Café Kestrel

“Sam, the general manager, made this an unforgettable night for my mom and me. We agreed it was one of the best meals we’ve ever had. The bread and the halibut were delicious beyond words. The tuna with greens was surprisingly delightful (more my mom’s taste than mine, but I’m glad I tried). We could have done without the chilled shrimp crudo, missed the mark for us. The drink list was incredible, and our bottle (the Patapon white) was perfection. Well worth the trek to Red Hook! Thanks to Helen Rosner for the rec and lovely write-up!”

“They welcomed us in, despite us being covered with snow and having no reservations, for a delightful meal midday on a wintery Saturday. The poached egg dish and smoked salmon dish were both attractive and well-composed. The star of both dishes were the potato sides. We appreciated the lovely and cozy atmosphere and the friendly service.”

“I’d say this place is really good value in NYC. For me, everything pictured here (split with my friend) represented about $75 (including tip). The experience is very similar to eating in a Parisian bistro, with the tables being right next to each other in a small environment. The upside to that is that the service was very good—shout out to the staff who were consistently filling my water since I drink a lot 😂 For the food, I was very impressed by the “toast” which is just a grilled baguette. I really like the charred flavor that was imparted onto the bread, which I would gladly have eaten on its own. We were both surprised by the cafe salad, where the cheese blindsided us. We assumed it was going to be something like butternut squash, but were pleasantly surprised by how everything came together. It was a rather unusual combination that just worked. I really enjoyed the swordfish due to how deeply charred it was. One thing that my friend and I do at the end of these types of meals is to rank the dishes. Something that he pointed out with this establishment was that the variance of the enjoyment of our dishes was actually quite low—our favorite dish was not too far away from our least favorite dish. This observation I believe perfectly encapsulates the experience to be had here: everything is very well executed, and it’s unlikely that any individual item will leave one unsatisfied. I give this place my recommendation, but be sure to make a reservation in advance.”

“The promise of this place, and the reality of this place are two very different things. It looks cute and has a great vibe on the service. Heck, it even has a great name. However, the food feels like a culinary grad student's experimental thesis. There's no sense of identity, no sense of what they're going for, and at nearly $45 an entree, it should feel like you're getting your money's worth. But that's just not the case. The dessert, however, was phenomenal. The apricot cake was just plain divine. I would almost recommend they abandon regular meals entirely and focus on artisanal desserts. I wanted to like this place more than I ultimately did, but I couldn't get there.”

“My family and I walked in over Labor Day weekend for brunch on Sunday and loved everything about this place (the food, the garden) except for the service. My boyfriend and I both work in hospitality so we appreciate great service, but we're not unrealistic with our expectations. We just appreciate kind people who aren't overbearing or pressing, but the woman who served us was so cold and rude, it truly made us feel uncomfortable. There was no warm greeting, not even a smile, she barely spoke a word to us the entire time we were there. We were one of two tables in the garden and there were 3 tables in the front, so it's not like she was busy or anything. The 3 of us ordered the dandelion salad, French toast, poached eggs entree, zucchini blossoms, bacon and hasbrowns. Our server didn't check on us once. Never asked how our meal was, if we needed anything, literally not a word. She literally just took our order, put the plates down and we never heard from her again. The service was very robotic, truly it was like a robot was serving us, because there was just nothing personable about it. There are a lot of places in NY with good food, but it's the service that sets it apart. I dont think we'll be returning or recommending this place.”