The Restaurant I Fell in Love With 10 Years Ago Is Still Here! I have been a loyal customer of Hot Potato House for over a decade,my history with this restaurant goes far beyond an occasional dinner. I have celebrated special occasions here with family and friends, ordered catering for my office, relied on delivery countless times,recommended it to visitors from around the world. Whenever someone asked me where to find truly good Eastern European food in South Brooklyn, for years my answer came without hesitation: Hot Potato House. What always made this restaurant special was that it was never limited to just 1 type of cuisine or 1 kind of customer. Eastern European dishes are the heart of the menu, but there are also excellent German dishes, seafood, steaks, genuinely great burgers, vegetarian options. It has always been 1 of those rare places where you can bring a group of people with completely different tastes and everyone can find something they are excited to eat. The atmosphere has always been another reason I loved coming here.On certain evenings there is live music, but even without it, the restaurant has a warm, pleasant ambiance. The service has always been professional, attentive and gracious. Throughout the pandemic,it remained my go-to for delivery, food consistently arrived fresh and delicious. However recently I had an experience that was very disappointing and different from the place I had known for so long & when I brought my concerns to the owner, the way he handled the situation deserves special recognition. In an era when genuine customer service feels like a disappearing art, Greg's response was a benchmark for hospitality, accountability and respect for a long-time patron. He listened.He took my concerns seriously.He did not become defensive or dismissive. Most importantly, he made a sincere effort to restore my confidence in a restaurant I had praised so enthusiastically. Tonight's meal did something I did not expect-it took me back 10 years.My earliest memories of dining here is celebrating my beloved father's birthday. My dad had passed away since then,so those memories are now bittersweet, but I still remember that celebration vividly: the atmosphere, the service, and especially how much everyone enjoyed the food. Tonight's meal tasted like that again. Because NYC is still suffering through extreme heat,I had been craving something cold, so I started with the Svekolnik, a chilled beet soup. The natural sweetness of the beets, fresh cucumbers, finely chopped egg came together beautifully. Add a little sour cream and it becomes wonderfully creamy while remaining light and refreshing,it definitely hit the spot. The complimentary dark bread deserves its own mention-fresh and yummy,it paired perfectly with Svekolnik. Then came 1 of my favorite dishes: Mushroom Julienne-rich, comforting dish of mushrooms in a creamy sauce, baked with cheese. The mushrooms had wonderful flavor and texture, the creamy sauce was luxurious,the cheese pull was Instagram worthy, everything came together into a savory dish that's irresistible even when full. The potato pierogi/vareniki from the Loft by Hot Potato were the Best I have had in a while-soft, delicate dough surrounding a flavorful mashed potato filling, beautifully fried onions alongside them. And if you ordered the Mushroom Julienne, try a varenik with a little of that creamy mushroom goodness. You can thank me later. Next was the veal tongue, a delicacy; slices were delicate, flavorful and incredibly tender. The accompanying horseradish and beet sauce gives it just enough sharpness to brighten the meat without overpowering its subtle flavor. The dessert was spectacular: Tarte Tatin-the classic French upside-down apple tart, made with caramelized apples&pastry,served warm with vanilla ice cream. Portion is very generous and it was divine. I order delivery frequently from different restaurants but honestly cannot remember the last time food arrived so hot, the efficiency of the kitchen and delivery speed was truly impressive. I also want to express my sincere appreciation to Greg, the owner, for the way he personally handled my issues.His approach was gracious, professional and remarkably respectful. I recently ordered on a solemn anniversary marking a profound loss and the care shown to me mattered more than Greg realizes. A restaurant can occasionally have an imperfect day. What tells you far more about a business is what happens afterward. In this case, owner listened, cared, and made me feel that a long-time customer genuinely mattered. So after more than 10 years of experience with Hot Potato House, I can once again sincerely recommend it--not just for Eastern European food,but for any group where everyone wants something different. With such a broad menu, there's truly something for everyone. Thank you, Greg, for reminding me why I kept coming back to HPH and why I'm happy to endorse it again. read more

See all

It's been a while, but Hot potato never disappoint us! Food was amazing , it's a bit pricey though now they serve some sort of a breadsticks as a complimentary snack with beer . Very tasty. And for my niece our waiter brought us crayons and a piece of paper. The atmosphere was friendly read more

See all

When you are in a particular ethnic enclave in New York City, you have to try what the local cuisine has to offer. If you are Brighton Beach, you have to try the Central Asian/Eastern European cuisine. I came to LOFT by Hot Potato on a Saturday evening. It was fairly crowded. Lots of people for brunch. The ambiance was cute and charming. Anyway, we ordered a variety of dishes: Garlic bread, caprese salad, potatoes and mushrooms and tuna steak. The garlic bread was a bit forgettable as the garlic had a bit of a raw taste and would be something I recommend against. The potatoes and mushrooms was delicious (not surprising given the name of the establishment) and had very generous portions. I would highly recommend them. We also ordered fruit punch and coffee. The fruit punch/compote was very good and had a lot of fruit pieces in it. If you're in the area, I would definitely recommend trying Loft by Hot Pot. read more

See all

Sergey and Anna are great. They suggested very delicious choices all four of us enjoyed. Fish soup, beedstroganoff and schnitzel were amazing. read more

We stopped by for lunch because we had heard they serve good draniki, and they definitely lived up to expectations. The service was friendly, and everything we tried was delicious: the borscht, draniki, herring and potatoes, and drinks were all very good. But the highlight was definitely the homemade apple strudel served with vanilla ice cream. It was amazing. Overall, a really good experience! read more

Loft By Hot Potato - Homemade Apple Strudel served with vanilla ice cream - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

We had amazing food and an great experience! There was live music on Saturday night, which was a really nice touch! I recommend the chef's personal favorite. An hour was well worth the wait. The Tart Tattin was great read more

Really enjoyed our visit! The food was delicious, the atmosphere was lovely, and the service was great! Special thanks to Sergey for being so friendly, attentive, and welcoming! We felt very well taken care of. Highly recommend! read more

I got the pumpkin avocado salad and it was so delicious! The pumpkin was baked to perfection. We also got latkes with their apple sauce. The latkes were crispy and fresh. There is also live music! This is a pretty great restaurant and the perfect stop after a day at Brighton beach! :) read more

Loft By Hot Potato - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Great smaller Russian-style restaurant in Brighton that is ideal for small to medium gatherings. Groups of up to 14 or so people were there on the night we visited and we really appreciated the lively vibe. Since our group was going to a concert in 30 minutes or so, we didn't experience the menu past the beer selections but everyone there seemed to be having an awesome time and enjoying their meals. read more

I really wanted to like this place. The food was just ok, if that. I could have had all of the same foods, and prepared better at home, especially considering the prices. The waitress had this attitude like she was too good to be there, far from warm and pleasant. She was a bit pushy about asking if we want garlic bread but didn't mention that it had an additional cost and it was just sliced bread that had a dollop of garlic. There were also numerous surprises when the check came. There was apparently a cork fee that was never mentioned, there was a service fee, they charge you to swap side dishes, etc. Then when we paid, the waitress didn't even offer to give us our change. Definitely do not plan on returning. read more

The food was great, HOWEVER, prepare to be ripped off. They charge a "service fee" which coincidentally amounted, in our case, to an 18% tip yet they claim that it is not a tip but won't tell you exactly what it is. our dinner came out to $141.47(cash price, CC was higher). I gave the server $200.47, she came back with the.47 and said they round up!! so it was $142.00. then she returned with $50 change. I mentioned to my girlfriend that she shorted us $8. we(she) decided not to make a big deal about it so we just left, AND she gave a $20 tip!!! So that server made a $48 tip!!!!. I'll never step foot in there again. read more

The kitchen creates good food and the servers create good feelings. You can notice they cook with peak-season components. Fresh ingredients don't mean high prices here. Workers here maintain standards as high in service as in food. This place guarantees consistent quality. read more

Absolutely blown away. Everything we had were tasting better than expected. We were fully taken care of. Even my 6 year old was happy with his meal (chicken soup, Greek salad, and stuffed dumpling). The place is also cute, clean, and nicely decorated. read more

This restaurant had numerous opportunities to get a five star review, but unfortunately, it will have to settle for less due to lackluster service, high pricing, inconvenient fees, and a rather disappointing finale. What prevents it from going any worse is the fact that the food is pretty good, and for the most part, well portioned. Their latkes might be some of the best you will ever have, outside of any Jewish deli. You get three perfectly portioned potato disks bursting with flavor, a nice amount of crust and grease that is not overwhelming either. Too few would be a ripoff and one too many would have me running for the nearest toilet. As someone who has eaten plenty of these in my lifetime, I recommend getting them with sour cream and applesauce for sides. Who says it has to be Chanukah to enjoy these? For my main entree I got one of their specials, the Wild Boar sausage. It comes with a fried egg, mushrooms, fried potatoes, and a side of mustard. This dish is very tasty... if done right. Boar meat is very gamey and chewy, and this dish is no exception. It cuts easily, but do not ignore the egg and mustard. Use both to create an insane flavor, or just let the yolk of the egg run over some of the food. Then you will have yourself a nice brunch! Skip the dessert. I am not even going to get into it. The strudel is tiny and though it is homemade, it lacks any sort of personality. Hans Landa would agree with me if he ate this. The complementary bread is great without overdoing the restaurant experience. Be careful when you eat in, they drop a little service charge on you if you do not look. It is not much, but is completely unnecessary, in my opinion. Let me enjoy my fare in sound peace of mind. In addition, they need more servers. Two servers during a lunch rush is not enough, though they were clearly working very hard. This might explain why some of the food I had was somewhat inconsistent. While this restaurant has a Eastern European flair, it definitely has a Russian feel to it, given it is in Manhattan Beach and close by two other Russian-heavy neighborhoods in southern Brooklyn, Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay. I recommend, just not going overboard. read more

See all

Hot Potato House is one of a kind. One of the best restaurants to dine at this holiday season. I always order their borscht. It's super flavorful and I love that it's served with a savory meat puff pastry. They absolutely have the best potato latkes in all of Brooklyn! They are so fresh and crispy, fried to perfection. Make sure you order them with sour cream! The restaurant has plenty of other delicious appetizers and meals, but their potato and root vegetable based items are always top stand outs. HPH is 100% a South Brooklyn must! read more

Loft By Hot Potato - Potato Latkes "Draniki" with Sour Cream - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

The design choices here show good taste. We experienced good cooking and a lively atmosphere. The chef creates unique taste identities. The team offers helpful assistance. I can confidently say this restaurant impresses. read more

Good local restaurant, good for lunch and dinner Has many different options on the menu. Everything is very fresh and tasty. Will be coming back with a family. Thank you! read more

I've heard great things over the last few years and wanted to check this place out. Comfort country Russian food prevails here. The menu is all over the place, but the standouts are all the potato-based dishes drenched with butter, sour cream, and/or cheese, as well as the dumplings and blini. This is definitely a doggy bag kind of place. My okroshka was top notch and the draniki with mushroom and cheese was a dish that could have had a family of hungry peasants. Atmosphere in the outside tent garden was really relaxed, which was great. Inside they have evening music and larger parties. read more

Loft By Hot Potato - a bowl of soup with a spoon - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

The many compliments this place receives are well-deserved. The costs won't deter you from enjoying great food. The meals here taste better than almost anywhere else. Welcoming staff members. I think this restaurant offers good value. read more

Food & Service: The food is fresh, and delicious. We asked for a salad with no dressing and the waitress, Elia, served us according to our specifications with no additional questions asked. She was very welcoming, and pleasant. Additionally, we ordered dumplings with potatoes, a herring, and a chicken a la Tabaka, which came with another side of sour cabbage salad and mashed potatoes. Everything tasted very good, not too oily, not too salty, just right. Ambiance: Nice ambiance, and it was warm inside the restaurant on a chilly day in New York. We highly recommend this place which is located next to the ocean. read more

Fresh, flavorful dishes with vibrant veggies and savory fish--perfect for a light meal! The waiter was friendly and attentive, making sure everything was just right throughout the meal. read more

Loft By Hot Potato - Marinated herring served with fresh cucumber slices, tomato wedges, red onion, and scallions. - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all

This restaurant is always severely understaffed, so prepare to wait a whiiiiile to catch a waiter, place your order, get food. Prices are Manhattan prices, so prepare to pay a pretty penny. 10% service charge will be added to your bill automatically. Very casual atmosphere. Make reservations for weekends. Some food, like $20 salad Timberland and $33 sweet & sour beef entree were tasty. Other dishes, like $65 seafood linguine, were bland, tasteless, and severely overpriced. Portions are on the smaller size. read more

See all

I resisted the trend but now understand why people keep coming back. Delicious preparations with responsive staff in nice surroundings. The team displays remarkable friendliness. Rush to experience this restaurant! Your efficient service, helpful workers and wonderful food preparation deserve mention. read more

Great spot with tasty food and outstanding service. Arthur was exceptional and made the visit memorable.

Great place with a nice atmosphere, friendly staff, and tasty food. I would definitely come back.

It's been a minute since I've been at this restaurant. I started coming here in 2016 when they first opened. I remember the owner Greg was very nice and replied to my Yelp review and thanked me for it and was 4 stars. That told me something about his character and that of the restaurant. Almost 6 years later they still serve great food, have friendly service, keep the restaurant spotless and thankfully survived through COVID when many restaurants don't. Guess what the owner Greg was here working and I was able to speak with him for a few minutes catching up on things. Nice to see when so many other businesses have absentee owners. The added live jazz music Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. They do an interesting spin on Russian, Brazilian and American music. Talented musicians as well and they engage the room. I highly recommend them and I hope you come out and support the restaurant. read more

See all

The food is always so good! Ella was our waitress and she was so nice and accommodating! The environment was calm and good music.

I'd rate Hot Potato House four and a half stars. HPH is one of the few restaurants located in Manhattan Beach. It's a less densely populated residential area, so parking is a little easier than in nearby neighborhoods like Sheepshead Bay and Brighton Beach. I'd categorize the cuisine as Home style Eastern European. We dined in on a Friday night. They had some live soloists performing a mix of English and Russian songs. It was a fun and laid back atmosphere. We started with a Greek salad. Absolutely loaded with toppings and dressing. Certainly my style of salad. It was delicious but not your low calorie diet salad. Next, we had the latkes with apple sauce and the crepes with chicken and mushroom gravy. Both were ultra comfy and savory. Latke was well fried and just the perfect amount of greasy. Crepe was savory too and should be homey for southerners and Eastern Europeans alike. For the main course, we shared the Moldovan Kostiza for two. Huge portion! It's a giant chunk of pork slow cooked and slathered with caramelized onions, garlic, and tomato. Served alongside their fried potatoes and mushrooms along with a pickle. The fried potatoes and mushrooms were some of the best I've had. Highly recommend them. Pork was ginormous. We were unable to finish it and took a hefty portion home. Service was attentive. Most of the food came out quickly. Only the kostiza took some time, but it's one of those dishes that takes longer to prepare so that was understandable. There was one gender neutral restroom which was handicap accessible. BYOB was permitted. read more

Delicious food, service could be better at times but they try. Overall worth a visit and definitely get the Latki's! Salads and Kababs were great too! read more

I had this restaurant on my bookmarks list, so I jumped at the chance to dine here after spending the afternoon at nearby Coney Island Beach. The place was super adorable with ample outdoor seating available. I liked how the tables had beautiful marbling. I did not like the amount of flies and bugs crawling around the table and coming way too close to our food. As the evening continued, the staff brought over lanterns and lit tiki lights on fire, which helped the situation immensely. Upon being seated, we were served complimentary bread - Sourdough and rye. The bread was soft and was okay with some butter, however it was no longer warm. I ordered the rack of lamb, which comes with wild rice, but I chose to select sides of mashed potato, salad, and mixed vegetables, which was an additional $3. I was a little disappointed when I was saw the dish, because it was literally only 2 lamb chops, which I don't think warrants the cost of $33. That being said, the lamb was definitely expertly cooked, and delightfully tender, succulent, juicy, full of flavorful seasoning, with perfect char marks. The white sauce that it came with really complemented the lamb well. The mashed potatoes were nice and creamy. The salad, along with the baby corn and carrots were mediocre. I also got to try the potato latkes, crepes with chicken & mushroom, and avocado-pumpkin salad. I really enjoyed the potato latkes with applesauce. The potatoes were incredibly crispy and well seasoned. The crepes were great as well. You could discern that they were homemade with care, and the accompanying savory white sauce was wonderful. The sauce paired beautifully with the chicken and mushroom. The salad was also good and consisted of baked pumpkin, avocado, cheddar cheese, along with mixed greens and orange dressing. All the ingredients were fresh, crunchy, and I especially liked the pumpkin. With the Yelp check in, there was an offer for free dessert, so I asked our waiter about it and he checked with management. When he returned, he let us know they are not honoring it. I was going to let it go, but decided to ask the manager and he accommodated the request. The only restriction was that I couldn't pick the Tart Tatten. I wanted the Proline or Chocolate Cake, but unfortunately they were out of both. I settled for the Crepes stuffed with Apple Nostalgia. This was quite yummy, especially served warm. The crepes were cooked just the right amount and were slightly caramelized, elevating the flavors. Inside, the crepes were filled with pieces of apples and sweet sugary apple compote. The service was not very consistent. The waitress who initially came to our table, was a bit on the rude side. Thankfully, another gentleman came to take our order and was much more friendly and made sure were properly taken care of. While I thought the food was tasty, the proportions were small for the prices. I am glad I had the opportunity to try this place, but I won't be back. read more

See all

Just went to the Hot Potato House last week-on a weekday for a small Birthday celebration. It's a local restaurant near by Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, where locals like to dine (even bringing they own alcohol-uncorking is just $5!) We weren't hungry that evening, just party of 2, and decided to share everything- We ordered the signature's Avocado/Pumpkin salad-my favorite salad here with baked Pumpkin- delicious! Portion so big-might be shared by 3 people! Our grilled sea bass filet with vegetables was prepared to perfection! (See picture) Served in the foil, it kept all the flavor of the dish-perfection! Our waiter Sergei ( who is also a musician/singer) suggested it would be good for 2 people and he was right!!! Sea bass was divided to 2 parts and we were totally full! But... because of Birthday, we decided to order a cake and, again, thanks to Sergei recommendation, picked Apple Strudel, comes with ice cream... The venue bake it by themself, by the way... The pie was melting in my mouth, like an ice cream- soft/rich/unique... also perfect for 2! What I didn't expect- Sergei said the Apple Strudel is on the House... we were trying to dispute it... but... in the bill it wasn't counted. We left a double tip, of course, almost covering the pie. Don't expect to get a pie on the House; I think it was given to us because I kind of regular here... not regular -regular-but was in Hot Potato a number of times. Great place to have a nice meal after the beach, they used to have a live music, but we were on Thursday... read more

See all

Great food! They were busy so the servers didn't stop by as often as I would like, but they did a great job and I would go back again for sure read more

The food here is amazing! I tried the potato lattkes with red caviar and wow, so good, better than any I've had before. I tried the Crepes Nostalgia dessert and, though the apple filling is a little too sweet, the crepes themselves were perfect and overall it was a great bite. I was so impressed with the food that I came back and got a takeout order to bring to the city with me on my way back! The to-go food was well-packed and both dishes, shepherd's pie and mushroom zrazy (patties stuffed with sauteed wild mushrooms), reheated well and were absolutely delicious. Service was excellent, unlike many places in nearby Brighton Beach. Our waitress was friendly and attentive, and spoke fluent English and Russian. There was great attention to COVID safety, which was much appreciated. Our waitress wore a mask at all times and the outdoor patio is very nice with more than 6 feet between tables. They have hand sanitizer and soap towelettes on each table too. Menus are the paper takeout trifold variety, and they are yours to keep - smart because I got the extra food later lol So why 4 stars and not 5? When we called ahead to see if the restaurant and bathroom are wheelchair accessible we were assured they were. The bathroom is not in fact wheelchair accessible. To get there, you have to make a tight turn that is impossible due to the placement of a very large cabinet holding dishes. The Americans with Disabilities Act has been the law for 30 years and the design guidelines are mandatory, not a nice to have, so it's very frustrating to encounter completely avoidable obstructions. Unless you can walk a few feet and have someone to help you, you will not be able to use the bathroom if you are in a wheelchair. The bathroom itself does have a grab bar next to the toilet and is a small room rather than stalls, but may not be big enough for all chairs. read more

See all

Delicious food we had the pierogi and the latkes. Very fresh very delicious. You can't go wrong here.

Great place to have a drink and grab something to eat. Food is always delicious and the service is top notch. read more

Loft By Hot Potato - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Me and my family have been coming here for years. The food is fantastic! The servers are amazing! The overall look of the place is amazing!

Excellent food and wonderful service at Hot Potato House. Great place to spend a Saturday evening.

Can never go wrong by coming here! I have ordered here for large parties for new year Eve and Christmas events and have never been disappointed. Always great service, great vibes and delicious authentic food here. Thank you! :) read more

Loft By Hot Potato - Assorted Salo - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Slavic specialties nestled by the waterfront. I'm not sure if they are Russisn, Ukrainian, or Georgian. The food is good (not great), the service is friendly, the prices are a bit steep for what you get. The have superb flavored Vodkas (my faves are the pepper and horseradish). If this were a vodka tasting bar I'd give them 5 stars. read more

The food was amazing. Very authentic food. Will be back again. If you're in the area, I would highly recommend. The latkes are amazing! We were able to tell that the fruit used on the crepes were fresh! read more

Loft By Hot Potato - Ground Pork Schnitzel and chicken stroganoff - Russian Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

See all