Wish I experienced them
• Cons: Very poor service