Alien Cafe

Like is this place closed? I thought I was going here today to redeem my groupon and have a bite but my long journey was for nothing! I traveled all the way from Canarsie by bus to get here and see the gates down on a Saturday @ 7pm and I was hungry
: /​I was pissed off!!! Like bad business! So my girl and I strolled down the block pissed off seeing the golden arches I’m like we had Mc Donald’s last night so before we hit Mickey Ds we came across this Spanish place called A.K.A the food was delicious! It did more than wonders for me! Will be getting a credit on my account from groupon because I was very disappointed!

I feel like such a see-​you-​next-​Tuesday when a restaurant goes out of their way to accommodate a large group such as the one I went with, but then I have little more to say than «wow, they were so accommodating!» But that’s how it’s going to be with Alien Café here.
Went here with a group of 11 (myself included) for a farewell dinner for two friends who are living abroad. Apparently, when they called the restaurant a few hours before our arrival, they were told that with such a large group coming in, they’d have to call in an extra server. They were thankful for our call, because they would know to be ready now. Frankly, that impresses me. Though I’m confused about why they wouldn’t have enough servers to cover all of their tables already… it’s not like they had to add extra tables or anything to fit our group. But I don’t really know how restaurant scheduling works, so I am going to stop right there.
They were also very kind about our group filtering in over the course of 20 minutes. I’m not entirely sure why my friend chose this place, because I don’t think any of us actually lived near it, which was apparent from the range of arrival times. But we seated ourselves in order of arrival, and as soon as our butts touched the seats we were provided with glasses of water and asked for a drink order. And those glasses of water were never, ever empty. Both of the waitresses were on top of that, which was great.
Unfortunately, they were not able to cook all of our food simultaneously. A handful of entrees came out (in no apparent order), and while some dug right in and others tried to wait for everyone to be served, we were told that the kitchen was «tiny» and they’d be getting everything out as fast as they could. However, some people were done well before other plates came out. And all the way at the end of the table, someone’s order was messed up. I don’t know details other than that, but there was a problem, our dining companion was unhappy, and they offered him a beer as consolation. But by the time our checks started coming, though, he wasn’t nearly finished with his meal.
And yes, I said checks. We were all dreading splitting a (cash only) check amongst 11 people, but then when of the waitresses came over and said she’d bring over individual ones. That was awesome! Completely unnecessary on their part, and probably a huge pain in the ass for them as well, but extremely thoughtful. We all truly appreciated this.
So aside from the kitchen hiccup, the service was excellent. We also ran into an older man on our way in and out who welcomed us and said goodbye and stuff. I am going to assume he is the owner, and he seemed pretty great, too.
However, the food was not really that great. I wasn’t that surprised, after reading recent Unilocal reviews, but I was hoping that my alien burger and macaroni and cheese would be out of this world (did I really just say that?!)
They weren’t. The alien burger comes with a fried egg, avocado, and Canadian bacon, which you’d think would either be really awesome or really disgusting (if you’re not into that kind of pairing, but I am). However, it was unremarkable. The burger which it came on was bland as bland could be. And the sandwich had absolutely no structural integrity. It fell to my plate in wet, soggy pieces, where I had to stab it with a fork and knife just to finish my meal without getting too messy.
The macaroni and cheese was a poor excuse for the dish. Some parts were flavorful, moist, and covered in cheese. But most of the bowl was dried out and, again, just plain boring.
As for the rest, the eggplant parm was eggplant parm. The chicken caesar salad was chicken caesar salad. The fries were fries. That’s about all I can say.
Bottom line: really fantastic service, very impressed. Food, not so much.
CASH ONLY.

This place has seemed two radically different concepts in the last year, both equally misguided.
Previously the Alien tried to combine a café atmosphere with a strange combination of bistro and New American cooking. There were plenty of truffles, entries in the high teens to low twenties, but it still looked like a coffeeshop and felt like a rip-​off.
Now there’s new management, with less of a vision but prices that have been nearly halved. Unfortunately, it’s a mess.
I went in on a recent weeknight, to find six employees (from what I could make out, the owner, a friend, two waitresses and a bored couple of cooks), all awkwardly staring at me as I ordered. The waitresses came back to check my order twice from the kitchen, and the resulting medium-​rare burger was still well-​done.
The food was OK at best, but the owner kept coming up to me asking for suggestions and what he should do with the place. There are too many good options in this neighborhood now to bother with this place.
My general sense was that a.) they’re in over their heads b.) we’ll be seeing a third Alien Café in the near future.

I went to this place in January ’12 for breakfast and loved it. I remember getting the Alien omelette and my friend got the french toast. The meal itself was delicious, the service was good, and I knew I’d be back.
Before going back I should have made note that the management and thus the menu changed, because it’s completely different now and not at all in a good way. Food was acceptable but really nothing I couldn’t have made myself, and I am no chef at all. Server was very nice but WAY too in my face– I hate it when servers interfere too much, they should be able to find the right balance between attentive and annoying. It’s easy to see that a lot of effort was being made by all involved in the establishment (server, owner), but at the end of the day it’s a place with a ton of potential that just misses the mark entirely. One star because it was easy on the wallet.

I don’t know if it’s even fair to review this place again on this same page, since the ownership and direction has clearly changed completely. It used to do a poor job at serving hipster gourmet in a bizarrely named ambiance and now it is basically a diner that relies on plays on the «alien» theme, such as «out of this world omelette» and plastic spaceships instead of flower vases. I appreciate the effort, though I’m not sure why they stuck with the name?
ANYWAY, got some eggs and homefries and toast and coffee for weekend brunch and it was CHEAP (less than $ 5) and the service was GREAT which was the opposite of the old Alien Café, so I’m into it. My boyfriend got the veg burger, and was satisfied. I can attest the fries were crispy. No faux-​attempts at gourmet here, but it’s a nice basic inexpensive option in the hood.

As someone else just stated this place used to be called the Grand Street Grill then it became the Alien Café.
Originally when this place opened under the Alien Café name the price point was totally wrong (like $ 18 dollar truffle mac and cheese) and the name/​concept was very poorly executed. Apparently the neighborhood agreed because it was closed and recently reopened again (April 2012). Alien Café is currently being operated by it’s second set of owners.
Now the menu is cheaper ($ 10 for a burger with fries) but it’s still poorly executed.
I see the new owners put in a lot of effort by advertising and giving out samples but there is still a lot of work to be done.
I ordered two burgers with fries/​onion rings along with sodas for delivery. First off they forgot the sodas but sometimes that happens so I didn’t let that sway my judgement. The burger meat tasted fresh (wasn’t a frozen patty) but was totally under seasoned. I mean not even some salt or pepper. One of the burgers had pulled pork, jalapenos, and cheese on it and it STILL didn’t taste like anything! The burger was big but SLOPPY on a big sandwich hard roll (like you would get at a deli and which provided way too much bread around the burger). The burgers had NO char grill taste to them and overall just were tasteless, it’s a shame because they have what looks like a «nice selection.»
The fries also tasted fresh like they were hand cut and not frozen but were VERY mushy and had zero crunch to them. The onion rings were decent but obviously frozen. Actually sadly this frozen item was one of the best things because it had some taste.
Portions were on the bigger size with these new owners but they are sacrificing quality for it. Make it smaller and better!
There is definitely a need for a «grill» type of burger/​sandwich place at the corner of Bushwick and Grand. There’s a lot of money to be made here considering the big high school across the street and the subway but these new owners are also missing the mark. It seems like they have unexperienced cooks in there (overcooking, under seasoning, etc).
There are much better options in the neighborhood. Until these cooks get it together go elsewhere.

One star because gentrification is not always a good thing– service is mediocre and food is abysmal. This place used to be Grand Street Grill– which was an a-​okay place where you could pop in for good straight-​forward food on the cheap (okay, so there were paper plates too).
Anyway, when Alien Café replaced GSG, boyfriend and I were baffled about what this place would be, and were even more baffled about the theme of Aliens and a much pricier menu. Word to the wise: décor and theme should match your prices. GSG menu and alien them = okay. Vanilla mashed potatoes with a side of alien = WTF?
I’ve been there 3 times since then for brunch because it’s around the corner. First go-​round I ordered waffles, and the waffle maker was broken. I had the eggs Benedict with chipotle– that was okay (first go-​around was a 3 stars).
Next time was worse– it was a long drawn out process of getting service to the table, getting the food and when it did come, my burger was grossly overcooked to the point of burnt and the truffle ‘fries’ were a soggy mess. My friend felt his chipotle eggs Benedict was decent. 2 Stars.
This time however, takes the proverbial cake (or maybe I should say pancake). Today was the singular worst food experience I have had in New York. We stopped in today to try out Alien’s ‘new management’ and menu. Prices were cheaper, and the Blue Bottle coffee a thing of the past, which was a bummer.
I ordered pancakes (see what I did there?) and they came out burnt and swimming in syrup. Who pours the syrup on the pancakes for the customer? I really hate being ‘that’ person, I do. I’ll overlook a small detail, but a plate full of burnt soggy pancakes I can’t. I asked for new non-​burnt pancakes and syrup on the side. Oh, and while this was all going on, my boyfriend who ordered the egg platter sent his back too because he asked for scrambled eggs and got over easy, which also had my 1 piece of $ 2.00 sausage on his plate. He waited another 10 minutes, and they bring out his food– no toast, that came out about 15 minutes later.
Needless to say, round 2 of pancakes came out and they were burned, with no syrup. I gave up. I asked the waitress to take them back before she put them on the table– yes, they were THAT bad looking. They weren’t ‘dark’ they were burned. They offered to comp my food (I could order anything on the menu), but after sitting there for 40+ minutes waiting for food, I couldn’t bear it. I told them that we just wanted to leave. They comped our food, and I left a tip because I felt bad for the waitresses. 1 star. (I went to Double Roses and got what I wanted in 25 minutes, and I was out the door)
I won’t be back to Alien Café. I’m all for supporting local business, but I just miss GSG.

Not a fan.
I had a Group On that I utilized before heading to a friend’s birthday party on the north side.
The service was painstakingly slow. We were even overlooked for other customers.
Again very slow, just bad service.
Now the food, the food was okay. I liked my boyfriend’s dish a lot better than mine. I had the lamb ragu, which was simply not memorable. It tasted decent, but not at all special. My boyfriend had the lamb shank with some sort of potato mash. The potatoes were very good, and the lamb was tasty as well.
For dessert we had a cold, not-​at-​all-​freshly seared crème brûlée. Seriously, it was all cold. There was no recent heat even near that dish.
If this is the norm for this place, I’d say skip it. There are so many solid dinner spots in Brooklyn. I won’t be back.

Um, weird in a bad way. Either they were experimenting in subtle tortures or aliens really do work there and they have no idea how to run a café and offer awkward weird service? Maybe glaring bluescreen LCD light into diners faces while blaring audio from Everybody loves Raymond is like alien blue sun rays and alien ambient sounds. Along with the smell of floor cleaner, this place was a human recipe for GROSS. Our orders were wrong, even though we were the only people there. They took our coffee press before we were done. Server forgot to bring us our change so we could leave a tip. Server disappeared. Still I went back on a groupon on Jan 2012. Still had the floor cleaner smell. Dinner was actually tasty but then dessert took 20 mins! and it (panna cotta) was gross and I know my desserts my friend. The staff turned off the music at 8pm and started blaring sitcom audio on the stereo with the LCD tv in the corner on permanent blue screen.
We would have left right of way but we had to wait for the bad desert and the check that never came. Also the server left the place and came back 20 mins later. Good thing it was a groupon. WILL NOT BE RETURNING. Too bad cuz I’d love an Alien Café to be an awesome place… but would a true alien café be at all suitable for humans? Well this place is not.

MAKE SURE YOU TIP IN CASH. Food is fine, unremarkable, but the owners are apparently very shady. We ordered delivery through Seamless, and the delivery guy just told us that if you leave the tip through that system the owner doesn’t give it to the staff — he keeps it himself! Apparently this was a conscious policy that began in November. Bad. Bad, bad, bad Alien Café.
Also, the burgers we got were supposed to have avocado + chipotle on them, which I figured was why they were $ 12 each. They didn’t end up coming with either, and they were pretty tiny as well. Definitely not worth the money.
Truffle fries and mashed potatoes were decent, but it’s hard to mess up potatoes. Especially when you put truffle oil on them.

Have all these Unilocalers been probed?!
This is easily one of the worst dining experiences I have had in New York. Although I was skeptical about the name, I bought the Groupon deal based on the positive Unilocal reviews. Should have gone with my gut here…
Upon entering, overly loud music and café-​like décor. Although the waiter was friendly and enthusiastic («excellent choice!»), the service was slow, they ran out of glasses so we had to drink from plastic cups, the food mediocre, we received the wrong sides, and ended up asking for the check before our crème brûlée showed up. Dessert never came and there were no apologies.
Will never be back… can’t imagine paying full price without a Groupon — you can go to a million delicious restaurants in the area for this price. Or you can eat a better meal in a bar for half the price.

I had been bugging my girlfriend to go to this out-​of-​this-​world food purveyor for weeks, only to be rebuffed at every chance despite only being 2 blocks from her apt. «Why did they choose to name it the Alien Café? What a ridiculous sign!» And so on and so forth. Valid points. It’s a curious name. I was expecting a little more intergalactic swag on the interior, but when we finally did go we were pleasantly surprised by the incredibly cheap prices, friendly service, and bass-​heavy jawns in the background.
We went one weekend, and then went back the very next weekend — at her request — for brunch both times. It’s cheap, it tastes fine just fine. I’ll have to try something other than eggs, but either way, I’m a fan.

Bought a Groupon, which includes 2 entrees, 2 sides and a desert. I also ordered a french press coffee which ended up filling 2 cups, and my husband ordered 2 cokes, we were not charged extra for the drinks. I ordered hoisin salmon, he ordered the braised lamb, both were perfectly cooked and had great flavor. For sides we had asparagus which was fine (nothing special), but the roasted veggies were great. Panna cotta was delicious, i’m usually not a big fan but this was very flavorful.
Service was extremely friendly and polite, food came out very quickly. Atmosphere is cozy and intimate. Overall i would recommend this restaurant and visit again.

This place is hilarious, I’m not even sure what to think. The waiter we had wouldn’t stop talking, which was very entertaining but also a little confusing. He described everything to us but before we could make a decision he would go onto the next «amazing» dish they had.
He kind of reminded me of the character from Science of Sleep. Nevertheless, we came to a decision and it was a pretty good one.
I had the butternut squash ravioli. It was better than Il Passatore’s version, in my opinion, because the squash had more flavor. It did get a little nauseating after a while, however, since it got to be too sweet. The grilled asparagus side was standard, but good.
The panna cotta was kind of disappointing. It looked great but was almost jelly-​like. More like a weird pudding than a panna cotta.
As a side note, I kind of wish the décor inside fit the awning outside. I think this place would look awesome if it was designed after a 80s/​90s video rental store.
With that said, the service was extremely funny and entertaining, if a little too adhd at times, and the meal was really good for the groupon deal I had bought. If you want to experience a less-​than-​normal but still pleasant restaurant, go here.

Upon walking up to Alien Café, one might naturally be confused as to what exactly this establishment does. The word café would suggest food, but how you are supposed to associate an alien ship with bistro fare I have no idea. Also they have the coffee bar set up by the front window, so from the street it looks like nothing more than a little (alien-​themed) coffee shop. If you’re willing to step inside, it’s in fact actually a very cute place to sit down and have a meal.
I went for lunch myself and ordered the Hanger Steak Sandwich, which comes with a side of house-​made potato chips and a side salad. The salad was weak, a small pile of fairly tasteless arugula (maybe a few days past its prime) and not enough dressing. The chips were pretty tasty. The sandwich itself — was fantastic. The steak was perfectly cooked (I ordered mine medium) and really stole the show, as it should have.
The service was lovely, very polite and accommodating, although it did take a while to be offered water or a drink. Overall I would certainly come back again, maybe for breakfast which looked delicious on the menu. I am happy to see new spots with good food popping up on this side of Williamsburg.

Breaks my heart to say this, but I definitely had a different experience than these happy Unilocalers.
First off, I have nothing against the staff. The waiter was adorable and friendly and I’ll even overlook the fact that he didn’t really bring us what we ordered (forgot a side, gave us something different, eh whatever). He was THAT adorable and kind and funny. The cooks all said bye which is pretty adorable too. LOVE the staff.
Too bad everything else was pretty terrible. I don’t know why, but this place smelled like mold. Boyfriend and I were pretty quiet about it until I asked quietly «does it smell like.» «MOLD! YES!» he finished, because he was totally waiting/​hoping I would notice it too. So yeah. Moldy restaurant is no bueno.
Our food was so so so «meh.» Had a greasy veggie wrap without flavor, dripping in tasteless oil and the mushroom was cut so thick it burned to eat. To me, a veggie wrap is like cooking an egg. While elementary, it’s so easy to mess up. Boyfriend’s burger tasted «frozen, not fresh» so he was pretty bummed. I don’t know about the other review claiming the truffle fries weren’t truffley. in fact, i’d say too truffley– my fingers smelled like the pungent stuff after a couple washes. Ick.
The décor is confusing and the atmosphere seems to be facing an identity crisis. I could imagine coming back if they had booze and if they take care of that musty smell. Needless to say, I’m not eating there. Sorry.

Alien café is exactly what this ‘hood needed — delicious, unpretentious, easy-​on-​the-​pocketbook eats.
I had dinner here with some visiting friends and we all got to try each other’s dishes — the ravioli, seafood risotto and lamb pasta were all fantastic. So good, in fact, we came back the next morning for breakfast. Nutella crepes are baller as was the healthy serving of basil/​mozzarella eggs. The french press coffee was also quite nice and they had half and half (a rarity in this town).
They fell a little short of 5 stars for the following reasons: The truffle fries weren’t truffled enough. Their menu is not easily accessible off their website. Their signage and window display (overall branding) might need to be revisited. It really looks more like a coffee spot from the street. There’s nothing that screams, «we have jammin ass food in here!» and they’ll likely be overlooked for a while until the word gets out unless they pull that together. Also, once they get a liquor license, it’s all over.

Some friends and I went into Alien Café for dinner on Friday night and I was very impressed by the food and the service. I’m a cook so I tend be really picky about eating out. This place has a quirky charm and the staff are passionate.
Our waiter, the brother of the cook… I forget his name. was so excited about the food they were serving and that makes a big impression on me. I had the seafood risotto on special and the mussels and scallops were cooked PERFECTLY. The risotto was creamy and savory and was enhanced by the addition of this delightful spiced chili butter that our waiter brought to the table for us to try.
My boyfriend ordered the lamb shank over polenta and it was very tasty. I don’t like meat completely falling off the bone tender, I like it to have a little resistance which it definitely possessed. The gravy with fresh cranberries was a nice accompaniment.
We also tried the papardelle pasta with duck ragout which was good and vanilla, yes vanilla, mashed potatoes. I loved those. We’ll definitely be going back.

Great location and easy to find. Right off the L train.
The atmosphere is really chill. The staff is friendly and the food… The FOOD is delicious!!! The presentation is neat and clean! The menu has great variety.
It’s a good place to enjoy a quick meal by yourself or with friends.

I stumbled across this place on my way home and was astounded to see Truffle Fries on the menu. In East WIlliamsburg, no less. Needless to say, I had to stop in to sniff around. The décor was low key and accessible but nice enough to bring a casual date. The menu featured a lovely range dishes, and even featured vegetarian squash-​ravioli with cream sauce as well as a number of creative, but accessible desserts: such as a basil-​limoncello crème brûlée which i’m sad I didn’t order that night.
I ordered a Pappardelle pasta with slow braised duck ragout to go — when I got home, I saw they’d actually *plated* my order with a dried tomato-​skin rose petal. needless to say I was charmed. The pasta was a little al-​dente but the duck was fork-​tender and delicious. I’m very excited to see such a lovely neighborhood spot open in this neck of the woods. Really looking forward to trying it again.