The Saint Austere

We were visiting the Saint Austere for the first time, and we tried the polenta. It was rich and creamy and incredibly decadent. The staff was welcoming and the experience was homey. 5 stars, at the very least.

Spontaneously decided to come here on a Friday night and was pleasantly surprised. Karina, was very knowledgable about the wine list and made an awesome recommendation. We decided to try the Chef’s Tasting Menu and it did not disappoint, every dish was delicious. It included the Broccoli Rabe (³⁄₅); Grilled Octopus (⁴⁄₅); Creamy Polenta (⁶⁄₅); Cavatelli (⁵⁄₅); and the Roasted Organic Chicken (⁵⁄₅).
I am personally not a fan of polenta. (It reminds me of kasha/​porridge that I had to eat as a child.) But this sausage polenta is a game changer! The grilled Octopus had an interested kick with the roasted lemon. The Roasted Organic Chicken was unbelievable. The Chicken was juicy, and was served on top of a mushroom risotto. They started playing Slaughterhouse right when I was having dessert, which made it that much better. I had the tiramisu with the chocolate granita. It was super light, and the granita was very refreshing. This place was awesome, and I can’t wait to come back!

Ate here for dinner recently. The food was very good but I was really disappointed with the portion sizes. I understand it is a tapas bar but I ordered a larger portion plate and it was still basically a small appetizer. I ordered another item and my total was near $ 50 and I wasn’t even close to being full. Prices are way too high. Other than that the atmosphere is very nice, the service was good, and the place is in a good location. Worth checking out if you are splitting with multiple people.

Located conveniently in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This restaurant serves up some really good delicious food. The interior is very lovely. Candle lit, dimmed, small, cozy, and warm.
As soon as we walked in, we were greeted warmly and were seated right away since we made a 6:30 pm reservation.
Our lady waiter also greeted us very kindly and asked us if we have been to this restaurant before. We told her, it was our first time. She welcomed us and told us in detail about the menu. Very helpful.
The menu is pretty simple and all on one page. They also have a good list of alcohol on their drinks menu. All dishes are meant to be shared, so everything is portioned size.
For starters we had the Rhode Island Oysters, Broccoli Rabe, The Creamy Polenta, and The Crispy Farm Egg.
1. Rhode Island Oysters were fresh, juicy, plump, and briny. Very refreshing.
2. Broccoli Rabe comes with anchovy, parmigiano, boiled egg. This was absolutely delicious. Broccoli Rabe is usually bitter, but it gets balanced out with the saltiness from the anchovy and parmigiano. The boiled egg also provides a nice softness to the Broccoli Rabe. One of the best Broccoli Rabe I have tasted. One of their signature dishes according to the restaurant.
3. The Creamy Polenta has sausage and cipollini on top. The polenta was melting in my mouth. The taste was just incredible. It was so smooth, creamy, a little savory, and almost sweet as well. I was amazed. I almost wanted to lick the plate.
4. The Crispy Farm Egg has wild mushroom, fingerlings, and prosciutto. The egg was runny on the inside and it oozes out as soon as you cut into it. Nice crisp on the outside. I like the saltiness from the mushroom and prosciutto. Everything compliments well with the Egg. It was good.
Our next round of dishes we decided to go with some pasta. We had the Spaghetti allo Scoglio and the Tagliolini.
We were given the option to half size the 2 pasta dishes, so we can try out both dishes without having too much pasta.
5. Spaghetti allo Scoglio has littleneck clams, rock shrimp, calabrese chilies. I was not expecting the sauce to have the kick in spice, but it was actually good. Not overpowering. A nice plate of pasta.
6. Tagliolini has chantarelle & royal trumpet mushrooms. I liked this pasta dish the best because it has mushrooms. The pasta was very flavorful and delicious.
For our dessert round, I was disappointed to hear that they did not have any nutella zeppole for today. We both ordered the Tiramisu and the Olive Oiled Cake with crème anglaise
7. The Tiramisu was very yummy. I’m not huge on coffee, but I enjoyed every bite of it.
8. The Olive Oiled Cake was very moist and the crème anglaise made extra yummy.
Overall the food was fantastic and delicious.
The environment is a lovely place to dine at.
The service was welcoming, friendly, attentive, and informative.
I’m definitely coming back here again, especially to get that nuttella zeppole and try out different dishes.

Like many reviewers before, I will sing the praises of The Saint Austere. The tasting menu for two (listed below) was one of the more perfect complete meals I’ve had in a long time. Filling, flavorful and at a good value ($ 60/​pp with wine pairing). Service was great and big ups to our waitress for not being annoyed with our wine substitutions as we were fairly picky that night. She was knowledgeable not only with the product being served, but also on the alternatives being offered. You know about most of the menu items below, so I will only add that the chicken is actually really, really good (juicy and crispy) and the top of the homemade tiramisu could be scraped off and sold in small baggies on the street, bc it’s incredibly addicting. Do it!
First Course:
Grilled Octopus (w/​pee-​wee potato.pimenton.roasted lemon) &
Broccoli Rabe (w/​anchovy.parmigiano.boiled egg)
Second Course:
Creamy Polenta (w/​sausage. cipollini) &
Cavatelli (w/​baby meatballs. pork sugo. pecorino)
Entrée:
Roasted Organic Half Chicken (w/​farro risotto. grilled maitake.salsify.porcini jus)
Dessert:
Housemade Tiramisu
(w/​dulce de leche mousse. espresso granita)
Bonus: I got to make multiple Wu Tang references during dinner bc of the 90’s hip-​hop soundtrack. Smiles all around.

New favorite Williamsburg dinner spot! We came here on a blustery winter night in the middle of the work week and were greeted by some of the most friendly wait staff I’ve had in New York. The bartender was courteous, our waitress explained everything on the menu and had great conversation skills, which I always appreciate.
But regardless of the wait staff, come here for the tapas! Glorious, glorious tapas. A really solid variety. As I’m sure everyone else recommends, get the polenta board! I’m pretty sure it rotates, but when we had it, it came with a pork ragu, trumpet mushrooms, sausages, balsamic braised cipollini, and meatballs. To DIE for, I can’t express that enough. The patatas bravas, a tapas classic, were also delicious because SRIRACHA MAYO, what else?
Cool, chic and sophisticated atmosphere. Simultaneously casual, with a classy dining twist.

One of our favorite spots in Williamsburg. Oyster happy hour, polenta board, great wine, solid service, romantic ambiance and vibe.
We’ve tried almost everything on the menu and we’ve yet to be disappointed. Great job, St. Austere.

I made reservations for Rus’ birthday dinner at The Saint Austere and left feeling really proud of myself for finding this romantic, yet affordable restaurant. And Rus was impressed too!
I made reservations for 9:30p (the first time slot available on OpenTable) but when we arrived, it was actually only half full, so we were seated right away! Maybe just call ahead instead of making a reservation.
The servers were extremely attentive throughout our entire meal, offering explanations of menu items and recommendations. We shared the creamy polenta, the crispy farm egg, grilled octopus, steak tartare, the mushroom tagliolini, and the tiramisu. To drink, Rus got the sour beer and I got the mezcal cocktail. The mezcal cocktail is so good! Not too overpowering, went perfectly with the meal.
Don’t pass on the creamy polenta or the tartare. They were both delicious and very generous portions. The crispy farm egg was also tasty, nicely fried on the outside with a runny yolk.
The best part of Saint Austere is definitely the ambiance. It’s not too dark, but lit by candles. Perfect backdrop for a date and not too heavy on your wallet. I can’t wait to go back.

Came here on a sat night — got a spot the bar. Highlights — polenta dish and meatball pasta. One downside is we ordered a bottle of red wine and the bottle we chose didn’t come out as it was out of stock. It would have been fine if the waiter told us — however, he just gave us a substitute and made no comment, and only advised us when we questioned him about it — in addition, the bottle he selected was pricier.

I don’t know if this place is packed every night but it should be. Luckily, I went here on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving so there was plenty of space for my party to walk in and get seated immediately. The ambiance is really intimate, dark, and romantic. The art along the wall is amazing and great conversation starters — I would imagine this is a perfect first date destination! Now onto the good stuff…
FOOD:
Cheese Board: It will come as a surprise that I’m giving this place 5 stars even when I wasn’t too impressed with the cheese board. The cheese we chose were relatively mild and I was hoping for something more unique. We chose 2 out of the 4 options so perhaps we just got unlucky. There wasn’t anything bad about the cheese, but nothing too special either. The accompaniments on the board were lovely — jams, spreads, and breads, all goodies.
((Their menu changes frequently so I kept all my descriptions general))
Creamy Polenta with Sausage: AHHHHHHH it’s so good I just want to shout it from the rooftops! Literally that’s all you need to know — just go get this and be happy about it!
Homemade Pastas: We tried one of their pastas that was stuffed with beautiful mushrooms (chanterelle, truffles, etc.) and a cream based sauce and it was amazing! As I’m writing this out, I don’t see it on their menu online so I’m guessing it’s gone. However, this dish was so good, I would venture to say that all their homemade pastas are on point.
Mixed Bag menu items: We ordered a very fall festive vegetable dish that had squash and sweet potatoes and other goodies that also seems to have fallen off the menu. It was well prepared, a good portion, and felt very healthy and organic. I’m guessing their menu is dependent on seasonal dishe so keep that in mind when ordering veggies!
CONCLUSION: I will be coming back here frequently and recommending it to everyone!

The extra star is really just for the cocktails and the service as they were all friendly and on point the entire meal (not to mention patient with us tasting wines before committing)! The food wasn’t everything I was anticipating it would be and having been the one to recommend the restaurant of choice this time, my foodie status is now somewhat compromised. Thanks.
To give it a fair shot, we ordered just about everything.
The stand outs– the bone marrow (as long as you dressed it with all of the fixin’s provided), polenta board and the cavatelli pasta (although the meatballs on the latter two dishes were overcooked and puck-​like including the rubber taste).
The not so special– the grilled octopus. Though the meat had a nice char and was tender, I wasn’t diving in for seconds nor was anyone else. For such a small piece, you would think it would have been devoured.
The bad and ugly– the pork chop. I have no idea what they were thinking with the beans and blue cheese combination and the brussel sprouts were boiled to the point where the dish looked putrid. Additionally, I was unimpressed with the broccoli rabe as well. The breadcrumbs were a nice touch, but I may have over appreciated them because they sopped up some of the goop from the abundance of dressing.
The ambiance was quaint and warm, not overcrowded or loud. I would come back for a cocktail and some bone marrow at the bar.

Happy hour from 6 – 8 for dollar oysters. The wine selection is solid and the best thing is their spicy sausage polenta. Hot damn it was good.

Everything was good. Don’t get the cheese plate, the portions are tiny. The waiting staff was vey attentive. A bit to attentive at points.
It’s a big pet peeve of mine: It’s spelled Dulce not Dulche. Dulche is not even a word… Also, its pronounced Dool seh, not dull che, it’s a Spanish word not an Italian one.

PO. LEN. TA. If there’s one thing you take away from this review, make it the polenta. It’s seriously THAT good. Order it. I’ve always considered polenta more of an underwhelming side dish, but at The Saint Austere, it is absolutely the crown jewel of the place. And with good reason. I can’t recall exactly what our server said about the preparation of dish, but I do remember that from start to finish, it’s about a 12-​hour cooking process. All that TLC is apparent once you take that first bite. The polenta is smooth and creamy, but not at all heavy. And when paired with the sausage and a wee bit of the oil/​sauce, it makes for the absolute perfect bite. Hands down, best polenta dish I’ve ever had. This dish by itself made the trek from Astoria worth it.
As for things non-​polenta related, let’s break down the rest of the evening. Arrived about 15 minutes late for our reservation (F U G-​train) on a Thursday night, but apparently we didn’t need one. The place was fairly empty, which is surprising given how highly touted this place is on Unilocal and how awesome the food really is (which we learned after the meal). The interior is cozy without many frills. A large wood-​topped bar takes up the majority of the space, but there are a couple of stand-​alone tables in the back. Chill hipster jams playing in the background (It’s Williamsburg. Duh) also worked in setting the atmosphere. All together, I really dug the vibe.
Before the food, we each ordered a cocktail. I went with a sazerac. No complaints. Well made, gave me that boozy-​kick I was looking for. While they do offer larger plates here, both of us tend to gravitate to tapas-​style dining, so we ended up ordering three other items, along with the Creamy Polenta, from the «Small Things» section of the menu: Broccoli Rabe, Wagyu Steak Tartare, Fritto Misto, and Creamy Polenta.
Broccoli Rabe — Very solid. The saltiness of the anchovy really worked to cut through the bitterness of the veg. And the sliced egg was a nice accompaniment that added both creaminess and a contrast in texture to the dish.
Wagyu Steak Tartare — Fairly run of the mill. The dish looked beautiful and tasted fine, but I wouldn’t order again. The flavors were just a bit muted to me. Good, just not great.
Fritto MIsto — Bonkers good. In my opinion, almost as memorable as the polenta. The seafood was fresh and tasty, and the crust was perfectly light and very crispy. The accompanying flavors of the lemon and fried thai basil leaves (I think?), put the dish over the top.
The service was more than on point. The servers were really patient as it probably took us around 30 minutes to figure out what we wanted to order. On top of that, they are ninjas at topping off water. Everyone was friendly the whole night and checked on us frequently. After tax and tip the final bill came out to $ 85. I consider this such steal given the booze and all the food we ordered.
The price point to food quality ratio is the reason why The Saint Austere is no-​brainer 5-​stars for me. Yes, the polenta is amazing, but so is almost everything else about this place. Will be back again. AND SOON.

You can’t go wrong with anything here at this local tapas spot.
We were lured by the $ 1 happy hour oysters. But the creamy polenta platter, broccoli rabe with anchovies, and green pasta really were amazing. I could have eaten a pot of the polenta itself.
Portions are small, so order a couple to share.
I’d definitely recommend The Saint Austere for good food and drinks to share tapas style

I have a lot to say about The Saint Austere, but I must lead with this: I have always been very open about my dislike of polenta. It’s not that I don’t like the taste, I’ve just always considered it a complete joke of a food. It’s this weird slop of cornmeal mash that’s not grits and not oatmeal and not potatoes and not any kind of starch that seems at all appetizing to me. Who knows when/​where/​why this aversion developed, but I clearly have a lot of feelings on the matter. Above all else, The Saint Austere receives the rare five star review from me because it convinced me — and the convincing process was far from easy — that I can not only tolerate polenta, but I can really really like it if I allow myself to.
I’ll rewind a bit. I came here on a Thursday night for dinner around 7:30. We had a reservation, but we certainly didn’t need one — the place was basically empty. Why, I have no idea. I’m not complaining. The space itself is pretty minimalist. There’s a large bar and several communal tables in back. Very conducive to the shared plates experience. The warm lighting with candles aplenty makes for a slightly intimate vibe.
We were told immediately upon sitting down that all of the food here is meant to be shared. Hallelujah! While some people get weird about sharing food, I get weird if people *won’t* share their food with me. Moocher extraordinaire in grade school. I own it. So my tip here is: if you/​your friends are not into this style of dining, probably not the best place to come. But you’d be really missing out and that would be very disappointing. Anyway, the two of us were on board, so we were in the right place.
On the drink front, they’ve got a good list of the classics here — and well done classics they are. I went with The Last Word, which is one of my go-​to gin drinks. Perfectly executed — zero complains. Now onto the main event…
We ordered:
–Fritto Misto: shrimp, squid, whitting, lemon (A)
–Broccoli Rabe: anchovies, parmigiano, boiled eggs (A/​A-​)
–THE Polenta: sausage and cipollini (A+)
–Wagyu Steak Tartare: shallots, capers, dijon vinaigrette (B+/A-).
–Fritto Misto was fantastic, especially with the extra bit of lemon. The seafood was just lightly fried and it came with what appeared to be crispy basil — I honestly don’t know. Whatever it was, the herb was quite spicy (in a good way) and was a fantastic compliment to the more mild flavors of the seafood.
–I was quite impressed with the broccoli rabe, actually. I’ve never had it prepared in this way, and it was incredibly yummy. I’m not sure if pairing hard boiled eggs w/​broccoli rabe is typical, but I found the combination very nice. The creaminess of the eggs paired with the juicy, bitter and slightly salty broccoli just worked.
–THE POLENTA: I wish I could remember the spiel they gave us about how they cooked it word for word. The explanation alone was pretty remarkable. Something like… it cooks over night, it’s re-​whipped everything three hours with butter and heavy cream… I don’t know. The point is, their polenta is their signature dish, and they’re clearly incredibly proud of it — for good reason! We both remarked that it was somehow light and heavy at the same time, which must have to do with TSA’s technique. The polenta I’ve had in the past is super grainy — like cream of wheat-​esque. NOT the case here. This polenta is creamy, buttery, melt-​in-​your-​mouth blissful. I’m a health nut, so it honestly took me a few bites to feel fully comfortable indulging, but man, am I glad I did. By the end of the meal I was freely dipping bread in this bowl of goodness. The sausage on top made the dish as a whole pretty salty, but I still enjoyed it immensely (if you couldn’t tell). This whole dish was one big innuendo, in the very best way.
–Wagyu steak tartare was good, but nothing special. I appreciated it, though, because it made our meal quite balanced. The flavors (coming from the capers in particular) were unlike those in our three other dishes — that as long as it being a cold preparation made for a nice fourth plate.
Service: A++. Not much to say here, but we were checked on frequently for food and drink orders, our food came out quickly and water glasses were refilled with supreme efficiency. They nearly broke both of our bladders.
To close this odyssey of a review, I just want to highlight two things:
1. The the flavor and texture profiles of the dishes here are top notch. The presentation alone is beautiful, but overall I just really appreciate how well the ingredients in each dish complemented each other. They all had a purpose — and a great one at that.
2. I rate a lot of bars/​restaurants based on a «bang for your buck» scale. We paid $ 70 for two cocktails and four plates. The food was scrumptious and the portions were generous — for a tapas/​shared plates joint, this bill really ain’t bad.

Very nice down to Earth place serving great Italian fare. This is the kind of place if Hipsters invaded Italy.
The salami platter was very good and for $ 18, it had a generous serving of meats.
For $ 8, you can select up to two cheeses.
The spicy sausage creamy polenta was very good. Not too spicy and had a lot of great flavor.
The spicy clam and shrimp spaghetti is very good but it’s on the spicy side. The kind of spicy that produces a slow burn that doesn’t go away fast.
The Nutella zeppole looked good although I didn’t eat it. The orange dipping sauce was tasty though.

I would like to start this review by saying my boyfriend and I really wanted to like the Saint Austere. It had stellar Unilocal reviews and we loved the décor when we first walked in. Unfortunately, everything was downhill from there.
Upon walking in, we told a waitress we wanted a table for two. She kindly told us that the matre d’ would be right with us. Unfortunately «right with us» dragged on for 10 minutes as we awkwardly stood in the middle of the restaurant unsure of where to stand. We were then told it would be a 15 minute wait, which was fine with us and we were seated quickly after.
We were both hungry, so we decided to do the tasting menu with wine pairings.
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First Course
Broccoli Rabe with anchovies, parmigiano, boiled eggs: The broccoli rabe was slightly undercooked which gave it a tough bitterness. The stalks were fibrous and cooked unevenly. The eggs were well cooked but unseasoned and boring. As a combination, the dish had an unappetizing aroma and messy presentation.
Cauliflower with confit tuna, bagna cauda: I don’t know how this dish ever made it on a restaurant menu. It was essentially cooked cauliflower with a can of tuna-​in-​oil opened and dumped on top. The aroma was awful and the flavor combination was disgusting. We each ate one bite. I’m confused as to who thought this was a good idea.
1^st Wine pairing: A very slightly sparkling white with a crisp finish. A decent, interesting wine that worked well to wash away the taste of the first dishes.
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Second Course
Creamy Polenta with sausage, cipollini: The polenta was very fine and creamy, which gave it an unsettling gooeyness. The sausage was plain and not married to the polenta flavors, i.e. two ingredients thrown into the same bowl without any real connection. The sausage oil was also drizzled on top of the polenta along with the sausage, so the entire dish was disjointed and greasy.
Housemade tagliolini with chanterelle and royal trumpet mushrooms: An entirely innocuous dish, but the pasta was unevenly cooked. Frankly, this dish was only inoffensive inasmuch as it was uninventive. With $ 10 worth of ingredients and 30 minutes, anyone could make this dish at home. I liked it more than my boyfriend, but only because I really love mushrooms.
2^nd Wine pairing: A passable Iberian red.
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Third course
Pork loin with cannellini beans, mustard sauce, and brussel sprout: The pork loin was served sliced over the beans and mustard sauce on a piece of bread. The brussel sprout was added on top like a garnish, but seemed to have no real place in the dish other than adding color. The pork was dry and the bean-​mustard combination had a mealy texture and earthy flavor. The dish would be improved by an acidic or tart element. The biggest disappointment was that the pork was improperly trimmed, so some slices had a slimy slab of soft fat over gristle instead of a delicious, crisped fat.
3^rd Wine pairing: A light, semi-​dry red that paired poorly with the fatty, dry pork.
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Fourth course
Tiramisu with dulce de leche and espresso granita: This dessert was the only item on the tasting menu that tasted like it «met par.» The mousse was delicious and the granita was well-​crafted. However…
4^th Wine Pairing: A chardonnay-​based champagne that was very bubbly. A disastrous pairing with this dish, as the acid and alcohol instantly curdled the mousse. Taking a sip after a bite of the tiramisu filled our mouths with a persistent spoiled taste. Texturally, the aggressive carbonation was also a mismatch.
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Food overall: ²⁄₅
Wine pairings overall: ²⁄₅
Service: ³⁄₅
Décor: ⁴⁄₅
Our waitress was very kind.

Fabrizio is a wonderful host. He introduced us to the menu and style of serving.
The staff is helpful, courteous and friendly.
We had the polenta board with varied toppings that we could have eaten all night long! Creamy, sweet and flavorful.
Frito misto was good but salty. Grilled octopus was disappointing. Usually love it but this was cold and slightly tough but chick peas and tomatoes were delicious. Broccoli rabe with eggs was very yummy.
½ roasted chix was moist and flavorful. They made the spinach cavatelli with tomato sauce for us and it was al dente and good.
Both the Nutella Zeppoles and the tiramisu were worth the calories.
Wine prices were pricey.
All in all would definitely recommend and return.

Perfect date night spot.
Staff is wonderful, helpful, funny & there really care about what you want to eat or drink and make sure you glass is always full, what to pair together and how much you enjoyed it. Great people!
Try all the cheeses you won’t go wrong, small palmful portions & the meats are great too. Come with sugar walnuts, dates, pickled relish & grapes. Can’t beat it !
Polenta is def. the MUST try like every other reviewer requested. You won’t go wrong and you lick up that bowl after. Even dip the delish over toasted sliced bread and they give you as much as you like. I don’t know how anyone can just not eat bread it’s everything!
Stack bar. Lots of wine choices.
Oysters.
Pastas are very good too.
Perfect tapas style place with sweet staff & lots of booze to go with it.
Great dessert choices.
The Check wasn’t even bad at all neither! Go for it!