Chestnut (CLOSED)

I should start off by saying I've been to a ton of great restaurants all over the west village, and am willing to pay more money for quality food and atmosphere. Went to this restaurant to celebrate moving to the area and was horrified by the end of the meal. To start, the glass of wine I was served tasted like it had gone bad. Then we waited at least 15 mins for bread. When the meals, which are quite pricey, were served, we couldn't help but laugh out loud. The portions were literally laughable! My mom had the salmon, which couldn't have been more than 5-6 bites. It was also raw when she ordered it well done. The pasta was similarly insultingly small. In short: giant ripoff for mediocre/average food and insulting portions. Don't go.

Stopped in for brunch this weekend before heading to the movies. The oatmeal pancakes are out of this world! I will come back just to eat those over and over again.

This is one of my favorite eateries on Smith Street. I have been to this establishment several times and have alternated between eating in their very cozy, bar area, as well as in the dining room. Both have provided me and my fellow diners with excellent experiences. The bar at Chestnut is very inviting. It reminds me of an old federal-style tavern from the 1800s. The entire area is covered in dark wood. The bar is somewhat rustic looking. But the bar tenders produce some great cocktails for patrons to enjoy as they nibble on succulent small dishes such as the Duck confit roll or the Salt cod brandade, crostini & greens or the Chicken liver mousse, prunes, shallot & toast. All great ways to kick off the evening as you sit back and enjoy a nice cocktail, scotch or glass of wine. If you choose to have a more formal dining experience, and by that I mean sitting in the dining room, you are in for a treat. Like the bar, the dining room is just as inviting and comfortable. The choices on the menu range from a couple of pasta dishes, to seafood (the monkfish is wonderful), to meats - including a phenomenal smoked pork chop with cabbage. If you want to splurge a little, I highly recommend the Chef's tasting menu. It is a wonderful parade of small dishes both on the menu and off the menu which are paired perfectly with flights of wine. What I love about Chestnut and really appreciate is their consistency in terms of the quality of the food and service.

Wow, wonderful! Went for my birthday and haven't been able to stop thinkig about when I can go back. Additionally, an excellent bar!

I live in Carroll Gardens and was recommended to go to Chestnut but was actually pretty shocked by how poor the service was. Waiters were rude and chatting amongst themselves so much they didn't see us trying to get their attention several times. It was hard to enjoy the meal because we felt like our waiter was acting like he was doing us a favor by waiting on us. I agree with the other reviews stating confusion over lukewarm food, as well. The food was really basic, too, or perhaps 'rustic' is the right word, so I don't understand what the hype is about this place. Oh well.

I went here a handful of times last year and it was to die for. The food was incredible and worth the wait you sometimes had to endure. The last two times I went here (in the last few months) the food was barely mediocre, the service was terrible and there was nothing good I can say about this place. Both times the food came out almost cold. The burger my husband ordered was burned and the fish I got was completely flavorless. Almost felt like it was boiled in water without any seasoning. Not sure if it's under new ownership or what, but I gave it two good tries and won't be coming back

We went for Sunday brunch and it took about 10 minutes to be seated even though the restaurant was nearly empty and there were 3 servers as well as the bartender and manager. Weird. We had really been looking forward to the popovers (we thought it better than trekking all the way up to the Popover Cafe), but the popover served before the meal was stone cold and arrived with two cloyingly sweet mini scones that were described to us as "muffins" (?). My bf really liked his orange margarita, and our entrees were excellent. The bacon was some of the best I've ever had. What is really strange is that as good as the food was and as fast as it arrived, it wasn't hot at all, just lukewarm. We were never offered refills on our coffee, either. We'd like to try this place again for dinner to see how it differs. We really wanted to like this place, but they have a bit of work to do to make it a great experience. Not bad, though.