This review is long overdue. I've been to this restaurant several times and always received excellent service and had a really great time. This is an eclectic, well rounded bar where you can have fun with a large group of friends or on a date. I celebrated my birthday here last year and the staff was very accommodating with moving tables and keeping drinks coming. My most recent experience was last night which was probably the best. My group of friends and I absolutely love the Brussels Sprouts. We also ordered the hummus platter, pickles, potato chips, and deviled eggs. The food last night and last year on my birthday were consistently good. The drinks are also delicious. Their cocktail menu has some excellent options but these bartenders know what they're doing and are very willing to make you whatever you like. Try the "side by side" - I think I had four of them! I found the staff to be on their game. In our group we had two girls visiting from DC that also loved the drinks and the experience as a whole. Last night, I met the chef Steve outside who was such a nice guy! It was a pleasure to meet the man who makes these Brussels sprouts and other gems on the menu. The music was also fun and dance worthy. I had a two minute conversation with Dan who played some incredible deep house. I live in Brooklyn but this restaurant is worth the travel time. I will definitely be coming back again soon!! read more

Good, but for a summer afternoon outside you really need more than three tables in the shade. Invest in another umbrella or two, seriously, people. read more

I can't get enough of this sweet spot steps from the banks of the Gowanus and its huge outdoor patio. Whether it's for dinner (delicious, see below) or birthday parties this place gets mostly high marks all around: from food to ambiance to the crowd. Compared with bars and restaurants in adjacent Carroll Gardens, this place is simply huge - but its real asset is the large but charming patio out back. Walk through the large bar area, and past the kitchen and seating area and you'll come to a deck outside. Continue down the stairs and you'll find a charming patio with market lights overhead and movies projected on an adjacent wall. While the flood line from Hurricane Sandy is memorialized in paint, you'd never know that this place looked like anything other than paradise. The food and drink here are delicious, and they get high marks for serving my favorite summer tipple: Lambrusco. The smoked almonds are perfect to snack on if you aren't in for a meal, but you're doing yourself a disservice if you miss out on the brussels sprouts. They are simply outstanding. The mains fare well also, with the salmon, chicken and short rib being stand outs over the past year. Service when dining is attentive for the most part, though I've encountered more than one overwhelmed server. The upside? One time, the kitchen had supposedly run out of our most coveted entree and the waiter helpfully suggested alternatives before surprising us by bringing the originally ordered dish. The service on a busy night can be iffy as exemplified by one recent visit when I asked for a large ice water three times and never received it. All in all, however, this is a great spot and even when busy doesn't feel overwhelmingly crowded. I hope it stays that way... read more

The drinks are quite good, with decent selections of beer, whiskey, wine, and cocktails. Atmosphere is nice, particularly in the garden area. The true highlight are the small plates: we ordered the Brussel sprouts and the hand cut fries, and they were superb. Service is rather slow, and the bathroom lines get excruciatingly long. read more

This place is terrible!! Please, never, ever, ever go here!! Ever! This place is so hectic, chaotic and unorganized. When we arrived it was empty. After ordering we waited a full hour until we decided to leave due to the awful service. During our entire stay, no one with reasonableness or a right mind came over to tell us that they spilled molasses on their orders. When we asked what was the reason for the long wait, a waiter simply replied: "we are catching up on orders." Catching up? Seriously, man?!? So, in conclusion please never go here. It will make me and yourself very happy. read more

Cool location, great back patio. Our server was nice, but a little flaky (in fairness, it was a busy night and we had a large group that needed to move a couple of times). When we first got there it took quite a while to get a drink at the bar even though they weren't very busy--the bartenders seemed a little snobby. Homemade chips and fried (toasted?) brussel sprouts were AMAZING. Nice beer selection, fantastic cocktail selection. read more

Went here last night with my gal pals looking to have a few low key drinks. So glad we did. Really great music, great service and handsome bartenders! Met some people at the bar and had a great time. We will definitely go back and enjoy the yard when there's no rain! Ps. The guy with short curly hair and a great laugh is adorbs! read more

Big outdoor space, awesome for large gatherings if you don't want to have a sit down meal. I've been here several times over the summer. Laid back vibe. However, this works against them a bit as the bartenders here are super slow! So order your drinks in bulk :) read more

I'm gonna be real--the wait staff is mreh at the tables. However! At the bar, service is phenomenal and fun! Ally, one of the bartenders, is a fabulous mixologist and has a great personality. Her demeanor coupled with the delicious noms and cocktails is second to none in Gowanus. read more

Love sitting outside in the summer! Drinks are great and the avocado with the dipping sauce!!

less than mediocre place. the vermicelli had no flavor.. just boiled noodles with raw veg. you cant get a drink from the waiter .. have to get up abd walk to the bar to order a drink. waiter couldn't even explain why that was the rule. if you ask me thats a great way to miss out on money - no one at my table wanted to get up for drinks especially after tasting the food. read more

I like the vibe here for day drinking, especially when it's warm and you're sitting on the back patio. It's a very casual place with great music, a good beer selection, and decent wine options. Never had a cocktail but the list looks intriguing so I'll get there eventually. I've been at least three times, and each time I've found the experience anywhere from decent to delightful. If I could change anything, it would be the attentiveness of the servers. But it's a wide open space full of annoyingly chatty and demanding people, so I get it; aloofness is armor sometimes. read more

Total service failure. My husband, brother, and I went here tonight, a Sunday night. We took a table out back in their sweet outdoor space. Someone brought us a candle and water. A waitress took our order for drinks and food. And ... she never reappeared. Forty minutes later, my husband went inside and found her hunched over the cash register, along with several other employees. Apparently, something was wrong with their computers. She still had his credit card, which she had asked for right away if we wanted to run a tab. When she saw him, she said dismissively, "Your drinks are over there," and waved toward the bar, at drinks that were more than half an hour old by then. Not sure how we were supposed to have known that. No one apologized. No one acknowledged that things were seriously subpar. No one showed the least inclination to set things right. My husband got his credit card back, and we left. We ended up at Gowanus Yacht Club and had a really nice time. They served us drinks and food and everything. Hopefully they'll get their act together. The location is great, nice atmo, but what's the point if I can't even get a drink and no one gives a shit about service? read more

I was violated tonight by the tool bag bouncer who told me I had to wait 10 minutes before walking into this empty bar. After obliging for a minute I saw twenty people had left and asked can I please go in the bar so I can meet my friends and he said 10 minutes because my boss said so. First of all it was probably 20 minutes at the end of this whole nightmare and the bouncer wasn't following any standard standard of time measurement. Looked like he could not make sense of anything with his pea sized brain. Over twenty people ended up lining up behind me trying to spend their money at this establishment. Next time this happens go to your boss and tell him he is wrong and don't make people act liked caged animals so they can get a simple Moscow mule in an empty bar. read more

Went there last night for the first time. Ordered pickles twice and they never came. After half an hour I checked in with the waitress (who never came over again) - she just kind of laughed and gave me a deadpan 'sorry' and walked away and never brought them. When I told the bartender on the way out, he said he was sorry and 'Don't worry about it' - as if we were expecting to pay for something we never got?? His way to make it up to us was, "Next time you come, we'll bring the pickles.' Oh, thanks. read more

Bros, and bro-ettes... Loud bar and jam-packed. Feels like an upper-east side bar. Perhaps just the area changing. The one good thing - the DJ was playing fantastic music. The sound is terrible on this bar but I heard a DJ with skills working. Really good classic disco and obscure funk. Sadly no one in the entire bar seemed to care - no one was even bopping their head. read more

They had bad service, gave us chipped glassware, and mixed tequila for run into their own crafted cocktails. No need to go out of your way for this one read more

This place has so much potential, but at this point they seem unable to handle the capacity they draw. The backyard space is huge and the food is AWESOME. Most of BK must think so as well, because it was PACKED on Saturday evening when we came in. We didn't use waiter service because we didn't see any, but were happy with our bucket of beers. Sadly, though, our order for food took about 45 minutes. And the line for the bathroom? Unacceptable. There had to have been 100 people at this bar, and there are two unisex bathrooms. Two. The line for the bathrooms passes through the middle of the bar space, and was 10 people deep when I waited. Just made me shake my head, and sadly gave the whole space a little bit of a "Wilfie and Nell" vibe in Brooklyn. So two stars for this one, which according to Yelp means "Meh. I've experienced better." read more

Service is horrendous. The food is good, but not enough to make up for being ignored most of the night. We needed to leave our party early so we asked for separate checks before our meal. We were told "no" without a reason. Just that it couldn't be done; which I suppose is tough on them every night billing the restaurant in it's entirety. At the end of the meal we asked again so we could pay with a credit card, still "no" and she sent us to their broken ATM, after which we walked two blocks to get cash from another restaurant and then returned to our party to make sure we were paid up. We left late and grumpers. read more

If I could I would rate this place zero stars. Awful service, the busboy is basically running the show. We sat outside, took the server 10 minutes to come to us even though she saw us and greeted us at the front. It's brunch, so naturally I would like a coffee...she tells us it will take 10 to 15 minutes for that. OKAY, nevermind. Food wasn't anything spectacular. This place looks promising, the bar is cool, wish the table service stepped it up significantly. read more

was here a few nights ago...and i couldnt wait to leave! if you can't sit outside don't bother...the inside is absolutely awful...the outdoor area is really the only thing this place has going for it (aside from the brussells sprouts). another reviewer stated accurately "As they seem not to care about the food, ....but it seems very scattered and unsure as to what it wants to be." It's funny with so many reviews like this, the owners just seem not to care. Here's a prime example: one of the owners was sitting at a table for 4 with a lap top for a few hours on a busy friday night while people waited for tables...isn't that restaurant management 101...never take a table? They dont care. This place is so freakin' LOUD, the service is SO BAD, that it's really a shame...i only walked a few blocks from my place to get here but now i see it's not even worth that. read more

place was good, and thats kind of it. nothing spectacular. Drinks were made quickly, but hard to flag anyone down. the drinks were also just ok drinks. I good spot, good enough for sure. I guess I wanted to be wowed by a few menu items, or the decor. Its like a friend that just found out about Bon Iver and wants to tell you about him. read more

i really like this place. i've been there once on a friday night when it was packed out and you had to yell to communicate, and another time when it was completely dark and deserted. both times were wonderful. they have nice cocktails and a simple, yet delicious food menu. can't wait til it gets warm so i can go out on the deck. read more

Terrible service. Food took 45 minutes long to make only to find out they missed 1 item from the order. Never coming back.

Love love this place! It's a slice of heaven. The ambiance is fabulous and nothing can beat the chill outdoor space. Try the Pimms specialty drink- its delicious! Food is excellent too. Check this place out before secret is out! read more

Just had the worst experience at Lavender Lakes. Ordered drinks at the bar, after paying, left drinks and change on bar to say hi to a friend, came back change gone! Had to haggle with bartender just to get change back. After a while ordered a second round, my friend goes to bathroom, I'm sitting with drinks and change at bar, another bartender is wiping down bar on the customer side, she takes my friends money right in front of me, which is clearly beside our drinks and puts it at the edge of the bar as a tip! I say, hey that's my friend's money, hey thats the second time you all have tried to take his money! She tells me he should keep it in his wallet...I say, no, he can leave it on the bar, stop taking our money! Then she says, have you ever worked in a bar? She says this in a really rude way. I respond yes. (I bartended for years, never stole tips from a customer). Couple minutes later, my friend is back from the bathroom, the same bartender comes back, rudely accuses each of us of breaking a glass, which we didn't. We leave. Never going back. Really weird staff, don't have any concept of service, it's a shame because the place is nice, but the staff is on the make. Hope the owner reads this. It was your two female bartenders Friday, Oct 3, two petite girls, one with loads of tattoos on her arms with red-ish dyed hair, the other with no tattoos, darker hair. Really weird behavior. read more

I just got back from this bar where I usually like, have had positive experiences, communication, and food. But the barkeep that just closed out my account deserves a review: when I arrived a nice floppy haired guy answered my questions, made a nice drink, smiled etc. When I bought my friend a drink, a new blond blue eyed dude in a hoodie helped us, she tipped 5$, he walked away without a word. When I wanted to close out I came upon a 36$ tab for 3 drinks, 2 martinis and a wine. I asked about the exorbitant charge and he confronted me, as I was paying him money, and said what was I doing arguing with him. Some food and drink colleagues I was next to commented that he was being RIDICULOUS, that this 'upcharge' was a Manhattan standard. If I wanted to pay over 21$ for a drink why the hell would I be in on the effing GOWANUS CANAL? MY colleagues all commented that they won't have events there anymore, that this confrontational guy at the bar was not worth their time or money. I agree and hope anyone thinking about this place will not revisit. read more

Cool spot, chill place to hang with friends. It was a somewhat busy night, and the service was unfortunately subpar. We didn't get any attention from the bartenders. No biggie... Just took our night out elsewhere. Why wait for poor service? read more

Good food and venue, horrible service. We were told it was open seating and sat down (a party of four). We were not noticed by the staff for about 15 minutes, until a busboy came by and asked if we wanted a food menu. Finally a waiter came over, but after we ordered with him I did not see him for the rest of the night. When we wanted more water or were ready to order entrees, I had to get up and go into the area near the kitchen to ask a random staff member if we could order multiple times. Our drinks took about 20-25 minutes to come to the table (each of us got two). I received my burger that I had ordered medium rare well-done, but at this point I figured it would take too long to send it back and wait for another one. If the staff made even half an attempt to improve the service, I'm sure the place would be packed given how cool the venue was. read more

If you like swimming in a sea of yuppie scum, this is your spot. Although you may not be able to get a table because they're all reserved for some New Jersey socialites 33 and a half birthday party. Food is pretty good - it's a shame. read more

Was really excited to check out a new place off the beaten path but was grossly disappointed. Service was sub-par and they need to get their reservation system figured out. We got in around 7:30 and there were 6 tables with a "Reserved 9:00 or 9:30" tag on them. We asked to sit down until then, but were then moved 45 minutes later (and did not receive any help with moving our drinks or appetizers). It was just weird, unprofessional and left a bad taste in my mouth. The food was ok, the drinks were a little watery, the staff was nice but not professional or experienced. I would not recommend to anyone. read more

Terrible, terrible, terrible service. The bearded bartender was unbelievably rude and unprofessional. I took a friend from the UK there for drinks and dinner and I was mortified by the attitude. I will not go back until he is no longer employed. Embarrassingly rude. read more

Great outdoor space and reasonable drink options. Unfortunately, this is ruined by terrible service and lengthy waits for the bathroom (2 stalls total for a huge place) read more

This place is great. I live about an hour away from this spot and I've already been back three times. Its that good. Maybe I'm biased because three of my favorite things in life are fun cocktails, burgers and brussel sprouts and LL does all three very well. I will say, if you get the burger, go for the bacon and egg on top. SO GOOD. read more

Great cocktails (at least the tequila ones!) and solid beer list, and a very nice burger (blu & bacon for me), REALLY good tomato basil soup with grilled cheese, and house-made potato-chips and pickles. Will be back to peruse the menu further. But it's the atmosphere that's really great -- service and space both. read more

Amazing burgers, cocktails and their fried brussels sprouts are to die for! The service was very attentive and the vibe super cool.

Love this place! The backyard is off the chain! The decor is beautiful and very comforting. The food is delicious and very fresh, looking forward to seeing the new menu. read more

One of our favorite summer bars to go to, hang out with friends in the backyard, and celebrate birthdays. The food is good, the drinks are great, the atmosphere is perfect for any celebration. read more

Fun spot, especially when it's sunny. They have some tasty apps and well prepared cocktails in a great space. Definitely a great Sunday afternoon spot. read more

stumbled upon this place on my way back from carroll gardens. they have a large patio in the back with a huge gnome overlooking the place. They had a boquerones which was tasty and a happy hour deal on the weekends which was a nice surprise! read more