A Perfect Dining Room Grows In Brooklyn

Daphne's had me at white tablecloths and great martinis

I can’t tell if it’s just because we’ve been in the dregs of an especially cruddy winter, the rising cost of everything, or both, but I had a few depressing conversations with friends in the restaurant industry over the last few weeks. It’s hard all over, but the New York City dining landscape does feel especially messed up these days. Rent is always a problem, and the fact that it feels like eggs will have to be delivered by armored truck the way things have been going doesn’t help things much. A friend I bumped into as he was going to his highly-acclaimed and recently-closed wine bar to sell somebody the printer they once used to make daily menus, told me it was a few factors, from the hit they took during the pandemic to the fact that the location maybe wasn’t suited for a place that had the best wine list in the area and a small, but mighty food menu that wasn’t really good for delivery. Some people have said the dining sheds helped boost business, and now that extra revenue is gone since they have less tables to serve; another told me there’s simply just nothing exciting happening and people aren’t as interested in restaurants as they were just a few years ago. More than a few owners blamed the reservation and delivery apps they use, the ones designed to make them more money and streamline things. OpenTable is the new Resy.

I also can’t help but add my own observation that the well has been pumped dry of inspiration. It feels like just a decade ago everything was organic this or small plates that, then things moved from it being about the food to the experience. And by that I mean it felt like most places were being designed to get on Instagram or TikTok, the food came in second. I suppose that came in handy coming out of the pandemic when places were doing everything they could to get business, but it ultimately created this really horrible experience for those of us that just want to enjoy ourselves when we go out and not feel like we’re in the middle of a reality show taping. I could also do without getting another camera flash in my eyes when I’m about to take a bite of food. I get sometimes it happens on mistake, but if your phone’s light goes off more than once so you can take multiple pictures, then I think you should be 86d from the establishment.

But that’s a whole other conversation. Today I’m trying to look on the bright side. I’ve been clocking what I personally think works, and last night I found myself at Daphne’s in Bed-Stuy, trying to remind myself it just opened last year and hasn’t been a neighborhood fixture for decades. That’s what I want more of. Everything feels like it’s being built for the short-term these days, like the whole world is a pop-up; it’s nice to go somewhere that feels like it has been there a long time and it will stick around. Right now, Daphne’s is one of three places represent that feel to me in Brooklyn, but I was especially moved by how Gary Fishkop and Paul Cacici’s Italian joint had white tablecloths, moody lightning, wonderful pasta, and the music was at a nice level. I don’t want to sound like an old man kvetching about the volume, but places often don’t know how to strike a balance between what’s appropriate when the place is packed on Saturday and when it’s a chill Sunday evening. Emily got the spaghetti with crab, I got the gemelli with beef cheek ragu. The martinis were wonderful, and we were there for my sister-in-law’s birthday, so I suggested we try all three desserts on the menu. When we left around 10, the place was still buzzing, the servers weren’t pacing around looking annoyed like they wanted everybody out, and I almost wished we’d told our babysitter we were going to stay out a little later because…it was nice. We walked out and I looked at the smart layout of the Daphne’s dining room and thought, gee, this looks like a nice place for a 1940s mafia hit. That’s where my mind goes when I’ve had a few drinks, but I also thought it the moment we walked in. There’s just something appealing about those white tablecloths and not seeing a bunch of tables jammed together. It felt like moody Big Night to me.

All I want these days is a perfect dining room. I usually find them when I go to older places, but Daphne’s is one of three newer Brooklyn restaurants that has me hoping that the newest trend is simply a nice space for a delicious meal. The other two are Strange Delight in Fort Greene and Ingas Bar in Brooklyn Heights. All three of those places feel like they’re there to serve the neighborhood, and not like they’re part of a larger “concept” that the owners want to see open up all over the country, in every gentrified city across the land. I know that idea sounds incredibly basic, but I think that’s the point. We need more great restaurants to try and be a little basic. And I don’t mean “basic” in the way we’ve taken that term to mean something bad and boring; I mean some things will always work and you don’t need to get all crazy with the decor. Make it a place I want to go back to, and not somewhere I just want my picture taken. That idea feels almost antiquated, but I think if there’s some key to longevity, it’s making sure people from around the neighborhood keep coming back. It would be nice to have some new classics I can feel like will be there for the long haul.