AOC Bistro: My review

[bktransplant]

Last weekend, my parents came to visit from Connecticut. I’ve lived in Brooklyn for almost 5 years now and usually we go to the city for brunch whenever they come in. However, we were on a tight schedule Saturday and didn’t have enough time to make it into the city and back.

I decided to stay local in Park Slope but the problem was that there are limited choices for brunch. A friend had mentioned to me a few weeks back that a new restaurant was opening on the corner of 5th Ave and Garfield. I didn’t think much of it since restaurant openings are a dime-a-dozen in NY, but he had said they were a Manhattan transplant, which stuck in my head. So I checked it out during the week and found out it was A.O.C. Bistro. I was very excited as I have gone to their main restaurant in the West Village several times in the past and absolutely love it!

A.O.C. restaurant (bleecker st, west village) is a French bistro. It has got an authentic feel with phenomenal food and great outdoor garden. Needless to say, I was very excited to see that A.O.C. Bistro in Park Slope had the same concept as their original restaurant except the design and feel fit the neighborhood perfectly with a contemporary flair.

Atmosphere/Design:

They did an absolutely great job in designing this space. It feels very airy as there are large windows in the front that open along with smaller windows on the side. Being that it was summer, all of the windows were open and it felt like we were eating outside on a beautiful day. The décor is modern and contemporary; with large hanging canvas light fixtures over the tables and bar, brass cube design on the front wall, and provocative French artwork. The table layout is nice as there is a mix of high bar tables, regular tables and booth-style tables. The atmosphere for brunch was great and I look forward to checking it out on a Friday night.

Food:

Being that I have gone to their original restaurant several times and was very happy with the food, I was pleased to see that the menu has remained pretty much the same. My mom and wife both ordered the French toast and could not get over it. My wife said it was the best French toast she had ever had and it was accompanied with fresh fruit and potatoes. I ordered the “Feuille de Brique.” Don’t ask me how to pronounce it properly, and I admittedly had to check their website for the spelling. The simplest way to explain it would be cheese and ham baked in phyllo. It was absolutely delicious and a nice change of pace from ordering an omelette. It came with mesclun salad and roasted potatoes as well.

Service:

Very good here as well. Our waiter was prompt and pleasant. The French manager also came over to make sure everything was ok. The restaurant was fairly close to being full so I was happy to see service didn't suffer.

Overall:

Sorry for the long post, but I have always found more details to be helpful when I read reviews.

I see myself as being a regular at AOC Bistro, so I definitely recommend for those who haven't gotten a chance to check it out. Food and atmosphere are terrific. You can't go wrong for brunch and I'm looking forward to getting back there on a Fri/Sat night. Great addition to the neighborhood!

[elecsheep9]

I had dinner at AOC Bistro last week. Thought it was very good and will definitely make the regular rotation. Posted a lengthy review in a separate thread.