Elephant and Castle is one of my favorite restaurants to frequent. They have the most impressive and underrated burger in all of nyc. It’s fatty and thick, but not dense. The bun is toasted and soaks up the fat from the burger. The mustard that comes on the side is divine. This burger can stand on its own without any fancy toppings and simply put, it’s perfect.The spaghettini is unique: olives and capers in a tomato paste-like sauce. While it strikes me as nontraditional, it’s delightful nonetheless.Normally we order a crepe for dessert. However, this time we got the cherry pie. Consistent with the rest of the food, it was simple and delicious.I can’t stress enough how much I love it here: from the homey decor, to the great service, to the wonderful crowd of customers, which often consists of older folks catching up or individuals quietly enjoying food on their own. The music plays softly in the background and you can hear gentle conversation along with the clinks and clanks of silverware. Everything about this place brings me comfort. Plus, it holds a special place in my heart as the spot where my partner and I shared our first meal together. 10/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spaghettini
G V.
The food is mediocre with no standout dishes. The brunch menu feels basic and overpriced, especially considering the $5 charge for an iced tea served in a small wine glass. The Canyonland eggs dish was disappointing, consisting of only cherry tomatoes, minimal avocado slices, and mushrooms. Overall, not worth the price. Service is decent, and ambiance is fine.
Tom M
Lovely quaint spot in the Village with great food and warm and welcoming service. Can't believe it only took me 35 years to finally walk in this bistro. I'll be back sooner than that for sure.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Julian Tanke
Pricy for the quality of food, but the staff is nice and the place has a nice
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
james amster
This little neighborhood favorite is known for its brunch and burgers. Def try for its house made limeade and ginger beer too. The specials are also always on
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Toby R.
Great brunch! Got there when it opened,so it was quiet. Coffee and food were great. Service pleasant and attentive.
Jesse Cole
The food and service are fantastic.
Don
Fantastic service, beautiful ambiance and great Food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anastasiia Yamelynets
Great burgers, nice ambiance, a very cute & cozy place for dinner.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Elephantburger
Kentaro Higuchi
Tavern like vibes inside and it seems old school but the service is just fantastic.Food is great! Ordered the burger and I typically prefer smash burgers but this may top that now. The burger itself wasn’t too dense so it was easy to eat and not overly chewy. 10/10 burger which I also added cheese.My favorite style of fries as well but I’m tryna find out what style it is!
Yum. Delicious brunch. Great specials. A never boring menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anonymous P.
The John Kouka team was running short on staff for this (Covid and flu), but we still feel that our review is accurate. The food is bad. We tried (in order of bad to better) the butternut squash soup, the fried calamari, and the salmon omelette. What they shared was a lack of flavor or taste. It was akin to eating air with texture. The John Kouka team was very disturbed because air usually does not have texture. In fact, we enjoy fried calamari (CAL-im-eri) very much, but this was bland and the bread covering also tasted bland (or did not taste). There was some weird mayonnaise sauce thingy on the side that looked like a lil' pot of lard with dill sprinkles? The salmon omeletta platter was fine, but the Cucumber Dill Yogurt managed a way to just be yogurt without the Cucumber or Dill. They should of renamed it salmon omeletta yogurt. So to end the soup was absolutely the worst I've ever had except that would be implying that it had taste and was food. It was orange water. This place is known because Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth bused tables there, but did not see her there. Big disappointment! "Elephant and Castle" (it should be Elephant and the Castle maybe it's some English grammar) might have been named after England's Royal Family's colonization of India? Gross. The only reason they got 2 stars was the ambiance, the food is -2 stars.
Nigel W
Loved this place. A great, laid-back, pub-like atmosphere. Perky, friendly serving staff. We had a delicious special – tender, lime-marinated chicken breast with cranberry salsa – and shared an excellent Caesar salad. It felt like a lot of locals and regulars ate here – it had a real neighbourhood feel - and we chatted freely to two different groups of people at the next table (one left, another arrived), both associated with the NY gay community. Fascinating. The great thing for us was that the E&C doesn't take reservations. Another restaurant had screwed up our booking, so we fortunately ended up here and got a table immediately.
Mark Lewis
Excellent dinette. Great place for us to have brunch with our adult kids before leaving NYC for DC.
Wonderful food, and inviting staff. Enjoyed dinner with a friend and it was great for conersation. Enjoyed the host explaining the restauraunt name. Enjoy!
Elephant and Castle is one of my favorite restaurants to frequent. They have the most impressive and underrated burger in all of nyc. It’s fatty and thick, but not dense. The bun is toasted and soaks up the fat from the burger. The mustard that comes on the side is divine. This burger can stand on its own without any fancy toppings and simply put, it’s perfect.The spaghettini is unique: olives and capers in a tomato paste-like sauce. While it strikes me as nontraditional, it’s delightful nonetheless.Normally we order a crepe for dessert. However, this time we got the cherry pie. Consistent with the rest of the food, it was simple and delicious.I can’t stress enough how much I love it here: from the homey decor, to the great service, to the wonderful crowd of customers, which often consists of older folks catching up or individuals quietly enjoying food on their own. The music plays softly in the background and you can hear gentle conversation along with the clinks and clanks of silverware. Everything about this place brings me comfort. Plus, it holds a special place in my heart as the spot where my partner and I shared our first meal together. 10/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spaghettini
The food is mediocre with no standout dishes. The brunch menu feels basic and overpriced, especially considering the $5 charge for an iced tea served in a small wine glass. The Canyonland eggs dish was disappointing, consisting of only cherry tomatoes, minimal avocado slices, and mushrooms. Overall, not worth the price. Service is decent, and ambiance is fine.
Lovely quaint spot in the Village with great food and warm and welcoming service. Can't believe it only took me 35 years to finally walk in this bistro. I'll be back sooner than that for sure.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Pricy for the quality of food, but the staff is nice and the place has a nice
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
This little neighborhood favorite is known for its brunch and burgers. Def try for its house made limeade and ginger beer too. The specials are also always on
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great brunch! Got there when it opened,so it was quiet. Coffee and food were great. Service pleasant and attentive.
The food and service are fantastic.
Fantastic service, beautiful ambiance and great Food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great burgers, nice ambiance, a very cute & cozy place for dinner.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Elephantburger
Tavern like vibes inside and it seems old school but the service is just fantastic.Food is great! Ordered the burger and I typically prefer smash burgers but this may top that now. The burger itself wasn’t too dense so it was easy to eat and not overly chewy. 10/10 burger which I also added cheese.My favorite style of fries as well but I’m tryna find out what style it is!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Yum. Delicious brunch. Great specials. A never boring menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The John Kouka team was running short on staff for this (Covid and flu), but we still feel that our review is accurate. The food is bad. We tried (in order of bad to better) the butternut squash soup, the fried calamari, and the salmon omelette. What they shared was a lack of flavor or taste. It was akin to eating air with texture. The John Kouka team was very disturbed because air usually does not have texture. In fact, we enjoy fried calamari (CAL-im-eri) very much, but this was bland and the bread covering also tasted bland (or did not taste). There was some weird mayonnaise sauce thingy on the side that looked like a lil' pot of lard with dill sprinkles? The salmon omeletta platter was fine, but the Cucumber Dill Yogurt managed a way to just be yogurt without the Cucumber or Dill. They should of renamed it salmon omeletta yogurt. So to end the soup was absolutely the worst I've ever had except that would be implying that it had taste and was food. It was orange water. This place is known because Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth bused tables there, but did not see her there. Big disappointment! "Elephant and Castle" (it should be Elephant and the Castle maybe it's some English grammar) might have been named after England's Royal Family's colonization of India? Gross. The only reason they got 2 stars was the ambiance, the food is -2 stars.
Loved this place. A great, laid-back, pub-like atmosphere. Perky, friendly serving staff. We had a delicious special – tender, lime-marinated chicken breast with cranberry salsa – and shared an excellent Caesar salad. It felt like a lot of locals and regulars ate here – it had a real neighbourhood feel - and we chatted freely to two different groups of people at the next table (one left, another arrived), both associated with the NY gay community. Fascinating. The great thing for us was that the E&C doesn't take reservations. Another restaurant had screwed up our booking, so we fortunately ended up here and got a table immediately.
Excellent dinette. Great place for us to have brunch with our adult kids before leaving NYC for DC.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Elephantburger, Charcoal Grilled Burger
Wonderful food, and inviting staff. Enjoyed dinner with a friend and it was great for conersation. Enjoyed the host explaining the restauraunt name. Enjoy!