New Southern Menu at Water Street Restaurant
January 25th, 2011
Water Street Restaurant has a new menu selection of southern-inspired cuisine. The new menu includes southern dishes like shrimp and grits, slow-cooked ribs, deviled eggs, fried chicken, and Chef Reggie’s homemade crab cakes and “lobster puffpie”. Desserts include sweet potato and pecan pie, or Red Hook’s Authentic Steve’s key lime pie.
If anyone has tried the new dishes, let us know what you think in the comments below.
Water Street Restaurant
66 Water Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: 718-625-9352
January 25th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
I’ve lived in Dumbo, on Main Street, for the last five years, and I’ve really wanted Water Street to be good, or half decent, or at least better than it’s been. So, after many months of not eating there, I recently tried a plate of their fried calamari with red sauce to go with a glass of wine at the bar. In a word – awful! Tasteless, over-battered and over-fried, not to mention the out-of-a-can boring red sauce. Nothing spicy or southern or about it . . simply awful! So disappointing. Dumbo continues to be a culinary wasteland since Hecho en Dumbo moved to Manhattan.
January 25th, 2011 at 10:03 pm
pwn
January 25th, 2011 at 10:59 pm
Agree with Jhs. Had lame chicken wings and mediocre calamari. Bummer (again). Menu is better, yes, but execution is still subpar.
January 26th, 2011 at 2:37 am
I had the fried deviled eggs and a mixed green salad. i was very disappointed that the $9 salad was more like a side salad. The deviled eggs were not terrible, but a bit on the bland side. Not sure why they can’t make a decent tasting meal here. I live nearby and only go when I am lazy and don’t want to leave DUMBO for a meal. Frequently go to 1 Front street. Much better food.
January 26th, 2011 at 4:55 am
I haven’t tried the new menu, but the place has always had sub par food (in the 5 yrs I’ve been here). I remember when they touted the new oyster bar, and when I asked what kinds they had, they didn’t know. I’m a bit of a foodie, and agree we need some creative restaurants for sure, but I would be thrilled if this place just a fun pub with good basic pub fare.
I think they need to change more than the menu…
January 26th, 2011 at 10:03 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by auster*agency, Local News Brooklyn. Local News Brooklyn said: New Southern Menu at Water Street Restaurant http://goo.gl/fb/VdoL1 [...]
January 26th, 2011 at 6:57 pm
Agree with everyone. Save your money.
January 26th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
how is the beer list?
January 27th, 2011 at 12:48 am
Bubbies, Water Street, Rice, all incredibly mediocre. Rice has not changed their menu EVER as far as I can tell, Bubbies is filthy and overrun with kids screaming and water street has a nice staff, good beers but really sub par food. I hope this is a wake up call for these places to up the ante with some better food and service. Simply prepared fresh food and good drink is all anyone is looking for from these restaurants.
January 27th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Brunette waitress from Croatia or something… best service in town. Mean nasty redhead battle axe? Not so good. They should just be a pub. Pub food, pub atmosphere… pub pub pub.
January 28th, 2011 at 6:08 pm
Mean nasty redhead is no longer behind the bar. Hooray!
January 28th, 2011 at 11:34 pm
I ate here lastnight pre theatre. I was going to St Anns Warehouse and arrived around 7ish the staff was very pleasent and very responsive with me and my husband arriving a little late. it was busy and got a nice table near the window. The menu was very interesting. I had the Prawns, they were nice size prawns with a great flavor. I ordered a glass of the chardonney and actually found out it was a organic wine from spain which is kinda cool to me…ya so then i actually dug into the whole rack of ribs which were sooooooooo gooood and yummmy it had some sweet fries that were yummy with the bbq sause. im sorry but i had a great time and had no probmlems with food or service, the bar was pretty busy and looked like ppl were having a fun time… i have no bad remarks towards this place. fisrt time here. and nothing bad to say. I will come back and prolly try the shrimp and grits dinner…..
January 29th, 2011 at 1:38 am
I went to Water St Restaurant an hour before the show at st.ann’s, and I thought the service was execellent. From the drinks to the new menu, they satisfied my every need. I came back after the show and noticed they had the lounge open downstairs.(only on fridays). This place has the whole package.
January 29th, 2011 at 1:45 am
Good to hear from the owner.
January 29th, 2011 at 1:46 am
good to hear from the owner again
January 29th, 2011 at 2:18 am
no doubt. Gotta be a bit more stealthy if you’re going to shill.
January 30th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
First off, I don’t live in DUMBO, so I haven’t witnessed the many incarnations of this restaurant, but I think people may just be ‘hating’ for the sake of hating here.
My hubby and I went for a pre-theater meal. The atmosphere was lively (some sort of sporting event on the bar flatscreeens), the server was charming — charming enough that we went back for drinks and dessert post-show. They have a large selection of beers on tap (makes the hubbyman happy). Hubby had the ribs (yummers) and I had the Shrimp n’ Grits which were also quite tasty. Overall a very solid dining experience. And that’s where I take beef with the haters here. This place doesn’t pretend to be fine dining — it’s offering southern comfort foods which (as a person originally from the South) totally hit the spot. I don’t get why people don’t just evaluate a restaurant on what the eatery is trying to accomplish, rather than what locals wish they would do/be.
January 31st, 2011 at 2:22 pm
I think its consensus among the Dumbo residents such as myself, that dining here is medicore at best. The only worth eating at Water street is a Burger and a beer. Everything is else seems like a waste of money.
January 31st, 2011 at 8:59 pm
New menu is basically same old stuff. Boring, bland food. Water Street has always been friendly, a nice space but really mediocre food, just like all the other restaurants in Dumbo (except Miso). It’s really frustrating how bad the food is in our neighborhood.
February 1st, 2011 at 8:00 pm
the bar is pretty good here.. like all the bartenders, all very freindly. always have sports on and watever u wanna watch, they put on for you. beers are awsome and wings are good..
February 8th, 2011 at 6:29 pm
To The DumboNYC Blog:
We have noticed the often negative comments that accompany your blog posts whenever you mention or review Water Street Restaurant. We greatly appreciate the blog and check in frequently, and would like to offer this message to your readers.
To the DumboNYC blog readers:
As the owner/operators of the Water Street Restaurant & Lounge, we have worked very diligently over the years to bring DUMBO residents a ‘second home’. We have been open every day to serve you, in snow storms and nor’easters’. Constructive criticism is always welcome, no one is perfect, and one can always learn from others. To grow we felt that Water Street Restaurant had to become a destination, and the only way to do that was to serve food not generally found around Brooklyn, hence “Southern Cuisine with a Twist” was embraced.
We researched and reinvented many recipes over four months of testing. We feel now, more than ever, that we have something unique, innovative and down-right delicious to offer to Brooklynites. From Big “B’s” Deep fried Deviled Eggs, “DUMBO Gumbo”, “Arugula and Pear Salad”, “Tofu Trinity Salad”, “Shrimp N Grits”, “UnderWater Lobster Puff Pastry Pie”, “Now and For Everglades: Alligator Stew with a Bite” and lots, lots more. We also have the conventional “Empire Steak: NY Strip” and the not so traditional “Not Your Aunt Mamie’s Buttermilk Fried Chicken”.
We welcome everyone to stop in, taste our food, & enjoy our service. And if something about our establishment does not sit right with you, please, please let us know immediately, so we can make sure your visit to Water Street Restaurant & Lounge is a pleasurable one. We’re open 7 days a week; come talk to us.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Rodman, Owner
Brian Ritchie, General Manager
February 8th, 2011 at 8:51 pm
I tried ordering a regular Burger for diner the other night, but the bar tender only allowed me to order the Diner burger (that southern fried one, with bacon and cheese). In the past, you guys use allow regular burgers for dinner, please allow this again.
As a local dumbo resident, I like grabbing a quick burger and beer at the bar, and I don’t want the fancy dinner burger.
February 9th, 2011 at 12:30 am
Thank you Jeffrey for your response to some of the negative comments. Your remarks are a classy reply to the haters. I’ve personally had great experiences when I’ve visited the restaurant, as did our friends over at Brooklyn Exposed.
I’d ask our readers to give Water Street Restaurant a chance and try out the new menu. It’s clear from our readers that restaurants and food choices in Dumbo are scruitinized. Water Street Restaurant has reinvented itself based on feedback and are dedicated to serving the community. Please support our local businesses and as Mr. Rodman mentions, stop by, and if you can offer constructive support, please do so.
-hide
February 9th, 2011 at 12:49 am
look forward to going and checking it out.
February 9th, 2011 at 5:43 pm
what about superfine? Ivve always had great food there and also at Rice and O’Crepes
February 9th, 2011 at 7:55 pm
“Haters,” Hide, really? I hope you don’t mean to imply that negative comments are posted only to be hateful and not to express real disappointment with the Water Street fare, past and current. I stand by my comment, the first posted to this thread, and happily defend my status not as a “hater” but as a disappointed Dumbo resident. I so badly want Water Street to be good I can taste it . . . But it is not, your experience notwithstanding.
February 9th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
Jhsmolin,
You’re right, I’m not implying that negative comments are all ‘haters’. My intention was to encourage people to try the place out (if they haven’t tried before) and if they don’t like the food, they should let the staff know. I think we all agree that we really want to make Water St Restaurant a neighborhood place we can rely on for decent food.
February 14th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
How does this place stay in business. Alway empty and way too big inside. Must have a deal with Two Trees. Mediocre at best. Plus the goofy new menu names sounds like an attempt Times Square TGIF food selections.
Much better choices elsewhere in the area.
February 15th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
While I agree Water street is medicore, what are much better choices in Dumbo? Every resturant in dumbo sucks. Miso is ok for cheap Chinese-style sushi, but thats it.
February 15th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Water Street is the Groupon today. I guess enough of us like it! They already sold over 100 when I got mine.
February 15th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
[...] posted about the new Southern menu at Water Street Restaurant a few weeks ago. If you still have not tried it yet, Groupon is offering [...]