Esme
“Everything we had (pork belly app, borscht salad, chicken liver mousse, mussels, short rib entree) was amazing.”
“We shared our plates, started with the Borscht Salad ($10, excellent), the Butter Lettuce salad ($9, meh) and Fries ($5, large portion).”
“We had pumpkin spiced beignets to share and pork belly eggs Benedict and savory French toast respectively.”
Esme
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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This is a review about their burger, as I didn't eat anything else.
We showed up at 5:30p on a Saturday and the place was half empty. Their happy hour gives you a $2 discount on every drink. The music was cool.
We had had a late lunch, so we only ordered a burger to share. Their grass-fed burger with pork belly (extra $2) is a great idea but was poorly executed: poorly seasoned and unevenly cooked (half was medium-rare, half was medium-done); parts of it were very dry.
What bothered me, though, was the attitude we received from Sean – this was the name listed on our check – when we ordered only one beer and one burger to split in two. He was not happy. "Are you gonna order only this?" His reaction was unnecessarily snobby, he sounded (and looked) like he had just woken up (on the wrong side of the bed). During our stay he continue to make weird comments and give us top-to-bottom looks. If he thought he was funny, we were not buying it. Sorry I wasn't hungry.
The BF & I were exploring Greenpoint on Saturday and obviously needed to start our day with brunch. As much as I wanted to try the ricotta pancakes at Five Leaves, we didn't want to face a wait (as we had a day full of exploring ahead). The BF chose Esme – because the restaurant was a bit empty, we sat in the garden which was quite lovely.
The BF obviously ordered their made-in-house Bloody Mary, and the pork belly eggs Benedict for his entree. He was a fan of the Bloody Mary which is not as common as you'd think and he enjoyed his dish as well. I had The Big Salad (big green salad loaded with walnuts, cherry tomatoes, apples, and other good things) with grilled chicken. The flavors were on point and the serving size was very generous (couldn't even finish it). Sold option in the area!
Esme has a simple brunch menu. The place is pretty big and wait times are incredibly insane.
The food took a bit longer than I would have liked but service was pretty ok.
The Eggs Benedict with pork belly tasted pretty good. Poached eggs were done perfectly.
The grass fed burger was ok. The green tomatoes tasted pickled and everything else was just ordinary. Restaurants now tend to highlight grass fed and organic but honestly it all just tastes the same. Fries were over fried… Crispy but dry.
Pancakes were too thin and not very fluffy. Tasted more like a crepe than a real pancake.
Unimpressed but nothing about it was terrible.
Had a really lovely birthday dinner with one of my best friends here. Had a couple of beers, the shrimp and chorizo, and the polenta and mushroom ragu. The shrimp was awesome! This place is pretty much your average Brooklyn American food place, and enjoyable all the same!
This is a fantastic joint, top to bottom. The SO's brother lives in the nabe and pointed us here and we enjoyed a fantastic early brunch (11 am on Saturday). From the moment you walk in, you're impressed by the bright, inviting, thought out space. It has that modern rustic look, but done in a unique way that stands out. It feels like a place run by design students rather than a property owner consulting with designers.
The menu is clever yet concise, and has all the contemporary hits: pork belly benedict, biscuits and gravy, and, of course, an artisanal fried chicken sandwich (curry fried chicken thigh meat with red curry). I had the latter and it was dee-licious. The vegan Bloody Mary, made in-house, is well worth a round of three at $8 a pop.
The staff is very attentive but not meddling. In short, a seamless experience from beginning to end. There's no doubt that as Esme's fame grows, so will the waits. Get it while you can. And if you live in Greenpoint, this surely has to be your go-to spot.
Esme benefits from being the sole renovated, well-lit, hipster decor (read: wood) restaurant on a block of old school delis with no windows. So it's no wonder that the was a line when we got there. But we weren't discouraged, and ventured in. Good thing we did! We got seats at the bar almost immediately and proceeded to order the savory French toast. Pretty good concept and it was pretty healthy too. Staff was nice and relaxed which isn't always the case at a brunch place in BK. We would definitely come back.
So happy I finally got to try Esme! The drinks were absolutely delicious: Bloody Mary – best one I've had in a while, loved the pickle juice in it! The Russian journal (I believe that's the name) was so refreshing and yummy. Great job on the fried chicken sandwich – not dried up and good flavor. Reuben was delicious as well. All in all – great choice for late lunch. Would love to try dinner at some point! Oh and did I mention there is a lovely garden in the back? Very roomy inside and out. Definite recommendation!
Emse is nothing special– The first 2 times I came here I wasn't moved by the food or the drinks. I just figured that maybe they had a bad day so I went back about a month ago and once again nothing special. The staff is nice but they are slow and not attentive. I had to ask for water 3 times before it was served– I asked for no ice and lemon and guess what I got ice and no lemon–At this point I was annoyed. The food came pretty quickly apposed to the water.
Foodwise it was ok– Standard at best.
I had the beet salad which was plain, I also remember having the butternut risotto with kale something which was pretty good, the pork belly was the only thing that I would actually try again.
Honestly– I don't plan on going there again any time soon.