William Hallet

Delicious food, attentive service, I’ve been here a couple of times. The duck is delicious and so is the Pork Chop. Definitely would go back for another round!

I came here as an alternative to my baby Queens Comfort because I didn’t want to deal with the brunch-​related wait.
I had the hash brown stacker (or whatever it’s called) but the hash brown patties were extremely over-fried…imagine all crustiness and none of the inner chewy goodness of a well-​prepared hashbrown patty.
The side salad was swimming in oil (or was that dressing??)
This place is really cute and I want to keep giving it chances. I might come back for dinner, but not very happy with brunch last weekend.

I haven’t written a Unilocal review in years because I haven’t wanted to make the effort, but in this case I’m hoping that the owner of William Hallet will see this and take it as constructive feedback from a longtime customer who is disappointed.
My friends and I have been going to this restaurant consistently for about 3 years. Until about October 2015 I went about twice weekly, but things have really gone downhill since then. Our favorite dishes were the Cobb salad, burger, PBLT, and Turducken Meatloaf sandwich — the food was phenomenal! Absolutely some of the best in Astoria. After about September/​October 2015, there was a definite change in all of these recipes — I think they are using cheaper ingredients. Everything is bland and flavorless now. And it isn’t just the big stuff like protein that is lacking — what happened to the great aioli for the sandwiches, the delicious dressing on the cobb salad, the perfect tomatoes and fresh seasonal produce? Different and updated is fine, but these new recipes are cutting corners. The worst part is the meat — I used to think they had one of the best burgers in astoria. It was juicy, flavorful and the toppings were fantastic. Now it is dry and tasteless like old supermarket ground beef. The turducken meatloaf and PBLT were also incredible, artery clogging goodness and now have no flavor at all. The menu description of these items is the same, but the food is not. And trust me, my friends and I have eaten these items enough times to notice the difference.
The service is great and the kitchen is on point — everything has always been cooked to the correct temperature and timed appropriately, despite how busy the restaurant is, but the new recipes and low quality ingredients are clearly holding them back. We’ve tried nearly a dozen times since last fall like fools, wanting to hope that the restaurant was just going through a rough patch, but it is clear at this point that the changes are here to stay. We even tried some of their new menu items in the hopes that perhaps those dishes might be up to their former standard — epic fail as well. My boyfriend ordered the chorizo arepa recently and he took two bites and couldn’t eat any more because it was so bad. It was a big fluffy arepa (that was fine) with about two tablespoons of chorizo filling inside. He might as well have eaten a dry roll for dinner. We didn’t want to bother the staff with it since it isn’t their fault, so we said nothing and paid upwards of $ 80 for bad entrees, a bad app (of mac and cheese that used to be great and is now, what a surprise, flavorless), and one round of drinks (cocktails are still great!) and then went home and ate leftovers instead.
Overall, the food now is edible but nothing to get excited over. With about 2 dozen restaurants in a three block radius serving consistently excellent menus, I’m surprised that William Hallet has seemingly intentionally scaled back in quality this way (if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!). Their prices are also some of the highest in the neighborhood which was once totally understandable but with what they are putting out now it is laughable. Very disappointing but hopefully they will bring back the old recipes once they see more long time customers losing interest (my friends and I can’t be the only ones!). The mixed reviews on this place are confusing to me — perhaps the positive reviewers are living in the wake of how great this place used to be? William Hallet, please do us all a favor and stop ripping off the neighborhood with high prices and low quality and return to your former glory!

Excellent food. Octopus dish was expertly prepared. I didn’t eat much but I tried some of what everyone else had at the table, including the amazing Vegan sandwich (tastes like a fried fish sandwich), their incredible fries and the kentucky fried shrimp. I will certainly return on my next trip to Queens.

Came here with my friends for brunch on Sunday, and it was delicious! The country fried steak and grits that my friends ordered were delicious, and I got the Hallet benedict with pork. This came out to be a fried poached egg (whoa!) on top of chunks of what me being Asian would consider it like chashu (slow roasted pork chunk you find in ramen) and it was soooo good. Definitely coming back for more!

I think this might be one of the best spots in Astoria at the moment. Small, but efficient. Cool décor and a decent revolving beer selection.
The food– I have only had dinner here twice, and both times my food has been excellent. I had Chick pea fries for a starter both visits. Best I have ever had. Soft on the inside and crisp outside with whole chick peas mixed in to add texture.
First visit I had the Pork chop (chef recommended medium rare, great choice!) It was like a steak. Only criticism is the kale was a bit on the salty side, but I had a nice Pilsner to wash it down.
Had Mahi over garlic gnocchi with spring peas and pickled lemon rinds. Sounds simple, but I have to say this was one of the most balanced and complex dishes I have had in the neighborhood. Light and rich at the same time with acid from the lemon rinds to break it up. Excellent. Great staff and the chef, (also owner?) is a cool gent. Will keep coming back.

The food is awesome, so delicious. Everyone’s meal looked amazing. They will substitute vegan bacon for regular for only about $ 1 or $ 2 (can’t remember). The bourbon lemonade was also great.
Service is good. Sometimes really busy during brunch, so a little bit of a wait with the service, but nothing that would keep me from coming back.
Will definitely go back at some point to try some other dishes.

We were a party of 7 last night. We were seated immediately. The staff was friendly and prompt. The drinks were so good, and the food was amazing! I highly recommend this place!

I had brunch with a friend yesterday. We were seated outside as I asked. The table was rocking. I asked the waiter to send a busboy to put something underneath the table base. He said he will do it himself. 20 minutes later, after he bought the drink, I ordered the table was still the same. I had to get under the table and try to fix it myself.
I ordered the burger, which was ok. The bacon and the onion ring were terrible undercooked.
In the end when I wanted to pay the waiter announced that they don’t take American Express. That is always a bummer and very upsetting since even the corner bodega takes Amex. I feel that if you want to charge Manhattan prices than it shouldn’t be a problem to take certain credit cards.
I don’t recommend this place. Food not too good, service blah, not taking Amex. I’m sure I won’t be back.

I like the décor, the prices are decent, and the mimosas were pretty good.
The fries are awesome!
Bacon was hella salty and greasy. Eh.
The country fried steak was good, but could have used a «POP», like citrus or hot sauce. The gravy was weak-​like something out of a jar. The grits… eh. The eggs and biscuit were good. My friend enjoyed the burger.
I’d come again. Our server was nice, but kind of rushed us in the beginning.

Came here for a nice leisurely Sunday brunch with my fiancée. We were in the area to checkout potential apartments and was feeling a bite hungry.
After a little searching we came across this adorable little bar eatery. We saw the past pictures and how it was made to look like bobs burgers and figured this would be a quirky place to eat.
It was a crowded establishment by the time we arrived around 3pm so we opted to sit outside which was slightly colder then normal but was enjoyable non the less. We were asked if we desired to move inside once a few seats opened up but it was to nice a day to pass up.
My fiancée ordered a Chopped salad and I ordered the country steak meal. Mine came with grits, eggs, country steak and a biscuit.
Both meals were enjoyable and came with either an orange juice, Bloody Mary or mimosa for free, however, mine I felt was under seasoned and required a little bit more salt and pepper to give it that extra pop.
The server was attentive and quick to bring us what we needed.
I’d be happy to try this place again in the future as everything else was satisfactory except that small seasoning issue.

Amazing food. Went on a Sunday and the music was amazing. FREESTYLE!!! Talk about a great ambiance… And the menu OMG for get about it!!! So well thought of, affordable, and an experience … The food plates are all well presented my the amazing staff and the taste is delicious, an amazing spot to go to in Astoria on weekday and weekends. LOVE IT!!!

Went here for brunch on Valentine’s day. Had a reservation for 11am and there were plenty of empty tables. Ordered the crab cakes benedict– which was delicious. Coolest looking fried eggs we had ever seen. Bacon could have been crispier but everything was delicious. The roasted turkey club was very good and made with real turkey. The ceviche was also a hit (not a ton of food tho). The restaurant was decorated nicely/​staff were friendly– and with a mimosa or blood mary included– you can’t beat the price!

This was my first time in Astoria and William Hallet is by far one of the BEST brunch spots I’ve ever been to! I tried a few items on the menu and they were all spectacular! The country fried chicken is delicious, the chicken is great quality and cooked to perfection. It’s served with eggs, a biscuit and grits. I also need to point out how much I hate grits, I have never been a fan but… THESE ARE NOT NORMAL GRITS! They are so smooth and creamy, definitely changed my few on grits. I also tried the famous rough night out burger, the fried egg on top was the best part. I’m a huge fan of fried eggs on burgers but at WH they do a really great version of it, amazing flavor and not messy at all.
All around fantastic experience. Food was delicious, drinks were great, and the Brunch menu offers unlimited Bloody Mary’s (what’s not to love!?). Love the environment, great music choices also! Can’t wait to go back!

I was here for the first time over the weekend and had an excellent experience! I don’t «do brunch» often so I can’t claim to be an expert over the options in the area/​NYC at large, but William Hallet’s brunch offerings definitely impressed me across the board. Here’s the breakdown:
–The menu: so many options, making it almost impossible to decide?! The choice was easy for me (I stumbled upon this place while conducting a search for a «vegan-​friendly brunch» in Astoria and there is one vegan item on the menu), but less restricted diners will have a hard time picking.
–The food: my vegan fried chicken sandwich (+ side of thick-​cut fries) was really satisfying and impressive, especially at a place like this that doesn’t specialize in vegan food. This tasted so good — it’s hearty and heavy, in a comforting way. And the portion was HUGE (I took half the sandwich to go). My boyfriend ordered the Hallet Benedict, which came with their crispy poached eggs and pork belly. From the salad greens to the benedict itself, he couldn’t stop raving about how good this dish was.
–The price: at $ 15 and $ 14 respectively, with brunch drinks (mimosa or bloody mary) included, this seems like the price-​to-​beat. Considering the quality and portions of food, I felt like we stumbled upon an amazing deal that more people should know about.
–The space: the interior is on the small side, but if you come at the right time you can be seated relatively promptly and comfortably. The atmosphere feels classy and somewhat upscale, but unpretentiously so.
–The service: friendly, consistent, and unobtrusive. Drink orders were taken promptly, followed by food orders (when the drinks arrived), and the food was delivered to our table shortly thereafter. The entire meal was well-​paced and nothing felt rushed, despite the substantial wait of people that accumulated outside.
In conclusion, my first impression of William Hallet was so positive and I look forward to coming back. My one qualm is related to their *single* vegan menu item (I wish they had more, I feel like their kitchen is capable of this!), but I am happy to return for that sandwich again just the same.

Love this place for brunch. The crispy poached eggs are amazing. Also try the pound cake French toast.

Came here for brunch and the food was amazing. I got a crispy poached eggs benefits and couldn’t believe how good it was. You get a free drink with brunch items which always gets me. Cocktails are great as well.

Stopped by here for a late night snack and drink with the BF. Not sure why the rating is mediocre, because this place is great! We had the mac and Cheese, which is one of the best I’ve tried in Astoria. They have a great selection of draft beers, and their cocktails are awesome. I had the Morphine which was delicious. we only had the late night menu, but I have tried the mussels here before and they are outstanding. I love the Thai Mussels, which were recently brought back!

The William Hallet is my go-​to, hands down some of the best food in the neighborhood. Follow your heart, but be sure to check drink and dessert menus. George, the owner and chef, can do magical things.
My fav is the PBLT.

This is my «go to» restaurant for any meal. I absolutely love their Mac N Cheese and Squash Ravioli. Anything you order for brunch is delicious! I highly recommend this restaurant for the food, service and ambiance.

This is a pretty decent spot to grab brunch in the area. I tried the Hallet Benedict — a fried poached egg over pork belly on an English muffin. The fried poached egg was an interesting and delicious touch — I only wish the dish was served with some type of sauce like a traditional Benedict. I doused it with hot sauce to give it a little zest. My meal was served with a fresh and tasty side salad, which went perfectly with the fried egg.
My date had a really good pastrami-​style smoked salmon with all of the bagel and lox accoutrements. I’d come back just to get that dish.
The environment here leaves a little something to be desired — it’s a little crowded and very loud. The music was a-​blastin’, which wouldn’t bother me if they were playing g good tunes. Alas…
I’d def give this place another try, maybe not for brunch next time.

I’ve been here so many times I’m surprised I’ve only reviewing it until now.
My brother is a regular here so it’s easy to come to this place when I’m in the neighborhood. I used to live in the area and can honestly say this place is one of the places I miss coming to regularly in the short time I lived in Astoria.
The beef tartare is hands down my fave dish and the burger comes on a close second.
The staff is friendly, the atmosphere is cool, and the neighborhood is fun. Hands down the establishment in the area.

William Hallet stole my heart because: Bob’s Burgers.
Any business willing to transform into one of my favorite TV shows has my business for life. My friends and I came here for their Halloween party and we had so much fun. The themed food and drink menu was on point and the staff dressed as the characters was amazing.
I ordered the Sweet Chili O’ Mine off their Halloween menu and it was delicious! My friends got the The Final Krautdown which they also found delicious. The mixed drinks were also super yummy!
Beyond the fun theme and good food– what stood out the most was their impeccable service. When standing at the bar– the bartenders were constantly looking for the next person to serve, and even called out for orders if it seemed like everyone was already served. The bar was packed and having this attitude about getting people served fast and often is the way to do business. In addition– they were super friendly. Basically it was my dream bar. I can’t wait to go back soon.
P. S. Can it be Bob’s Burgers night every night?!

This place was A-​okay. The brunch menu for Sunday brunch was very small and felt limited. The best thing about this place was the free drink with your entrée (so 1 mimosa or 1 bloody mary — or coffee… or OJ.) The food was still spectacular. Our group ordered everything. Country fried steak, crab cake benedict, French toast, salad, and the Hallet benedict. I ordered the Hallet. It was pretty amazing. It was my first time having the fried poached egg this way and it has certainly changed my life. I want to come back for more! The drinks were small but enough for a small Sunday brunch. They stop at 4, so be there before then!

This is a cute little place to get the night started. IT is not a place to stay at all night. Let me 1^st start by saying I liked some of the staff. One person that served us was a complete moron. If you are giving someone fries you probably should ask them if they need anything else. Like, oh ketchup perhaps? Don’t give us a face when we have to ask us for it. Other that that it was awesome.
:BATHROOM ALERT:
Up to Par. It was nothing to brag about. Word of advise use the upstairs bathroom. Walking downstairs and drinking is never a good idea if your drinking a lot.
I HAVE TO SAY THE MAC & CHEESE IS TO DIE FOR. Please try it when you go. This is a tiny place I would say at best come with 3 other friends because the bar area is small as well as the eating area. The fun thing is that they have an outdoor area in the front. But the big pile of garbage depending on the given day doesn’t smell good when your trying to stuff your face with delicious food.

The décor and ambiance drew me to this restaurant. It is conveniently located on 30^th Ave. in Astoria, where there is unceasing crowd traffic. However, I was sadly disappointed by the quality of the dishes that we received. The menu read exciting, interesting even with ample vegetarian options *please note I am not a vegetarian, but appreciate when restaurants have a variety or choices.* We ordered the grilled Paneer sandwich, the ½ roasted chicken, and the ½ lb. beef burger. The Paneer sandwich lacked a sauce or condiment that would bring it all together. The ½ roasted chicken was good, but was definitely over-​seasoned by a heavy salt hand. The beef burger, which should be a staple at any American bistro, was over-​cooked and served on a soggy brioche bun. Sadly, I do not believe that I will be returning to William Hallet, even though it is a convenient stone’s throw from my house.

William Hallet is my go to place for a guaranteed good meal, laid back environment and one of my favorite drinks! Really, I used to think I didn’t like martini’s…but in fact I just never had a good one. Their dirty martini is wonderful! I can’t ever keep myself to just one.
I’ve never had a bad meal here. Their mussels are great, and a large serving. They had thai curry mussels that were some of the best I ever had. Once my boyfriend and I managed to finish off their 3lb of mussels and bottle of wine deal! Their burger is the perfect pub burger – nice and simple, made with great quality meat from the butcher next door. They used to have a great roast beef sandwich on the menu as well… I think it might have been seasonal for the winter time.
The staff is always super friendly and attentive, and it seems like they make a point to remember their customers. A great place all around!

William Hallet has been bookmarked for a while, so I was stoked to finally go. After spending an annoying 20 minutes looking for parking, we arrived at William Hallet and were seated promptly.
Cozy, loud and simple, WH doesn’t scream «quality dining,» but brunch was great. I ordered the «rough night out???,» which is a ½ pound burger with an onion ring, a Vermont cheddar sauce, an egg, bacon and seasoned fries. I ordered it medium and it came out closer to medium rare, but was perfect. The onion ring was slightly fried, which was great but that cheddar sauce. It really made it seem as if you were having some sort of Mac and cheese experience on a burger, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The fries were huge pieces of seasoned potato that went so well with the SRIRACHA they give you (Yep, bottle on the table.)
I tried the crab cake dish as well, which wasn’t as great, but was nonetheless pretty good. Not jumbo lump meat but sufficient for the price.
I will definitely return though I do need to try a couple of other nearby brunch spots!

If you ever come to realize that I have weird food cravings and habits, you have my Chinese parents to thank, for feeding me weird foods that will normally raise some eyebrows here in the States. Duck has been a staple meat in our household and we pretty much each it like chicken, no biggie.
A friend had high praises for this place and suggested we go here because she was craving their Turducken sandwich. It sounded interesting and sure enough, we ordered it.
We each shared half of the sandwich since we were not really hungry to begin with, but as soon as the sandwich came, all I could think was, «that’s it?!» For $ 13, I expected a stuffy sandwich with at least some lettuce and tomatoes – heck, even some pea shoots or some exotic ingredient, and a side of fries or salad. But no, it was just a mild amount of meat with about 2 slices of bacon and some ketchup slapped on top. I probably had a mixture of those three meats because it did not look like anything like other members have posted, where it looked like three layers of meat stacked on top of each other. There was no way I would’ve known there was even any duck in there without knowing what I ordered because it didn’t taste anything like duck, chicken, or turkey distinctively – just a weird, mushy pile of greasy meat.
The sandwich itself felt more like a melt and half of the sandwich can easily be finished in just a few bites. I don’t think I really got the true essence of what it’s supposed to taste like, then again, I don’t think I’ll have it again. Service was good and I really wanted to like the sandwich, but I think I’ll come back just for the drinks next time.

Awesome place for an unlimited boozy brunch. You only get 1 hour at the table but you can hang out by the bar until 4pm to continue your drankin’.
I’m a big fan of their country fried steak, but the other menu options are pretty great too. The Rough Night Out? Burger was very popular with our group. Gonna have to try their house-​made pastrami next time. Made a reservation for a big party right before the Superbowl and they were very accommodating.

** edited to correct the info about the meat***
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Nice place. Kind of cozy and there was a good crowd there on a cold Monday night.
Service was fine. I had the turducken meatloaf sandwich. It was pretty tasty but I was surprised the meat was so greasy. I dropped some on my plate and it left a glistening, iridescent puddle of grease on the place. Now I know that duck can be fatty but when I was about a quarter of the way through the sandwich I had a queasy feeling in my stomach.
Don’t get me wrong, it was tasty. But I think they should serve it on a stronger roll to sop up some of the «juice». And by juice, I mean grease.
My friend liked his Cobb salad.
It was also weird they had a special where you could walk outside to the International Meat Market next door, order and pay for meat there then come back and get two sides and a drink by paying an additional $ 17 to this place and your meat would be cooked to order. If I’m going to walk to another place to order (and PAY FOR) something, I’d probably just go there. Very weird. The owner messaged me and gave the response at below* to provide more detail. Nice concept, but I’m still not walking outside after I just sat down for a meal.
If you’re in the neighborhood, this is probably a good place to check out.
*Meat Market Monday is a way for people to try more expensive cuts of meat that you normally wouldn’t because of the price, and fear ofnot cooking it properly. This is also a way to support our neighbor, International Meat Market,

I came here today –Sunday for brunch with a of 9. We made reservations ahead of time but they would not sit us until the full party showed up. I asked the hostess if we could be seated as 5 of us were there as we were waiting over 20 minutes. Hostess was very rude to me and refused to seat us until full party showed up. I wanted to leave and not give them any business but my friends insisted we wait.
We were finally seated, our waitress was nice. I got the crabcake Benedict awhich was deliciousThey also provide a complimentary mimosa or Bloody Mary with brunch order.
Pros: good food and drinks, attentive servers
Cons: rude hostess, no wifi, no music, small place