* Moto
image c/o Flickr
349 Broadway, Brooklyn NY 11211 (Corner of Hooper)
PHONE: 718.599.6895
CARDS: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
HOURS: Mon-Fri, 6pm-1am; Sat-Sun, 6pm-2am
SUBWAY: J, M at Hewes St.
MAP: Click Here
WEBSITE: Click Here
WE SAY: South Williamsburg's hidden surprise. There is no sign on the door so hopefully this jewel will remain hidden from the masses. See some pictures on their website. This place is beautiful and affordable. The food is unique with French flair and the drinks are cheap!
From City Search:
"A fine-tuned cafe fashioned by a pair of motorcycle renovators. The story behind this tiny, triangular cafe was captured in "Eat This New York," a documentary honored at the 2002 Hamptons International Film Festival. Just when its proprietors doubted that Moto would make it, the restaurant ground into gear like a Vincent Black Shadow, beneath the tracks of the elevated J and M trains. Heavily barred windows enclose a comfort zone for artsy locals who crave a taste of the trendier end of town in this low-rent sector. Sample the beer and wine list, but don't miss the food. The inexpensive paninis, made with crusty bread and fine Italian fixings such as sopressata and portobello mushrooms, are worth the trek, and the grilled doughnuts, sweet, warm and indulgent, put Krispy Kreme to shame."
FROM NY MAG
A check-cashing storefront under the rumbling JMZ “el” in Bushwick becomes an artist café in South Williamsburg, and so goes another New York metamorphosis. It’s possible you’d even mistake Moto’s surreal interior, at once both familiar and unsettling, for the backdrop of a Kafka novel: The sepia tones of this apothecary-like setting are sharpened by flashes of futuristic metal (the bar’s taps are refitted bike parts, hence the name) and the pull-chain toilet and musty specimen jars in the shadowy downstairs lavatory suggest a litany of human misdeeds. But not all is doomed: Marble-topped tables, crusty panini, hushed patrons, and $5 tap beers like chocolate-y Corsendonk, dense Guinness, and spunky Stella reveal a more palatable intellectual side.
Comments
I never post comments normally either. I ate here last week on a visit from the UK. Our waiter was a really pompous arsehole, unfortunately. But the bartender and waitress were polite and the food was good. The star of the show is the design and concept - a brilliantly scruffy evocation of depression-era Brooklyn. Worth the trip. (By the way - they only take cash - no plastic.)
Posted by: Polpo | April 24, 2009 03:37 PM
...I never post anything, on any sites, but had to respond to the person who's questioning the friendliness of the staff at Moto...i've been there several times, and although the food is great, and the atmosphere is cool, it really is the great people that work there that keep me coming back. Sorry you had a shitty time...it's certainly not the norm.
Posted by: Aaron | February 7, 2009 07:25 PM
...I never post anything, on any sites, but had to respond to the person who's questioning the friendliness of the staff at Moto...i've been there several times, and although the food is great, and the atmosphere is cool, it really is the great people that work there that keep me coming back. Sorry you had a shitty time...it's certainly not the norm.
Posted by: Aaron | February 7, 2009 07:24 PM
there is a reason why this place is a hidden secret...mainly because the people who run it are extremely rude and insensitive and have no place in this wonderful neighborhood...to be honest, rather them being a hidden secret they should be a widely known poison and people should stay away. I wish them good luck in turning around their attitude towards kind customers.
My sister came in from out of town because i wanted her to hear some incredible music...by accident, she knocked over a plate of food and was highly apologetic and offered to pay for the meal. The bar tender then came over to our table and was insulting and unnecessarily rude and then asked us to leave. The manager was just as bad and said it would be better if we came back another night...all for dropping a single plate. Its too bad that this hidden secret turned out to be a shitty one.
Posted by: unsatisfied customer | January 31, 2009 05:26 PM
Moto is 394 Broadway--this is actually the address of Trophy, which turns out to be another cool bar.
Posted by: Ad | November 24, 2008 03:25 AM
Posted by: hunter | September 21, 2007 01:26 PM
Userful blog. Thanks!
Posted by: Debikf | September 21, 2007 05:21 AM