The Brooklyn Street Local LLC — Restaurant in Detroit

We had brunch at this restaurant on Sat 11/7. Firstly, I was to say that I have never written a bad review of a restaurant before now. Secondly, I want to say that the food was very tasty, especially my poutine. I would probably rate them four stars based on the food/drinks alone, because it was very good, but I feel there is some room for improvement. Our overall experience was definitely a one star affair though and I have no intention of going back. When we arrived, we stepped inside to inquire about whether or not we may seat ourselves at an empty table out on their patio. They cheerfully told us to go right ahead and instructed us to place our order online, which we did. We received absolutely no communication or anything from anyone until our drinks(coffee, lattes and water) arrived no less than 30 minutes after we ordered them. The food came at around the 45 minute mark, and our order was incomplete. The young lady rushed off so quickly(stating that she was going to grab the last of our missing food) that we didn't have time to ask for refills on our drinks, some jam for my toast or to let her know that we didn't have any silverware. I had hoped to save her another trip by asking her to get everything we needed at once. Oh well, I thought, they didn't seem particularly busy and as a server she should have anticipated that we would need more to drink since our cups were clearly empty. And, when I was a server for a number of years, I would never set food down in front of someone who didn't have silverware to eat it with...If she must make another trip, I won't feel guilty about it. In fact, I was thinking that she probably HAD noticed that we were in need and wanted to rush off to meet those needs, right? Logical. We had paid in advance for our food and left a solid 30+% tip. After five minutes of waiting and our food getting cold, I had to go inside and ask for silverware and jam and for our remaining item. I also asked for our coffee and water to be refilled, but that never happened. Our last menu item never arrived either(we had ordered a number of things to share family style as we typically do when checking out a new place), and we just made do without it. Poutine is known for being very salty, with theirs being no exception, and it was a bummer not having anything to drink while I was enjoying it. Just before we left, we stepped inside to ask about that remaining item and it had apparently been sitting under the warmer all this time....they casually bagged it up for us. No apologies for the poor service, no offer to refund our money or give us a gift card or something for next time even. There are so many great brunch spots in Detroit, if you're looking to spend some quality time together, treating yourselves to a nice brunch, and spend $70 while you're at it...spend it...

I'm going to try really hard not to allow my bias to taint my review of this restaurant. Their tiny parking lot in the back of the restaurant is really convenient. The restaurant is very tiny too. It only seats about 30 people.. It's pretty tight and cozy. We were told to pick our own table and then a "waiter" came by to make sure we knew how to use the QR code to order and pay for our food. I hate ordering from a QR code. It's so impersonal. But whatever..... we scanned and ordered. When I went to the cart to pay, I was given the option of tipping the "waitstaff" 18%, 20% or 25%. Um, excuse me? What waitstaff? Me? I took my own order! Basically this is a self-serve restaurant with food runners. I understand its benefits and why restaurants are switching to the QR code system but I find it irritating that the place would suggest a 25% tip for their waitstaff when all they are doing is running food. They don't seat you, take your order, refill your drinks or cash you out. It's frustrating. Anyway, once I ordered, tipped the staff and paid, a lady brought me a big mug of hot, yummy coffee and a little glass of ice. (You fill the glass yourself with the water from the bud vase on your table.) I ordered a basic breakfast and it was pretty dang good! The eggs were cooked perfectly. The bacon was just right! (not too crispy or too blubbery), the house potatoes were bits of perfectly cooked redskins. They were HIGHLY seasoned. (Maybe even over-seasoned and a little bit too spicy) However, they were so soft and hot, I couldn't stop eating them. LOL. I was served only one slice of toast. It seemed cheap (like a cost-cutting measure) to me. Overall, the food was very good. If I were rating just their food, I'd give them a 9/10. Food was good quality, piping hot and reasonably priced. However, I'm going to factor in the "service" and ambiance in my overall rating. I'd give the service a 1 for saying hello when we entered, pointing to the QR code on the wall, dropping off the cup of coffee and bringing the food out to our table. The ambience was a 4/10. Tight quarters, unremarkable decor and an icy draft blasting down my back from the heating system overhead makes me rate it low. I'll give this place a 6/10 overall. The food is good enough to bring me back....

I was very excited to revisit this spot for the first time in several years and unfortunately, for me it missed the mark when I finally did.

Our food was adequate and while our interactions with staff were few, they were lovely. However, there is a self-serve route that we were encouraged to take and it removed the enjoyment from the dining experience for us.

I said yes to using our phones to order before thinking it through. The alternate option of getting up and ordering at the bar did not appeal either. Upon exploring the online ordering service, I realized that we couldn’t order drinks, apps, and mains in the usual succession without having to complete multiple separate transactions for payment/tipping (which includes entering a fair bit of info if you don’t already have an account). So we sat with only water until we made final decisions on the entirety of our order. Drinks and food were dropped off promptly but we received no quality check afterward.

Ultimately, I think I may have felt better about this setup if I was there to disengage and tackle some work on my computer. But as someone on a mini-vacay who enjoys the overall experience of dining out and who used to be a server myself, this just wasn’t a setup that I enjoyed.

The post-Covid world has been challenging for restaurants and perhaps this business model addresses some of those challenges, which I understand and appreciate. Variation is good, and not everything is...