Naked Dog
“The olive oil cake which has a lemony flavor with vanilla bean gelato, deconstructed cannolo and chocolate budino were all well received!”
“Most others seemed pleased with their fresh made pastas and my husband said it was the best short rib he ever tried.”
“Deconstructed cannolo is really good and perfect dessert for sharing.”
Naked Dog
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
7 reviews
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The name Naked Dog to me conjures up images of a dirty dive bar or maybe a hot dog joint, but don't be fooled – this Italian restaurant and bar is so much classier than what you might expect. The space is absolutely gorgeous – beautiful lighting, and you can tell they put a ton of thought into each detail.
It's still pretty new, so you're likely to be able to stop in pretty much whenever for a meal and be seated right away. But trust me, it won't last long because I'm sure soon enough the word will get out and people will be breaking down the doors.
On to the prices: it's definitely not a cheap meal, with most cocktails going for at least $10 and pasta dishes around $15-$18. If you're having a proper Italian meal with antipasto, a pasta course, and an entree, you could easily get up to $60/person before drinks. Then again, for the wonderful ambiance, top notch service, and most of all that heavenly pasta, it's totally worth it. The hit of the night was the tagliatelle with mushrooms and thyme butter sauce. It was one of those moments when everyone else at the table had a pang of jealousy that I ordered it and they got other things. That being said, everyone was happy with their dishes so the hostility didn't last long. The only less than stellar choice for us was the olive oil cake for dessert. I typically love this dish but the night we had it it was quite dry. The flavor was delicious and still definitely edible when paired with the vanilla ice cream, but I probably wouldn't order that one again.
Even if you just come for a drink, you're definitely in for an experience. The wines were delicious and they had a creative cocktail menu that had something for everyone. The servers are so helpful that they'd definitely find something perfect for you.
It was one of the most pleasant dinners I'd had in a long time, and can't wait to return. Thanks Naked Dog!
This is really a 4.5 star review. My boyfriend and I first came here for brunch with another couple on the first weekend Naked Dog was serving brunch (unbeknownst to us). Needless to say, it was virtually empty, which was great. Some of the brunch dishes are also on the dinner menu, but there are others that are unique to brunch, such as the porchetta sandwich on focaccia with caramelized onions, which is what I got. I don't usually gravitate toward pork, but for some reason this sandwich sounded appealing. It did not disappoint–extremely tasty. My boyfriend got a short rib sandwich, which he also said was superb. The other two got the pappardelle with bolognese, which they loved (this item is also on the dinner menu). We were all so pleased with our meals that we vowed to return for dinner later in the week.
The four of us did indeed come back a few days later for dinner. We arrived at 8:15 and there was plenty of seating available. To start, my boyfriend and I split the torretta di melanzane (fried eggplant, fresh burrata, reduced balsamic), which was delicious. Hard to go wrong with burrata. For main courses, one of our friends stuck with the pappardelle with beef bolognese again (why deviate from a good thing?). My boyfriend tried this as well and loved it. I got a special–squid ink pasta with crab meat–and our other friend ordered the maltagliati with white pork ragu and rosemary. I really liked the special a lot, but the portion seemed to be smaller than the other dishes, so that was a little disappointing. Our friends also got broccoli rabe and brussels sprouts on the side, which they liked (the broccoli rabe wasn't bitter at all).
Unfortunately, our friend who got the maltagliati did not care for it. It seemed to have way too much nutmeg in it, which really bothered her. She debated whether to just power through it, but ended up sending it back. The staff was extremely gracious about this, and offered to bring her something else (she got the pappardelle, which she was very happy with). They came back to check on us several times to make sure everything was satisfactory. Truly excellent service.
For dessert, my boyfriend and I split the olive oil cake with vanilla bean gelato (tasted good, but the cake was incredibly dry), and our friends split the affogato, which they said was good, not great.
All in all, I loved everything I had at both brunch and dinner with the exception of the dessert, so I definitely plan on returning. The service is also great, and the restaurant doesn't seem to get too crowded or too loud, which are nice bonuses.
I celebrated my birthday at Naked Dog in late December right before Christmas. I had been adventuring in the hood one day and stumbled across it, astonished that I didn't know it was a new spot that just opened. When I emailed the restaurant asking about a party of 14 on the Sunday before Christmas they were extremely accommodating about it. Thank you, Naked Dog staff!
Naturally with such a large group it takes some time to get things sorted out and ordered. They were tastefully patient with us as we said our hellos, hugs, catch ups and finally ordered. They cook to order here which is very obvious by the freshness of the cuisine. I was very impressed with how delicious the food was, especially my yummy portion of scallop. Most others seemed pleased with their fresh made pastas and my husband said it was the best short rib he ever tried.
I'm sad to knock a star off but have to because portion size was a joke. Especially for the pastas. Maybe because they the less expensive entree, but my goodness it was pretty sad when those tiny plates came out. Even worse most of the pasta orderers were guys who eat a LOT, so I wouldn't be surprised if they left hungry. We felt the same about the salads we started with. The check was pricey regardless of the portions. Naked Dog, please step it up on portion and give BKers what they want. Great service, ambiance and selection are great but the key to our hearts is a full belly.
Honestly I was turned off from this restaurant due to the name– "Naked Dog"– Strange!! But Crap was I wrong. I had a couple friends go and highly recommended it. After I heard great reviews and did my research on Yelp I decided to give it a go– I'm glad that I did.
I would like to start off with the decor:
The bar area is differently designed from the seating area— It feels like you are in two different places at the same time. I love when a restaurant makes the extra effort to make the decor inside make you feel like home.
The Staff: Amazing!! Great service, all around 5 stars!.
Let's get down to the real reason you are reading this review– THE FOOD!
To Start Let me tell you everything is Heaven in your mouth! I can't say one bad thing about the food.. except that the serving size could have been tripled and you still want to order what the people next to you are eating.
So far I have had the pleasure of tasting the following:
– Torretta Di Melanzane– Love Eggplant and it's done in a perfect not to heavy so you can still taste the actual eggplant.
– Bruschetta Pesto e Burrata– Love pesto and the basil gives it that extra kick in your mouth– Who wouldn't love this!!
– Tagliatelle- any dish that has pasta and wild mushrooms in the name count me in!!!!
— I forgot the name of the pork belly dish– But that was also Heaven!!
You can NEVER go wrong with anything you order– Trust me!
Drinks: They have a great assortment of wine and Beers: They have also a great spin on the drinks. Unfortunately I was unable to have one since I drove but next time– Watch out!
I want to come back to try Brunch– Can't wait. Get it while it's hot.
My boyfriend and I went here for a date night, it was recommended to us by a friend. When we walked in it wasn't dimly lit, and a little more empty then places on franklin / manhattan bc it's off the main drag… Which is a great place to have a nice dinner! where it's not a fancy date but still nice and good to talk and enjoy each others company. We started with drinks and "the hornet" was the most amazing drink ever…. Both of us tried it and we were like "wow". The pasta dishes were amazing and the fish was really good too. The fried seafood appetizer (calamari etc) was "meh". Very warm friendly vibes great food and amazing drinks. Wine list was a little expensive. Expensive all together, but good. Bon appetite!
My husband and I recently relocated from Raleigh NC to Greenpoint, Brooklyn. We are self proclaimed foodies and enjoy experiencing different types of cuisine and spots in our town. Naked Dog was a great little place we found one day while walking home from Transmitter Park in Greenpoint with our puppies. It looked like a very cool spot inside and out (seeing as how I peeked through the windows) and the menu looked delicious. We decided to give it a shot as our first night out as New Yorker's. It also seemed fitting to eat some Italian as our first meal. My husband and I split the eggplant appetizer which was basically amazing! We then splits a homemade spinach/parmesan tortellini with a spicy tomato sauce which was zesty but could have been a little bigger (especially since we were splitting it). Next we split the lamb special with risotto being a big home cook the ability to cook delicious risotto is never beneath me and theirs was very good. The lamb was perfectly cooked and basically fell off the bone. The gentlemen who sat next to us had (from the sounds of it) a near religious experience with the pork belly so I can say I would suggest that. Lastly, we split the deconstructed cannoli which was superb. Normally it seems like you get a little bit of the good stuff to split with the filler. In Naked Dog's case, you got a ton of the cream filling and just the right amount of dippers. Overall, I would definitely suggest Naked Dog but unfortunately, being new to the food mecca of NYC, may not be back for a little while.
Hip but yet modern classy Italian spot in Greenpoint.
Went here with a group of four on a Saturday night and the place wasn't that busy. They have a nice selection of food on the menu and a full bar with plenty of wine.
I tried the Agnolotti pasta and the Red Snapper. Both dishes were great. Just the right size and mix of ingredients. All of their pasta is made in house, that is always a plus.
The service was great.
Paulie Gee's had their usual 2 hour wait on a Saturday night, so we decided to switch it up and come here. You can be like me and do the same thing if you get in the same pickle.