Do or Dine

This place has a nice atmosphere, especially the outdoor seating area. The food is delicious and they have a simple but diverse menu. They lost a star because the waitress took what felt like damn near 30 minutes to bring the check. Sad to see it being closed, wanted to go back again.

Been wanting to check this place out since it opened a few years back and finally got there. Space is small but nicely put together. Sat outside on the patio which is aa perfect space for a nice day.
Got there about 7pm on a Sunday and it was dead, but the place packed up by about 8. DJ was spinning and there was definitely a vibe. Like everyone else it seems went w the foie gras donut to start. What can you say, tasted exactly like you would expect, which is pretty damn delicious.
For the mains had hen and waffle and hangar steak. Plates aren’t cheap but not sure what people are expecting portion wise, thought it was just fine. Hen was ok, could have had more flavor but the waffle was absolutely delicious. The hangar steak was perfectly cooked and seasoned, probably the best I’ve had.
Overall all a really good chill place. Could be a couple of dollars cheaper but you pay for quality which they bring in abundance. I’d hit it again.

Don’t waste your time or money.
The portions are ridiculously small for the price. My boyfriend & I ordered 3 dishes (one «snack» — nachos, and two «small dishes» — froie gras doughnut, lamb ribs) which ended up being $ 30 and then we ended up just leaving to go to another restaurant to have a proper meal. We were that hungry even after eating here and dropping $ 30.
Apparently they’re CASH ONLY without any prior warning (no signs, nada). We didn’t have cash so they then made us download some app to pay, which took about 20 minutes (not exaggerating) to download due to a crappy connection.
The foie gras doughnut is the only thing I can honestly recommend. As for the lamb ribs, we essentially paid $ 10 for fat on bones that was barely edible. The nachos are the type of thing you could find at a cheap pub for $ 3.

Much like Brooklyn itself (which gave us Biggie but also kombucha on tap), Do or Dine is kinda hit or miss.
The Good: cumin and lime lamb breast. Bold, spicy, cumin-​y, and gloriously fatty and tender, though perhaps a bit on the salty side. Lamb breast is such an underappreciated cut, and when it’s done right, it’s incredible. At $ 10, it’s also a steal, especially since it’s a surprisingly generous portion of meat. Would come back for this.
The Bad: foie gras donut. Not a huge fan of pureed foie gras, as you lose that nice texture and mouthfeel, and it just tastes like shitty, stale pâté. The donut to foie ratio was too imbalanced, and in a rare display of restraint on my part, I would’ve like less of the protein and more of the pastry. Ambitious, but sometimes you fly too close to the sun. Sad trombone.
The Weird (but also pretty good): novelty pickelback shot. Redemption rye served with a goddamn science experiment. Won’t ruin the surprise, but would recommend.

Hmmmmm… Man I was not happy today… I keep expressing on A Sunday after church — I have no time to play when it comes to my food — that means which ever Resto I visit must get it right… do not play with my food senses at all…
Anywho — so today I go to have brunch at Do or Dine after a long day at church service… decided to invite a friend of mine as well.
We walked in to some great tunes spinning and a great comfortable atmosphere and nice décor. We were immediately seated…
So I decided immediately that I am getting the cornish hen and waffles… I like the fact that I was getting grilled or bake chicken with waffles instead of Fried Chicken… OK so I get my plate…
I am looking at the plate like — is this it — where is the rest of the food… This place served me a half waffle with two small hen wingettes — Are u freakin kidding me — AM I FIVE YEARS OLD… You are feeding an adult Brunch after 2pm — and you serve me a HALF WAFFLE w/​TWO VERY SMALL CORNISH HEN DRUMMETS — BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! BOOOOOOOOOOO! Then you want to charge me $ 14 — ARE YOU CRAZY…
So I proceeded to call over the waitress — I said what I have in front of my plate does not look like what I see on Unilocal — I was told by the waitress who was very dry and uninviting — oh that is the Dinner portion… Like what… I have never gone to Brunch where they give you a half waffle — what Resto does that — it should matter — chicken and waffle is chicken and waffle — whether you serve it for dinner or BRUNCH!!!
Now I could understand if you gave me a half waffle but made it up with the chicken — Laaaaaaaaaaaaawd disappointing…
Then I call the waitress again and said — can I get more chicken please — I was charged $ 8 for it — when I started digging in — the chicken was RAW… SMH! When I showed the waitress that it was RAW — She had the nerve to say that is the arteries — Like What did you say — I looked at her like she was CRAZY — when she realized that she sounded OFF — she walked off and gave me a $ 3 credit… Lord help me…
If it was up to me this place would get a BIG FAT TWO STARS!!!
The only reason I gave them 3 Stars is 1. the food was tastey and 2. My friend enjoyed her dish that she had which was the Asparagus dish…
I will never go back — thanks Do or Dine — because my experience was more like Do or Dine Out — I should have opted to Dine elsewhere…

Really fun place. I came here on a Saturday for brunch and there was no wait, which was excellent!
Food:
— The foie gras donuts are yes, very delicious.
— The spicy jellyfish salad was actually quite salty but had good texture.
— The shishito peppers were wonderfully cooked and just the right amount of salty.
— The grilled asparagus benny was a nice twist on the benedict
— The french fry bi bim bop — BEWARE, there is NO RICE! The french fries are the rice instead! This was very good to me as I’m a sucker for sweet potato fries, but some of the vegetables were pretty oily.
Overall, it was unique and a fun place to dine. Unfortunately, there were some seasoning and cooking issues that prevented me from being a converted fan.

ALERT: Completely over-​hyped hipster-​scene with some admittedly unique, tasty menu items.
You should dine here if you answer «Yes» to any of the following questions:
1) Are you a hipster?
2) Do you want to be a hipster?
3) Do you love Williamsburg and wish that scene would infiltrate every other part of Brooklyn?
4) Do you want to try some interesting menu items, that you have never tried before, despite the fact that the service is lousy?
5) Are you OK with going to a restaurant that has one dessert only? And that dessert is a $ 3 frozen snickers bar, served in the wrapper?
My college roommate was in town for a night. She lives in San Francisco (though used to live in NYC), is a foodie, is a Nielsen Exec that sits in the Facebook headquarters. She solely analyzes their ratings, «likes» and trends. So CLEARLY, I needed to find a unique, funky, and tasty restaurant for our family-​style dinner. Before I go on, let me state — I failed in my attempt. BUT I saved our night and my credibility by going directly to Sud Vino & Cucina for dessert afterwards. We graciously devoured the BEST Tiramisu that I/​we have ever had in NYC.
********THE GOOD********
1) Nippon Nachos: We had never tried anything like these. But as my friend said, «Those were good, but they weren’t nachos». A staff member concurred and said, «Yeah, they’re *Nippon* Nachos — so they are more like dumplings». Fishy, cheesy, dumplings, I may add. There are probably 4 – 5 actual chips (or potsticker chips?) surrounded by cheese and masago sour cream. It’s a small portion and definitely interesting and worth ordering. I do not plan to go back to Do or Dine, but I AM glad that I tried these once.
2) Grilled Corn: It had a cream and spice and seemed like a version of Elote. But, I have had much better Elote around the city (i.e. Roasted Adobe Corn at the Brooklyn Bowl). It’s still a good accompaniment/​vegetable to add to your meal.
3) Hummus: We ordered this since we couldn’t finish our jellyfish and my friend didn’t like the Bass Entrée. It’s made with black sesame tahini and there were flavors of cumin. We only ordered this because we were hungry, you can’t go wrong with hummus. But it’s not a show-​stopper.
4) The Backyard: Any outdoor seating, in Brooklyn, is good.
********THE BAD********
1) Jellyfish Salad: So, in all honesty, this was a novelty item for us. We didn’t actually think we would like it — but we wanted to give it a try. GROSS & SLITHERY. That’s all I/​we can say. We *should* have ordered the Grilled Squid. The table next to us had that and it looked great.
2) Striped Bass: This was overall dull and did not pop with freshness, as fish should. I’m comparing this fish to the amazing Trout at The Finch or one of the fresh and flavorful fish Specials at Stonehome or Dino. The lotus was nice, the sauce pretty interesting, the snow peas were poorly cooked and the actual fish was like dull and floppy. I ended up finishing it, so as not to waste money. My friend, on the other hand, did not enjoy it.
3) Wines by the Glass: So, I tasted pretty much every red by the glass and settled on the Malbec. The red selection was overall poor with no clear delineation of earthy, rustic, barnyard, smooth… They all tasted day old as well. For my second glass, I ordered the Pinot Gris, since recently that has been a sure bet. A staff person said this wine came from his friends vineyard in Oregon. Hmmm. Now I know not to go wine tasting in Oregon. It was wayyyy too sweet for a Pinot Gris. At that point, I just felt tired from getting beat down by the bad service and overall blasé food.
********THE UGLY********
1) The Service: Others have mentioned it. I will underscore it. The service is God awful.
2) Dessert: They have one dessert. A frozen Snickers bar for $ 3. They keep it in the wrapper, but cut it up, serve it on a plate and place some strawberries around it (of course we did not order it).
3) The Hipster Vibe: Gotta see and *feel it* it to believe it. Check out the bathroom.

Let me just say it was disappointing.
The food was nice though the menu items didn’t match what was listed online. No one bothered to tell us when we ordered. Annoying.
My husband had the hanger steak and it was delicious. It was cooked really well, juicy medium rare. The frog legs were also nice.
My meal however was ok. For a $ 25 pork-​chop I expect the meat to be cooked fully. I couldn’t finish the meal because I was so uncomfortable with how lukewarm the center of the chop was.
I might have said something to the server (Joan), if she was even remotely hospitable. She served us with such indifference and disdain; I felt every question asked was in someway personally offensive to her.
It was such crap service, I wanted to eat and leave as quickly as possible.

#Man, Bedford Ave in Bed-​Stuy is getting pretty hip. It’s like the new Bedford Ave.
I got the #A Half Chicken and Some Woffals (#Waffles) $ 14. The Half Chicken looked more like a #quarter chicken if I’m counting the size and the number of #bones. But overall, size was about right for a #brunch. It was really tasty.

My girlfriend (vegan) and I (vegetarian) came here for our anniversary. When I looked on Do or Dine’s website, I was extremely excited by the description of the BBQ Chimichanga, complete with smoked jackfruit (I fucking love jackfruit.) Unfortunately, upon arriving at the restaurant, we found that this dish was not currently being offered. Instead, the only vegan/​vegetarian entrée was a simple veggie couscous. We ordered it to share, along with the Cauli-​Balls and the Shishito Quatre Sel.
The cauli-​balls, served in sets of five, were the highlight of the meal. We both agreed we could’ve eaten several orders of those. The peppers were fun, but I have to agree with other reviewers who’ve said that the wasabi salt was the only flavor that left any lasting impression; I could barely tell the others apart. Our entrée was tasty, with a lovely array of well-​prepared vegetables topping a ginger-​infused pearl couscous. The flavors in this were on-​point, and while I wasn’t stoked on paying $ 20 for veggie couscous, I can’t deny that it was delicious.
Everything we tried was good, and the presentation was absolutely beautiful – particularly with the shishito peppers – but I left feeling underwhelmed. Based on the hype and the manner in which Do or Dine presents itself, I was expecting to be blown away by the flavors, but nothing really wowed me. I was particularly disappointed with the lack of creativity for the only seasonal vegetarian entrée option; perhaps I’d feel differently if I ate meat. I’d consider coming back if a more interesting veg option comes around, but otherwise I feel like I’ve exhausted my options here, and none of them left me dying for more.

Had brunch here today and it was excellent.
I made a reservation for 11am when they open on Sundays, but it wasn’t necessary. It looked like there were still some tables available when we left at around 12:15.
We started out with the foie gras donut, which was one of the main reasons we came. Like many other items in the menu it sounds odd, but it totally works. The foie gras goes perfectly with the tender fried donut and raspberry jam. It’s a great blend of sweet and savory.
My main dish was the lamb hash served with two eggs and some lightly dressed lettuce. The lamb was really flavorful and had some nice crunchy bits, just like a good hash should. My friends both liked their dishes, although i didn’t try them. They had the chicken & waffles and the brussel sprouts Benedict. Again, both dishes have a twist to them, but it all seems to work. Service was friendly and attentive. Setting is casual and intimate.
I look forward to going back, maybe for dinner, maybe to check out the outdoor space, and definitely to have the donut again.

This place has it all. Great, great food. Each dish is unexpected in a familiar way. My favorites are the whole fish and chips, chicken & waffles, Nippon Nachos, grilled squid and George’s Steak tartare. Each yummy with the DoD twist. Great cocktail list. Try the Red Dawn.
And then there’s the staff. Justin (your host) is a sweetheart. All the staff is genuinely happy to be there and happy you came
I come here often.

Love love loved it!!! I had such an amazing experience here! My boyfriend and I were looking for a quick bite before heading to a painting class and the class actually recommended Do or Dine so we stopped by…
The exterior of the restaurant gives off a vibe that this is some school cafeteria, but when you walk in it transforms into this amazing little dive that is decorated with an older almost Victorian vibe.
We didn’t have much time so we headed straight to the bar… Then the magic happened. The bartender was soooo amazing!!! (He told me to write that) but I would have written it anyway! He really was great!!!
He got us started with the sphere shots! My boyfriend had the margarita and I had the pickle one! So you take a shot of Irish whiskey and then you shoot this «jellylike» out of this world pickle juice ball concoction just explodes in your mouth! It’s the greatest combination of heat, vinegar and drunkness (I know it’s not a word) but that’s how I felt right after! All you need is two of those to set you straight for the entire day!
Now the food… Lord! I felt like Guy Fieri tasting and sampling all the amazing things here! We got frog legs, grilled squid, and the huevos ranchero to share!!! My taste buds at this point were shouting so loud in oral pleasure that I’m almost positive the people outside heard me!
I was moaning and groaning so loud that the owner who was quietly sitting at the bar had to interject! He was so nice and introduced himself and we could have talked all day but sadly I had to pull myself away for another engagement.
Do or Dine is magical and unforgettable! Such a shining star of cuisine in Brooklyn. Can’t wait to go back!

The chicken and waffles…
The steak tartar…
BOMB!!!

This place is just ok for me. It’s a little too cool for school, with its dark lighting and central spinning disco ball whose dots of swirling lights made me a little nuts by the time appetizers came. The food was fine, but didn’t blow me away. I had the chicken and waffles, and started with the nachos and broccoli with peppers. Everything was good, but not stand out amazing. I know this place is popular and always crowded, and maybe it’s better on a busy Saturday night (or worse?) instead of early-​ish on Sunday eve when we hit it. The dessert was a house made baklava, which was admirable to attempt. It was more of a deconstruction. The elements were there, but it didn’t come together like the real classic does in its best form.
I often am lazy about writing reviews until days or sometimes weeks after a visit to a place, but I knew I wouldn’t remember what I had if I waited any longer, which is perhaps the harshest thing I can say about this place. I always remember the very best and the very worst dishes at a given restaurant, the rest are mostly quickly forgotten.

The service was excellent. I wish I had ordered the foie gras donuts.
I guess all I can say about the food is I totally get why people used to freak out about this place in the neighborhood but bedstuy has so many other options now and I think I may be spoiled for choice. That being said… here are the things I ate. Here is what I thought about them.
Grilled Squid-​with squid or octopus, I want that charred, burnt crisp in every bite and this was a bit mushy (ew) and overall flavorless
Pond wings-​I fucking love frog legs. I’d almost rather eat frog legs than chicken wings but these were rubbery and the spicy Dr. Pepper glaze was all acid and no sweet – which is fine if there was actual heat in the sauce.
Pork shumai-​were these frozen? They seemed frozen and spongy but flavor wasn’t bad… nvm don’t order these
Chicken & «Woffals”-Chicken was ok. The waffle was really good. I think because it was deep-​fried?
Hanger Steak-​Cooked perfectly. Very tender. Nothing else really stood out about the dish even with the twist.
…in conclusion, I wish I had ordered the foie gras donuts.
Oh! Almost forgot – I hated the ambience. I think mentally, the disco light made my food taste worse.

I LOVED Do Or Dine! We came here late on a Satuday night (around 10:30pm), so the place wasn’t very full. We ordered the Foie Gras Doughnut as a starter, fish and chip and chicken and waffles. The Foie Gras doughnut is so amazing that I could eat it for every meal ever for the rest of my life, which wouldn’t be very long because i’d die of a heart attack. Each dish comes out a bit different than you would expect! Instead of Fried fish, I had a whole baked fish over a bed of fried with a topping of roe on it’s head. The chicken and waffles were equally as delicious as the fish. The service was attentive and fun, without being to «hipster» and relaxed. Drinks were great to. Can’t wait to go back, this is a must try if you live around here, and if not it’s worth the trek out to the hood!

If you swing for the fences every time, you will strike out more regularly than you should… but, it’s spectacularly entertaining.
Do or Dine, one of the contributors to Bed Stuy’s resurgence as a dining destination over the past few years, is more an in-​the-​moment entertaining chuckle fest than a serious contender for any lasting memories or dining awards — Michelin recommendation, notwithstanding. Nevertheless, it’s a charming restaurant, and oozes personality despite the plethora of contrived puns on the menu. I think I may be more impressed with the fact that they’ve carried on with their schtick for over 3 years now.
My first visit at Bed Stuy Do or Dine was for brunch around the Labor Day weekend. It was a good opportunity to evaluate the restaurant’s credentials with a kitchen not unduly stressed by customer orders. Our meal started on a really strong note with the Foie Gras Doughnut, collaboration with the incomparable Dough bakery. The silky mousse of foie gras served with a Smuckers preserve filling and encased in a texturally perfect Dough doughnut won us over with its lightness, along with a hint of tartness. This was followed by the Shishito Quatre Sel, with yuzu, wasabi, hickory and green tea flavored salts. I know this was meant to be a simple dish, but such simple dishes can often pack an unexpectedly mean punch (the non-​sequitur reference to boxing courtesy an incongruent Mohammad Ali Sonny Liston poster inside the restaurant). Not so in this case, as the wasabi flavored salt was the only one not so mellow as to be unmemorable, and the Shishito peppers seemed greasy after being flash-​fried (frying being the cooking technique of choice at the restaurant). These dishes were followed by the Lamb breast, wonderfully accented by cumin and lime, but so incredibly fatty (to be fair, we were warned that it would be so) that it seemed unhealthy to partake beyond a few bites; and A Chicken and Woffals, a twist on the fried chicken and waffles popular across the city at brunch time, but featuring jerk chicken. I think a tad more foie gras (and waffles!) would have made it sublime, but it was still intriguing… On my subsequent visits, I’ve enjoyed the Cauli balls: tempura cauliflower with romesco sauce; and the Bassa Nova (seabass with mushrooms and hush puppies).
But, there have also been a large number of misses that prompt me to question their consistency and execution. A laundry list of my complaints would include the Nippon Nachos: fried gyoza nachos topped with cheddar, gouda, and Jalapeño accented sour cream, accompanied by a tart pico de gallo; a kale salad with an uninspiring dressing that didn’t compensate for the difficulty of chowing down an un-​chopped salad; Fawn-​tons with venison; and Tacos with Reuben covered by cheese that was as tasteful as one imagines an industrial by-​product would…
The bar does a competent job with the seasonally changing drinks. One I liked particularly was the Fitzgerald. But, there are no pretensions as to dessert. There is none — other than a snickers ice cream bar (sourced from the corner bodega), served in its original wrapper. I don’t know the food critics who find this charming, but they should check in their badges at the door. I appreciate that the kitchen makes no pretensions, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t try. As one who believes that no meal is complete without dessert, the lack of thoughtfulness when it comes to desserts ends an otherwise entertaining meal very abruptly, and would make me reconsider any subsequent visit. Still, I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars due to the background music, and my sentimentality for the Pet Shop Boys.

Brooklyn + disco balls + a waitstaff that could fit in perfectly in Breaking Bad = terrific Friday night dinner at Do or Dine in Bedford-​Stuyvesant.
The lamb breast comes two small ribs to a plate, flavored with cumin and lime and adorned with a green leafy flag. The lamb was borderline gamey, amply spiced and fatty — chewy, melty and tasty.
The foie gras doughnut was a decadent affair — a crisp filled doughnut jammed with grape jelly and creamed foie gras. The table was mixed on opinion — Anne didn’t like the foie texture, wishing it was more in its pure state than the pureed one, Thanan liked it and helped himself to Anne’s share, and I thought it was interesting and novel but mainly preferred the oily-​crunch of the doughnut shell over the filling.
The nippon «nachos» came as five vegetable dumplings on a plate. The charred crunch of the dumpling wrappers coupled with the pico de gallo produced the exact flavor of nachos but in a fun presentation.
The «fish and chips» appeared as a whole pan-​fried snapper perched upon a pile of thick cut french fries, spine lined with yuzu and head topped with a glistening crown of golden roe. This dish was a table favorite, the fries crispy despite being soaked in the oily goodness of the fish, the fish light and flaky and the yuzu providing freshness and crunch.
The New Zealand duck breast was thickly sliced and meaty like steak. The skin had just the right touch of fat.
Do or Dine represents Brooklyn restaurantery to the max. Hip waitstaff with cool vocabulary, a cozy, warm space and unique dishes. A good option if you’re in the Bed-​Stuy area, but I’m not convinced yet that it is a necessary destination spot.

I really wanted to love this place… I still do. I checked out the menu before I came and was amazed by the uniqueness of the offerings here. If you take a minute to browse through the menu then you’ll see what I mean. I applaud the owners for opening up a restaurant like this in the neighborhood.
However, as of now I just can’t give it more than 3 stars.
We went for brunch and started off with the pickleback shots. The pickleback part was made from liquid in a thin encasing. Once you slurp it down the encasing bursts open and all the delicious pickleness splashes all over the place in your mouth. This was my favorite part of the meal.
Also got to taste the fish and chips, the lamb, and a brunch menu item with bacon, egg, and sweet potato fries. I got to taste everything and I just wasn’t really feeling it. The fish was OK, but not amazing. The lamb was a little too fatty. The dish with bacon and sweet potato fries was just… horribly wrong. I would take this last dish off the menu as paying about 12 – 13 bucks for an egg, two slices of bacon, and a bowl full of fries just isn’t enjoyable and not worth it.
Aside from the food, this place is not cheap so I would keep that in mind if you’re on a budget. Service and atmosphere were nothing special, but not bad.
Would I give it another try? Yes, if only for the fact that I really like the originality of this place and would love to try some of the other menu options.