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The Spot American Bistro
Rating Details »
Category: American (New) [Edit]
Neighborhood: Prospect Heights417 Prospect Pl
(between Grand Ave & Classon Ave)
Brooklyn, NY 11238
(718) 638-1733
- Nearest Transit:
-
Park Place (S)
Eastern Pkwy (2, 3)
- Hours:
Mon. 8:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Tue-Thu. 11:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Brunch
18 reviews for The Spot American Bistro
I've never had a bad meal here...just not a perfect one. i usually play it safe with the stuff that never lets me down ( Paella Valencia, Jumbo crab cake, Spot Roasted chicken, Caprese Salad or mussels as a starter) , but today i went with the Chicken Francaise ( living dangerously:) . Unfortunately, though it tasted delish, the creamy sauce was a bit watered down, which lead me to be a bit thankful that it was dark out; lest I get good look at the milky substance that was causing my anemic looking cutlet to shake loose it's batter. The drinks here can be STRONG (good) but their house Pinot Noir , and most of their reds for that matter, tastes a lot like the wine version of Old English (bad, unless-- and god help you if this is the case-- you like Old English.) .
All said though, I think The Spot makes up for a lot of their shortcomings with their propensity to pack your mouth with flavor and have you leaving with a full belly. It may not seem like much of an achievement, but with so many bland eat-in restaurants popping up in this neighborhood, it is.
here's my advice... If you don't feel like cooking home food and chinese is beneath you tonight then stick to the safety picks above, go for a no-brainer mixed drink or beer, and pass on dessert because it' s nothing to write home about .
I'm not sure why this place has such bad reviews. The Spot is my go-to place for home delivery and Saturday brunches out with the roommate. You can order delivery online and they accept credit cards! Both of which is out of the ordinary for Brooklyn and very much needed! Yes, I will give you that the food is not "gourmet foodie" quality. But it is basic and solid and yummy to eat. Not overly greasy. Standard fare American classics and Italian dishes. I have enjoyed ever meal fully and never walk away disappointed.
What really makes Spot stand out, however, is the generous liquor. Either Tuesday or Wednesday it is 2-for-1 bottles of wine and the weekend brunch is unlimited mimosas. Emphasis on the unlimited. My roommate and I have been there for HOURS after we finished our meals and the uber friendly waitstaff continued to fill our cup. (It should be noted that they also play great 90s era R&B during brunch, if that is your thing).
Finally, I have NEVER been at this place when it wasn't full of people. So clearly it's popular in the community, even if the wonderful folks at yelp are slow to catch up.
I think it's good solid food, and great deals on drinks. Lovely decor on the inside. It's a great neighborhood spot (which I suspect is how they came up with the name).
I am LOVING The Spot. I am new to Bed-Stuy and I am so happy w/ the restaurant selections. The Spots http://delivery.com menu is great & I even ordered dinner from them tonite (let's see how it goes)! But their cheeseburger w/ cajun fries was GREAT! The chicken panini with side salad was DIVINE! I am a FAN!
*delivery was quick
mimosas were good and plentiful. i got more than my $13-worth, and it ruined all of my sunday plans. i'll be back.
Not sure where all these negative reviews are coming from, but my husband and I love this place for delivery (you can order online!!!). The delivery guys are wonderful (lightning-fast and friendly)!
I just ordered dinner and I screwed up (ordered spinach instead of a salad), but I assumed they were the ones who screwed up (I rarely screw up, after all). By the time I realized it, they were already on their way to bring me the salad I supposedly ordered. They should have said "Lady, you ordered the spinach! Go to hell!", but they didn't. They even threw in a free slice of cheesecake. I feel like such an asshole!
Their food is really good, too. I always order the crab cake and mashed potatoes (and usually the salad), and my husband likes the pork chops and creamy spinach.
I've never actually been to the restaurant, but their delivery is really great!!
Great Food! I had dinner here for the first time with a friend this evening and we were both glad we finally tried this place out.
The menu pretends to be an average Italian/American bistro experience, but when the plates come out - pop! The dishes smacked Carribean! The Tilapia was crispy beneath an Italian vodka sauce, but maintained a soft and juicy inside, full of flavor and spice (which is rare for any ordinary tilapia). The asparagus was fresh and sweet, but wow - have the sweet plaintains - just the way you got them in growing up. No frills, just good. Now the short ribs - sweet and tangy; with an unexpected flavor that twisted in my mouth and made me salivate inappropriately through the meal.
If you're looking for a hip spot to be "seen" in BK, this is not it. The vibe of the place is totally neighborhood, with great service, sweet personality, amazing food and affordable prices (when's the last time you had a decent bottle of red for $16?). What more could you ask for really?
If you want to be popular, go somewhere else and let the people who want good food get a seat here.
ths is also reviewed as the spot
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/30/2009
Great Food! I had dinner here for the first time with a friend this evening and we were both glad we… Read more »
It's cute. I like the outdoor seating. Food is good. Prices are reasonable. Breakfast menu is good.
I don't know if it was the coffee cups or what, but sitting outside I felt like this is a 'funner' version of an old school diner. I can't explain it, really but I felt nostalgic.
Had a nice time and a decent meal...by no means anything special, but certainly not bad.
The sign outside was enticing: an 11.95 brunch special with unlimited mimosas. The parties seated outside were smiling and the food in front of them looked downright tasty.
But oh what false hopes. After eating here I have to say this is by far the worst dining experience I have ever had. My friend and I were perhaps a bit cranky and hung-over, so we held that in mind, and tried, oh really we tried, our best to be patient.
First, our waitress ignored us for about 15 solid minutes. The place was not crowded but she kept running back and forth from the bar to the kitchen to a table of five outside who seemed to be requesting an endless streaming supply of food and booze. Finally, a gentleman who clearly was not a server took our order. How sweet, we thought. Someone cares. 20 minutes later we still had no food, and NO COFFEE. Isn't coffee meant as filler to help appease and soothe customers during busy brunches? I finally managed to flag down our waitress and ask for the coffee and fries we had ordered. She brought me a weak, luke-warm mug of coffee, and a small saucer of milk dotted with several clumps of lint. My friend spoke up for me and she brought us a replacement, without so much as an apology.
The whole experience was just bizarre....At one point she explained that the gentleman who had taken our order was "the boss" and therefore, really didn't know how to "take orders". In the meantime, we watched "the boss" get yelled at by another waitress, and take a large black bag of trash out through the dining area and onto the street.
The food was barely decent and our eggs were drenched in butter. After the anguish and exhaustion of the whole hideous ordeal, they didn't even get our bill right. And, whereas it was impossible to get the waitress's attention for our entire meal, as soon as my friend took out her debit card she zipped up to our table and nearly snatched it out of her hand.
In short, weak service, weaker coffee, and a shamefully buttery botched brunch. Save yourself the agony and head to choice for a latte and some pastries. Which is exactly what we did after.
The misleading 5 star ratings are ooobviously written by employees and/or people who have some sort of symbiotic relationship with this sad little place.
After considering the staggering wait times at Beast and Cheryl's, we decided to give it another go for brunch.
I won't go into detail as I did with my last review, but I will say this: Brunch is definitely NOT "bangin."
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/6/2008
We have walked by here a few times on our way to our trusty neighborhood spots, and today were so… Read more »
Oh, The Spot.
Listen. I was really excited in the beginning. I live around the corner, and with the wait at my fave brunch spot, Cafe Shane, becoming longer and longer for Sat/Sun brunch, I hoped for a nice alternative.
There were some positive experiences:
The first time my girlfriend and I walked by, it was around midnight, the place had just opened, and they were inviting people in off the street for complimentary white sangria, which was DELICIOUS. We chatted up some other flashy nabe folks who had indulged in a lot of the stuff already, and had a great time. We didn't try any food.
Had breakfast there a week afterward, and it was fair to middling. 11.95 brunch gets you unlimited mimosas (which I'm pretty sure is made from Sunny D), coffee and a meal. I got an omelet, which comes with a small side salad and potatoes. It was fine, nothing to write home about. The service staff seemed a little overwhelmed, even though there were only about 5 or so tables. The meal would have been 3x better at Cafe Shane just two blocks away and around the same price.
That was two months ago. You'd think that they'd work out any kinks during that time, but I'm sorry to report that not only has service maintained a sort of clueless, "wait, what?" energy (though friendly, definitely friendly), but the food is now, well, just bad.
There were a number of problems with our last visit. But the worst offense to report is that my friend ordered an omelet with sausage, and instead got hamburger meat. That's right, hamburger. And when we reported it to the waitress, she came back to say that the "chef" had said it that was sausage, that we were wrong. Um. No. Put some ketchup on it and you're eating a burger. In your omelet. Finally, a manager arrived and we let him know that his "chef" was pathetically trying to pass off tasteless, unseasoned ground chuck as sausage and lying about it. He confirmed that it wasn't sausage and comped our meal. Which is the only thing to do in the situation, but WTF? What was that cook doing back there? It makes us wonder what other substitutes are going into our food.
I really wanted to support The Spot as a brunch option (can't report on the dinners). But in a neighborhood where more and more restaurants are opening up by people who live in the area and make damn good food (Bristen's, Shane, Cheryl's Global Soul), I just can't afford to.
I am so happy this place arrived - a new addition to the cusp neighborhood between Crown Heights and Prospect Heights with a kind of bohemian cafe kind of flair in their balance of latin and italian cuisine.
And I'm astonished that no one has mentioned just how fair the pricing is here! How can a restaurant even afford to open during a recession and still offer affordable pricing a good meals? Listen, all mistakes and imperfections aside, yo, where else are you really gonna get semi-gourmet dining at these prices around here, let alone around town?
I have really high hopes for the The Spot since it has just about all the components of what it takes to make me a regular at a neighborhood place: their menu is really appetizing while being cheaper than a lot of diners even though it isn't a diner, the food is decently done, and the ambiance is that of a very very low-key bistro, without being blazay. I am most appreciative of the way it seems to accentuate and compliment the existing neighborhood cultural mix and aesthetics; it's not the type of place that only hipsters will frequent. Being a more approachable place, its easier for ALL neighborhood folk to partake of this unpretentious, cute little neighborhood eatery that offers well-crafted, fresh italian-influenced basics without sacrificing quality. at a steal.
Sat outside for ages after work the other day - all I had was the tomato/basil/mozzarella salad which was lovely for $7, and the 3 cheese bruschetta, which I found both filling and tasty and cheap at only $5.50! The service was way spotty - the servers are high school kids on summer break, and are obviously brand new to the business - but they did make an effort, and although mistakes did happen, at those prices I am easy like Sunday morning! The best part is that they take credit cards and have an extra affordable happy hour involving pretty little sangria concoctions, too. Also I saw an ad that said unlimited mimosas at brunch! what??? I am SO with this place.
So, this place, its about two weeks old. I think. I never remember seeing it there before. I got a menu from them. It advertised brunch and I thought to myself - hooray! A new brunch spot just around the corner from my house, awesome!
The following review is based on a single brunch experience.
The decor is pretty simple. Someone has painted some murals on the wall. Probably painted by the owners friends?
The place is new enough that the stickers are still on the plates.
Come in, get seated right away. Place is about half full. All the outside seating is taken. Some families. Some folk in their twenties. People seem to be enjoying themselves. They have a deal where you can get all you can drink mimosa OR all you can drink coffee (or tea).
Got the coffee. Ordered the mexican eggs. My friend didn't feel like coffee or mimosa so she ordered a juice. She got the crabcake.
The coffee was pretty weak. The mexican eggs were scrambled eggs with raw onion, raw jalapeno, and raw tomato added. There was no recipe. It was just a simple scramble. It didn't taste like anything. And it was cold. Also the potatoes served with it were cold. The greens. They weren't fresh. I mean they were slimy, and the dressing on them was sharp and acidic.
The crabcake was, well I don't want to make too many assumptions, but it didn't feel like it had been made there. Also it was cold in the center. And very very salty. We sent it back to the kitchen and ordered something else. The Salmon salad. The greens here were limp as well. The salmon was nice and thin sliced, like the kind you get from a supermarket package...
We did make our complaints known, but we didn't want to do it too loudly, as the place was filled with other people trying it for the first time.
They didn't charge us for the meal change. They did charge us for everything else. Including the juice, because it wasn't part of their prix-fix setup.
Maybe I have just become a bit of a snob? I'm really curious what other people think, did I just order wrong? Maybe I shouldn't expect so much of my neighborhood? I want to like this place, but it just wasn't right today.
Dinners are apparently much better than the brunch. I hope so, beacuse their brunch food really stinks if you don't order the unlimited mimosas.
More than anything, this place seriously lacks professional polish. I went in yesterday, since it's just down the street from my apartment, and as I'd already been to Chavella's twice in the past 24 hours I wanted to branch out and try something else for brunch. "The Spot" should rename itself something like "So-and-so's House" because that's what seems to be going on. Someone in the owner's family is a good cook, and they thought this was the only thing needed to create a good restaurant. Clearly no one involved with this place has a background in the food & beverage industry. It's not even that the food is *bad,* it's just not restaurant quality, and the presentation sucks. My side of bacon was served shriveled up and greasy, and my home fries were cold! The line cook must be incredibly lazy. Whoever said this was near-gourmet has never eaten out anywhere else. The waitstaff was friendly, but clearly untrained; at one point I saw someone clean a table, then clear the next table of dirty dishes by putting said dirty dishes on the newly cleaned table. The potted plants that they like to put out on the tables were just sitting around in the windows, instead of in a staging area, and it didn't occur to the busperson to put them out on the tables until halfway through brunch. My friend and I actually went to Chavella's afterwards and split a heavenly brunch to remind ourselves of what brunch is supposed to be like. I really would like to patronize this place since they seem to mean well, but they need to get their act together, and fast.
My family & I have had brunch, dinner & take out & have always been very pleased! For brunch the omelets are awesome & my husband had the steak & eggs and was quite pleased. The dinner was delicious, even though the wait for the food was quite long, which was a bit frustrating since when we order delivery from them we always get amazing dinners quite quickly! Definitely a great family place with a very friendly staff!
Oh lord we did go back and this time it was worse. So we arrive as a large group is leaving. One lady and another group of 3 arrive several minutes AFTER we do and even though we order BEFORE both of these parties do you know that they both got served their food BEFORE us. I mean WTH!!!!!! Then on top of that the waitress never even acknowledged it. The manager came over after my husband flagged him down. Then this fat heifer spazz mumbled something smart after the manager pointed out to her what just happened. Then she's asks him in front of us like we're not there and can't speak english if we want anything else to go (after I told him to make my burger to go and scrap the other orders). Meaning well they don't charge us for the burger and we're OUTTA THERE. Get home this burger is LOADED with salt. Who the hell makes a salty burger. If I had paid for that crap I would have gone off. So I got a free nasty ass salty burger with lukewarm half ass seasoned fries. Seriously they need to stop. Good for: Nothing.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/23/2008
This locale has had many incarnations from empty, to a florist to another equally dull eatery.
We had… Read more »
I really tried to like The Spot; it's really close to my apartment and there just aren't a lot of places within those few blocks. I've here her a few times, and have just never found it more than mediocre. The best thing I've had here so far is the cream cheese French Toast (which was really tasty), but it has been overpowered by bland sandwiches and omelets. I always feel so bad walking by this place and seeing no one inside, but I don't know if I'll be back.
I have been to this place four times. I had a delicious plate of pesto with perfectly steamed shrimp with just the right amount of cream in the sauce so it wasn't overly rich. I also had the caesar salad twice. The first time it was super delicious, the second time around it was just alright, they do use fresh parmesan so that definitely helps. I had the brunch once and loved my crabcake, the mango salsa and spicy chutney like sauce complemented it perfectly. The restaurant itself is a work in progress. The outdoor seating is alright but the view of a laundromat makes me want to sit inside. The waitstaff here are super helpful and never bitchy like many places I encounter. People are friendly so you feel comfortable. The Pinot Grigio is really refreshing and nice with salad. The menu is a bit funny because of several typos but if you can get past that this place has tasty food tasty, is affordable and has friendly staff. I highly recommend going there for dinner rather than brunch because there are more options.
