New York Magazine

Skip to content, or skip to search.

Skip to content, or skip to search.

Home > Restaurants > The General Greene

All Reader Reviews of...

The General Greene

229 Dekalb Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11205
at Clermont Ave.
718-222-1510

Avg. Rating

6
Food: 6
Service: 5
Décor: 7
"Mixed Reviews"

Average Reader Rating on a Scale of 10.

45% would go back.

 Write your own review

A restaurant by people who like the *idea* of food, not actual food

By bklynite on 2/25/2011

  • Overall Rating: 2
  • Food: 3
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 4
  • No, I would not go back!

I live in Ft Greene and have never had good service @ General Greene. Instead, the staff behaves as though they're doing you a favor, begrudgingly -- which is a complete 180-degree shift from the normally warm, welcoming, helpful service provided by other establishments in the area. Food is ho-hum at best. Soul-less at worst. I must also say that as a person of color, I am always a bit bewildered when I find myself or my party to be the only (visible) diversity in an establishment in Brooklyn (or NYC for that matter), and this is a phenomenon I've experienced twice at General Greene. I don't know what it means, but it's weird, so I figured I'd mention it. I have absolutely no idea how GG continues to get so much press -- Good PR person? Good connects? Both? On a positive note, the ice-cream (sold in a cart outside) is delicious and the only part of the place worth patronizing.

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
22 out of 42 people found this review helpful.

AVOID! NOT WORTH IT!

By brbkboy83 on 8/13/2008

  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 2
  • Décor: 5
  • No, I would not go back!

We should have known by how long it took for our drinks to come that it was going to be a disaster. Our waiter was scattered and inattentive. Once the food FINALLY arrived I was shocked. I understand the whole "small plates" concept and I actually enjoy it, but what you receive for the price is ridiculous! While the extremely small plates that arrived were decent, they were definitely overpriced; especially for Fort Greene! Avoid the grilled prawns as once you get through cleaning them yourself there's hardly anything left to eat and you'll be over it. Thank God for the bottle of wine we ordered while I waited for my burger that I ordered because I was still starving after 3 plates of food. Which brings me to the one saving grace of this place: the burger. It was a 6 ounce burger served with Vermont cheddar and pickles and onions. The only problem was the waiter didn't even ask me how I wanted it cooked. We finally finished and requested the check and had to wait...and wait and wait while he socialized until we got our bill. I will NOT be going back!

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
36 out of 70 people found this review helpful.

So bad we left and went out to dinner!

By Abbey on 10/4/2008

  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Food: 1
  • Service: 5
  • Décor: 8
  • No, I would not go back!

You know a place is really sub-par when you stop eating, ask for the bill and then go out to dinner again. The "main" dishes we tried were either undercooked, under-seasoned or flat out bad. We had a little warning that the meal might not be all that good when when we ordered an old tapas standard while we waited for our meal - bacon dates...easy and satisfying on a cool autumn evening...but these? cold, encrusted with so much sugar you literally could not taste the bacon....the setting was really very simple and beautiful and so we were so surprised that the food didn't fit the environment. And a pet peeve - they served what they called a 12oz beer in a jelly glass! nuff said.

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
65 out of 132 people found this review helpful.

Shockingly BAD

By davidmichael on 4/6/2009

  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Food: 1
  • Service: 5
  • Décor: 7
  • No, I would not go back!

After reading some good reviews, my girlfriend and I decided to go last night. We weren't expecting anything amazing and while the decor was nice (minimal/rustic but not cliché) the food was utterly disappointing. First up, Lamb and Cucumber Salad, good but wouldn't make me go out of my way to have it. Next was the Turnips, Bacon, and Leeks dish. OK, but he turnips were under cooked and hard (I like vegetables raw sometimes but this didn't work) But truly offensive was the Braised Pork Ribs with Sweet Spicy Chili, not sure the chef had any idea what 'braised' means; A good braised rib should be falling off the bone or close to it. Braising means that the fat will render into the meat, creating an amazingly tender and delicious dish. None of this happened, it was way under cooked with large bits of inedible fat (fyi I love pork fat) while the crust was charred to death. It was the worst possible combination. Plus the sauce could not have been more mediocre; any Chinese take out place could serve a better rib. The Ribs would have ruined any meal. NEVER GOING BACK!

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
97 out of 175 people found this review helpful.

Lame

By MIZBISCUITS on 3/27/2010

  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 6
  • No, I would not go back!

Over priced crappy food..I guess the bus boys were doing me a favor by clearing my food without asking before i was finished.

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
43 out of 83 people found this review helpful.

A waste of time in FG

By Naureen on 3/18/2009

  • Overall Rating: 4
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 3
  • Décor: 7
  • No, I would not go back!

With so many better places all around it, we were very surprised at the poor quality of the food. A group of 4, we barely got any of our food at the same time, leaving us in the embarassing situation of trying to "share" a single chicken leg among us or one of the other tiny dishes that came out. The food itself was irrelevant - hardly tasty. Decor was nice though, might consider going more for a drink than food.

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
94 out of 181 people found this review helpful.

Good Food can Never Compensate Poor Service

By antonybcn on 8/4/2010

  • Overall Rating: 4
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 2
  • No, I would not go back!

Restaurant owners should start to learn that excellent service can compensate so so food, but that good food can never compensate poor service. The female bar tender was so unfriendly on the evening we went, it was ununderstandable... Food was good, but we are not going back!

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
30 out of 54 people found this review helpful.

General Greene generally bad

By Pflei on 8/7/2008

  • Overall Rating: 5
  • Food: 5
  • Service: 5
  • Décor: 6
  • No, I would not go back!

Chicken livers tasted like over salted deviled ham, the deviled eggs were blah, and the cheese burger had no cheese - except the wait staff basically said the chef said we were wrong. Very uneven food and a very hesitant wait staff after a month is not a recipe for success. You might want to go down the street to iCi and get great food for your money!

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
24 out of 46 people found this review helpful.

want to like this place more

By mario_brother on 5/7/2010

  • Overall Rating: 5
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 8
  • No, I would not go back!

I've been to this restaurant several times and always come out feeling disappointed and unsatisfied. I'm definitely not one for stuffy serving styles but General Greene leaves something to be desired from its service. They serve everything as it's cooked from the kitchen so there is no rhyme or reason as to what lands on your table and even if you order two entrees you probably won't get them at the same time (my girlfriend had completely finished by the time my entree arrived). You're left with this feeling like you're being rushed out of the place--especially when your check is dropped on you (without being asked for) and told 'we accept visa and mastercard' as it's laid down. Not exactly how you want to end your meal. The food is good and the decor is great but it misses the mark on just about everything else.

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
37 out of 69 people found this review helpful.

watch your credit cards

By spencermurder on 8/11/2008

  • Overall Rating: 6
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 6
  • Décor: 5
  • No, I would not go back!

If you pay w/a credit/debit card make sure you get the right one back. Our waiter took my card and another patron's and switched them b/c we belonged to the same bank. However, I was the lucky one who was charged for my meal and theirs. (Their check was $170) So that thursday night out overdrew my bank account costing me a lot more than anticipated. Also it took over a week to get fixed. Not saying the place sucks but inattention to detail like that doesn't help.

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes No Request Removal
36 out of 61 people found this review helpful.

Add Comment

You will be prompted to sign in with your NYMag or
Facebook account.

  awful average excellent
In determining overall rating, food and service are given more weight.
Rate
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Food
Service
Décor
Would you go back?

Some Hints:

  • The best reviews give a clear sense of why you liked or disliked a restaurant, bar, or store. And that means details. Mention specifics dishes, type of crowd, pros and cons...
  • If it's helpful to compare one place to another, go for it.
  • Come up with clever, funny, pithy subject lines, and write in the first person.
  • Don't forget to read the user rating guidelines and rules.
CloseUpdating your review
By
| Not you?
Advertising
Advertising