Blue Ribbon Brooklyn

consistently the best restaurant in Brooklyn....yes it is expensive for the atmosphere - but worth it

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I agree....this and Blue Ribbon Sushi are the best of Brooklyn.

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I had to create an account just to address this issue. Blue Ribbon is overrated, food is a joke, and service leaves something to be desired. Wine list is obscene...there is no selection at the 40-50 range, us park slopers do not want to have to lay out 100+ bucks for wine to accompany a measly meal.

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To ppw and all other similarly inclined b'stoner posters- If you are going to slam a decent restaurant over food and service, you should be a little more specific as to why. Just saying...

It would be nice to have some diversity in this feature. Blue Ribbon Sushi at 280 Fifth Avenue was the Restaurant of the Day August 1, 2008. Seems to be a bit too much focus on Smith Street and 5th and 7th Avenues. I happen to like those stretches a lot, but would be interested in other areas as well.

I agree - seriously, a little diversity would be nice. However, this is one of my favorite restaurants ever. The tomato soup, the burger, the fried chicken, the raw bar(!!!), the chocholate chip bread pudding. It's all great. Yes, it's expensive, it's a special occasion place for me. I'm just sad they close earlier now. That's Park Slope for ya...

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I heartily disagree with ppw_girlz- the customer service at Blue Ribbon is consistently great. Once, when my partner and I had dinner there, she ordered a large amount of food, and realized that her eyes were bigger than her stomach and only ate 1/3 of her entree. After our waiter cleared our dishes, the manager must have noticed the amount of food on her plate and came to see if anything had been wrong with her meal. She explained that she had just not been that hungry. When we got the check- he had comped her meal! This one experience has made me a customer for life.

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The only reliable high end restaurant in Brooklyn. The food is not terribly creative and the menu hasn't changed in ages, but the service is always incredibly professional and the food is always good. Never had a bad meal or inattentive service. The raw bar is great.

I too am sad they closed earlier now. If you wanted a late night meal, it was thee only choice.

The only real drawback is the place has become so famous it's constantly busy and filled with people from all over the borough. I would probably eat there more often if I didn't have to wait for a seat.

Fortunately, AOC Bistro is a good second choice.

I wish more restaurants could succeed at copying the blue ribbon model.

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Nothing special

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Blue Ribbon Brooklyn was one of the earliest to recognize Park Slope and the borough of Brooklyn as a worthy alternative to the borough across New York harbor. It has succeeded in bringing excellent food with superb and consistent service to restaurant goers who travel from just a few blocks to many miles to enjoy the experience. A bit pricey, but is a special treat should be on the short list for best restaurant in Brooklyn.

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I love how seriously screwed up these rankings are here on Brownstoner. Blue Ribbon and Peter Luger's ranking lower than Bonita! HA HA HA!!

Werner, I know what you mean and the ratings do seem oddly high for most of the Restaurants of the Day (I'm not commenting on Blue Ribbon specifically, just in general). But remember that it's all relative; Krispy Kreme gets rated somewhere around a 23 in Zagat's. That's extreme, but the point is one can't easily compare ratings of restaurants with different cuisines, objectives (i.e., a brunch spot vs. a romantic hideaway). So you really have to compare Peter Luger's to Sparks, Keen's, and other similar places).

THe food was fine but overpriced, and it has a kind of obnoxious wall street frat boy atmosphere. IT's loud too.

However, that said, Blue Ribbon Sushi next door is EXCELLENT.

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I totally agree with you Biff - there have been very few RODs that have been outside of Smith/5th/7th, which is a shame as the best restaurants in the Boro are not found in these areas.

I like Blue Ribbon, I would not call it the best in the neighborhood or Brooklyn but it is always consistent. I have never had a horrible meal there. It is a bit overpriced but there is some value on the menu. The steak for 2 is excellent. The fired chicken is great as well.

The service could be better on some days and I don't like waiting a hour for table on the weekends. But if I have friends in town and we need a good a meal and don't feel like daring more creative cuisine this is where we go. The Raw Bar (that is overpriced) is a plus.

I also want to touch on what Biff stated. I am hoping to see less park slope, cobble hill and williamsburg restaurants in the restaurants of the day. I can find out plenty about these places in Zagats and Michelin. The smaller and more obscure places are the ones I am interested in.

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My husband and I, who aren't terribly fond of fancy places, eat at Blue Ribbon whenever a holiday-type occasion presents itself. The casual atmosphere keeps us from feeling uncomfortable and the food is always reliably excellent. Consistency is one thing most 5th ave restaurants seem to lack, but year to year Blue Ribbon has delivered. Screw the wine list, have a Chimay instead.
Yum Yum Yum, now I'm craving a rack of lamb or a steak for two.

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i think the brunch is good, and some of the dinner selections are good, but i always feel like it is little more than a glorified, upscale Bennigans... i dig family-friendly and all, and i can't exactly put my finger on it, but it really does't make the mark, if you ask me. i'm shocked to see such high reviews, frankly!

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I've been there several times and live rather close. Everything is pretty much over-priced but I am a fan of the consistent quality of the food especially considering it has such a diverse menu.

I was disappointed my first time there; I got the catfish sandwich. It was okay, but for the price, I walked away unhappy. However, I came back again and took my father for Father's Day and had the rack of lamb and the chocolate dessert (forgot the name)... both were awesome and worth the price.

The raw bar is also excellent. I feel that for the most part, you get what you pay for when it comes to quality seafood. Blue Ribbon shines here.

The ambiance definitely needs something here. It's so loud and busy, combined with the slow (but friendly) service, I'm practically numb by the time I leave.

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I've had some lovely meals there, but the staff is snotty (once turning away our group of 9 from an EMPTY restaurant because of no reservations, then literally running down the street after us saying "something just opened up - would we care do come back" after we didn't catch on to the hostes' crude tip bullying tactics) and then on one memorable occasion, it took so long for our entree to arrive that my 12 yo daughter was asleep with her face on the table when the maitre d came over and asked if we'd like a check, coffee or dessert. We explained we'd waited and hour and a half for our entree and would like our freaking DINNER. Incidentally, they only comped us dessert for that meal. (Bonita recently comped us the entire meal when their credit card modem went on the fritz. I was stunned and appreciative in the extreme. The lunch was awesome too).

So the food at Blue Ribbon is great if you ever get it, but they have to remember that being waitstaff at 5th Avenue in Brooklyn isn't the same as being a Gucci salesgirl on 5th Avenue in Manhattan.

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Probably not the place for this comment but for this amount of $$$ I'll go to Stone Park restaurant every time!

I 2nd the "frat boyish Manhattan" vibe comment @ Blue Ribbon. Sushi next door is great though.

I have nothing but wonderful service each time I have been here. I do think they are overpriced, but in that "finer dine" way. My boyfriend and I love the crawfish, when they have them. Stay awaaaay from the Oyster Stew - it's more like potato soup with some shellfish garnish.

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