reBar - DUMBO

So this isn't a brunch entry but it is a Brooklyn restaurant that serves brunch so I think it qualifies as brunch blog entry.

reBar is a gastropub located on the main strip in Dumbo - literally underneath the Manhattan Bridge at 147 Front Street between Jay and Pearl. reBar is part bar, part restaurant, part movie theater playing indie and old movies. The last part was a pleasant surprise to us and we'll going back to give it a try in the future. They have a full menu (food and drinks) in the movie theater so it looks like a good time. Now back to reBar as a restaurant. It's dark and gothic looking with metal gates and high backed leather chairs. In the dining area, there are a bunch of small 2 person tables and then 2 very large banquet style tables where you will be sharing table space with your neighbor. The space is dark with candlelight and a good mix of music from Kid Cudi to Adele. A huge beer list - like 3 pages just for bottles and then another page for whats on tap.

The menu is seasonal with both small plates and entree-size portions. I opted to try mainly small plates with a salad for my main while Justin had the entree-size portion along with the small plates. They give you olive bread to start with olive oil. Great bread - the olives were big pieces and the bread was soft and warm. It was a step up from the usual white or sourdough bread that you typically get at restaurants.

We tried 3 small plates: Polenta with an egg, salmon rolls, and buffalo mozzerella served with flatbread crisps. The polenta was a great dish - the fried egg took up a large portion of the bowl with polenta served underneath. The polenta was just the right amount of creamy and flavorful. The salmon rolls were interesting - it's Asian-inspired American cuisine - thin wrapping with salmon served sashami style along with some other vegetables. It was an interesting combination of flavors but they seemingly worked. The buffalo mozzerella ended up being a small bowl of fried cheese which was just too cheesy. One small bite of it and I knew that we had misordered. So one small plate - delicious, one small plate - good, and one small plate - gross.

My salad was an iceberg wedge with snow peas, preserved lemon, manchego, and pistachio vinaigrette. Mistake - an iceberg wedge is just too much lettuce. The other bits were nice but after I had ate a healthy portion of salad (including lettuce) - I still had tons of lettuce left over. Justin got the lamb which he thought was well-cooked and flavorful. It was interesting cut of meat since it was fatty but the fat made the lamb very tasty so essentially - it was a good piece of lamb. It also came with vegetables that needed salt.

Last we got a strange desert - marjolaine cake. It's no flour but yet it stays together somehow with custard and almonds/nuts. Not sure how to describe it except cold, custardy, and confusing.

I liked reBar but didn't love it. Yet, with an ever changing menu and a movie theater inside, I would return in the summer time to give it another try.