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All Reader Reviews of...

St. Anselm

355 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11211
nr. Havemeyer St.
718-384-5054

Avg. Rating

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

Average Reader Rating on a Scale of 10.

67% would go back.

 Write your own review

The Casual Steakhouse for Steak Lovers

By NYLawyerGirl on 9/24/2012

  • Overall Rating: 9
  • Food: 9
  • Service: 9
  • Décor: 7
  • Yes, I would go back!

It's Williamsburg people, so Del Fresco's this is not. But that doesn't mean that St. Anselm didn't have a lovely, old world charm that made us feel right at home. Yes, its busy; and no, there's no formal hostess per se. But our seats at the bar were cozy, and we got to watch them prepare our food, which was very "chef table" and cool. Our meal was AMAZING, and you must have the mashed potatoes when you go (think big, fresh, yummy, truffled knish) as well as the cauliflower. The salted caramel pot du creme is also delish. I should also mention how inexpensive our bill was. It was a fabulous ending to a great meal. We'll be back!

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21 out of 36 people found this review helpful.

Williamsburg at its worst

By teljr on 4/19/2012

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

Went here recently based on "critic's pick" designation. We had mediocre, weirdly passive-aggressive service (we were told by our patronizing waiter "it would be really, really great" if we could order everything at once, because it's much easier for the kitchen), two $75-$100 bottles of terrible wine ordered from a truly incomprehensible wine list, and mostly forgettable food, including the bourbon-brined pork chop (too much bourbon, tough) and whole mackarel (dry and confoundingly tasteless). Some of the appetizers were good (the cctopus, particularly). Oh, and I loved the ceiling. Otherwise, I'd recommend going across the street to Fette Sau, or somewhere else entirely.

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27 out of 69 people found this review helpful.

Fabulous - Great Food - Great Ambiance

By RebeccaH on 9/14/2011

  • Overall Rating: 10
  • Food: 10
  • Service: 10
  • Décor: 10
  • Yes, I would go back!

Live in the neighborhood, but never walked in because the outside looks like a drinker's bar. Walking in, it's quaint, open kitchen, even nice updated and clean bathrooms. Great start. They have beer and wine on tap. Food is incredible. We had the lamb shoulder cooked to perfect medium juicy perfection; bar steak cooked medium rare - fantastic, and the whole trout - also awesome with tender meat and a crispy salt skin! The warm bacon iceberg blue salad is fantastic, a great mix of yummy warm bacon bits over crisp iceberg (which makes the blue cheese get soft - excellent. Shishito peppers were simply grilled with salt and lemon, and the artichokes were great as well! Dessert was lite - we had the grilled strawberries and homemade marshmellows with graham cracker and chocolate drizzle. Must say, what a nice lite way to end a great steakhouse dinner! Excellent addition to the neighborhood!

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55 out of 89 people found this review helpful.

Good steak for the price

By anadelgado on 9/11/2011

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 9
  • Décor: 6
  • Yes, I would go back!

Got in easily at around 7pm on saturday night, pleasant and knowledgeable waitstaff. Had peppers, have had more flavorful ones, butcher steak was juicy and good flavor but a little tough, beef ribs were very tasty and well cooked with the meat coming easily off the bone. The sides were great, potatoes with a nice crust on top, and creamy underneath, the long beans actually had lots of flavor and cooked perfectly. We will return if only to try the rib eye steak for two $70. Which we saw and could easily feed three, and the iceberg blue cheese with bacon dressing.

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32 out of 59 people found this review helpful.

Bourbon-soaked pork chop

By urbnredhed on 8/21/2011

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 9
  • Service: 6
  • Décor: 7
  • Yes, I would go back!

Need I say more? Dinner on Saturday night was outstanding! The pork chop, spinach gratin and truffle-fried mashed potatoes were incredible. We thought we'd have to wait for a table, but we arrived like old folks around 7:00 and were fine. The desserts are negligible, but the entrees were fabulous. Reasonable prices, too.

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30 out of 62 people found this review helpful.

Hostile "Welcome"

By bkln417 on 8/8/2011

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

Tried to have a date with my boyfriend at St. Anselm last night after reading NY Mag's glowing Underground Gourmet review. Upon entering, we stood awkwardly between a few tables and the bar, feeling like we were in "no man's land"... no one came to greet us. After a few minutes, someone finally bothered to come over, and we asked for a table for 2. We were literally standing next to a 4-top that was empty, but we weren't allowed it: "you are only 2" he explained. His alternatives? Two tiny seats at the bar next to the service area and several solitary diners luxuriating at length in their novels, or "wait 30 minutes." None of the usual, "we'll have a table ready as soon as we can, have a seat at the bar and grab a drink, I'll look out for you." No smile, no friendliness. Either "wait 30 minutes" or sit in crappy bar seats where you can't look at each other. It was 9:30pm on a Sunday, there were hardly people beating down the door for tables. I even told the server/host that my boyfriend and I hadn't seen each other in 3 months, and this was a special date. Surprise surprise, he didn't care. Seemed to make no difference if we stayed or went, so we went to Marlow and Sons where 3 people greeted us at the door, gave us a choice of two tables in a very crowded restaurant, served amazing food and even offered us a complimentary dessert. Impeccable, friendly, personal service with awesome food. That's the kind of restaurant we need in Williamsburg, not the snobby St. Anselm.

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58 out of 156 people found this review helpful.

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