Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, NY Restaurant Review: Cody's Ale House Grill

Just past Atlantic Avenue on Court Street is the excellent Cody's Ale House and Grill, which serves American cuisine. The bartenders and wait staff are friendly and attentive, (far friendlier than those of nearby Downtown Bar and Grill, which is not hard at all), and extremely courteous, treating newcomers as if they were regulars.

Indeed, there are usually many regulars inside at the bar, but the mood is warm, loose and inviting, an old time tavern kind of feel. There are more residential types - Steelers, and Patriot fans mostly, than hipster types, which is refreshing. And the food, while not quite as delicious as that of Downtown Bar and Grill's, is still pretty solid.

You cannot go wrong with much of anything here; I favor both the Fish and Chips, the Breaded Chicken Cutlet Hero, and the Chicken Marsala. For starters, get the Fried Calamari - light and crispy. Their Cream of Broccoli soup is a good bet too. The Buffalo Wings, an important part of any bar, are first-rate. I recommend Cody's Appetizer Platter - which includes Mozzarella Sticks, Chicken Tenders, and Buffalo Wings, for slightly more than the cost of those individual items, which is filling enough for a single person.

It is affordable at about $9.00 or $10.00 dollars per sandwich, $14.00 to $15.00 dollars per entrée and $17.00 to $18.00 dollars for the steak dishes. I usually shy away from pasta at bars, but Cody's pasta dishes are simple: Pasta Primavera, Pasta and Broccoli, Pasta and Bolognese, etc, and relatively hard to screw up. I thoroughly enjoy the Pasta and Clam Sauce, and the Pasta Primavera with Alfredo Sauce. The food, generally speaking, is not going to knock your socks off, although the burgers might, especially the Big Boy's Cajun Burger and shoelace fries. But it is all tasty, and the atmosphere heightens the experience considerably. I would definitely recommend them if you want to watch a game somewhere, would like somewhere to hang out and converse (for a bar filled with sports fans, it rarely is too noisy) or are waiting to catch a movie.

Cody's Ale House is open seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. You can get there by taking the 2, 3, 4, 5, N, R, or M subway lines to Borough Hall, the A, C, or G to Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street or the F or G to Bergen Street. It is definitely worth a trip.