Brooklyn Heights, NY Restaurant Review: Heights Café

A few blocks away from the magnificent Brooklyn Promenade, is the moderately priced and relatively popular Heights Café, first introduced to me a few years ago by a co-worker. I have only been there a few times as it is not inexpensive: the entrees run between $16.00 and $20.00 dollars, which would not be so bad if the food was not so average (and salty). The décor is nice, but the Café simply is not that interesting. I would go back if I did not feel like eating Asian fusion at one of the excellent restaurants nearby; after all the fries are shoestring, the burgers are large enough, and there is a full bar. The calamari is also good, but the fare is rather pedestrian, though clearly the restaurant aspires to be more then. The service is hit or miss. Or rather, I guess, hit or miss or miss. They are either courteous, over-attentive or oblivious. And the Café itself is far enough away from public transportation and decent parking, that honestly unless I am heading to the Promenade or Heights Books, there is not much of a reason to make the trip. After all, Tenda Asian is just a block away.

Be warned. They only take American Express or cash, which strikes me as vaguely pretentious, as does their website. I have observed many kids running underfoot, because it is at the cusp of one of the residential strips of the Heights. This can be irritating, as the waiters rarely make an effort to get diners from keeping their kids from bouncing around.

There is outdoor seating, which is nice; and if you are going for lunch, try one of their burgers or the Pulled Smoked Chicken Panini. They used to have a Seafood Wrap that was very tasty, but from their website, it seems to have been pulled from the menu. If you are going for dinner, I would recommend the calamari, or the crab cake appetizer. The Texas meatloaf or the BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich are safe bets, and the cheese cake is decent: either the Black & White Mascarpone Cheesecake as well as the New York Cheese Cake. For cheese cake purists though, I would go with the Caramelized Apple Almond Pie.

Heights Café is located at 84 Montague Street on the corners of Montague and Hicks Street. The closest subway stop is Borough Hall (2, 3, 4, 5, N, R, or M), but you could get off the 2 or 3 train at Clark Street and walk down Henry Street until you hit Montague. They are open from noon to midnight seven days a week.