Brookside Market Cafe & Bistro — Restaurant in New York

overpriced food and drinks. food isn’t great. matcha is bad. i would recommend any other local coffee shop — kora, avenue coffee house, chakra, melting cups, moa, full moon, baruir’s. curley’s bagels or any other local bodega around has better breakfast sandwiches.

unfortunate because the atmosphere and seating is great otherwise, but i probably won’t be coming back due to the price, quality, and my following experience.

so when they turned the screen around to me, the 25% tip was already selected for me, and i didn’t notice until the exact moment i pressed finish transaction, due to muscle memory and slow recognition. i was already feeling a bit sad that my matcha was basically a cup of milk and my food was bland, so i brought up the accidental tip to the cashier, and she was understanding and said she would do a refund for me. (i’ve had friends who have had establishments redo the transaction for them or refund a tip, after a misunderstanding, so i didn’t think it would be a big deal…)

i didn’t see the refund after a couple days, so i called a couple of times after that — and i never got a refund. in fact, the last time i called, they sent me a receipt for a refund to a very different order (an order at 8:50pm for creamy crab dip and a cappuccino lol), despite my giving them the exact order details and them confirming.

that last time i called, the worker was extremely rude to me, telling me to pay closer attention (obviously…? i know…), and she tried to gaslight me saying it wasn’t automatically selected for me. but listen, either it was automatic or the barista selected it for me before she turned the screen around me.

i like to give small tips occasionally, but i don’t currently have the luxury to give out 25% tips on a larger order — and not for mediocre drink and food especially. i would love to get to that point but give me several more years. the rude call just turned me off coming back. plus, it seems i’m not the only one to encounter some rudeness here… so it seems...

This is a racist and not hygienic establishment. My partner and I (we’re both Black) went in this morning for breakfast. The woman at the counter, a white woman with Black hair and an accent, had us wait 5 minutes to take our order while she did something on the table in front of us and only said just a moment around minute 4. She did not say thank you after we gave our order yet I heard her gladly say thank you to all the white customers that came after us. We waited 15 minutes for our food (we were sitting down at the counter top with stools near the kitchen) and when I went up to the counter to ask about it the same white woman forgot I ordered and told me she wasn’t taking anymore food orders. We came to find out she had our food sitting right near her at the counter and did not call our names nor bring the food to us, even when she saw us sitting at the counter near her. When I told her it seems she treats her white clientele nicely and not her Black clientele she ignored me— there was no apology for how long we waited and she even blamed us for “not hearing” her call out our name for the order. Lastly, regarding the place being unhygienic, while sitting near the counter we saw the men in the kitchen using their dirty aprons to clean all the kitchen utensils after wiping the aprons clean on the garbage can. It seems the neighborhood loves this place because their customer base is majority white. If you preach racial equity, or care about not potentially getting sick from your food, walk your talk and don’t order...

Update - I came out of hibernation for a bit bc I saw Brookside had all these new specials 🤩

Panko fried shrimp Kale Caesar salad with cashew vinaigrette (vegan-friendly) Limoncello NY style cheesecake

All of it was delicious and worth going out in the cold! I also loved the tried and true Wagyu cheeseburger and the spicy cocktail, Vito, Is My Marg Red-y 🌶️

It is a little pricier than some spots in the neighborhood but we love coming here for the ambiance, consistent delicious food, and friendly service!

Wine Bar & Bistro Review - The food and wine here are incredible! It's such a cute little place with a quaint backyard and not too many people know about it yet.

This is the only place I know of in Sunnyside that serves oysters on a daily basis, so I was already sold. Then the grilled prawns came out and holy molyyyyy! The best grilled prawns I've had in a while! Really great flavor and wish they served it with some bread to sop up all the sauce.

The meatball sliders were juicy and flavorful. I also appreciated the side of extra sauce. The beets, using an old family recipe, were delicious and I'm not even a beet person. The steak and fries were cooked to perfection, including meat temps and fry crispiness.

While the prices are a little high though comparable to other restaurants nearby, the quality of the food, the flavor, wine options and ambiance are worth it. Also, every time I've visited, the food has...