Wise Espresso Bar
“The food – yummm – we tried crepes – truly homemade feel to them, and salmon eggs Benedict – only drawback was that eggs were cold!!!”
“Fresh squeezed juices, amazing coffee drinks and really yummy food the best in Bk by far as well as service.”
“The eggs benedict comes with a side of home fries and salad which was so fresh and yummy!”
Wise Espresso Bar
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Good for Working: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Brighton beach needed a place like this as a great example that quality product and supreme service can coexist in little Russia.
When you walk in there is always a well dressed gentleman greeting you. I think he is the owner and he is always there, that, I think, is the main reason why this place is so well run.
The design of the place is stylish and you can tell that the owner put his heart into it. Overall, the place has really good vibes. Service is great, which is usually rare in Brighton beach area.
The food there is outstanding! There are so many items on the menu and each one is unique. We've tried about 3-4 items so far and all of them were delicious and the portions are of a good size. Our favorite so far is Croque Madame. Their coffee is also something that deserves attention. They have great selection and their hot chocolate is probably one of the best I've ever had. Latte is also very good. However, the macaroons they sell seem to be fake.
The only downfall is probably the location because it's not on Brighton beach avenue, but even though the place is always full.
Overall, I think it's the best spot around Brighton Beach area period!
I came here again because I really liked it last time (my first time there). The food was pretty good and service was just alright, and the wait for food was quite long. But the food was okay so it made up for everything else.
However the second time going there, the wait was horribly long, at least 45 minutes after we ordered. I was almost done with my juice (lots of foam on top). I saw some other tables order juices as well and theirs had no foam on top. And keep in mind their juices are not cheap ($6.49) so I was kind of annoyed with half my glass full of foam.
The waitress who was in charge of our table kept taking peeks at us while we waited for our food but didn't think to come over to tell us how much longer. There were a few times where we were about to call her over but I guess she saw and she turns away/ does something else (basically ignoring us). There were two tables of people who came after us and got their food. We also noticed they were doing a lot of delivery orders. So I guess they wanted to do all the delivery orders and then have someone deliver it out all at once. But it doesn't make sense to have people who are already at the restaurant to wait that long.
When the food was ready, it was brought to us by another waitress. She served us food with no smile whatsoever. The waitress who took our order didn't bother to come over to ask how the food taste (very basic service). When we were done, she came to take the plates and she was like sorry the food took so long… Nice you decide to apologize after we are finished and ready to pay (probably thought it would increase or secure a better tip from us). And the food this time around wasn't as good. The salmon tartare was quite small compared to our first time there. There were so little potato wedges and salad with the salmon eggs Benedict. The skirt steak wrap wasn't that juicy and was a bit overcooked (although we said medium rare).
I will not be back for a third time. I know this place is usually and mainly filled with Russians and my family and I are Chinese but everyone should be treated the same in terms of customer service. My family agrees we will not return.
Ordered: Earl grey tea and Smoked salmon croissant with sweet potato fries
Pros–The sandwich was fresh and the ingredients made for a nice mix of complex flavors–smoked salmon, cream cheese, pesto and spinach.
Cons–They were out of croissants, even though it was clearly on the menu. I asked that they leave out the onions for the sandwich but it was still served in the sandwich. The service was poor. The waiter solely took the order, served the food and took away the food–not bothering to check if I needed anything else.
I would recommend this place for breakfast or brunch. Their eggs are a must and iced coffees are on point. Maybe it's because it's the earlier hours and staff aren't as tired, but the service is better during these hours as well.
Came here for dinner and although the waitress took our order and the food came right away, she did not check up on us. Even after we were done and our plates were taken away, she did not offer us dessert. At this point I was over it and we asked for the check, at least that was brought out quickly!
Got this fruity iced tea which was delicious! They served it in a round wine glass and a straw which was a bit odd, but I never felt so fancy drinking tea as I did this time!
Overall, I'd give this place a 3.5 because the food is good, the interior is nice and I do dig the pop culture pictures on the wall.
The food here is pretty good. I shared a smoked salmon sandwich with spinach, tomatoes, pesto, and cream cheese on a baguette. (We had it on a baguette because they were out of the croissants which the sandwich is usually served on). I like the sweet potato fries that came with the sandwich. They had a nice degree of saltiness. I would have liked them to be a little crispier.
The service was mediocre. We asked for the sandwich to be served without red onions, but it was still served with it. The servers were quick to bring us our food and clean up; however, no one ever checked on us throughout the meal to see if we were satisfied, if we wanted refills, or if we wanted more.
Moreover, I didn't like how closely together the tables were packed. This made it difficult to get into some of the seats as well as troublesome to maneuver the cafe.
*RACIST restaurant
I didn't even bother eating here, if I could give no star I would have.
On a busy Sunday I was looking for a spot not knowing that they do valet, so I went to ask this guy dressed in a red valet shirt, if they could park my car because I wanted to have lunch, the first thing that came out of his mouth was, "Do you speak Russian, are you Russian."
I said "No", he just shook his head and left.
WTF?
I saw several other caucasian customers waiting to have their cars parked, and this guy seemed happy to park their cars. It was totally, discriminating. At this point I was pretty furious but I was too far out in Brighton Beach to look for another lunch place, I thought I'd suck it up and told my hubby to continue circling the blocks to find a spot.
I went inside the restaurant, was not greeted, nobody acknowledged my presence, four kitchen/bar crew were so close to me and nobody bothered to say hi or offered anything. I caught a host looking guy and asked how long the wait for a table for 2 was, he had this look on his face like he did not want to be there, or did not want me to be there, he managed to come over with all the effort and said he'll get back to me, so he went to clear a table, grab two empty glasses, maybe even spared a table, five mins later, he didn't come back to the door, instead, he gave me a blank stare from a distance, I was standing there waiting for an estimate, very confused, and wondered why I was still waiting.
I just left.
Will never recommend this place or try going near this place again.
This brunch spot was SO needed in this part of Brooklyn! South Brooklyn tends to have a dominating Eastern European vibe which I love, but I'm sometimes jealous of all of the varied and fun brunch and dining places that are in other spots in BK. Wise Espresso Bar was everything I was hoping for! A little bit of Europe meets New York City! This place has a decent sized dining area along with a juice bar/grab and go counter. Lots of staff running around and readily available. We were seated pretty quickly even for a busy Sunday morning. My boyfriend got the "fruit envy" juice which was amazing, no complaints. I got the carrot, apple, & ginger juice which was OK, not bad, but not particularly memorable. God sent his love for me in the form of a White Chocolate Mocha Frappe after I finished my juice. Amazing. Wish this were a bit closer to me, I'd come here every day for this. When I saw the promise of "blended with actual white chocolate" I thought YEAH, YEAH, LIES, LIES, DONT GET MY HOPES UP. Then I tasted it…no lies here! Literally white chocolate blended into espresso and milk. Just so good. Strawberry-Banana crepe was great and very filling, loved the pink fruit sauce on the side. I got the French Style omelet which I enjoyed very much. Very filling, very cheesy and good but without weighing me down! Came open faced which I found interesting and came with home fries and salad. Truly an enjoyable meal!
I'm deducting one star because the female wait-staff is a bit unprofessional. I watched as two of the waitresses hung all over each other, dancing on each other (grinding), laughing very loudly, squeezing each other on the butt. If they were in a bar trying to make tips, do what you need to do, I'm all about a good time. But this was 11AM during non-boozy brunch with families and older folk around. Personally made me feel uncomfortable and thought they looked completely ridiculous and non-respectable. This fooling around also resulted in both of my drink orders being "forgotten" until we reminded them, to which they admitted forgetting which is really my biggest gripe with their behavior.
Butt grabbing and attention seeking aside, FANTASTIC brunch place! Thoroughly enjoyed my meal and I cannot wait to come back!
Update: Seated within minutes of walking into a full house! Food came out within 10 minutes of ordering. The service and food was excellent. Great experiences do exist here. I WILL BE BACK FOR DINNER SOON!
We walked in at 11:am and were greeted by the manager. Manager told us that they expanded the space as well as the kitchen and offered us any open table we liked. I have been here numerous times and always order eggs Benedict, but it takes so long for the food to be brought out. Are they waiting for the chicken to lay eggs? There are a total of 60 tables here, and a significant number of tables were available when we came in, either because people still don't know that it has reopened since the car crashed into the gate or because their slow service has seriously turned people off from coming here. Either way the kitchen could not possibly have been overwhelmed. We ordered 2 cappuccinos, salmon Benedict and an Italian omelet, the water and pretty delicious bread was brought out, and so were our delicious illy cappuccinos. It's 12:15 now and we just got our food. At this point I was so hungry that I ate my hard-boiled eggs. Manager came by after we paid the bill and I told him that my eggs were not Benedict, but hard-boiled, he apologized and walked away. I still like the decor and the music.