The Pines

I came here last night with three other people and felt I needed to write about this place because it was incredibly disappointing.
First off, and not to be missed — pricing is out of control. The dishes are small (I get it, it’s small plates) but even when you order a bunch, you still leave unsatisfied. Many people have commented on the pricing of this restaurant and I think management should really take a look at it. You are in Gowanus — not midtown, plates are tiny, and the service — oh boy, the service. Service is a whole paragraph in itself.
The menu is meat heavy, with little option for people who like things other than meat. There were two things ordered that we were told were sold out for the night. It was 8pm on a Saturday. It wasn’t like it was 10:30pm on Saturday and the kitchen was closing, so we really should not have run into the issue of the kitchen running out of items!
We ordered 5 appetizers, to which the waiter cleared our plates after the fourth. I asked if we would get new plates for our fifth appetizer and he looked baffled. It was clearly forgotten.
We then waited an additional 40 minutes for our entrees to come out. This was a full hour and 15 minutes from when we initially ordered. In my mind, this is absurd and a complete lack of organization of the kitchen to prepare in a timely fashion. Not to forget that the food was really lackluster and nothing to write home about.
The waiter was struggling and might consider another profession. The whole night things were just off. One thing that really sticks out is that one person in our group ordered a wine and asked several questions about the wines to make sure she got what she wanted. When the glass of wine arrived, it was the wrong one. The person in our party is a really nice person so said «its ok, I’ll just have this I guess», and instead of the waiter saying «no of course not, let me get you the wine you ordered and had so many questions about», he said «ok» and just left the wine. POOOOOR execution, and noted. That was tough, but it all came to a culmination when it came dessert time. We brought a cake to be served, and it was quite large. Probably a cake to feed 10 – 12 people. We asked him to cut us 4 pieces, and in return he brought the cake out, cut into four quarters. Four giant quarters. My mind was blow. It is still blow, and I am still laughing about this. He brought out coffee and asked if we wanted milk, to which we said yes. The milk arrived 15 minutes later. Hmmmph.
When we were finished with the cake (we cut one quarter into fours and had the remaining three quarters to take home) we asked for the box to wrap it back up. The waiter looked at us like a deer in headlights and told us that he threw the box out. I mean… I think you all get the points I’m making on the waiter by now. I’ll leave it be.
Finally the bill arrives and of course, it is an insane number for what we have just endured. They also slipped in a $ 25 cake cutting fee. REALLY? It took so much work to cut our cake into quarters, throw out the box and smile unapologetically. For our experience, the food quality, the service and all else, we should have paid atleast half of what we paid.
End of the day, this restaurant was pretty bad. So much so that I woke up today still pretty pissed about it. There are so many great restaurants in NY, Brooklyn and so on, and I’m bummed we spent our money here.

Earth to New York City (and The Pines): OK, so there’s a trend of offering plates «designed for sharing» at this point in dining history. Then why are are all the portions cut in half?
Earth to the Pines:
1. See above;
2. You have such an interesting approach to the food itself. Why not throw caution to the wind and consider your diners’ physical comfort? Are you aware that chairs sometimes come with backs and even cushioning? Could you keep your sleevecuffs out of the food? Do you need to disinfect RIGHT in the middle of dinner service with an overpowering dose of PineSol that permeates the dining room? And I will simply add that you might have applied that same zeal to the restroom with better effect.

The food really is good, I agree. The service is attentive and knowledgeable. Since its in Gowanus on 3^rd Ave you don’t expect much, so that was all very nice. the prices are high but reasonable for the food. What’s questionable is the managers choice of music, and the very uncomfortable seating. It’s a neighborhood place perfect for hanging out but not on such hard, unstable small folding chairs and benches –not a cushion in sight –so nothing to entice you to hang out, spend more money. This is a mistake. As is the choice of early Kanye West played really loud. Regardless of whether this is great rap or not, At dinner listening to loud Nigger Nigger this and motherfucker that It’s boring and Hilarious in what was an all white customer yuppy restaurant at the «edge»

This was incredible. Delicious seasonal foods and cocktails. A great date spot

I’m always dragging my boyfriend out to Gowanus or Carroll Gardens to eat at new places that I read about, and I was glad we made it here! I loved the ambience of the place, from our little table in the back to the lighting and carefully curated décor. This part of Gowanus is growing so fast and it’s always exciting to see which new places are popping up.
At The Pines, we ordered:
–bread with butter
–cabbage with boar belly
–blade steak
–some kind of broccoli (it’s not on the menu that’s on their website)
–a glass of wine each
Everything was really good! The only negative that I would mention seems to be something that others have also noticed: high prices and small portions! I’m all for small plates, but these were some pretty small portions that were pretty expensive. We weren’t full by the time we finished!
Another great thing about The Pines is the backyard! I don’t know if a lot of people know about it, but it’s awesome! Super laid back and low key. Lights strung above and an assorted array of seating for different types of groups. There is beer by the can and also a bbq grilling up cheap and tasty treats! We went out to back after dinner, had a beer, and enjoyed the summer night. I was hoping we would be able to eat dinner in the back, but they don’t serve the full menu there.
Overall I really like The Pines and the feel of the restaurant, but it’s a bit expensive to be a casual dinner.

My husband and I first went to The Pines right after they opened and fell in love with the place. So much so that when we saw an apartment open up in the neighborhood, we moved. Friends think we’re just lazy and trying to get them to come to Gowanus, but we really have no shame in taking all of our out-​of-​town guests to The Pines. To this day, I lick the plate of the the squid and cabbage, and the borsa vuota has become my new comfort food.
Pines staff: Please bring back that pea pasta from 2013. Also, thank you for being the only other people still listening to JoJo #leavegetout.

I found this small gem recently, and I loved it. The restaurant has a decent craft beer list, and I enjoyed the Hefe. This was accompanied by the bread –normally something I avoid — which was nothing short of amazing. The caraway baguette with whipped salty butter was enough reason to go here. The treme pasta with grilled shrimp was in the top 10 pasta dishes I’ve ever experienced, and I would return to The Pine just for this dish. The spicy dish had remnants of an Asian influence while staying true to its Italian pasta origins. My bartender /​server was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable while retaining a casual warmth.
The restaurant is a bit pricey, but completely worth it in terms of uniqueness and quality.

I really do love this place, and I keep coming back, but it needs to come down a notch in pricing. I get that the execution is beautiful, and the ingredients are fresh as can be, but we left here at around $ 60 a person, without drinks. Don’t get me wrong, the service is amazing, and I cant’ get enough of the food. It’s just with all things considered, the food is exorbitantly overpriced given the venue and location. The servers always suggest 2 – 3 items per person, (two appetizers and an entrée). The appetizers range from $ 14 – 16, the pastas are $ 24 – 26, and the entrees are $ 24 – 26.
I guess what I’m saying is that I want this place to be accessible and not luxury, because that’s what the food, ambiance, and vibe protrudes, but that’s not what the price affords. It scares me when $ 60 dinners become the norm for casual dining.

Amazing spot!!! All dishes were just delicious!!! The service was friendly and professional, we will come back for sure!

We had a good meal at The Pines. Though I think our experience indicates that this restaurants has a little more work to do to truly hit the mark of excellence.
I understand the concept is farm to table. The service was excellent as our server was able to explain each dish to us and taylor the meal to our party’s pace. However I feel that the menu lacks emphasis and force and overall lacks a theme.
We had the Prix Fixe dinner family style which included
* great bread with a whipped butter.
* Amuse Bouche of Gazpacho with mint oil… Not a bad start to cleanse the pallet
* A dressed salad with a bed of what tasted to be Gai Lan? It was not bad but it was just a salad.
* Sugar Snap Peas — Surprisingly my favorite dish of the night as the Peas were really crunchy and full of flavor
* Roasted cauliflower with sautéed red cabbage and bacon — Very good in fact I really enjoyed the aroma and the various textures of this dish
* A small Pasta bowl — It’s pasta
* 45 day old dry aged prime rib with a bone marrow — Not bad, nicely cooked but not enough punch
* Flaky fish with crispy skin — I loved the oily and crunchiness of the skin.
* Raspberry Sorbet, chocolate olive oil cake, plum and toasted hazelnuts — This was delightful actually, not too sweet, not to heavy. But subtle enough to capture the meal.
I think The Pines has work to do, and the pricing is sightly too high for the neighborhood if the menu isn’t hitting it out of the park.
But I’m hopeful that they’ll get there.

As we were walking in I felt a little nervous about this place. I read a ton of mixed reviews, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I left I definitely had a very lukewarm feeling about the Pines.
I didn’t pick the place but we were going on a triple date with out of town friends who had never been to Brooklyn. I was wondering how much this place would affect their view of Brooklyn and their regard for our taste in food.
So the dinner was fun and engaging and intellectually stimulating. The service was amazing. Our waitress came by to explain each dish. The servers came by to wipe the crumbs off the tables multiple times. Glasses was constantly filled with cucumber and squash soaked water. They were quick to ask if we ran out of wine or needed more beer.
Each dish was beautiful. Looked appetizing. And we had plentiful for it to go around.
So why only three stars?
Each dish was slightly off. Perhaps I shouldn’t read the reviews before going. I definitely felt a little underwhelmed for the price we paid.
The food was not horrible, but it was off on some dishes and most dishes were not compelling or amazing. And if you want to charge these prices for food, I would expect a novel surprising experience.
THE FOOD
Amuse bouche of gazpacho with mint oil. The combination did not taste great together. The gazpacho was thick and chunky and the mint oil was barely there.
The dressed salad with greens. The vinaigrette was sweet and sour, very appetizing. I liked the hazelnuts that topped this dish.
Ripped bread with freshly whipped butter. This was my favorite part of the meal. Crisp crunchy outer crust of a caraway baguette that snaps as you twist it. Soft fluffy white innards of the bread with fluffy, slightly salted butter. Delicious.
Sugar snap peas with dill crème fraîche. The sugar snap peas for crisp and sweet, they were the best part of this dish. The dill was light, a fresh take on crème fraîche.
Roasted Cauliflower with sautéed red cabbage and smoked bacon. The bacon was savory and delicious, and perfect to the meaty umami flavor of the roasted cauliflower. You could do with or without the red cabbage. The red cabbage was sauteed with the bacon, so there was a smoky lardo flavor. Delicious. This would have been the best dish except there was a slight malodor after the dish was sautéed and the green sauce was too salty. The last four spoonfuls of this dish tasted like a mouthful of salt. We had to forgo the last bits because they were inedible.
Pasta. This dish did not have a description. I saw bits of broccoli Rabe and enoki mushrooms. Simple dish. It would have been good except it was a little over salted as well.
The prime rib was medium rare, juicy, well seasoned, and missing a good crust. The roasted fingerlings and mushrooms were a good touch. An even better accompaniment was the cooked mini cast iron of kimchi to go with the prime rib. Very good pairing.
The fish had a good crispy skin, was tender and had some peas in the broth.
The dessert was raspberry sorbet, chocolate olive oil cake, plum and toasted hazelnuts. The chocolate olive oil cake was a great execution of olive oil cake. You could taste the rich, slightly bitter olive oil and it was paired with a dark chocolate. I loved the toasted hazelnuts. The poached plum was sour, but didn’t really fit into the whole dessert.
The space looked like someone’s abandoned farmhouse/​motel that no one bothered to renovate. The waitress told us that most of the installations were from a restaurant upstate that the owner decided to reopen in Brooklyn. Kinda cool, kinda spooky, kinda run down.
I hope the chef would adjust and add new dishes. Its wonderful to hear a restaurant is so buzzed about in this neighborhood. I look forward to the day when his great ideas are consistently executed.

Bread is good but the foie gras is better. It’s served very simply, without any kind of precious presentation. The pastas change frequently; it seems like there will be the same base pasta but with different meats and sauces and vegetables within. Try at least one, such as the borsa vuota. In fact, my recommended dinner for 2 is bread, foie gras, a vegetable, a pasta, and the blade steak and/​or another entrée.
If you’re imbibing, the cocktails are great (Air & Sea if you want something lighter, The Pines if you don’t mind sipping on Christmas trees) but the wine list is also great. They’re all about biodynamic wines and all the servers are good at making recommendations based on what you plan to order.
They’re on OpenTable but the peak dinner times usually book up a few days prior. Might be worth it to sit at the bar or little bench in the back to wait.

I wish I could give this place 3 and ½ stars.
Service was Excellent. Very friendly, amiable, laid back but on their game for sure.
We started with bread with cultured butter. The bread was from Runner and Stone just across the street. Both items were yummy, very satisfying. Also the squid starter was delicious and had many things going on with its components and flavors.
My husband got the Borsa Vuota which was fantastic. Vegetarian but still satiating and sooo good. Get it.
I got the blade steak entrée and the steak itself which was described as tender after being cooked sous vide was actually quite tough. I had to spit a part out after 3 minutes of chewing. My jaw was sore. The other stuff on the plate was good. Potatoes, ramps, harissa. The server noticed that half the steak was left on the plate, inquired, apologized and comped us dessert. How nice!
We got the cheesecake. It’s not really cheesecake. It’s deconstructed. It’s crust over here and cream over there. It was pretty good but not cheesecake.
Overall we probably won’t return but then again we might.

After a very in depth search for a venue to host my low-​fi wedding reception, we chose The Pines. We looked at every scenario – renting venue space + bringing in catering, restaurant buyouts – and discovered that most places weren’t flexible to any of our ideas, the vibe we wanted to create, within the budget we had.
The straw that broke the bride & groom’s back was learning about Gran Electrica’s $ 5/​cakeage fee per guest, right on the heels of ReBar fu@&*ing people out of their wedding reception deposit money…
It was refreshing to receive an email from The Pines manager, Anthony, saying «Thanks so much for choosing The Pines for your wedding reception! I will attach our pricing sheet for events so that you can check it out. There are always ways to work with different budgets so I am happy to schedule a meeting with you so that we can make your budget work.»
And work it did.
Anthony, the owners of The Pines, and Chef John Poiarkoff were not only open to what we wanted but were very supportive of our ideas. With the expertise and direction from Chef John, we chose a wide range of canapés to serve, a selection of red, white and rose wine, beer and two signature cocktails. John asked all the right questions and our guests were blown away by the food – steak sandwiches, twice-​fried chicken, mini lobster rolls, lamb tacos, salad with ricotta cheese and so much more.
They embraced the idea of us bringing in a brass band to play New Orleans Jazz and Klezmer during cocktail hour
and, the staff was super accommodating to our demanding guests which included me the bride, our foodie-​friends from New York and LA, and finicky children – the on-​site manager Brian cut 5 wedding cakes (that I made) happily and without a fee.
The décor of The Pines was icing on the cake. And, they busted-​ass to get the outdoor garden open a weekend earlier in order to accommodate our guests both in and out of doors. Our wedding reception had everyone buzzing long after the event, and, we will remember it always.
I can’t thank this team enough.

It’s a French style/​Asian fusion restaurant in a semi industrial area. Yeah, Gowanus is still like that. I don’t get the 5 star reviews of this place. Overall, the individual flavors of the ingredients were tasty BUT they don’t meld well. The portions are also below average. As you can see from other peoples pics, they serve tiny (er) portions on big plates. I really wanted to try the Blade/​Chuck steak but they only had a dry aged ribeye available. For a ribeye, I’d much rather go to an actual steak place.
Squid — the squid and shishisto peppers were perfectly cooked and delicious. The black squid ink… not sure what to call it… paste? underneath didn’t do anything for the dish. It was thick but surprisingly light in flavor.
Cabbage — It’s cabbage. Cabbage is cheap but the plate was only ¹⁄₃ full. There was barely any pork belly, maybe less than half a normal slice. Definitely less than what you would get on a tonkatsu ramen for some context. It had a slight citrus and fish sauce dressing. Why add fish sauce? Is it there to mask the small portions of pork belly? Also, when you eat a piece of cabbage with pork belly, the fish sauce overpowered it. Remove the fish sauce, add more pork belly, and this dish would be golden.
Pork Jowl — Salty, ham like texture with a little bit of fat. Sweet potatoes. And I believe… a mandarin? The mandarin didn’t mix. There was a little bit of mint sauce underneath. This was the best dish surprisingly.
Duck Breast — I’ve had good duck breast at pure French restaurants. It was cooked well, but the skin was a bit soggy. The beans did not taste good with the duck and downgraded the overall dish.
Drinks
Nochera — this was solid. Fiery and slightly smoky
Staff — they were nice and friendly. Pretty good overall.
Environment/​Atmosphere — The chairs/​tables all look like they came from a second hand store/​Goodwill. Or some would say, ‘antique’. Hiphop was blasting which made conversation a bit hard but not a big deal.
Would I come back here? Nope. If you want fusion, I don’t have another place to recommend nearby. I’m still looking as well. Otherwise just go French, or go Malaysian, or Thai etc.

These guys have made all the right moves. The team they have now is top flight, due to the inspiration and perspiration of chef John Poiarkoff and owner, Carver Farrell.
Can’t wait to check out their new joint in Bed Stuy, Willow.

The Pines, I would love to return to again and again. The only thing I wish I would have done was collect the names of each and every worker there. The Pines has such a beautiful staff of people and one can tell that love goes into each dish.
My meal was absolutely fantastic to say the very least. I started my meal with a crisp endive salad with toasted granola and a most savory vinaigrette. I then moved on to a most scrumptious Foie gras which was to die for and I rounded out my meal with sea bass atop fresh mushrooms, garden vegetables in a flavorful seafood broth. Along the way, I ate from a basket of breads that i understand was made right across the street that would make you slap your momma.
I was so pleased to hear that they will be opening up another restaurant in Bed-​sty Brooklyn in April. I’m very excited because if the food and service is anything like this location, I’m sure I will become a loyal customer for sure.

One of the best meals I have had!
Dishes ordered (share between two):
Squid — love that squid ink!
Cabbage — just do it!
Pork Jowl — fatty and salty yum!
Beet Cake — beautiful and satisfying!
All were incredibly special and flavorful. The plating was insanely gorgeous and each bite was filled with flavor explosions!
The waitstaff were also chill and friendly. Smiles all night!
Thank you for a lovely experience, The Pines! I can’t wait to be back!

What an amazing establishment in Gowanus! High-​class food without the pretentious attitude. Case in point, I came here around 10pm after spending the previous hour rockclimbing. Despite entering the restaurant pretty late, the GM, Anthony, spent some solid time joking with us, walking us through the menu and kicking off our night with shots of whiskey.
First and foremost, you must try the cultured butter. Our favorite dish was Cabbage — which admittedly does not look appealing when simply reading the description on the menu. Oh man, little did I know how much I appreciate cauliflower.
We are definitely coming back and have been recommending the Pines to all our friends.

I’ll put this in my Top 5 restaurants in NYC, but the Blade Steak is easily in the top 3 dishes.
What did we have?
The squid — Beautiful plating will make you not want to eat it but it’s time to grow up and be a man. Shut up and eat it. The kumquat was ILL. Great contrast from the heartiness of the other ingredients. Also you can never fail with shishitos.
Scallops — Delicious. Some type of lobster sauce. Cooked perfect. No added water.
Cabbage — One of my favorites of the night. Oh, it’s got bacon? No sir, for that is belly of boar.
Borsa Vuota — FUCK THATS DELICIOUS. Anthony recommended it. We got it. He was right. If you don’t eat meat get this. It’s just about as perfect as you can get.
Ciriole — Whoa complex city. I’m not sure what’s going on here but I really really like it.
…and of course the star of the show, the blade. Sous Vide for I think 2 days and then gradually brought up to temperature and then seared on the sides. The result is basically the best most delicious piece of red meat ever eaten. It’s on par with the chop from Vinegar Hill House, which is basically the greatest thing on the planet.
Dessert was a trio of house-​made ricotta. Moist (sorry) chocolate cake with homemade pistachio ice cream and a fennel and lemon something that I can’t remember. They were all on point but that chocolate cake was the artery-​clogging winner as far as I was concerned with the ricotta in second.
The staff knows and loves the food. They can tell you what works and what doesn’t. The wine list is refined, and you won’t find too many of the beers at other spots in the city.
Love it here. We’ll definitely be back.

Came here for a birthday dinner and the place was so cute and quaint!
Excellent dishes, I tried about ten different ones and the Borsa Vuota was by far my favorite.
The Good:
— Borsa Vuota – MUST GET. Al dente pasta in a browned butter sauce. I could eat ten bowls of this and DID NOT want to share.
— Bread w/​whipped butter – Buckwheat, sourdough and sesame bread. all delicious! With fluffy butter on the side, it was carb heavin
— Squid – so aromatic. I loved the element of fried garlic and felt it tied everything together so perfectly
— Duck – prepared wonderfully
— Lobster – came with potato chips and asparagus. I was a little thrown off that the lobster was cold but felt like it was so fresh and not overdone in any way. It was a very light dish which I found refreshing
–Foie Gras – didn’t try this because it made me feel like an animal abuser but heard really good things from the company
The Okay:
— Bass – I thought it was really interesting the way they prepared this dish. They left it skin on which I don’t usually like but scraped the skin in a way to get a really crunchy. This dish just wasn’t that memorable compared to the others
— Cabbage – This dish was entirely pickled which I actually liked! There were also chilis in it which gave it a nice flavor and rounded out everything. It was just a bit too salty which is why I put it in the Okay.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience. I think across the board everything was a tad too salty for me but I would come back. It’s great for a special occasion.