Isa

9/21/2011

Great environment. Love the staff. They're super nice & accommodating. BYOB right now is amazing (probably won't last long). Super creative and flavorful food. I had the cod, but should have have the ribeye (tried my friends. So great). There's a strange smell coming from outside(not a rotten smell, but an odd smell of food). Not very pleasant to smell while you're eating the food. I wish the dessert was better. I had the choc cake....little weird. Not my fav. Overall I'd come back for the environment. Food was mediocre.

8/28/2011

ISA is a place to appreciate. The decor is rustic, spacious and inviting. I split three small dishes: calamari - full octopus with ink to dip, roasted duck with apple, pig tail. The octopus was gently cooked; enough for some seasoning but a lot of the natural flavor. It had a nice chew to it, and I enjoyed the inclusion of tentacles and ink as a dip. The duck breast was covered with apple and cheese. It was smokey and fruity, but a bit insubstantial. The pig tail was delightful; smokey, barbecued chunks of fat with a hint of meat. The food is undoubtedly five stars. The portions are rather small, especially for the price. It's a bit spendy, so plan accordingly -- some extra cash or a smaller stomach!

12/26/2011

I've lived in Williamsburg for some time and often like to try new restaurants in the area. Since two of my favorite places are Freeman's and Peels, I was excited to check out Isa's. I made my reservation for two, about a month in advance thinking that they are always packed and I wanted to avoid the usual "we have 5pm and 11pm available".

There are two areas of the restaurant:  the "homey, warm , cozy" space and the other right in front of the kitchen. Of course I was hoping to have the more romantic cozy place but of course I was plopped in the area in front of the kitchen and had the honor of knowing everyone's menu choices for two hours. Thanks. Better seating supposedly is decided by the hostess or if you are friends with the waiters/waitress (that's what it seemed like). Then we had a waiter who basically ignored us for the most part and when my boyfriend asked for his Rib Eye well done he seemed annoyed by being bothered or asked.  

My pseudo risotto made from barley was nice but not mind blowing , the caramel chicken wings sounded good but when arrived it was too salty.  By that point I was put off by the entire night and didn't want dessert.

All in all I wasn't into the pretentious waiter and/or the too cool for school vibe. at the end of the day you just want a good vibe and good food without the "hipster" attitude.

8/4/2012

isa has great food, lovely atmosphere, delicious cocktails, and beautifully creative decor.

however, i recently ate here on a very warm, humid, brooklyn night, and my experience was a bit tainted by the fact that the restaurant is not air conditioned! not an overall deal-breaker, but definitely will not go back on a hot, humid night. the windows were open, fans were running, but it became so unbearably hot that it was difficult to fully enjoy our wonderful meal, and definitely did make for a long, lingering evening at the restuarant.

also, i my legs were bitten by mosquitoes while i ate! my companion and i both left with several bites on our feet and legs, which are itching me now as i type, two days after my meal!

if isa were to get air conditioning, and close the windows on such humid nights, i know that this would make an excellent place for a fun meal in brooklyn.

4/16/2012

I can see why it's getting all the buzz.  Creative tastes, nice atmosphere, good service. Duck leg with carmelized onions and cilantro was divine as was the daikon.  Calamari in squid ink was very tasty but a little tough and barley porridge was tasty but not exciting.  I would go back again.

1/9/2012

So we showed up here last Sunday at noon for brunch and the chairs were up on top of the tables, not a soul to be found anywhere. The front door was unlocked, so we stood around inside for a minute, but nobody came out. The place was a ghost town. Their horrid website advertises brunch every Sat, Sun, and holidays starting at 10am, so what the hell? If your chef didn't show up for service, call in the sous. Call in a guy from Freeman's or Peels. Call in someone. No excuses. Awesome restaurants open every time you turn around in Williamsburg; there's absolutely no reason to support a place that could give two flips how it's run. Get with it, guys.

7/16/2012

the Food was OK but the service was awful. we asked for bread and were charged $7 for two slices of toast, literally. There were four people in our party, everyone was served at a different time. First person was served about 20 minutes after ordering, second 25 minutes or so, third a bit later and fourth (myself, pregnant and starving) was served 40 minutes later though two of us had ordered the same EGGS! Horrible service, expensive for very very small portions (except the breakfast pizza),...really too bad..

5/27/2012

I've never had food this bad. I ordered the cod, had two bites and stopped. It was paired with yogurt, which may have been  a creative choice, if it wasn't absolutely disgusting. The atmosphere lures people in and you end up spending tons of money for terrible food. Save your money.

4/22/2012

We went there last night with friends and had a great time. I agree with the gist of a lot of the other reviewers: not a lot of bang for your buck. After spending $100 per person, we were hungry again after a few hours. However, all of the food tasted great, the wine and the cocktails were awesome, and the service was really great. Standouts were the calamari starter and the desserts.

11/2/2012

My friends and I were super excited for the arrival of ISA to the neighborhood since we have been patrons of Freemans for years. However, due to its rocky start and super obnoxious menu we avoided the place like the plague for the first couple of months until last sunday when we finally decided to give it a chance since we heard there had been a change in menu and kitchen. The brunch was great and the staff super sweet. It was truly an enjoyable experience and we were happy with the turn around. We decided to return tonight and were happy to see the place was busy and doing well. We sat at the bar and then it started going down hill. The bar back was clueless and the bartender seemed totally overwhelmed. Now, mind you, both my husband and I work in the industry and couldn't believe how clueless this staff was. They didn't know the specials and couldn't offer suggestions. We waited to hear from the bartender but he just read from a list and didn't even make eye contact. seriously, do they know how many restaurants are in this neighborhood and how just one bad experience is enough to turn people away? get it together boys. I actually felt bad for the guy because he seemed overwhelmed and wanted to cut him a break since his drinks were fantastic but talk about no personality. Once our entrees came out, they were decent. I had the skirt steak which was tasty but wished the bartender had suggested a side or something since it just came with burnt broccoli. My husband enjoyed the chicken dish but overall the service really through us off. We were expecting a lot more from this group and hoping for a new local neighborhood spot to frequent but after this experience we will continue to go else where...

1/26/2012

i ate at isa last night. lovely looking place, but sadly the food disappointed, through being overwrought and pointlessly conceptual (just look at their website if you want to get an idea--i challenge you to find a mention of food). we only had a few items, so i would normally be hesitant to judge a place harshly on the basis of them alone, but what was wrong with them was consistent, to do with an attitude or philosophy of food rather than an inability, so i wouldn't be surprised if it was across the board. we had a tartare, which was a series of discs on the plate, one of meat on a thin bed of some kind of sunchoke sauce. there was a circular blob of sour cream and another disc of black flax. blending them created a mixture that tasted good, but the presence of the black flax lent an overbearing gritty, seedy crunchiness to the dish. this and the lack of egg removed all the comforting unctuousness which steak tartare is known for. then wings, fried and honey coated and perfectly cooked, but again with some kind of gritty seed garnish. i wish i could refer to a menu to recall more accurately what was intended to happen in these dishes, but as i said the menu is all high-concept and ironic infomercials for "better burger" devices. *so* williamsburg. the one dish that was great was the one dish they'd played straight, a grilled squid on a bed of ink sauce with sour cream and salsa verde. otherwise a waste of time playing with shapes.

my wife and i arrived slightly after the rest of the party, so i asked the waiter wich dishes would be simplest and quickest, so we could order them to not throw off the table, and he said oh well we're in the middle of service--everything will take about 20 minutes--ok fine, to be expected--we'll just order from the appetizers in that case. i wander over to look at the (stunning) open kitchen and the chef is on his phone, back to the stove, texting relaxedly. i don't know, maybe it was just a one-off, but i have never seen a chef with time to do anything but cook in the middle of service. that said, the food arrived very promptly, ahead of the drinks in fact, well under the 20 minutes the waiter had anticipated.

they also gave us a very generous amuse, a chunk of foie gras with dehydrated onion shards scattered about, an uncomfortably thick fruit roll-up of orange gelee over the top, and two of what the waitress described as, i think, dehydrated chestnuts that were clearly macadamia nuts sort of rolling about the plate. there was some kind of strange white sauce hanging about too. absolutely inedible, but at least they didn't charge for it. (they were very charming, especially the maitre-d/host/manager.)

they did, however, charge us for bread after asking if we wanted any for the table. the bread was terrific, but you know, most restaurants consider it part of the ban chan. oh and the server told us that the multi-grain one "sells" for $18 a loaf in their retail bakery. he said a loaf is really heavy--"you could hurt someone with it." i said especially if you made them pay for it.

the place looks absolutely amazing though. the kitchen's amazing, great theater, and the decor in general, tone, volume etc is all serious restaurant. it's just that they seem to have spent far more time and energy (to the point of having some ridiculous mitred plywood geodesic dome type thing in the bathroom) than on the food itself. I am not willing to buy that they're "experimental." The food wasn't experimental. It was a mix of straight ahead modern american cooking with a few badly-executed de rigeur modernist techniques thrown in. if that's experimenting i would recommend doing a few more tries and getting the results right before putting them on the table. It's a damn shame because the staff were very nice, accommodating etc.

edit: also noticing that for a place that is supposedly "experimenting" with new stuff each day the same dishes are mentioned over and over again in these reviews. and yes, the pork loin dish is exorbitant at $29.

i'm glad i don't work for the times doing restaurant reviews, cause if i did i'd have to go back there again. and maybe i'd be pleasantly surprised, but to be totally honest i'd be dreading it, and that's a shame cause you'd expect so much more from tis place. what's funny to me is that the freeman crew would never try to pull any of that shit in their other spots.

my two stars are for the warmth of service and pleasant environment. on food alone it would be one.

2/16/2012

Well, the ambiance is quite fun, if you like wood. It's a little like a giant Swiss sauna without the steam. The mirrors in the loo are angled oddly too, allowing one to survey the backs of one's calves whilst washing one's hands. The menu is a tad pretentious, displaying it's peculiar selections alongside a photo of a man flanked by two ducks that have apparently become his friends. Yawn. If you like beet and carrot, you're in for a treat. The chef is obviously a huge fan of both. If you like portions befitting a little person / 8 year old / medium sized bird and if you have deepish pockets, it's fine. But $32 for a steak that I could finish in three mouthfuls does not even approach good value. If I'd had an orgasm whilst eating it, I might have forgiven them. But I did not. Nor did my dining partners have orgasms whilst they tucked into their porridge for $28 or single Calamari emblazoned with shaved beet and carrot for $28 either. So, I'd recommend not going here unless you're feeling particularly experimental. Service was reasonable. Wouldn't it be nice if they took credit cards.

1/19/2013

I don't understand the bad reviews!  We sat at the bar and got excellent service from the bartender, bar back and waitstaff.  The hostess immediately spoke to me as soon as I walked through the crocheted door.  It was a Friday night, but the first very cold night in a while, so there weren't too many people out at ANY restaurant.  There was no wait for us, but others who did have a wait got drinks at the bar.  No one bumped into us while eating, which is a pet peeve of mine, and why I have sitting at a bar in most restaurants. We started with the prosecco, which is cloudy.  We asked the manager if there was a problem, but she explained it was because of bottle fermentation...makes sense.  Was impressed that the manager was the one to explain this to us.  The music wasn't too loud...in fact I didn't notice it until I was in the bathroom.  The menu seems to change a lot (daily?).  We had the warm, grilled kale salad.  The wood fire taste made it stand out from others I've had.  It was satisfying, and worked great with the fennel from the pig (or maybe beef...can't remember) hearts combined with it.  The hearts were on a stick like a kabob and were tender.  The roasted beet salad had yellow beets and was very mild so I think it would even appeal to those who don't really like beets.  The crab tagliarini was simple and fresh.  The pasta was fresh-made, and the whole dish was quite light for pasta.  The fire-roasted mussels were the best I've ever had.  If I had to recommend one thing here, this would be that dish.  They're a take on the classic Belgian moules-frites, but somehow there's something a little oily in there and it's redder.  It's not too oily, though, just enough to make the broth rich and ready for dipping with the amazing toasted bread that they bring in lieu of fries.  Wish it came with another piece, not because that piece was small, but because it was so amazing.  We actually didn't even finish the mussels, because we wanted to save room for dessert.  We got the chocolate budino.  It had a nice hint of orange, and would have been perfect if it had hand-whipped heavy whipping cream folded on top, but I suppose the lighter cream that it had (seemed to be CO2-whipped) appeals to those who want a dessert that won't weigh you down too much.  Will return.

12/2/2011

Tried this place out last night.  Inventive dishes, great service, cozy atmosphere, small portions, and crazy expensive.  You should set your expectations not to get your money's worth out of an expensive meal but to savor creative dishes and atmopshere by some well-known creatives in their field.  A should try once kind of place.  A couple of standouts: monkfish nuggets- crusted to perfection and melted in your mouth; Squid with ink sauce- incredibly tender with a wonderfully creamy sauce and complex flavors I couldn't put my finger on;  Duck- very simple but cooked delicately and served with an unidentified earthy green sauce; truffle ice cream with dirt- a delightful truffle foam that literally evaporated with flavor as soon as it hit your tongue, mounded over vanilla ice cream embedded with crispy strips of dried sunchoke.  Overall the food is cooked perfectly (if you like your meat med rare and tender, that is) and flavors and pairings are out of the ordinary special.  The clincher is the price.  We ordered a la carte and food came out to be $60 per person before tip (we also got three other appetizers and an additional dessert).  You can actually eat somewhat reasonably here- prix fixe is $50 pp but the downfall is the drinks which come at $10-15 a pop.  They also will only allow you to order prix fixe if the whole table does.  So although I had a great meal and would love to be a regular here, the prices just don't allow for it.  I'll just be moving on to the next "should try once kind of place."

12/20/2011

I had a great experience here. I'd give it 4.5 if I could. The menu was awesome. Went with two friends and we split a bunch of appetizers which were all really good. And then we split a couple entrees- also really good. The drinks were excellent too. And very nice atmosphere.

10/23/2011

This was the most audacious, delicious and delightful meal I've had in 5 years in New York.  As an old fan of Freemans, I expected the same with a 'Burg twist - what I got was a real dining experience that rivals anything I've had.  In talking to the chef, sous-chef, and pastry chef after the meal I mentioned that we'd been to Can Roca in Spain, and it turns out two of them had staged there - it shows! I'm a private chef for a family here in New York, so like to think I have some critical acumen for these kinds of things -- BLOWN AWAY.

9/11/2011

huge fan!! the atmosphere, the decor, the woodwork, the service...it doesn't get much better than this. we brought our own wine (recommended by my local Estonian wine shop owner), which was beautifully paired and we were never rushed. the food was beautifully presented, every bite was divine! i could live here and be very happy!

5/30/2012

ISA looks nice from the outside and they have clearly put a lot of work into the inside - drawn by the decor, I decided to give it a try.  We went for brunch.  First let me say that it was about 5000 degrees in there.  It was a 90 degree day and they had the windows open and a wood fired stove going full blast (for cooking) - no AC.  The menus arrived printed on regular paper - like menus I could have printed at home.  The offering was random (i.e. a cinnamon bun, steak).  We ordered 2 mimosas, a cheese bun and our entrees.  The food was ok.  I ordered the "Boudin Noir" based on the description of eggs and oregano on toast, not knowing that "Boudin Noir" is pulverized blood sausage...so most of the meal was a brown fatty mush with an egg on top. I guess I was supposed to be able to translate -they left that fatty mush part off of the description....  Anyway, one fatty meal later in the inferno that is ISA, we got the bill.  The mimosas were $12 a pop! wow. wow. wow. I think I sweat $12 worth of salt just trying to get through brunch.  With Lodge serving 2 for $10 Mimosas, and plenty of places in the burg offering unlimited, $12 is just crazy. Not going back....unless they decide to start holding Bikram classes in there.