05/05/09

Terrible Service - Beware of Rude Bartenders

by chriscp0

I usually go to Superfine about once a month. While the food is okay, the service is hideous. On two occasions at the bar, my husband and I were completely ignored by all three bartenders. It wasn't even too busy but they just could care less and not be bothered. They're all a bunch of rude posers. One of them was even hitting on girls while we waited for ten minutes and finally left. I will not be back to Superfine. I hope DUMBO gets a few more bars with bartenders that are cool and want to serve their customers!

• Pros: Brunch
• Cons: Service

12/21/08

love them!

by radda

I have no idea where all of these bad reviews are coming from!!

I have been to the restaurant more times then I can even count (different days, different hours) - it is basically my default place to eat while I am in DUMBO. The service has always been really great - everyone is super friendly and the food is delicious. I love their changing menu and strongly recommend the place.

• Pros: changing menu

09/30/08

Great Food BUT Don't You Only Have a Few Minutes to Eat It

by JVSelf

We live in Brooklyn Heights and try to be big supporters of our neighborhood businesses. We were thrilled to stumble upon Superfine and excited to bring my in-laws to the restaurant for Sunday brunch. Equally exciting is the fact that they take brunch reservations so we were fans even before the first bite.

We got to the restaurant about 15 minutes early and were greeted by a very nice hostess wearing a very hot cashmere hat. She sat us almost immediately and things were off to a great start. Our server was a nice hipster with an infectious smile and enough enthusiasm to make him charming but not so much that we felt like we were in a theme park restaurant. We ordered, our food came, we ate and it was delicious. We ordered desert, the bill came and then the wheels came off the car!

As soon as we signed the credit card receipt (I was still drinking my coffee and we still had a bottle of water on the table) the manager (a tall thin guy with curly-ish hair) came over and told us that the next reservation was there and that we needed to get up. Can you believe that someone would be so tacky as to actually come over while we were still sitting and to say something like that. We hadn't even been there for an hour and were told to literally get up!

We communicated our frustration to the hostess and she offered some type of lame excuse about the art fair and their being busy and overbooked, blah blah blah. She also offered to buy us a round of drinks as a peace offering. NO THANKS!

I think this restaurant has a lot going for it and am glad it's around but I think the management should re-think their customer service strategy and/or get a freakin' clue. It's not rocket science, it's common sense! You don't do that. . .EVER!

Not sure we'll go back but try it. The food is good. The atmosphere is cool. The manager IS A JACK.....!

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Management

06/15/08

food tastes great....whack ambiance...bartender and hostess, not nice.

by gijonesr

description said live jazz...there was a loud, live, okay, country band....I preferred the recorded music

Father's Day brunch fish tacos and french toast delicious, but not enough food on the plate for the tacos...more like a snack for a grown man

I waited at the entrance for almost 10 minutes and finally approached a bartender about my reservation and she snapped that I should go up the ramp to the hostess as if I had been there before

The hostess took several minutes to find my name and then told me it would be a while...someone made a mistake and did not hold our reservation and make room for us even though we made reservations the day before

She was borderline nasty and retorted that it wasn't her fault and told me I'd have to wait and that I should be positive

The waitress was nice, but the two nasty employees left a bad taste in my mouth

DON'T BOTHER!

• Pros: taste of food
• Cons: nasty employees, loud and amateur band

12/19/07

The servers really hold a grudge!

by sicklittleplant

A female friend and I went in early Friday night in mid November, and after being cat-called and hollered at for a full minute by drunk guys at the front of the bar, hurried to the back to the seating area for the restaurant. We were ignored by the waitresses while we waited to be sat. There were eight empty tables, so we took one. I found a waitress, explained the situation and asked if that was ok? Answer: No, it's really not. So I apologized, we got up, waited again, and she told us it would be around an hour since there were no tables for just two, but there was room at the bar. We apologized again for being rude, and went to the bar. This same waitress then sat a table of two right next to us! Then she gave our order from the kitchen away twice, so we didn't eat for 70 minutes. All because we tried to get away from the drunk guys shouting at us in the front, which it turns out the bartender (the one who found out about our orders) had told the guys that shouting at us girls was ok as long as we didn't turn around and walk out! The treatment was insulting. I know waiting tables can be hard, but we just made a mistake; we didn't get surly or fussy. We won't be going back. Ever.

• Pros: Nice space
• Cons: Service

08/23/07

Great Wait Staff! What's with the kitchen??

by futurismo

First off I should say that I love the people who work here. The service can be slow (though this usually implies the kitchen - the staff try their best apparently to carry their weight), the atmosphere is fun, 'hip' and layed back - usually with good music. So unless your date's a total boor, don't let this stop you.

My problem is with the food. Without the food, this place is just a big pool hall with one table. Here it goes:

I have no problem with limited nightly menus (the menu is always on a chalk board) so long as the limited options you have taste good.

The steaks are reliable (really good actually) and the fries are great IMHO. But if you're not into beef or pork chops, you're left to pasta and seafood. I'm not a big pasta fan when eating out, so I'm down to the seafood options.

These are bland and ill-formed. My last seafood entree seemed "assembled", not cooked. The broth was barely seasoned. And the only accompaniment I can remember were some cherry tomatoes rolling around.

Appetizers... My house salad was the least inspired salad I've ever had. I think it was basically all romaine with nothing else - not even dressing. This is a RESTAURANT. Come on! My girlfriend's calamari was unusual to say the least.

It's possible the kitchen was just having a bad night. Happens. I've had great meals here in the past and I think the chef is the same. To be honest, had the salad not been so lame, I probably wouldn't have taken the time to write this. But it's such a basic thing. Hopefully someone will read this and make a few improvements because otherwise this place is really excellent!!!!!!!

• Pros: Atmospere, Service
• Cons: Kitchen is unpredictable.

07/31/07

Yo, brooklyn in da house

by votto

If you want to meet people who share a GENUINE interest in community, art, food, music and culture - come here and hol-lah, 'what, what.'

Hands down, Superfine is my favorite place in Brooklyn. IT ROCKS for the locals and people representing other boroughs. Don't listen to the fools who say anything but the truth. Come see for your self and hang with some real New York lov-ahs. What.

Peace.

• Pros: Fantastic space for dining, dancing (on some nights) and free pool table without hustlers
• Cons: Growing neighborhood with deep pockets pushing out the locals

06/25/07

HUGE space!

by brooklynfoodeater

I went here the other night after a day at the office with some co-workers and had such a great time. The bar had lots of beer to choose from and the bartender was really cute :) My girlfriends and I were able to play pool all night without being bothered by any "dudes." It's such a great big space (which is so hard to come by here in NYC) and I really loved the vibe. Great staff, great drinks and the food looked really good(I didn't have anything that night, but my friend did and said it was delicious, will def go back and try it). I hear they have live music on Brunch, so will have to come by and check that out for sure.

• Pros: Great Space, Friendly Staff
• Cons: Hard to get too for some people

06/19/07

Avoid this place. Terrible Customer Service

by atn206

here's a great anecdote about superfine:

I got a burger for take-out, found a maggot squirming around, asked for either a refund or another burger.

I got yelled at by the head chef for being wasteful. how about im just someone who is turned off by seeing something moving on my plate? how about i just paid 10 bucks for your burger? are you kidding me? the chef then proceeds to lecture me about how there are insects bigger than that crawling in the food i eat all the time. fair enough, i can get that education from my friends at the co-op. put more moving stuff on your dishes, see how customers react. i was dumb enough to be cordial.

I left with my money, as well as a crazy chef screaming on me. feel bad because a friend works here, but seriously, folks at this spot need to get off their high horse. another high witty line from chef: 'youre probably someone who leaves the lights on when you leave the house.' it was a pretty productive dialogue.

probably the first and only time i'll ever post on citysearch, but sometimes people can give you such inspiration.

• Cons: terrible customer service. worst ive ever had.

05/31/07

Great Vibe, Great Food, Friendly Atmosphere

by valentinasmith

I love Superfine! I don't even live in Brooklyn, but go there regularly, ever since attending their amazing Halloween party last year. It seems like my friends and I always end up there. It's funky and bohemian, but the food is top-notch. It's really fresh - local farmers provide mostly organic produce - though they still have decadent stuff like home-made bourbon ice cream and great burgers. i also love the scallops and turbot salad. It's one of the few places left in DUMBO where you won't get attitude, and I love that they have live music at Sunday brunch. They have a great bar scene and a pool table with lots of lounge seating around it, though neither are too close to the dining area. All around, my favorite place unless I need to go super-fancy. They also have lots of performance events and cool theme parties.

• Pros: awesome food, friendly atmoshere, nice and mellow bar scene, live music
• Cons: it's in brooklyn, though it's close to the F and A/C