Rosewater

Firstly, they're open on Mondays! John, the owner is amazingly friendly and very knowledgeable. The food is very good and the selection is perfect. You can always find something to eat- nice variety. I like the food because it's a little creative without ever becoming stupid. The wine list is fantastic and a passion of the owner's.

It must be said that I had one of the worst meals of my life here when John was out of the country and they were between chefs. It's all sorted now.

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I used to like Rose Water a lot, but it has gone down hill a bit.

In the past 2 years, I have had some great meals and some pretty mediocre meals. One big issue for me is no matter how good the food is, the portions are just ridiculous.

I'm a moderately active, 185 pound guy. Any time I eat at Rosewater, I leave feeling hungry. That is a real drag.

That said, I like the space but the service is also hit or miss.

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Ah, but how tall are you? This has been a good place over the years. Have eaten there 10+ times, food is usually very good and a nice change-up from other styles of cooking that you see around. Seating is cramped, but there's a cheerful vibe in the palce usually. Servers are not pros but usually OK. The 5-course has been really good and filling the times I've had it. Recommended.

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Still one of the best!
Food is great and owner is amazingly friendly and communtiy minded.

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Maybe my ratings are slightly hyperbolic, but I had dinner here a few weeks ago, and it was one of the top five meals I've had in Brooklyn. I'd been to Rosewater for brunch many times, and liked it in spite of my general antipathy for brunch food, but then I was totally blown away when I finally went there for a real meal. I'm admittedly a sucker for the haute barnyard/locavore brou-ha-ha, but my dinner at RW was unreal. We tried a dessert that was on the menu for the first time (an experiment), and just thinking about it now makes me salivate. And everything is reasonably priced.

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I've had consistently unpleasant experiences at Rosewater. The food isn't bad, but it's unnecessarily expensive. I used to live right around the corner so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and went back after several meals where we were both neglected and rushed (a particularly nasty combo), but the last time I went there the service was atrocious and the person working the door was truly unpleasant. There are so many better options nearby.

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jawbreaker:

I'm 6'2", bike about 60 miles a week and lift 2 days a week. Like I said, moderate.

Just went to brunch there Sunday. The wait -- 15 minutes -- wasn't bad for a party of five at 1 p.m. The food was fantastic. I had a pork sandwich (no, Chet, it wasn't greasy nor served on a dirty ashtray) and the wife and I split a side of blueberry pancakes. I also tried the sake bloody mary, which was spiced perfectly, and the lemonade. Will defintely go back for brunch and can't wait to try dinner.

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Been going there since it opened at the spot formerly occupied by Healthy Henriettas. John is a personable and generous host. Amazed at the success despite chef changes. This place is commited to excellent food. All time favorite Brooklyn restaurant. When I lived in the neighborhood, if the place was full, he would tell me to go home and would call me at home when he had a table ready. This place is perfection.

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FYI Chef Ethan left over a year ago (the kitchen is near the front door so we caught glimpses of him on the way in, he had great energy). We have eaten there a number of times, but have decided not to go back. We've been creeped out by the owner (John?) a number of times, mostly because of his treatment of the waitstaff. The restuarant is so tiny that you can hear every word he says to the young women who work for him -ruins the ambiance when your waitress is being reprimanded basically in front of you. Once our waitress was sort of crying/holding back tears when she came out to us to tell us that our food was delayed (maybe it was her fault, but crying?-it came not 5 mins later so it wasn't too much of a delay). He's seems like an overbearing crazy person. IMO the brunch there is great because he's not there - totally different (still professional) atmosphere. The food during brunch is better than nightime too. This place is VERY overpriced. We're not eating at Chez Panisse so why pretend?

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I've only been to Rosewater once and will never return. The service is quite good and the food tastes OK but I was really sick for two days after eating there (something I've not had happen at any other restaurant in recent years). Perhaps the problem was that I foolishly ordered risotto dish that included sting nettles--I should have known better, On top of that, the tables are much too close together and the seats are nearly inaccessible, making the establishment extraordinarily uncomfortable, which would have been enough to keep me from returning even if the food hadn't made me ill.

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Give it another chance, Bob! Over the years it's been our favorite neighborhood restaurant, owing to the freshness of the ingredients, the friendliness of the owner and the feeling that it really is a neighborhood place, with roots in the community. I'm a vegetarian, so I get the risotto all the time and haven't been sick yet, and this is my husband's favorite place for steak. Try going earlier in the week - it's a small place no matter what, but you'll have a little more elbow room when the place isn't completely full.

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I just had brunch there and was very disappointed. My potato pancake dish consisted of 2 pancakes and a tablespoon of applesauce... and the price was $14!!!! That's $7 per pancake. A big rip off. To add insult to injury, they were terrible! Mushy and tasteless. The service was bad as well. I will never go back again.

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Visited last night for the first time. The wines by the bottle seem interesting, but the by the glass selection was abysmal; they're obviously not that interested in customers who don't feel like downing an entire bottle of wine on a weeknight. Tagliatelle starter was delicious, but celery root soup was unbearably salty - and I am a salt lover, so I can't imagine how a normal person could even eat it. Both the roast chicken and the corvina mains were tasty and well prepared. Service was friendly, but extremely slow. The ambience of the place is nice, but the hard seats are a little much to take when there's a 30 minute lag between courses. The most painful moment was the bill - $135 for two, which included one glass of wine and one bottle of water. Ouch. Someone clue these guys in that this isn't Midtown Manhattan.

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