El Born
“Same is true about the "crema catalana" that was prepared as a mousse instead of the traditional creme brulee texture.”
“This item is great to enjoy as part of a full meal or for something to much while enjoying one of their unique gin and tonics.”
“We started with a Braves El Born (potatoes in brava sauce) and Pop a la pedra (grilled octopus), both were delicious.”
El Born
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I came here on a Monday, so wine bottles over 49 dollars were half off – yay!
It is nice to come with a group of three or four, as everyone can have a bite of lots of different tapas. If you have more in your party than 4, I would order more than one of each dish so that you have enough. They brought up bread with a delicious and refreshing tomato paste on it (pan tomate), which was a great way to start the meal. We had the shisito peppers, beef carpaccio, croquette of the day, tuna belly and olives. The tapas were excellent – they tasted clean and fresh.
We also got the paella for 3, as the fourth person in our party wasn't sure they would like it. It was more than enough with the other small plates. We tried the squid ink version. It was good but a bit salty (I mean, it IS squid ink) and I felt the seafood taste overpowered the dish. There were mussels, clams and calamari. The white fish was basa, and while it was tasty, I wish they didn't use the cheapest white fish. I guess it is more sustainable than cod. It was not bad by any means, I just wasn't blown away. I will try a more traditional flavor next time, as I missed the saffron goodness or stick with tapas.
You should definitely try this little gem out, the service was great and we had a really nice time.
Two friends and I came in around 5 PM for an early dinner. This was recommended to me by friends who live just up the street. We started with a board of some spicy chorizo, thin slices of iberico, and olives. Then we orderd the octopus, and a tuna belly seared and over some confit potatoes. The pulpo was cooked tender and not rubbery. We ordered a pitcher of sangria, which was surprisingly light, refreshing and not overly sweet, so all in all we had a wonderful little meal. The service was friendly and attentive, and we all got out of there spending around $35. Would definitely come back here for a pre-dinner bite.
Excellent tapas and paella place. We went for a friend's birthday and we had amazing food for all and with a vast variety.
To start the bread with tomato which is a catalán classic was very good specially of you put some olive oil on it. The tomato wasn't that good by it self, I guess they were not good tomatoes but the bread, garlic and sea salt combined with the experience of DIY is like being in El Born per se.
Then the patatas bravas is a must in any tapas place of you are not tired of them. But these ones are perfect. Cooked very tender, with a great Alioli and the right amount of spiciness.
As an entree we had two larger than life paellas for the table. We were more than 12 people and we were all very satisfied. One meat paella and one seafood. Both were really good especially the meat one because the mushrooms and chorizo put a lot of flavor in it. I personally like the seafood paellas better because they come with black ink rice but both paellas lacked the Socarrat, that burnt bottom that is to die for which in this case wasn't there. It was more like a risotto. A very good one but no crust on the bottom to scratch.
The desserts are just not good at all. All of them. Since it was my friends birthday they gave him a sampler. I tried every single one of them looking for a nice end of the meal but it was getting worst and worst with every bite. Passion fruit Flan, a short cake shot, strawberries with Tabasco, dry pears, etc. Anyway don't order dessert. Save the money and appetite for more tapas!
There is so much potential in El Born. My experience here was like eating a chocolate flute–DELICIOUS ON THE OUTSIDE BUT HOLLOW ON THE INSIDE. Decor, menu, service, and location are great but the food fell very short of what was hoped. I came before 7 on a weekday and caught the tail end of HH. The restaurant was pretty empty and I heard there's an outdoor patio space as well.
BRAVES EL BORN–soft chunks of unseasoned potatoes topped with a huge whopping of aioli aka mayonnaise.
XISTORRES AMB GAVARDINA (chorizo rolls)–the chorizo was a bit too salty but what was more a problem was the roll itself. The skin was either too thick or wrapped too many times and then being deep fried for too long caused the roof of my mouth to be scraped.
CROQUETAS–cheese of the day was unannounced and sweet. These were cute little balls of sweet fried cheese.
COLS AMB PERNIL (brussels sprouts)–not savory as I hoped! It was too sweet for my liking because of the pairing of raisins and the honey but the brussels sprouts were cooked perfectly. The bacon did not help to offset the sweetness.
POP A LA PEDRA (octopus)–probably the only dish I liked in our meal. The portion size was large and the meat was tender. The portion included the entire tentacle (not just the tapered part). Flavors were a bit subtle but it really allowed me to focus on the octopus itself.
COSTELLES DE PORC–tender short ribs but the flavors again were lost in the dish.
POTATO AND EGG PANCAKE–I couldn't find this on their dinner menu but tasty and huge portion!
COULANT DE XOCOLATA (chocolate lava cake)–very rich chocolate but very typical.
CREMA CATALANA EL BORN–refreshing and light fruity option.
**Overall, I don't think I would come back. Everything about El Born makes me want to dine here, except for the food unfortunately.
This place is a gem in the middle of a very changed Greenpoint. I remember when Greenpoint used to be all Polish stores and bodegas, and now…it's..cringe..hip. Still, I'm happy we stumbled upon this place thanks to my yelp guidance.
My group and I came here after an Isles game at Barclays, since it's not far off the highway. We weren't starving, but we wanted a snack and sit down/unwinding time. We came in at 5pm, when they opened (Saturday), and it was automatically buzzing with people from 5:01. Great sign.
We sat at the long hightop which is a nice feature. Happy hour specials were happening, beer, wine, sangria included. We had a bunch of different tapas, all traditional Spanish cuisine.
Everything was SO tasty!! We had:
+Selecció de formatges (cheese plate)–comes with crackers and apples. The highlight was the Manchego cheese (from La Mancha region), and our waitress was from La Mancha as well! She really knew her stuff.
+Selecció d'embutits (Spanish cold cuts)
+Pebrots shishito (grilled soshito peppers)
+ Croquettes with ham inside (SO yummy!)
+ Gaspatxo de temporada (Seasonal veggie soup)–this one was beet based
+ Fried Green Tomatoes (forgot the name on the menu!) which I took a chance by ordering, having never had them before, they were delish!
I definitely recommend. Great date spot or place to catch up with someone!
El Born is a phenomenal bar and tapas restaurant in Greenpoint. With an atmosphere inspired by a neighborhood in Barcelona, the staff are friendly and actually Spanish, and the menu is varied and delicious. The bar here is the place to be, occupying the lion's share of square footage. The bartender is excellent eye candy, and also makes delicious drinks. The wine, liquor, and cocktail menu is extensive, so you should have no trouble finding something to tickle your fancy. The rear of the restaurant is sit down table service and in warmer months there is an outdoor back patio. At 6:30 on a Sunday, there was no wait for a table.
Perry and I ordered:
Patatas El Born (patatas brava)
Croquetes de jamon
Octopus
Oxtail roll
Brussel sprouts
All around, the food was delicious. The sauce with the potatoes was excellent, the croquettes crunchy yet fluffy, the octopus had a tenderness and delicious seasoning. The oxtail roll is delicious, but expensive. The brussel sprouts were really good, with a sweet raisin and bacon sauce that amped up the crisp greens and played down the bitter. I'd definitely be back if I'm around the neighborhood!
Very good Spanish restaurant which Catalan influence. The chef is from Madrid and the food is excellent.
We had the octopus (so tender) and the calamari sandwich (calamari was ever so lightly breaded) which had the most tasty squid ink spread and came with a salad and fries.
Ambiance was also quite nice.
We'll definitely be back!
Popped in for dinner randomly when in BK craving some Spanish inspired tapas. On a Thursday night the place looked super dead from the outside but later found out most people sneak to the hidden back courtyard to eat away from the entrance.
Our server who was also the bartender was very efficient, nice and attentive. I started out with pan con tomato, a common Spanish breakfast food consisting of crushed tomato and bread. The dish came with salt and garlic to rub on the bread but otherwise that was it. I can see how they were trying to keep a classic rendition of the dish but I could have eaten that at home – some extra layers to the dish would have been nice. Next we had the patatas bravas – fried potatoes topped with aioli. These were pretty good and extremely filling. The aioli portion was maybe on the heavy side and weighed down an already dense dish.
For my main I ordered the kale salad. Not sure if I didn't read the menu correctly but the kale was either baked or fried – super dry with cheese and slices of citrus. Overall the salad was a complete miss. Fresh kale would have been just fine but the dried kale did not go well with the other ingredients and the texture was not what I would want in a salad.
Overall not my favorite meal and as a lover of tapas I was a little disappointed. Although I'd come back to try one of their nightly happy hour deals in the future.