Dumbo General Store

THE NAME CHANGED TO AL MAR!!! It took us 4 girls forever to find it because the name changed!!!
I ordered the salmon pinino, and it was very tastey. I also tasted my friends’ egg toast, Panini di verdura, and they were all good.
The decro was very nice with high ceiling and loft like windows and wait staff was friendly. Great for groups. HOWEVER, this place NEEDS ventilation!!! Our table was near the kitchen and it was so smoky!!! All of our eyes were watery and it was just not a comfortable girls brunch… I was becoming a smoked bacon myself…

Basically just a disappointment. The décor and atmosphere are great and it really is a gem of a space so it’s a shame the place sucks so bad. High turnover rate I’ve noticed, food is not good/​not worth coming back for, staff is friendly but I get the feeling they aren’t happy to be there… maybe poor ownership? Either way, kind of a waste of time and money. Too expensive for the amount/​taste of the food. Another reviewer said it perfectly…“someone buy this place out and put something good here please!”

Nice décor, but the lazy or inattentive staff does not help that.
Prices are a bit much for what they are, but it’s Dumbo, you can’t expect much else.

Came here late day after checking out the BKI sample sale. The place is pretty dark but I digged the décor (communal tables); really not much of a «general store» though just a café. The girl who sat me and took my order was nice enough but never once came back to my table after taking my order. The place was pretty empty, there were three or four people working the bar area and tables so I don’t get why the service was so lame… at one point I got up, walked to the bar and grabbed my own carafe of water. and this only caused for a minus one star.
The minus two more stars were the food. I ordered a cappuccino and a ‘panino’ — the one with ‘sun dried tomatoes’ AKA regular flavorless tomatoes, mozzarella — hardly any present, and arugula — good but not enough to make up for the rest of the sandwich. Maybe I’m just not a panini type of person but this meager sandwich was not good. The cappuccino on the other hand was good, however, I think the price of a to-​go capp at the bar is over $ 4! Yikes!
Will not be returning…

Think of the General Store in any western movie — Billy the Kid, True Grit, Shanghai Noon — whatever. Got the mental picture? Now, does it look at all exciting?! No, not really. Place that in the DUMBO area and you get this place.
I withheld my grunt of disappointment upon entering for a professional luncheon. It had the same seating arrangement as Chinatown; they’ll stick you anywhere they have room. It’s nothing at all memorable, and the same goes for the menu, the food, and the staff. Coming at noon on a rainy day, I was surprised by the volume. The Panino Classico wasn’t all that great and my tea never came with my milk and sugar like I asked. My boss asked for everything he wanted twice and couldn’t seem to get the check fast enough either. Too short staffed, or maybe they should try writing things down in the future.
Someone please rob this place of its money and put something useful here. Please?

Well, I got trapped in Dumbo on a Sunday night. Who knew everything closed at 6 and then none of the restaurants/​bars take cards? Then the place that did take cards didn’t serve alcohol. Bummer.
So we ended up at Dumbo General Store. We had a delicious hot spiced rum thing that was a happy hour deal (I think it was $ 7). So that was great. They also didn’t bother us even tho we were just sitting at a table for drinks. It was perfect to pass the time in Dumbo as we waited for my dad to get out of a workshop next door. Definitely would be four stars if they took cards. Come on, guys, it’s 2010.

I am often prone to becoming too high on a place and then wearing it out only to realize that it was not as good as I thought it was in the «dating» phase. I highly doubt this will happen with Dumbo General Store and I do plan to wear out a path between DGS and where I live.
My second visit left me enamored, full and slightly intoxicated. The plan was to stop quickly on the way home from work on Friday and have one beer. Then I saw the Weihenstephan tap and things got better from there. After gulping on a half liter of the oldest German beer, I decided to purvey the food options. Reading through the small, curated menu I found out that all the food comes from their own farm or other local farms and the food component to DGS is basically a farm-​to-​table deal now and how can that be bad? Shredded pork tacos had no opponent and in the time it took me to go to Peas and Pickles to get some extra cash (CASH ONLY), my tacos were at the bar waiting patiently.
The tacos were excellent, just pork and soft yet crispy shell with sour cream and another green condiment that was looser than guacamole on the side. The flavor, consistency and texture were all great and magically the three little tacos disappeared in a short amount of time.
The staff here was extremely friendly and the service on all ends at the bar was excellent. It is a relaxed atmosphere and definitely a pleasure to have just sitting on Front St. in DUMBO.

When in DUMBO do as the dumboids do? Dumbo-​ites?
Anyway, stopped in here after a leisurely bike ride along Brooklyn’s ever growing and renovated downtown waterfront. It was a nice respite after all that peddling…
What I liked…
o very relaxed and comfortable atmosphere
o great beer selection — I had a six-​point
o great olive plate & veggie tacos
o funny waiter that amused our group
I can’t think of much I didn’t like. It was kinda perfect for a little stop off.
— dim lighting
— good date spot
— good for snacks
— low profile, no pressure

I loved the décor and I liked the happy hour special and I’m glad they got an A on the recent restaurant rating system. But my mac & cheese was just too watery instead of being good and cheesy.

I am new to the neighborhood and my partner lives across the street! It was around noon, lunch time when we walked in. Staffs were very friendly, and polite. I had a «Big breakfast» on the menu, it was delicious. I enjoyed it a lot. Loved those toast, and grapes. I rarely eat that much during lunch times.
I will definitely come back again!

This is a nice spot with a quaint vibe and reasonably priced lunch menu. I had the Italian tuna panini with olive, artichoke, and tomato. The sandwich was a little strong in the olive department but was pretty good nonetheless. They also make a good omelet.
One small quirk that concerns me — The long community table in the center of the room has two long benches on either side to sit on. The benches are just a little to close to the table and I fear it is only a matter of time until someone as long legged as myself (but less agile) faceplants when trying to get up. Bring your 6’3″ friend here sometime and watch him/​her take that extra moment to get seated and stand up. You’ll see what I mean.
Here is my shout out to Susan S. for checking out the joint with myself and my associate Chris O.

Organic eggs for breakfast in Dumbo? Yes please. Two perfectly cooked eggs with ciabatta toast and nice mixed greens in a light vinaigrette. Simple for $ 6.25, but excellent if you don’t have the option of cooking at home, don’t want a bagel, and are over the breakfast options at Front Street Pizza.
Good café atmosphere, decent quality orange juice, cash only.

**This review is only for the bar and drinks**
Once again, we were in DUMBO for the Friday NERD nite at Galapagos Art Space. We arrived early and wanted to have a drink before being mentally dazzled. Already being familiar with Superfine and Rebar, we wanted something different. Our first stop was Speak Up, but with one glance at the sparse menu (sangria and 2 beers), we decided to take our chances on Front St.
I had passed this place in the past and was curious about it. It has a nice size eating area, and a good looking bar. The bar can seat about 8 people, and that’s where we situated ourselves. Even on a Friday night, they have happy hour all night long. Good to know. They have: $ 7 Caprinha, $ 6 house wine, $ 3 Six Point on tap and $ 3 mystery beer. Mystery beer is whatever the bartender pulls out from the cooler. So I am guessing it could be Natty Light up to say a Guiness?
Luckily, MR got a Brooklyn Pilsner, it could have been a lot worse.
I enjoyed sitting at the bar, and conversing with the bartender. He was friendly and was willing to entertain our questions. I watched him make a Pisco Sour, and it made me want to try one. Perhaps on the next visit here.
FYI — Pisco is a Peruvian liquor distilled from grapes. Pisco means «little bird,» in Quechua.

Recently had Sunday Brunch here. Restaurant was only half full, not very busy. Very apathetic wait staff. Our waitress was amazingly bad. When we ordered coffee she asked, ‘would you like milk in that?’ I told her no. Our coffees arrived with steamed milk in them and we were told, ‘All of our coffee comes with steamed milk in it.’ Umm… then why did you even ask if we wanted milk in it to begin with? Food was AMAZING. Just wonderful. But again… bad waitress. Never checked on us during our meal. Not once. We watched her mill about the half full restaurant with nothing to do but she never approached our table to check on the status of our meal. My bottom line review is: If you can deal with the apathetic and non-​attentive wait staff, the food is excellent.
Side note: Cash only. Blerg.

Come all the way to try the much mentioned brunch.
Overrated, I must say.
Good Coffee.
Good Service, they tolerate a baby and a careless boy.
When again I desire to smell like I worked in their kitchen, I’ll comeback.

I am so glad Hecho en Dumbo moved to Manhattan and Dumbo General Store started serving dinner instead. The two times I’ve eaten at or ordered from Hecho have been disappointing all around. Food was always mediocre at best — bad Mexican knock-​offs. And over-​priced even if they had been normal-​sized portions.
So last week we decided to check it out when we noticed a new dinner menu and chef at DGS. The theme is mostly southern comfort with an upscale twist, but there are a couple of exceptions such as African Adobo Spiced Ahi Tuna. Everything we ordered was amazing, The best was probably the Beef Shortribs with Grits and Butter-​Bathed Asparagus. Great job bringing a new take on an old dessert with the fried bananas. Good wine selections as well. On top of it all, the host was a sweetheart and the chef came out and spent time chatting with each table. We are definitely going back and bringing friends!

We had dinner at General Store last Friday that was the dinner debut day for new chef. Actually it was our first time to have dinner at General Store. We tried to go Hecho but it was always so crowded and always gave up. Since it was the 1^st day for new chef, the restaurant was pretty empty and we’ve got a great service. We’ve had glass of wine which I thought was pretty pricey. I had duck slider for appetizer, and short rib for entrée. They both were delicious! We didn’t have dessert since they didn’t sound that great.
The only complain is they only take cash. Other than that, it pretty good. We will go back there soon.

I’ll be honest. The only reason I actually used to come here was because I adored Tivoli Home which was the amazing, now defunct, Scandinavian home goods store tucked in the back of this otherwise average café.
I’m a little confused since I have been here twice and observed general inconsistencies with the whole deal. The first time I went, we just had coffee and a pastry by ordering at the bar and that was that. Cute enough. I went back recently, later in the evening, and was presented with a menu that was quite Mexican-​themed which doesn’t seem in keeping with what I thought was going on. OK, fine enough, I still ordered coffee and Tres Leches cake off their dessert menu since I wasn’t here for dinner. They get credit where credit is due as they make a great Café Americano. The Tres Leches cake was alright, so can’t complain too much about that either.
The service here was spotty at best and I’m a little put off by that. We ended up having about seventeen different waiters/​waitresses in the course of the three hours we were there, and while all were as cordial as they had to be, it seemed a little inconsistent. We ended up being charged for two beers which we didn’t order, so when I pointed this out to waiter number fourteen, he didn’t say anything, walked away in a surly manner, returned with our bill and walked away never to be seen again.
My advice is to go in the late morning/​early afternoon when it’s brunch/​lunch time and things seem a little more stable. Overall, definitely a nice place to have a cup of coffee and a little time to relax. It’s decorated with interesting Danish light fixtures and there are certainly no other places like this in DUMBO, so it’s a «go to» when you need a café. For dinnertime, not so much.

Is this place ALWAYS packed? It’s my go-​to bathroom while in Dumbo, and apparently everyone else’s. Which is unfortunate because there is only one bathroom and there is always a line.
I find that the line can be disorganized, and the service is brusque, but the coffee is pretty good when you are hot and tired and need a pick me up!

This is the Grey Dog Coffee Brooklyn style. if you are in brooklyn you go Dumbo General Store Café. if you are in manhattan you go Grey Dog Coffee. very similar concept. except this place is less crowded. shorter wait.
Why can we have more this style of café/​sandwich place in manhattan?