The Camlin

Great experience with my group of 5 friends including me. Not just a bar, not just a restaurant. Sort of a loungy restaurant bar haha. Wait staff was friendly yet efficient. We had basically everything on the menu and it was all fantastic. Good selection of draft beers, wines, and cocktails. Very relaxing chill environment to share tapas or larger dishes with friends.

I read about this restaurant when they originally opened through a Gothamist article, and they specifically piqued my interest because of the country ham on the charcuterie menu. I’d never seen that before so was instantly intrigued, being the native southerner that I am. We finally made it to The Camlin months later on my birthday. My boyfriend and I came here for an early dinner on a Friday night. We were in the happy hour window, so I enjoyed a $ 6 glass of wine and my boyfriend had a $ 7 cocktail. We ordered a dozen oysters and a cheese/​charcuterie plate to start (we did one of the goat cheeses and the country ham). I’m told the oysters were delicious (I don’t eat them), but wow did I love the country ham! It was sliced as thin as prosciutto which was a new one for me.
For our meal, we split the sampler plate (pick four appetizers) and we got: Jamaican jerk wings, pretzel bites with beer cheese sauce, deviled eggs, and crostini with ricotta cheese. The wings were incredible — such tangy flavor! The pretzel bites were good, nice and pillowy rather than too chewy. The deviled eggs were great– piled high with the yolk mixture and you had to eat it in two bites! My absolute favorite part of the meal was the crostini with ricotta. So simple but wow did they flavor that crostini incredibly. I still think about it and cannot wait to go back.
We got all of this food, along with two beverages a piece, for $ 75 (without tip). Such a great deal and I’ll definitely be back during happy hour! I highly recommend this restaurant.

An awesome spot. Been here for brunch. The avocado toast and the maple latte is just so good. Lunch and dinner is great too. I love the atmosphere-​lots of candles and good music. Extensive wine list and the food is fresh and thoughtfully made. I could probably come here several times a week and not get tired of it. The friendliness of the staff also make me and my guest feel so welcome. Love!

Great spot for a nice dinner. The atmosphere is very warm and modern, the staff is efficient, the food was very good (we mostly shared small plates which were all quite tasty and not overpriced by Williamsburg standards).
All in all this is a great spot for a date or a small group dinner (4 – 6 people).

Came for brunch. Great drinks and oysters. Cheeses were on point! Entrees were a bit lackluster. I recommend for cocktails and oysters.

Cute brunch place/​wine bar in Brooklyn with the main advantage of never being crowded. Decent portion and prices, strong coffee drinks and friendly staff, it’s a go-​to in the neighborhood. Bonus for the complimentary sparkling water. Minus points for waiting forever to take the order and get the check and the Ikea-​like tables.

Went here for an early dinner with my boyfriend. We weren’t starving, so we appreciated the concise menu with small plates, and especially $ 1 oysters (all day every day). Not easy to find in Williamsburg.
Sat down at a table by the window. The restaurant is sleek/​modern and the staff were super friendly. They have a great selection of wine but I kept it simple with a draft beer which also had a decent selection. Our server let us know the daily choice of oysters (there were 2 east coast and 2 west coast on this particular day) so we ordered a dozen (3 of each). We also ordered the small plate sampler which allows you to choose any 4 of their «snack & share» plates. We chose the cheese croquettes, grilled jerk wings, lamb skewers, and shrimp skewers.
First the oysters — wonderful, clean, delicious, and $ 1 each. So yummy… my boyfriend being a novice to the world of oysters, appreciated seeing and tasting the differences between east and west coast varieties. Our favorite were the Nisqually (sp??) which were a west coast variety and good balance between mild/​fishy and size (not huge like the blue points and not tiny & extremely fishy like the other west coast we tried).
Then the small plates. The obvious star of the show were the Jerk Wings, with a wonderfully tangy, slightly spicy crust. Very good. The croquettes provided a welcome balance of fried cheesy goodness. Lamb skewers were decent, with a ground middle eastern spiced lamb mix. The only dud were the shrimp skewers which seemed nothing more than cooked shrimp on a stick. Not sure what happened with these.
Overall we were super satisfied and left so happy that I forgot my debit card! I didn’t realize until the next day when I placed a call to let them know. A friendly manager called me back some time later that day and assured me they had my debit card and would send it in the mail for me.
Overall we were pleasantly surprised with the Camlin. I have friends in the area and none of them have tried it yet. I’m not sure why not, perhaps it’s a newer restaurant? Regardless, it was a random pick that turned out to be one of the highlights of our day in Brooklyn. Thx Camlin, we’ll be back. :)

One previous two-​star reviewer (I won’t name any names, but his name rhymes with Mavid Daitch) actually used the words banal, perfunctory, mealy and infantilizing to describe something as silly and unimportant as a wine bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. While this shows a high level of intelligence and wide range of vocabulary by Mavid, this in no way speaks to his taste. See, my little rat-​sized brain, which doesn’t even know what most of those words even mean, breaks things in life down into two categories. Really good and really bad. The Camlin was really good.

Easily my best find in my neighborhood in a year. The Camlin not only has an outstanding, well-​curated, thoughtful wine list that will appeal to a wide range of palates, but it has top-​notch, blow-​your-​socks-​off food to match. I’m embarrassed that it took me this long to visit a restaurant a few blocks away; forgive me for my inborn bias against both «West Williamsburg» and new condo buildings :)
The oysters on offer displayed a range of styles — from sweet to briny to creamy — and were prepared with care — no stray shells or dirt here. Not a single miss could be found on the appetizer platter, with the surprise standout being the pretzel bites with beer cheese and mustard. Of course, an «easy» item, but one prepared at a high level, moist and flavorful. The same can be said for the crostini with pea purée and the lamb skewers, as succulent as any I’ve had. We also split the pasta with peas, which uses the whey from the included cheese as a sort of sauce, making for a light, refreshing summer dish.
But of course, this is a wine bar, and I’ll go so far as to declare that while LCD Winesystem aka the Four Horsemen may win on hype and celebrity affiliation, as well as wine intellectualism, The Camlin easily bests it in terms of my palate. The wines on offer are the right amount of esoteric — a Bonarda from Argentina, a Muller-​Thurgau from Italy, a Viognier from Virginia, an Etna Rosso — while packing exceptional flavor. The owners also operate Ardesia in Hell’s Kitchen, a well-​known stop on the wine circuit. They have hit it out of the park with this new venture. I’ll be back.

Fantastic place! It reminds me of the tasting rooms in Sonoma. A refreshing departure from the normal Brooklyn aesthetic. Very good for groups. Great wine and great food. The charcuterie is amazing. My favorite new spot in bkln.

Oh gosh. This was probably my first time to Williamsburg in about 10 years. So totally different now. The Camlin is on a nice quiet little block just off the water, and right next to Oddfellows (hello dessert!). We had a blackboard eats coupon which is why we made the trek down, and I’m so glad we did.
Their interior is very Scandinavian modern. Clean and simple, low tables with stools and benches (not a fan of stools personally, I like to be able to sit back, but that’s just personal preference). It’s a very nice open, calming atmosphere.
During the summer it appears that they run a special menu of roses by the glass. Which is awesome. They’re all decently priced and served perfectly chilled. Really can’t complain.
We ordered the appetizer sampler with the lamb kebabs, the goat cheese and pea crostini, the cheese croquettes, and the deviled eggs. I can say with certainty that not a single one of these was disappointing. The lamb kebabs were actually ground lamb, similar to keftedes, and seasoned to perfection. They were perfectly cooked, juicy, not dry. Ugh. I wish I had ordered a whole ‘nother plate of them. The cheese croquettes remind me very much of the ones popular in Holland. A fluffy potato and cheese mixture that’s deep fried yet somehow still light and airy. You could probably eat a million and not even feel stuffed. And that’s not a bad thing. The winner though, by far, were the deviled eggs. And I don’t even like deviled eggs. I don’t know what voodoo magic goes into those but I nearly had to fight off my fiancé so I could finish mine.
The entrees are very much focused on that sort of whole grain healthy eating that’s all the rage right now. Which doesn’t really bother me. Everything comes in large portions so you don’t leave hungry. I ordered the chopped salad which comes artfully plated in neat little rows of chopped vegetables and grains that you mix together. It was the perfect dinner for a hot summer night.
By the end of the meal we were so totally stuffed we couldn’t even walk next door to Oddfellows to look. Which I think is the real win here. We will definitely be coming back. It’s a nice quiet spot off the main drag in Williamsburg so it feels more intimate. So happy we found this place.

The Camlin is a wonderful spot for both a group dinner or a romantic date. We came here as a group of 6 and were easily accommodated. The ambiance/​décor is so modern and chic, and felt very taken care of by our server.
We wanted to try as much as possible, and we enjoyed absolutely everything. We started with 12 oysters, deviled eggs, pretzel nuggets, shrimp skewers, and a selection of cheese. My favorite item was the deviled eggs, which were SO good (and I’m very particular about my deviled eggs). The portions were shareable and the server helped us order enough for everyone. Their cheese selection was very vast and we got to try some unfamiliar types. For larger items, we ordered the chopped salad, the sauteed sugar snap peas, and the bibb lettuce salad. The two salads were SO good, I would go back just for them. They were so hearty and creative (especially the chopped) and everyone really enjoyed them. The peas were also good, but just a tad too saucy.
The Camlin also has a fantastic drink list, and their sommelier is extremely knowledgeable. I loved the two different negronis, and I was able to dry wines that I had never heard of before. I really appreciated how varied and well-​curated the wine list was (but also very approachable at the same time).
I highly recommend checking out this restaurant, plus the view is pretty cool too!

Very underwhelming. We ordered oysters, sampler platter and the trout. On the sampler we had the jerk wings, chorizo croquettes, olives and shrimp skewers. The chorizo croquettes were delicious, we should have just ordered those. Olives are olives. What more can you say about them. The jerk wings didn’t have enough jerk in my opinion. And the shrimp skewer was literally just that.
Oysters were good, the Montauk ones were the best, very sweet finish.
Now onto the trout. It was pretty much just salt and lemon on a plate. Very disappointing.
PS — I’m still hungry.

Wow. This was a great meal.
The restaurant itself was neat, modern, chic. Great vibes from just walking in.
Started off with 18 oysters and was pleasantly surprised that they were only $ 1 each until 7 PM. They were decent sized, fresh, and tasty.
Then we had the chicken liver mousse crostini. This was my personal favorite. very generous serving of the liver, and the toast was perfect, finished off with a bit of balsamic vinegar. DELICIOUS!
The grilled jerk wings were ok. Nothing to rave about, but can’t complain either.
The hanger steak was pretty good, served with charred broccoli that was a little bit too sour for my taste.
The trout fillet was tasty, would recommend it.
For dessert, get the ice cream sandwich with Oddfellows miso cherry ice cream. You won’t regret it. AMAZING!
If you can’t tell from my use of caps/​!!, my favorites were the chicken liver mousse crostini and the miso cherry sammich. HIGHLY recommend.
Will definitely return to The Camlin in the near future. Good vibes, GREAT service, and some pretty damn good food. Excited to try their cocktails next time when I’m not driving.

Gonna keep it real. This is where you go for wine if you are in the area and too lazy to go farther. If you’re hungry or have options, this ain’t it.
I tried a few different wines — they were pretty good. 3 stars for that.
We had the 3 crostinis and the hangar steak. Crostinis were pretty fair. Not memorable and not bad. Just kind of plain and lacking any real punch or flavor. The steak was labeled a large plate. It’s not. But it was decent. Already cut up and with broccoli. A little too lemon-​y but not bad. For dessert we got the pound cake. I don’t think I’ve had anything that bad in… a while. Stale and flavorless. Weird sauce. Don’t do it.
Had to subtract a star for service. Had to flag down our guy one too many times and it wasn’t even that busy. Will not be returning.
End result: go here if you are wandering around in the area and need a glass of wine. To be fair, other reviewers had oysters and items I didn’t try — maybe those are exceptional. I won’t be back though, there are just too many better options within walking distance.

Summary:
This neat little relaxing restaurant with a cool chic vibe is one of the new additions to this expanding neighborhood. It’s got great tasty, and best of all, healthy food and a great wine selection.
The Atmosphere:
This place feels very clean and fresh. The colors remind me of some ocean side restaurant. The dining area feels very loungy and relaxing. My girlfriend and I came here for a special occasion and arrived around 7 when it was pretty quiet but then filled up rather quickly. It’s got a great balance between chic and casual which is not pretentious and not hipsterish as much of the neighborhood tends to be.
The Food:
We ordered oysters which were phenomenal. Originally we ordered 6 which were a very hearty size and portion. We followed that up with the hanger steak with broccoli. I am usually very picky with my beef and they did not disappoint! The steak came with a warm red center and just melted in your mouth. The broccoli was cooked just right with a slightly smoky flavor which complimented the meat quite well. I paired that with a Willamette valley pinot (a bit on the expensive side at $ 15/​glass) but sooooo worth it. My girlfriend had one of the cabs which she enjoyed quite well.
The Service:
Impeccable! We ordered 6 oysters but were mistakenly given 12 and our server Emma took care of the mishap in such a friendly way. She made some stellar wine recommendations which we enjoyed immensely. One of the best servers we’ve had the pleasure of having. Magnificent!
Tip:
Come on the earlier side if you don’t have a reservation and they can fit you right in. With a reservation, we got one of the best seats in the house.
Definitely have the Willamette pinot noir. It’s excellent.

What a perfect Sunday afternoon should be.
Opt for the Über fresh oysters and the ice cold rosé

Great spot to have a night cap, glass of wine, small bite, etc. Stopped in for a glass of wine on the way home from being out in manhattan. Ordered the deviled eggs and boy they were fantastic! Very creamy and surprise crunch. Cannot wait to come back to sample more menu items.
The ambiance was on point. Nice lighting and a sexy feel as well. Great seating with intimate, loungy seating. Bar is a few steps down…

They have a huge variety of wines! The chopped salad was so flavorful and delicious. The cheese platters seem to be the most popular.
Being vegan I can’t really try their various dishes, but they were kind enough to prepare a vegan sauce to go along my salad (:

I live right upstairs and when they opened on Valentine’s Day I was anxious to try it out. Was in a few times for a glass of wine, a first date and a last stop before bed on a weekend night. Bartenders and manager are tops and super friendly. Always good when you are considering to name a place your new «regular» they know your name like Cheers and they do. Check.
Last Sunday met a student for brunch here and ate the food for the first time (beyond some lamb skewers to go on that last stop eve… don’t ask). The house cured pastrami and eggs were the best I’ve had. Not salty. Just right.
I sit here now on a rainy Saturday having brunch again and some Sumptown coffee. The breakfast burrito (oh Cali) is robust and sausage meaty with peppers, potatoes and eggs. I’m in.
Been eyeballing the quail lasagna since the beginning so I’ll have to give that a go soon one night. 4−7pm two bucks off all wine and such weekdays. Huge assortment and they know their stuff.
Yes this is the «grown up» Williamsburg but if you’re soon to be 40, haven’t lived on Bedford since your late 20s with roomies and met some of your best friends at Spike Hill (rip)…this might be your jam.