Fatta Cuckoo

This isn’t really an ideal birthday spot, unless you’re celebrating it with less than 5 people. I reserved a table for 8, but my party showed up late, so we were crammed into a small, uncomfortable table on the side. It worked fine, but wasn’t a very easy experience.
I chose this place because it was one of the very few «affordable» places in the area, unaware just how scare space is. It is intimate and good for a casual date, but certainly not for groups. Menu wasn’t extensive, so there wasn’t much to choose from. I got the Mushroom Ravioli, and it was just average. What looked like a huge plate with a huge portion appearance, was only 5 big raviolis. Maybe I had a drink beforehand, but it tasted a little sour and before I knew it, I was finished.
Since it was my birthday, the nice waitress greeted me with a huge slice of chocolate cake. It was very rich and creamy (and HUGE!), and tasty. Prices for the food were okay, but I wish the portions were larger.

I came here for brunch with a few friends because I read in one of the NY mags that this had a great brunch option. For about $ 30 you get a meal and 3 drinks. The drinks were very tiny and served in random glasses which was cute, but very small. Then for our dishes I got an omelette which was very tasty, my other friends ordered eggs or an egg sandwich which was okay as well. I would say this place is on the average side but has a good deal going and very cute and cozy atmosphere. It was also cash only so remember to bring cash because I sure did not !!!

I can’t believe how much I enjoyed my brunch here on Sunday.
Sadly, the restaurant is closing and I was attending their last farewell, but it went out in a bang — accompanied by waitresses in their prom dresses, 80s music (Billy Idol rules), free shots, warm stories, ridiculous pictures, and lots of laughter. What a way to go.
Oh, and the food and cocktails were excellent.

I’d really like to give Fatta Cuckoo more stars. The food was decent, but fell slightly short in easily fixable ways.
First, the good: the staff was friendly and very accommodating, and things were well timed. Atmosphere is very nice, and the restaurant was comfortably full, but not overly so. After having been rebuffed by Clinton Street Baking, which had closed their waiting list by the time we arrived, we poked our heads in to see if it was a viable alternative, and given what we saw, it was.
The not so good: I had their version of eggs benedict for brunch. It came with a very tasty homemade sausage instead of the usual Canadian bacon. This would have been fine, but the ratio of meat, egg, bread and hollandaise was off. The sausage patties are just too thick and dominate the dish. Also the hollandaise was off to me. Hollandaise is a very simple sauce; egg yolks, butter and lemon as emulsifier. This didn’t taste right to me, like there was not enough lemon, and the consistency was off as well. Not sure what they’re using to make it, but although it was the right color, something wasn’t right about it.
The mimosa was tasty, and I enjoyed the room, but it felt like things need a bit of a tweak.

Came here with my good friend from way back when. She recommended this place especially for Brunch. The place is cozy well decorated. The staff are friendly and fun! Had a great time. Great music, strong drinks.

This place is adorable. The food and cocktails are delicious. The cocktails are small, but make up for it with inventive. I am a sucker for jalapeño tequila:)
They have awesome deals like $ 40 for an entrée and 3 drinks!
Definitely go!

Poor service.
Three of us had the tacos and the tortillas ripped because they were soggy. Knife and fork required. One order of tacos took extremely long to show up. Another person had their French toast burnt. They did compensate us one taco. Maybe it was an off day because it’s the Sunday before Labor Day.

I reallly really wanted to like this place.
The service was AWESOME. Superb waitress: attentive, fast, communicative, friendly, the whole 9 yards.
. Our tacos were really underwhelming. The tortilla tasted like the most basic store-​bought variety topped with a little lettuce, a couple tiny tomato halves, and a half slice of bacon. 2 tacos total. Not substantial, not tasty in the slightest. The corn fritters weren’t seasoned well (if at all), same for the fries. Other tables had food that looked great. We may just have ordered wrong?

Meh, probably the place I enjoyed the least on my most recent trip to NYC. I felt the food was quite overpriced. I got the Fatta Pig since they were out of Fatta Griddle. All the Fatta pig was a few scrambled eggs, two slices of meh bacon, and a triangle of above average french toast.
i will say that their drinks are very strong — they’re definitely not stingy on the alcohol. But as someone who prefers food over alcohol for brunch, I just really didn’t see this place as being worth it. I feel like I could’ve got a similar meal at a much better place in the area.

Very tiny hole in the wall in the LES. It is a very casual spot with maybe seating for 20 people between the tables, booths and bar. It was a cold night, and everytime the door opened, WE FROZE!
We ordered the burrata which was nicely prepped with some tomatoes and got the tacos (steak and kale). The coconut crème pie was OK for dessert.
Overall, this place was good, but nothing I would go out of my way for again.

Came here with a group of 10 friends for a birthday celebration. We opted in the family size style to try a little of everything. The appetizers were delicious– first the kale salad was very tasty, with fresh apple slices and pumpkin seeds. The lamb/​veal meatballs was great, very flavorful. Our favorite was the bruschetta with fresh cheese and grilled tomatos served in a pesto sauce.
Now here comes to mishaps… we got two plates of the buttermilk fried chicken. while the chicken was really good… my friend cut through a chicken breast and found the middle to be completely raw. This made us all uneasy, as we started to cut through each piece to check if they were raw. About half of the chickens were raw… The waitress was nice about it and apologized and quickly brought the pieces back to re-​fry. The second mishap, we also ordered steak tacos and BLT tacos, only which 9 tacos came out… they knew we had 10 people. so where was the last taco?!
The re-​fried chicken came out — one chicken was again raw… How can they make this elementary mistake twice? On top of that we asked if we could replace that raw chicken with another order of steak tacos, since at that point we were scarred. 5 mins later, they brought out 3 BLT tacos which were evidently much smaller. One person from our group couldn’t eat bacon, hence that’s why we specifically ordered steak tacos… At the very end, the waitress came back with a pitcher of beer apologizing for the raw chicken… seriously at the end of the meal?
After all these mistakes, no matter how good the appetizers were, I don’t think I will come back nor will I recommend this place.

Fun tapas place. Happened to be bingo night so everyone played bingo while dining. As expected, the tapas were a bit pricey, but they were delicious.
Got the lamb meatballs and the creamy broth was so good that we asked for some bread to sop the rest up. Also got the mussels w/​fries and the ravioli w/​tomato pumpkin sauce. The tomato pumpkin sauce was definitely tasty, but the dish was a bit tiny (two pieces). The Rob’s New Job cocktail is kinda meh; I’d pass on that.
Finished it all off with homemade key lime pie. It’s not as crazy tart as my friend would have liked, but we both agreed it had a very natural, homemade taste about it, which I felt made it even better.
Service was very friendly, but a bit slow, likely due to them running bingo at the same time!

Fatta Cuckoo has been on my LES-​insider list for a while. I didn’t know what kind of food they served, but I loved the name. Plus, Clinton St is usually full of fun surprises despite the rotating door of restaurants/​stores that can no longer afford the insane rent hikes each year.
We landed at Fatta Cuckoo on their inaugural Wed bingo night, and thankfully snagged the big table against the window despite it just being two people. The tapas sized portions and incongruous entrée sized prices were a sad surprise at first, but the flavors and satisfaction factor knocked concerns out of the park.
The meatballs in creamy parmesan sauce were the highlight of the night. I love me some tender, well-​cooked, quality meat-​made meatballs. Our app specials (ravioli w/​pumpkin tomato sauce and mussel/​fries) were good, but too small to really say much about. The finishing touch to the night was the key lime pie, homemade by the owner’s mother, down to the graham crust. I’m quite the key lime pie lover, and while I prefer tart-​er filling, as we devoured more bites of the pie along with dollops of the meringue side, the homemade quality to this dessert won me over. I could see myself coming back just for that pie, and a chance to try the others. I will move mountains for the right dessert!
This place is small and intimate with that good ‘ol family feel. Service was not super prompt, but as long as you come just with the intent to chill and have a good time, it’ll be worthwhile.

We came here for dinner on a Tuesday night — it’s a cramped space with maybe 6 tables and some bar seating.
We got started with two cocktails — the Nobody Told Charlie and A School Lunch. The School Lunch is like drinking raspberry cheesecake — so delicious! This is definitely a dangerous drink. The Nobody Told Charlie came in a really cute panda mug.
For an appetizer we got the meatballs which was a mix of lamb and veal — very tasty especially the parmesan cream sauce that it came with.
For entrees with split the pork chop and duck breast.
I’m not sure why but our food came out cold to lukewarm so it was hard to say what the dishes should have tasted like. The pork chop had more fat to it than normal and none of the sides were too memorable.
For dessert we got the mint oreo mousse which was amazingly light and refreshing — the perfect ending to a meaty meal!
A School Lunch definitely bumped the review up by one star. Cocktails are tasty but food is meh.

Came here for Drunch with a friend while I was visiting NYC with my cousin. $ 25 for 3 cocktails and brunch? Best deal ever. And they definitely give you your money’s worth with those cocktails… pretty sure I was buzzed after my first whiskey ginger ale. (oooh, I get it now. DRUNCH).
The Marty (short rib sandwich with sunny side up egg and fries) was outstanding. So delicious. I tried some of what everyone else got, and everything was equally tasty. And our service was out of this world! They were very accommodating to my vegan cousin, and I know how annoying that can be (vegans…).
My only reason for not giving the full 5 stars is that they waited til the very end of brunch to tell us it was cash only, so we scrambled to get the correct amount of cash to pay for our meal. Other than that, everything was superb!

firstly, answer this: are you here with friends? Or are you on a date? If former, go to 1. If latter, go to 2. Yes… we are totally choose your own adventuring it up in here.
1) Friends
oh, you’re in for quite a nice time!
2) Date
oh, you’re in for an eye roller.
However, on Tuesdays there is that date night special with two entrees, two desserts, and a bottle of wine all for a rolled up price to save your wallet!
I don’t think this is a very date-​y place simply because its not only waaaay too loud, but the ambiance is not romantic. Rather, its too eclectic and weird.
go with friends, not a date

Really had a lovely time here with my cousin on a Friday night. (Get reservations if you can! This place fills up.)
Menu is simple — in fact, there are more cocktails on the menu than food items.
Everything we had was delightful. The fried chicken is a must — love the spicy flavors and the celery root purée — and the pork chop did not disappoint. We also sprung for the grouper tacos, which were excellent and had a nice kick. (We asked for a lime on the side. You should, too.)
We did also cocktail it up, so I’d love to give a nod to Don’t Tell Carly and the Barnstormer.
Lastly, we had the coconut custard pie. Truly different and tasty. Loved the texture — it wasn’t so much custard-​y as crumble-​y.
Great find!

Great brunch at Fatta Cuckoo with amazing specials, perfection for a boozy brunch (DRUNCH as they call it)! A failed attempt at Clinton Street Baking Co. led us here randomly as we used Foursquare to locate a nearby, highly rated brunch place. The space is tiny but the food is BIG on flavor. I got the BLT Tacos and they were a great blast of flavor. 3 tacos was perfect because I wasn’t too hungry — but it’s definitely not a substantial meal. My husband got the Fatta Pig which is bacon, french toast and scrambled eggs. The french toast was the thickest piece of carbohydrates I have ever seen, and it was darn tasty and delicious!
It may not be my first brunch choice, but it’s surely a solid one.

So I’m honestly in LOVE with Fatta Cuckoo, from their cozy and quaint, small space to their honest-​to-​goodness, homey comfort food to their spicy margaritas… all is YUM!
I went there again last night after having a Gilt City voucher. I hadn’t been there since the first time, but Lia (one of the owners) was so nice the first time, and the 1 app that I had last time was memorable enough that the hubby and I really wanted to go again. Thank goodness we did because we both really enjoyed our time.
For drinks I had the spicy margarita — 2 of them. It wasn’t on the menu but Molly from the bar was nice enough to make us whatever we wanted. It was smokey and spicy and so refreshing.
Food — we were allowed 1 app and 2 entrees for our voucher. We chose the calamari, which was grilled and served w/​potatoes and chorizo. We were both so glad that it wasn’t fried, and the flavor was spot on – chorizo perfectly cooked, potatoes nice and tiny… squid not at all chewy and all round (no squiggly legs here). For my dinner, I had the fried chicken which… I’m not a fried chicken fan but this was super duper good! It was crispy and crunchy and moist. The hot sauce that came in a nice little gravy bowl was a great touch. We also got the grasshopper, which was mousse-​like in consistency and super green. Lia’s mom made it, and just as she said… it was so homey and comforting and good.
Will we be back? Without a doubt. The service was great. Lia was so nice and warm and friendly. And the décor, food and vibe was everything we want w/​o the absurd prices and snobbery.

Horribly served here on Tuesday evening 8÷6÷13. Which is so sad, because we had been to Fatta Cuckoo before, a few months ago, and looooved that time (we especially had liked their fried mashed potatoes, which were not on the summer menu).
It’d be a 1-​star if the fried chicken werent so damn good. We also had the burger, very flavorful – plus, I like crunchy fries and these were great! So, the food was fine.
Our waitress was a new hire. We asked about a couple of cocktail specials, and she came back and said she had put in our order (which we never made) and wanted to take our food order. She then went back to check, then confirmed with us that we hadn’t yet ordered drinks, and disappeared after taking our drink order. Our food order was only taken when our drinks came out, and we really weren’t looking to dawdle around on a Tuesday dinner. Then a server brought out the wrong plates. Afterwards we waited forever to get the check, and even scrounged around our wallets to find enough cash just to avoid having to use our credit cards and wait another 10 minutes.
I really expected better based on past experience with Fatta, but this particular dinner ruined date night.

We managed to catch Fatta Cuckoo on a bad day. Their chef had called in sick and the sous chef was left by himself in the kitchen to handle all the food orders. The writing was on the wall when we walked in. They messed up our reservation of 2, and had us sit at the bar but we got a free round of drinks so no hard feelings.
We started off with the fried clam special. A bit bready but tasted fine. We had ordered the burger and the fried chicken, but after waiting for over an hour since the arrival of our app, we still hadn’t gotten them. They recognized this and gave us more free drinks. To give you an idea how backed up they were — our reso was at 730 but we didn’t get our entrees until 915. Finally when my burger came, it was cooked medium well (I had ordered medium rare) and I had no choice but to send it back. To their credit, they gave me another burger within 10 minutes that was cooked much better.
The short rib burger, at the correct temperature, was pretty good but not sure if it’s worth the $ 22 price tag even though it does come with a beer. It could be due to the unfortunate case of not having the regular chef that night but while the meat was juicy, it lacked seasoning. The fried chicken wasn’t too different. It was moist under the dark, crispy skin but the flavor didn’t pop as much. Overall I’d give the app and entrees 3.5÷5
We also got a free dessert on top all the drinks and apologies we got from the frustrated staff. I tried the chocolate cream pie which I thought was delicious and devoured in two minutes.
One good thing that came out of going there on a off night was that because of the free drinks they gave us, we got to try a lot of the cocktails. Not The Girl Next Door was an excellent chili infused mescal cocktail that I’d order over and over again. For something summery and light I would suggest Don’t Tell Carly.
Restaurants can have off nights due to unforeseen circumstances and I felt Fatta Cuckoo came through for us that night despite being in a very tough situation with the absence of the regular chef. We were also helped by a Travelzoo deal we had but I don’t think I’d want to pay their regular prices for the quality of food we received. However I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and come back here another time.
FOOD: 3.5÷5
SERVICE: ⁵⁄₅
DÉCOR & AMBIANCE: ³⁄₅
VALUE: 3.5÷5 (⁴⁄₅ with the Travelzoo deal)

I got a Gilt City voucher here for dinner for two recently. I heard really good things about their brunch but I must say I was a bit underwhelmed. The restaurant is tiny but it is a bit charming with the mismatched furniture and all.
We had the special of the day for a starter — asparagus with poached egg and crisp prosciutto. It was a pretty dish but I wasn’t impressed with the flavors. For entrees I had the hanger steak which was marinated in soy sauce and was very tasty but I felt like it should have been warmer when it was served. My bf had the burger which was very good. I also liked the curry ketchup and that gave me ideas for my own cooking in the future. We had key lime pie and chocolate pie and those were delightful. The cocktails were hit or miss but I liked their take on the Sidecar.
Over all a 3 star place. However, given their regular prices I wouldn’t recommend this over other spots I know in the area.