Two Steps Down

My go to soul food spot in NY it’s so good it’s ridiculous. And the staff and owner is great. The music is great, authentic, down home southern food. The fried chicken, mac and cheese and collards are to die for!!!

Made it to the Members Only brunch on a Sunday… So dope. Rap and R&B, food you’ll actually enjoy, good DJ, strong drinks, and good crowd. Good prices! Definitely one of the best brunches I’ve been to… Especially in Brooklyn.

The good:
Friday is Karaōke night — they have a loyal, talented, LGBT friendly crowd that knows how to have a good time. The host comes with a solid collection of Karaōke favorite and the crowd happily joins in to sing along (and perform backup on the secondary mic). Also, the bartender and wait staff are all really nice and easy on the eyes (my sister oogled the young man with the dreads so badly that I swear she must have had a pool of saliva in her lap).
The bad:
The first night we went the food was awful. It felt like the kitchen was just not prepared to serve food (and now that I think about it, no one else was eating, so perhaps that was the case.) Unfortunately the food was so bad that when we stopped-​in a week later to find a private party, we all declined the offer of free food. No thank you… not even if you paid me. However, the drinks are satisfactory.
The ugly:
On our first ladies night out there my best friend eyed a cockroach crawling on the table. We were having such a good time that night that my sister killed it and tried to keep it moving (though I did zip up my bag and pockets… I’m always scared of taking bugs home). We told the host about the insect intrusion, feeling it was our duty to let a brother know. He didn’t seem too surprised, though he was smart enough to apologize. He checked with the manager about whether he could comp us anything for general grossness of the experience and returned with an offer to take my friends barely eaten entrée off the bill (really? she shouldn’t be charged for bad food anyway…). We debated whether or not we’d return, and decided the Karaōke was too fun to miss out on and since the food was so bad anyway we’d return the next week for cocktails only.
The never again:
Actually, I’m not even going to comment on the owner who was rather rude to me and my girls one Friday night a couple of weeks back. I’m over it BUT between the attitude and the roach, I won’t be patronizing again; which is rather unfortunate, because I REALLY REALLY like the Karaōke crowd. :-(
FYI — The Karaōke crowd is slightly mixed with most of the regulars being in their late 40s — mid-​50s. I’m an old soul, what can I say.

Recently had brunch and I was full as a tick! I love the customer service, the drinks were on point and I must go again! Love the cod fish fritters!

I came here for a birthday party. The food here is on point!

Love the bartenders here! They are so friendly and nice.

We stumbled in to this place to avoid the wait at every other brunch spot in the hood. It was EMPTY! We had the whole place to ourselves.
The food was tasty, not amazing, but you could tell it was not just thrown together. Someone put some love into it. Props go out to the cornbread and the fish cakes! both were very flavorful.
Our waitress was friendly and attentive. It must have been her first day, because she was nervous and timid to even approach us.

Went here with the family on a Sunday afternoon. The wait staff was nice, but clearly weren’t «experienced» wait staff. Other than that, the food was pretty good. The Mac and Cheese was average but the skin on the fried chicken, the cod cakes, the blueberry pancakes, cornbread, and even the cinnamon apples were all tasty. Initially they didn’t have a bloody mary (since I went for brunch), but about 5 minutes after ordering, they offered me one (after telling me they didn’t have any at the time). Worth stopping in if you are in the neighborhood, but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way for it.

Was there for an event recently-​good food, great location, and nice atmosphere.
Loved the upstairs, back lounge area.

Great drinks, great food! The décor and music create a nice ambiance for a date night. The staff is nice, and the service is good (albeit a bit long at times to wait for your order). And the prices are also very reasonable. This place has two levels and with a reservation they can definitely work to accommodate groups. I’ve been here several times because my sister lives in the neighborhood. We even rented out the second floor for an event, and we had a great time – we did an open bar, food, and with such a stylish place (color scheme and furniture) we really didn’t need to be concerned about decorating the place.

A neighborhood staple. Just as any establishment it has its good moments and bad issues with staff turnover and excessive wait times but those wait times should tell you in a market saturated with places to eat on DeKalb, TSD is still desirable. Helpful to call for reservation for Sunday brunches. WW

Good for a drink and maybe local music talent. Food is not the same as years ago so as my mom says «bring your own food». $ 25 for filet mignon that isn’t tasty is a double-​insult. I went on 4÷11÷2010 with my mom and aunt and although the entertainment was warm, fun and cozy, we were thoroughly disappointed with the food (I wanted the duck w/​sweet potato and spinach; they took my order and after serving the other people, only then was I told they were out of the sweet potato. They wanted to substitute totally inappropriate sides so I decided to have the mac and cheese (the best of the choices available) and after 5 more mins they came back and said «we are out of spinach». I ended up having the average but etible buffalo wings. My mom had the steamed mussels and clams in broth which was served in too much broth and no bread or accompanyment. Aunt and mom also had fried oysters. Were too battered and small (more batter than oyster).
Take my advice. There are plenty other cool places to eat and enjoy in Bklyn. Enjoy them before you go to Two Steps Down.

While visiting New York, I always try to find time to come to this little gem of a restaurant.
The restaurant is appropriately named Two Steps Down because there are two steps you must go down to get to the entrance. Located next to the Pratt Institute in Fort Greene, Two Steps Down provides the artsy college folk with the atmosphere that would befit a talented maverick. The lights are dim, the service is quality, and the food is savory and unforgettable.
Mavericks aside, this place can satisfy anyone’s need for fabulous cuisine. The first time I came here I was 8 or 9. I sampled their seafood selection and from what I remember it was beyond delicious.
That was also the same night I saw Spike Lee. At the time, I didn’t know who he was. I was young, so I hadn’t seen any of his movies. Thinking about it now, having Spike Lee come to your restaurant is a pretty big deal. If a famous movie director who happens to be a Brooklyn native likes to frequent a restaurant, who is anyone to question that restaurant’s reputation?
The most recent time I went here was in 2005. I ordered the salmon which was the best I’d ever had. It was a cooked and seasoned perfectly. I walked out feeling like I did so long ago; satisfied.
The great thing about New York is that you can know everything there is to know about one neighborhood and be completely ignorant about the next. There’s always something new to discover because the city is larger than life. Unilocal is a perfect example of this because of all the places that have been Unilocaled in this city, Two Steps Down has not been discovered until today.
Well, for those epicurious enough to venture to this review, may you be warned. You’ll will take two steps down into a dimly lit restaurant. You will be seated by a generous staff. And you will walk out satisfied.