AlMar
“Eggplant Parmigiana was also good I had to try;)
1other meal that looked good was the Old Fashion BreakfastThey have a Brunch & a special menu.”
“Even though they are cash only and it takes a few extra minutes to get certain things like Eggs In a Cloud, it is totally worth it.”
“If you're dining here for dinner you absolutely can not leave without ordering their ricotta, mascarpone, parmigiano, with walnuts and honey crostini.”
AlMar
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Like the other reviews, I must caution this is CASH ONLY. Not a criticism just know before you go.
We happened upon Almar at an odd time – 3ish on a Sunday. They were still serving brunch and were able to get a seat right away. The menu is simple but interesting. Pete got a porketta panini with broccoli rabe and I got a kale salad. We each asked for mozzarella to be substituted for the cheese our dish came with. This request was accommodated by the waitress and kitchen without issue.
The food was tasty with clean, fresh flavors. The panini's bread was soft and chewy in the best way. The broccoli rabe was so perfect and complimented the pork. The kale was crunchy and cut into thin strips to make it palatable.
Lots to like here.
Really nice place for brunch/lunch in Dumbo after walking across the bridge! My sister had the BLT, which she said was hands-down the best BLT she has ever had. I had a lovely lentil soup and half-salad portion as part of the lunch special. It was very tasty, but I wished the portions were a bit bigger.
We sat at big communal tables perfect for people watching and enjoying the nice atmosphere.
Service was a bit hit-or-miss; the waiter seemed to be quite overwhelmed serving multiple tables, and I had to keep asking for coffee refills — I need like several barrels of coffee to get going, so maybe this is on me.
AlMar surprised me. I'm usually not a fan or skeptical of "New American" local rustic organic places. The dishes sound good, but come up short of anything very tasty, fresh, and overpriced. Coworkers rave about their coffee ($1.75 strong & fresh, I've decided) & food.
AlMar's located in a block of hip DUMBO of shiny storefront corporate windows. But inside, it's filled with rustic furniture, a carefully curated antique so Brooklyn finds. Once you get past that potential pretensioness, you realize that the employees are incredibly nice, there's 2 giant communal tables (which always seem to be filled by families or local companies meeting over lunch), and Most importantly- the food is Excellent!
The price point is very good for the portions and quality of ingredients. During a brunch meeting, I got the Breakfast Sandwich ($12- eggs were fluffy, the bacon was generously sized, the avocado & cheese on it was super fresh, & the brioche bun soft). It came with some mixed greens. I only got through 3/4 of the sandwich.
Recently, had a Literally, 2hr lunch there. I had the 2 Eggs over Polenta ($12). It was a 6" block of finely milled corn flour (best I've had so far) layered with bits of cheddar, tomato, avocado, and eggs (requested over easy), & surrounded by a maot of sautéed spinach. Only got through 3/4 of this as well. Awesome, Fresh, Delicious.
I've tried co-worker's Beet & Goat Cheese Salad, Artichoke Tart, & Farro Salad with mint. All were great. We ended the meal with a tiramisu (in a martini cup) & blueberry panna cotta (in a cup, blue-infused & some berries on top). Both were def cream-heavy, but tasty & apparently made in-house as well.
I wouldn't mind trying their panino & soup Lunch Combo & apparently they carry Blue Sky Bakery muffins (carrot with flakes coconut in the middle). Get their to-go coffee (although it's a bit if a wait) instead of that Starbucks down the street, please!
Great place in the neighborhood compared to Dumbo Kitchen, not sure about Superfine. Nice high ceilings, great staff & cook!
Great food! It was a bit loud inside but not too terrible. Strolled in on a Sunday around 2/230 and there was a 10-15 minute wait. Not a fan of the coffee here but the omelette special of the day was good and the Panino Di Verdura was amazing. Super fresh ingredients–you can really taste the difference. Would definitely recommend the sandwiches here.
Updating my previous review for service and food quality during our (4 of us) second brunch trip. 15 minutes after placing the table's order our waitress came by the table to let us know that the kitchen was out of roast beef and that one of us would need to choose another option. We did, but in the end the wait for the food was just not worth it. Three of the dishes looked and tasted like they had been sitting under a heat lamp for the 15 min it took to make the new dish.
The staff does not seem to know the menu very well and provided incorrect information about menu items, of which we did not realize until our dishes were served and it was too late.
This place is in a great spot which is why they will continue to be busy, but the service/quality and cash-only requirements are major hits to Almar as a whole.
Mediocre and expensive. We were also overcharged and left hungry.
We were immediately seated on a weekday night. That was nice. Bread with olive oil came out right away. Boring white bread. Ok, fine, next, whatever. Ordered two cocktails at $11 each. They were fine.
Ordered the Duck Prosciutto Crostini and was very disappointed by the portion size. Two crostinis with minuscule amounts of duck on top for $12 – or wait – I'm sorry, the bill came to $16 for those. I only noticed when we were walking home and I was remarking on how expensive the meal was. Can I have my $4 back?
Entrees were boring. Raviolis were standard. The Linguine with Manila Clams & Broccoli Rabe for $18 was not worth the money. The clams were very tiny. They were Manilla clams so no big expectations, but the portion was also small. The portions needs to double for $18.
At the end we were both annoyed to have spent $100 on food and drink and be left hungry.
Then to find we were overcharged on the appetizer sealed the deal.
The waiter might also learn to not interrupt conversations.
Enough to complain in person about? What am I going to cause a scene about portion size in the restaurant? Of course not. But I will be telling others to go elsewhere as the food is overpriced and the restaurant experience does not make up for it.
We ended up eating somewhere else afterwards to actually eat. Also, reminder to check your bill to make sure you're not overcharged. Cash only, too, which was a pain. Go somewhere else.
Get to the Chase:
Pros:
1) Fantastic brunch food (especially the egg in a cloud)
2) Serves alcohol too 🙂
3) Good for friends and/or family
4) Great location for post-meal Brooklyn flea market exploration or enjoying a walkabout
Cons:
1) One unisex bathroom
2) Can get busy and have a line
3) Drinks are so-so
Lively and bustling at 2:16PM on a Tuesday. Seems like a popular spot for brunch/lunch, as the place was still busy when I walked in. The staff is prompt and pretty friendly. They leave a wine bottle of water at your table so you can refill yourself as needed.
Music is at a manageable decibel but on the louder side. The tables are a bit rickety and chairs are worn, lots of wood and very boho. It's run-down, not dirty, but worn and def no frills. The front side of the restaurant is paned, floor to ceiling windows with a direct street view so it's nice to people watch while you dine. Bathroom is fairly clean and in the smaller side, but definitely decent compared to a lot of others I've seen.
I ordered the egg toast ($12), though a couple other options off of the lunch menu looked tasty as well. They offer half portions of items so that you can mix and match if you like and get half salad, half soup, or half sandwich (The half portions range in price from about $5-$9).
Egg toast: Presentation could use some work but it was surprisingly tasty. There's a healthy helping of truffle oil, which I appreciate because a lot places skimp on this. Brioche was lightly toasted and the dish wasn't too salty. The asparagus provided a nice contrasting complement in taste and texture to the toast/eggs/fontina cheese. Perfect light lunch before heading out into the cold again. It was surprisingly filling.
Note! This place is CASH ONLY!