Brooklyn Surf Bar - Chowder Only Please.

Surf Bar is located in Williamsburg on North 6th street off of Bedford.

A quick and easy ride for Manhattanites off the L train at Bedford.

While, I am somewhat on a Brooklyn binge right now, I don't think Surf Bar lives up to its hype.

Having been featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay - I had high expectations going in. Always a problem.

Surf Bar is a somewhat kitschy surf shack that instantly time travels you to the laid back dogtown days of LA in the 70s. Duuuuude...

The restaurant has a sand floor with surfboards hanging from the ceiling and that standard shark movies, a.k.a "Jaws" playing on the flat screen. Cocktails come in the requisite coconut with a tiki flair. You get the idea, right?

Food wise - I would say only the chowder is worth noting. The corn and crab chowder was not to thick, not to thin...the corn being the actual standout ingredient. The monkfish chowder is Surf Bar's claim to fame and is worth a try.

However, the lobster roll is quite small, and the freshness of the lobster is questionable. Fish tacos are not bad, but not great either.

One last seemingly obvious piece of advice - Ordering something called "lobster pappardelle" probably isn't a good idea at a seafood shack.

Unfortunately, my boyfriend didn't get the memo and the pappardelle came out exactly as one would expect. Watery, bland...to put it bluntly - forgettable would be a generous description of the dish. And where was the lobster?

All in all- I think there are definitely better options within the city including Mermaid Inn, Pearl's and Ed's Lobster Bar.

Come for the conversationalist inducing ambiance - the decor may be worth the trip, but don't expect much more than standard mahi-mahi burgers that reference more diner than oceanic.
(picture from freewilliamsburg.com)

Brooklyn Surf Bar
139 N 6th St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-302-4441
www.brooklynsurfbar.com