DOC Wine Bar
“I am fascinated by Sardinia and its cuisine so we gravitated towards those dishes.”
“The pastas are all reliable, the cheeses all excellent and the pistachio pesto crostini is rich, satisfying and uniquely delicious.”
“Charming, rustic ambiance – great date spot!”
DOC Wine Bar
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Maybe it's just me, but I found the experience to be rather luke.
I get that they try to reinforce the whole "rustic" aspect of Italy, preserving the European ambience through whatever wooden tables and olive branches nailed onto the walls, but at the end of your meal, you're still in Brooklyn, hon.
Got a table outside, and ordered an arrangement of things, from string beans to sardines to two types of pasta. Pasta was not impressive at all. I think I ended up switching it for the other one. The only highlight was probably the fact that they stock imported Italian beers. As for the service, well, it wasn't exactly stellar, but it'll do.
And what is it with the cash only requirement in Brooklyn? Are credit cards not considered organic enough?
Once again, Billyburg does not disappoint. We came here on a Friday night for dinner, and it wasn't extremely packed with people (which I like). The restaurant itself is spacious, with 3 rooms for dining. We opted to sit in the back room. The place is cozy, dimly lit, has a nice rustic feel, and just downright romantic! Their specialty is Sardinian. Sardinia is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, and part if Italy. And although the food is Italian, it has its own distinct flavours, which this restaurant does a nice job of showcasing. I like that the menu is written on brown paper, it gives the place a simple yet elegant dining experience.
We decided to share a few different things on the menu:
1. Pane carasau – a bread made of fine, crispy layers, also known as "carta da musica," it is great with olive oil and rosemary sprinkled on top.
2. Salad with beets, greens, apples, and cheese in light lemon sauce – may not be native Sardinian specialty, but still very good and fresh. And…you must eat your veggies 😉
3. Malloreddus with sausage and tomato sauce – typical gnocchi of the island, they sort of look like small mini-croissant shaped pasta.
4. Pistokku Bresaola – its your Sardinian version of pizza. Pistokku is a flatbread of Sardinia and it is made with bresaola, arugula, and goat cheese. Very flavourful and not as heavy as a traditional pizza!
5. Hazelnut mousse – light, and not too sweet. Excellent dessert!
We shared a carafe of the house wine, which was $13 and we both had 2 full cups of wine. The wine was a pinot grigio. Dry and just the way I like it. The wine was a bargain!
I really enjoyed dinner here, will definitely be back to try more Sardinian fare.
FYI: This is a great date spot. Such a beautiful dining experience. Sure to please any prospective date 😉 And…you might just get lucky.
It's been a while since last time I paid visit to this Sardinian[1] wine bar. I remember I liked this place, and I have to say I found it to be even better than before. My family is originally from Sardinia (one of the poorest regions of Italy), so trust me here: I know what I'm talking about.
The decor is rustic and very simple: dark, wooden floors, thick wooden tables, exposed bricks, and a lot of white (the warm Mediterranean white that you fin in Southern Spain, Greece, Sicily, etc…). A few authentic Sardinian touches here and there, like small rugs with stylized animal figures, wicker baskets, wooden masks.
My gf and I came here on a Friday night; I was pleasantly surprise to find it not overcrowded at all: we chose to be seated in the large room at the back, which had about 2/3 of the tables empty. I also liked the jazz music they were playing in the background (Chet Baker and Miles Davis).
The menu[2], much like the decor, is simple and rustic. Don't expect a full restaurant dinner here: this is a wine bar, and the menu is designed to accompany and enhance your wine experience. The wine menu, which includes only Italian wines[3], is very impressive. Plenty of choices from Sardinia, of course, Cannonau in primis, but not only: this may be the only place in the city where you can find Carignano del Sulcis. If you prefer white, I would recommend a Vermentino: a dry and aromatic wine that goes great with fish, but holds its ground perfectly well with cheese and cold cuts. If you opt for the house wine, it comes in different sizes: our "small" contained the equivalent of four full glasses. At just $13 this is something you may want to consider if a full bottle is too much, or if you are planning to keep drinking elsewhere after dinner.
There is a wide selection of cheeses and cold cuts. Personally, I would have liked to see a bit more typical Sardinian cold cuts, like wild boar salami. The menu also offers crostoni, includin one with "bottarga di muggine": a typical Sardinian delicacy made of sun dried grey mullet roe that you grate over pasta or salad[4].
For starters, we shared the pane carasau guttiau ($5). Pane carasau[5] is a very thin, flat, and crisp bread from Sardinia. In this case, it was sprinkled with olive oil, salt, and rosemary. We then shared the special salad with beets, soft goat cheese, and apple. I then had the pistokku bresaola ($13; bresaola arugola, pesto, goat cheese mozzarella): the ingredients are layered over a sheet of pane carasau, and melted in the oven. I really liked the simplicity of this dish: no need to be fancy when the ingredients are delicious. I also liked the different textures that make this rustic dish: the crisp pane carasau, the soft bresaola, and the melted cheese. VH had the malloreddus (a short, ridged Sardinian pasta) with salsiccia in tomato sauce. This very simple dish and delicious was the only pasta dish on the menu.
We had enough room for dessert. The menu offered home made tiramisu', chocolate salami, and two specials. we opted for the chestnut mousse, which came sprinkled with hazelnuts and served in a delicate philo pastry. I loved both the soft and firm consistency of the mousse, which packed flavor without too much sweetness.
Our server, Dave, was very good: attentive but totally unintrusive (don't you hate when a waiter keeps coming to the table every 5 minutes to ask how everything is?), and very knowledgeable about the menu.
$41 each including tip.
This place is good for a date. The atmosphere is simple, warm, very welcoming, and romantic. The small plates will encourage you to share, which is always sexy. Unless your date into ultra-sophisticated, fancy dishes in very formal dinner settings. But if these are the kind of people you're going out with, you're probably not reading my reviews anyway. Good for groups too, thanks to a couple of communal tables.
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[1] The only other Sardinian place I know in the city is Cannonau (formerly known as Assenzio) in the East Village yelp.com/biz/cannonau-ne…
[2] The menu is hand-written on brown paper, including the very extensive wine menu.
[3] Wines from Southern Italy are very under-appreciated, which also means that they are a great value: Cannonau (try Nepente di Oliena, if you can find it) and Vermentino from Sardinia, Primitivo and Salice from Salento in Puglia, and Nero d'Avola from Sicily.
[4] I like bottarga very much; it can transform a good artichoke salad in something pretty unique.
[5] You can find pane carasau at Fratelli Iavarone in New Hyde Park: yelp.com/biz/fratelli-ia…
2.5 stars O.K place for wine, they even let you choose btwn a shot glass size OR wine glass, BUT i'd skip the food … although i always like to pair my wine w/ something
service was SO SLOW & the restaurant wasn't even full!! food is kind of expensive for the portions
—lambrusco! i would definitely recommend it, they only have one on the list!
—Pasta of the day: (orecchiette & broccoli w/ tomatoes) not bad but not all that flavorful
—sausage panini: not bad, i'd probably go for a panini over the pasta
—parmesan: served w/ thin cracker like bread… just okay
NOTE: FREE wifi, just ask for the password, it should be the phone number & FREE condoms in the bathroom, be safe!
Good food
Good wine
Cash only
Tucked away
Quiet until 9
I had a great evening here recently. My bookclub had booked the large table and was quoted a $25 minimum per person, which thankfully was not strictly enforced. The decor is equal parts rustic and romantic, with an exposed wine cellar, candles, and dried flowers. I had a delightful glass of a light and fruity Pinot Blanc followed by a nice glass of dry but not tannic Cannonau. I tried the Lollove pannini with mozzarella, tomato, and basil, which was a tad bland but made with fresh, crunchy bread. The salads and crostini that other members of my table had looked fantastic, as did the cheese plate accompanied by flatbread. This bar seemed to be the perfect location no matter your purpose–date, outing with friends, large group, etc. *Note well, this bar is not cash only; AmEx is welcome.
When I lived in Williamsburg, my friends and the local neighbors absolutely raved about this place. But for some reason, my wife and I always had a premonition that any trendy restaurant talked up this much would never live up to the hype. So when we returned to Brooklyn recently for a friend's birthday party, we were excited to finally try D.O.C. and see what it was all about.
Unfortunately, I can only rate it mediocre at best.
While both the service and the ambiance were top notch, the food was just disappointing. An orecchiette special I ordered was al dente to the point of being almost crunchy, and the spicy tomato sauce it was served in didn't have a lick of heat. Perhaps most disappointing was that the dish was supposed to be served with crispy pancetta, but it was virtually non-detectable. Too bad, since this is one of my favorite classic dishes.
We were also excited to try the pesto bread, but the pesto was extremely bland and lacked any saltiness that you would have expected from the Pecorino. Maybe it was the Pistacchio pesto they brought us, and not the classic pesto as I had thought, but whatever it was missed the mark with me.
Much better was the meat and cheese plate, which is generally difficult to screw up.
My wife also enjoyed her Trophie pasta — fresh twists cooked in a red wine reduction sauce with caramelized onions, and topped with fresh goat cheese. If you like that rich, brownish-reddish, stew-like sauce, then this dish is for you.
Another favorite of mine to order in better Italian restaurants are white cannellini beans, traditionally cooked with tomatoes, garlic, shallots and rosemary. I tried D.O.C.'s version of this classic, but unfortunately like some of our other dishes it was completely bland and uninteresting. Such a shame.
All in all, though, there were enough hits around the table to offset the misses, and given the impeccable service and overall festiveness of the occasion, I am still compelled to give a 3-star review. But with so much good food in Williamsburg, I would not recommend nor return to D.O.C. again any time soon.
This place has one of the coolest bathrooms I have ever seen- I felt like I was in a cave with plumbing!