Pitanga — Restaurant in New York

I'm going to preface the review by writing that what I ordered was delicious! So if you don't care about service, they have great acai bowls. But.... here goes.

I swang by a couple of days ago as I was googling best acai bowl Brooklyn. This cafe popped up so I said hell yeah and hopped right over. I walked in and immediately fell in love with the decor, from the live train updates to the rustic tables and chairs.

I should have realized after 15 minutes of waiting with only 2 people ahead of me that it may not be worth it but I was hungry and wanted an acai bowl. Basically it was one person taking the order and filling em out too. She had no help.

The employee who took my order was really nice and friendly and super chill with substitutions which makes life a lot easier. I ordered the tropical acai bowl and added peanut butter (mind you I paid extra).

Shortly after ordering, my bowl came out and I started examining it like I do all acai bowls. They're art after all. Well, my bowl was acai sans peanut butter, that was the first strike. Then I realized that they don't use fresh mango and pineapples but rather canned. So I told her I don't see peanut butter, she asked if she should bring out a blob in a cup or take the bowl back and put it on. I preferred the latter but then she returned with the bowl and said they're doing something in the kitchen so she'll have to bring it separately in a cup after all.

That's a no from me. I was sad that my experience was not the way of some of the reviews I read but I will say it again, besides these hiccups the food was great just not excellent. I like excellent.

I probably won't return unless all of Brooklyn is empty of acai bowls and they're the...

There's an issue in attempting to make things seem like something they are not. Despite serving very good vegetarian/vegan dishes, Pitanga merely aspires to be a Brazilian restaurant. The reality is that it falls far short of that mark. It doesn't capture the sweet and sensual tropical essence that the restaurant's name suggests. For instance, the so-called 'Brazilian breakfast' is a joke. No Brazilian would eat beans, avocado, and pão de queijo on the same plate, and definitely not for breakfast.

Speaking of pão de queijo, the most famous Brazilian pastry has been transformed here into a bland, heavy cupcake, lacking personality and technique. There’s a reason pão de queijo should be shaped in smaller bites, but the restaurant seems to ignore that. A better name for what they serve would be ‘cupqueijo’ — It would sound more international without being disrespectful. But sometimes in the food world, 'international' can also mean 'losing your identity,' and that's exactly what's happening here.

It's pretty obvious why you won't find Brazilians eating there, even though Bushwick is full of young Brazilian immigrants. Maybe the place is just for 'gringos' who want to pretend they know about different cuisines but are too scared to try the real deal. In that case, Instead of ‘Pitanga’, the anodyne ‘Brazilian Cherry' might be a more fitting name for the restaurant. The orange picante juice and the ambient music, featuring Marisa Monte and Caetano Veloso, are the only reasons for me...

Been here twice. On a Friday evening for dinner and a Monday afternoon for brunch. I would've given this place 5 stars for everything if I was only rating Friday's visit and 3 stars if I was only rating Monday's visit so I settled on 4 stars to be fair.

On the Friday night, their dinner menu, food, drinks and waiters were amazing. The burrata was absolutely delicious, there was a nice selection of entrees, the drink I ordered was perfect and our main waitress was friendly and made us feel comfortable. No complaints! Hence the reason we were excited and returned on a Monday for brunch as the waitress recommended.

It was like day & night literally. The menu is completely different for brunch. There were many options for food but nothing exciting. We had a hard time deciding what to eat because nothing really called our attention. Most of the options seemed to be simple things you can get at a small cafe without a real kitchen, there were no cocktails and the waiter was giving weird vibes. Not friendly at all in my opinion. He seemed to be trying his best to at least be polite. Not sure why...I can take a guess but I'd rather not. It didn't feel welcoming at all.

Anyways...I would definitely go there again just not for brunch. I would also recommend paying them a visit during the evening hours during the weekends because Monday through Wednesday or Thursday, they close at 4pm and only offer the brunch menu. Check their hours before...