By Mushky Adinish for COLlive
With many Milchig restaurants in the Flatbush area, competition is high and it definitely takes something special to make one stand out.
Cafe Renaissance absolutely holds its own.
The inventive decor takes on an international theme with exposed brick walls decorated with faux windows and porches that lend a small European town square feel. All around the restaurant on shelves and ledges are antique transportation figurines of boats, bicycles and old trolleys, a whimsical touch.
I have a rule about restaurants, if the tables are so close together that if wine spills at the neighboring table you get hit or when a private hushed discussion is taking place and you are well within the “we want your opinion” zone, then you are in a way too crowded a restaurant.
Renaissance, although regularly filled with clients, provides a nice measure of privacy, both in the large room and on the smaller balcony area.
The menu has a nice array of different dishes, ranging from regular old pizza to decadent fish dishes. I’m a bit of a pasta person myself and can never resist a creamy Penne Al A Vodka and thankfully I was not disappointed.
Between all of us at the table, we each sampled one of the soup options and were pleasantly surprised. The tomato soup won hands down. The french onion soup was a close second.
Our pizza order took eons to get to us (to be fair we were warned) and was as fresh as can be and totally delicious. The whole wheat was a bit… whole wheaty? But hey, guess I should have seen that one coming!
Dessert, dessert.. what to say? Why must they always disappoint? The cheese cake came out on a very festive looking platter decorated with swirls of raspberry sauce, the first bite was nice but nothing to write home about.
The service was great, lots of water and bread basket filling but not too much hovering, exactly the way I like it. Despite the hustle and bustle of the Motzei Shabbos crowd we really enjoyed the great ambiance and buzz of happy eating we got from Cafe Renaissance.
Cafe Renaissance-
802 Kings Highway
Brooklyn, New York 11223
Phone: 718-382-1900
Avg. Check: $18- $30
Hechsher: Rabbi Yisroel Gornish
Dairy – Cholov Yisroel
Sun – Thu 12:00 noon – 11:00 pm
Friday Closed
Sat 1 hr after Shabbat – 2:00 am
COLlive Restaurant Reviews:
+ New York’s 24 Hour Restaurant
+ Boro Park’s Unlikely Trendy Spot
Don’t know about you… but i was there this passed Motzie Shabbos with my husband and i felt like i went to eat out with two other random couples.. our tables were basically touching!
But otherwise the place is great!
Unfortunatly the secret is now out… this is the best kosher restuarant around but parking is tricky… make reservations in advance… try the blackened sea bass… the best!
Just the $18-30 price is a little more like $28-50… But still worth every penny.
maybe you should have tried of some of their awesome desserts.
Been there, done that.