Rustico

The best place to go and when Danny is in the front he make everyone happy all staff are good and the food is the best I would tell everyone to go there you’ll get the best for your money and its happy hour all day

I was really disappointed by our brunch at Rustico a few weeks ago. We waited over an hour for our food when it wasn’t that busy and other received their meals before ours. The plates were much smaller than we expected, they were not well seasoned and didn’t taste that good for the amount we spent, and the service was not terribly attentive — instead of giving us updates about our order and why it was taking so long (even after the waitress asked to confirm the order 15 minutes after taking it), they let us wait to get hungry and frustrated and ask ourselves what was taking so long. Not worth the time or the food we got. In the end, I would have forgiven the wait had the food been worth it, but everyone felt shortchanged and we got more food elsewhere after. I won’t be going there again.

Delicious! had a great brunch there and we went early and didn’t have to wait. Prices were great too.

Very small portions for brunch. Nice staff, but slow. Eggs were ok but French toast was special. We went around the corner and split a sandwich afterwards.

For the amount we waited to get seated and get our food, this place was really average. Our food was cold when we got it. The savory crepes were so bland and we couldn’t taste any of the ingredients that were supposed to be in it– it was like a hardened, cold tortilla. The omelette with goat cheese was good other than it being cold and had a lot of goat cheese so if you don’t like too much of it, don’t order it. Pretty unimpressed overall with this restaurant.

Very very very very very very very very very slow. They will not post a short review.

What a great find! I was walking around the East Village looking for a place to sit down, eat a light lunch while doing some work on my laptop. Came across Rustico and immediately fell in love. The outer walls are actually glass doors that open to allow in fresh air and engage in some major people watching. They seem to play relaxing but upbeat music that is loud enough to hear and set the ambiance, but perfect volume for chatting with friends and for doing some work without it being annoying.
I ordered a tuna sandwich that was absolutely delicious. The ice coffee as well was perfect. A glass of chilled white wine was placed on my table, on the house, which was a lovely surprise and much appreciated.
Honestly, it’s such a chill place. Not crowded, awesome atmosphere, delicious food, very attentive staff and fast WiFi. What’s not to love? Will definitely be coming back!

Found this place after looking for a nearby breakfast joint. Service, ambiance, food… all so wonderful! We came early this morning so there were just a couple people in. The owner (I assume) was so friendly and laid back. It was nice to just have a relaxing, casual breakfast without being rushed. The simple crepes are so balanced and not too sweet. It’s loaded with lots of berries to cut the Nutella. The Nordic scramble was good, not mind blowing, but it had great salmon flavor and the dill was a nice complement. The OJ is seriously the best I’ve had anywhere ever! Coffee was decent, but I prefer dark roast which it was not. Overall, beautiful place to come with a group, a date, or on your own!

Conflicted about giving this place a 3 or a 4, closer to a 3.5.
The good: I went for brunch on a Sunday morning after the wait at MUD was too long (typical haha) and was seated right away by the owner, I believe. He was super sweet as were the waiters, and the overall décor and ambiance were both bright and sunny and cute.
Ultimately, though, the food is the most important. I ordered the standard egg breakfast, and it was really nothing more than what I can whip up quickly in my own kitchen. The eggs were ordinary, toast is just toast, salad was the usual couple of leaves, and the potatoes were cold. Not worth the money at all, especially given the numerous amazing brunch options within a few blocks.

Came in for a quick dinner on a Thursday night and was seated right away.
Service was so-​so — there was only one waiter that doubles as the bartender.
Food was so-​so, drinks weren’t the same price as advertised, which was a bit disappointing.
To be honest, I can’t really find anything memorable about my meal — the food was good enough but I wouldn’t clamor to come back or anything.

Nice ambience and small but good selection of wines, cheese platter is a done deal when you buy a bottle of wine or Prosecco. Music and service is very friendly and cordial

Food: bland with small portions. Had the salmon crêpe and the crêpe was like a thin, floppy, eggy pancake. The salmon was playing hide and seek too.
Service: somehow we ended up waiting 1 hr for our food. Don’t know if they forgot to put our order in or what. But when we asked about the status of our food, they offered complimentary beverages to make up for the wait.
Overall, the experience felt lacking and we ended up walking somewhere else for a second round of crepes
Also, we handed them a credit card but they tried to push us to pay with cash. Saw this happening to another table too.

Decided to try this place with some friends on Sunday afternoon for brunch. This experience ruined my mood for the day.
What seemed to be a friendly gesture and interaction with the host of the place turned into complete harassment. He started out friendly and welcoming in getting us a seat and what we wanted to order, etc. However, the experience turned sour when I found a piece of hair in my egg (I ordered the Nordic — Salmon omelet with potatoes and a side salad).
I brought it up to the host genuinely to tell him to let the chef know that this happened. He became defensive and said, ‘Well, I have two shaven men in my kitchen but I’ll bring it back to them’. I said that I wanted to make sure they knew so that it wouldn’t happen again for someone else. When he came back to me he said, ‘So no one in my kitchen has hair’ but I’ll take it off the check for you. (His attitude felt like an accusation that I had put the hair into the omelet to ask for a free meal.)
He then warned me ‘not to put a bad review on Unilocal’ and that he ‘knows where I live’. (I then realized that he had overheard MY ENTIRE CONVERSATION with my friends.) I was disgusted. Just as I walked out having the worst experience of my day he yelled out to me, «HEY.» I turned around and he said, «I RECOGNIZE YOU. I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE.»
I mean, what the fuck?

If you are not on the gluten-​free bandwagon, part of this review will not matter to you. If you are on the gluten-​free bandwagon than you understand trying to find a brunch place the serves the usual fan favorite fare for finicky foragers is rather frustrating.
This diamond in the rough had a gluten-​free waffle option that got me in the door but I was sold on the gluten free French toast which turned out to be incredible. If you are expecting typical American proportions, you will be a little disappointed but it was the perfect amount in my opinion.
Alli got a a wild mushroom crêpe that was really good as well.
****here’s and Easter egg for you****
She asked for oil and vinegar for the side salad and — wait for it — it was truffle oil! HELLO!
What a surprise!
I just realized that we both ordered something French. So I will include that under Easter eggs as well.
–Enjoy

Stopped by for Sunday breakfast while in the East Village.
Fast and friendly service in a bright, cozy setting. Good spot if you need to eat gluten free! Gluten free waffles and gluten free french toast available. I thought I had seen gluten free crepes offered but didn’t see them on the menu.
I ordered the gluten free french toast and orange juice. French toast came with plenty of whipped cream and some blueberries and strawberries. Pretty standard fare — three small pieces of thin sandwich bread toast. Nothing memorable, but tasty. Orange juice was really good and freshly squeezed — although $ 5 for a really small half glass seemed a little steep.
Husband ordered the breakfast special: 2 eggs any style, toast, potato, small side salad, coffee for $ 11.99. Again, pretty basic breakfast although the side of «sausage» was two small pieces and not very good — would probably pass on that next time.
Again, props to good service, gluten free options, and no wait for Sunday breakfast, but food was really basic — breakfast fare I could easily whip up in my own kitchen with little effort. However, a good value compared to what you;d normally pay for brunch in NYC.

I love the little space and the décor of Rustico, it’s so cute!
Came here recently for late brunch and I ordered the $ 9 Rustico Brunch Special (Two Organic Eggs any style, choice of coffee/​tea) and separately, side of sausages. My friend on the other hand ordered himself the $ 10 Classic Belgian Waffle and both of us also got the $ 5 OJ. Food looked delicious, but taste wise there was nothing to brag about. The OJ tasted like sour watered down drink so pretty much after two sips, I stopped drinking it. Coffee didn’t make it to the table until my friend flagged someone down and reminded them — by the time it came, I was already half way done my food. I later found out after seeing the bills that they had charged for coffee as well even though it was supposed to be included in the brunch special.
Overall experience was average, but I may come back to try the crepes.

Decent little spot for an organic breakfast. I was disappointed that they didn’t offer a coffee refill, or check in if we wanted more coffee but I think the vibe here is «let us know if you need us». I ordered the smoked salmon «nordic» omelette and my husband ordered the ham and cheese «parisian» omelette. Both of ours were a little overcooked — enough that the egg was browned (everyone knows — no brown on egg!). All in all though, not a bad spot and the coffee was french dip and very, very good.

My order of French toast consisted of two thin slices of supermarket type sliced bread. Saddest looking thing. After eating half of one I turned it over and saw it was half burnt.
Mushroom crêpe was dry and the salad was just that, no dressing. I hope they at least washed the greens. Probably didn’t.
Food was careless, service mediocre. No reason to come back here.

Well it’s a meal with a show that’s for sure. I couldn’t tell if our waitors were getting a little too tipsy from the shots they were probably throwing back in the kitchen, or if they were just a little crazy. My guess is a mix of both. I mean it was like noon, no one is that energetic at noon on a Sunday. Either way it was hilarious. The staff was singing (really badly might I add) and dancing to the music while we were waiting for our food. It was a little loud in the restaurant due to all of the commotion. But it’s also really small so it was ok. Also they left the door open? Like dude COME ON ITS JANUARY I WANNA EAT MY EGGS WITHOUT GETTING FROSTBITE PLZ. Anyways…
My friends and I went here for brunch on a whim because every other option was a long wait and we were getting extremely hangry. They have a pretty limited brunch menu but it was actually kind of relieving because long menus overwhelm me. I got a chicken florentine savory crêpe. It was ok. ³⁄₅. I could have made it at home it wasn’t anything AMAZING. But it was satisfying. The part of the dish I didn’t understand was the weird garden salad with the mayo on it? I’m eating breakfast? I don’t want a mayo salad…
The portions were also pretty small. But most hole in the wall brunch places that are trying desperately to be hipster skimp out on the portions. The service was EXTREMELY FAST. And the staff was extremely friendly. I would maybe go here again but the overall experience was just average and nothing really special.

I actually came here on 2 occasions. The first time, I came with a couple friends and we all split 2 bottles of the Vermentino wine (which was very good!) — I was aware via Unilocal that they have 50% wine bottles during happy hour, so I was very satisfied with this place and decided to come again a few months later with a different friend.
I wanted to get the same bottle of Vermentino, but unfortunately they didn’t have it in stock as the owner let us know that the delivery is still pending (sucks, because I really liked it!). So we settled for a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc instead — I saw on the menu that it comes with a free cheese board so I thought to myself, «wow! 50% off wine AND a cheese board? I love this place!!» The cheese board was great — a good selection of cheeses.
My friend and I also got savory crepes — she got the goat cheese and mushroom crêpe and I also got the Chicken Florentine crêpe ($ 11 each) — all really good!
When we got the bill, I was surprised to see that it was for nearly $ 90 — I asked the owner about this as I saw we got charged for the cheese board as well as full price for the wine bottle. He quickly apologized and gave me a new bill — I was still surprised to see the bill for over $ 70 and questioned again on why we got charged full price on the bottle. He said that the option was EITHER free cheese board OR 50% off wine bottles. However, no where on the menu nor online did it say that this was an either/​or situation, but actually mentioned both of these deals as if they were both available to use. I don’t believe the free cheese board option even existed the first time I came, so I was very surprised and actually upset at having to pay a lot more than what I would’ve liked for wine and crepes.
The one saving grace for this place would be that the owner realized I was upset over this and gave my friend and I two freebie glasses of prosecco. Quality of service is pretty good here, but still, I’m a little sour at having to pay nearly double from what I expected to pay.