Iris Cafe

beautiful location right near/on the brooklyn pier.
french fries are WONDERFUL.
pancakes were great!
matzo balls were mediocre at best.
service is good! no issues.

matzo hall soup
cold brew
french fries
pancakes
side of bacon
$52

Pleasant atmosphere - we were seated outside on a beautiful day - but the service can only be described as painful. From the wobbly table that was ready to tip over, to the overwhelmed and confused wait person who was near impossible to flag down, we wanted to get out ASAP. We even tolerated the room temperature food which must have been sitting unnoticed somewhere for way too long. We didn't dare ask to have it reheated as we figured we'd be left waiting for at least another hour. Cross this one off your list.

Iris Cafe is perfect to stop and have a meal before or after visiting the south side of Brooklyn Bridge Park or stock up on items at the market for a picnic on Governor's Island.

Showed up at 10 am on a Wednesday, and it was super quiet. Ordered a hot chocolate, a latte, the kids menu pancakes, and a BLT on a baguette with fries. I also asked if everything would come quickly so we could make the ferry in 50 minutes. The place was pretty quiet and we had drinks in 5 and food in about 10 minutes, with a smile and excellent communication. Service was super great and I forget our staffer's name, but she was a delight.

Food was excellent. The pancakes were adorable and picture perfect with tiny berries. The small one inhaled them quickly. The BLT was perfect, with excellent bread and perfectly crisp bacon and ripe tomato. Fries were thin and delish. Latte was also a win.

Ambiance is okay, there are big windows that look like they open up in warm weather. Definitely is more of a bar in the evening. Couple of large screens for games.

I had really high hopes for this place. Great location, great ambiance, tasty drinks, and a great outdoor patio overlooking the city skyline. But that's really all it has going for itself.

The drinks:
My sister & I both got the Aperol Spritz. It was the best bang for your buck. It was a warm day, so it was refreshing. I also ordered a Coney Island Pilsner. They do not have any draft beer, just bottles/cans.

The food:
Basic. Overpriced. That's the best way I can describe it. We ordered the Poached Egg Chilaquiles, Smashed Avocado Toast, and a side of fries to share.

Poached Egg Chilaquiles - There was no crisp to the chips, the Chilaquiles were incredibly soggy. The texture wasn't great and not the usual texture of Chilaquiles. There were hardly any Aleppo peppers on this dish. The poached eggs were over cooked, barely any yolk. Overall a 4 out of 10. I wouldn't order this again. This dish looks better in photos!

Smashed Avocado Toast - We asked for the toast to be split with one gluten free piece of bread and the other with its normal bread that it comes with (sourdough). The server said, no problem. They brought out the avocado toast with avocado spread on one slice of bread and two eggs on it, then a plain piece of gluten free bread. We barely got any avocado for both pieces of bread, especially since they just covered one piece of bread. It was incredibly bland, we needed to add salt & pepper to it. We were so taken back by how it was delivered, I forgot to take a photo of the sad plate. The server delivered it with, "I think the kitchen was confused". So she knew the order was wrong and could have offered to fix it or bring the sourdough bread it initially came with. But nothing. Just meh! I would definitely not order this again. Oh and it came with a house salad which was just a spring mix and dressing.
Side note: for my gluten free peeps, the bread used was not great. It was pretty gummy.

Side of fries - this was probably the best thing we ate and these weren't even that great. Small portion of fries. Slightly salted. Cold. Served with a side of ketchup. We asked for a side of ranch, that never came.

Service - staff was friendly and attentive. It wasn't busy at all, in fact when we ordered, we were the only ones there. I think the issue is in the kitchen.

Parking - this can be tricky if you've never been here, but there is a parking garage and street parking in front. The neighborhood close by is very hard to park in.

This cafe is connected to a market, which seemed to have great options for drinks, snacks, and minimal groceries.

Overall, I would come back for drinks and the view. I wouldn't come back for the overpriced, bland, basic food. It's just not worth it.

Iris Cafe is a hidden gem! I absolutely recommend to go for brunch and order the shrimp tacos and a delicious aperol spritz or the Iris south side cocktail. We also ordered the pancake. This is a treat, this Japanese style pancake is AMAZING!!
This place also has an amazing view of Manhattan. Cool vibe and amazing staff that was super attentive. I was also able to work on my laptop, they have wifi.
I recommend it if you want a chill place to work and have a great meal

Love the vibe here. Staff super friendly. I got the Poached Egg Chilaquiles and they were the star of the show!

this place was ok. we stopped here for dinner while admiring the view but we were mostly disappointed. we got moscow mules under the impression that they were happy hour drinks (because the sign said happy hour cocktails $10) but turns out they didn't qualify as a cocktail and we paid full price.

appetizer - got the burrata and arugula appetizer which was good but only came with one slice of bread for a moderately sized portion of things to put on top. good taste, would eat again.

entree - we ordered branzino and steak frites but after 15 minutes we were told the branzino wasn't able to be made because it was "not right" - so we got the shrimp scampi instead. the scampi was decent; pasta was well cooked and had a new chew to it and included 5 decent sized shrimps. as for the steak frites....we ordered the steak frites medium and they came out well done! after telling our server she replaced the steak with one that was cooked closer to medium but still off the mark. simple areas where they could've easily scored a few extra brownie points.

service - was good, had friendly and accommodating waitress and busboy. but they charge an extra $5 for using any card as well...which is new to me. very pricey up-charge for something that is the norm.

giving one star for the view, one star for the server, and one star for the shrimp scampi. overall, i'd pass on this spot. probably better spots in surrounding brooklyn heights area for the same amount of money.

Everything our group ordered was very yummy and honestly that view could gain 5 stars on its own but definitely a plus to have food that is actually good. My husband and I each got lattes that were divine. The whole staff of guys that day were all super friendly from the host, our server to the bussers. It was like they were happy to be there and happy we were with them and quickly catered to our need for replacement silverware, extra plates, extra napkins etc.

Leaving one star because the service and management (Chris) if he even is a manager is deplorable. I had a reservation yesterday evening, received several confirmations which I replied to all confirming my attendance yet when I arrive the restaurant is closed. The doors were locked, the restaurant was empty and nobody was there.

Upon trying to call this morning to speak to somebody about my experience I was put on hold for 10 minutes while I heard people laughing and joking around in the background. I eventually hung up and called back again to try and get somebody on the phone and this is when Chris answered. I asked Chris if he could please share his full name with me as he identified himself as the manager, and instead he hung up on my face. This is such unprofessional and unacceptable behavior.

I will never visit this restaurant and advise anyone if you do, to make sure the place is actually open before you get there. Confirming with a guest that their reservation stands for them to arrive and the restaurant be closed and to not even notify your guest is unbelievable. I have reached out to Resy regarding this matter since their reservations go through them and at least Resy was professional and stated they would handle the situation on my behalf.

Nice location overlooking Brooklyn Bridge park.