Ryan F.
Yelp
Had brunch at Stone Park Cafe on Sunday morning. It involves planning if you want to visit without a long wait, but the food is solid and it is definitely one of the best locations to dine in the area.
Quality: Stone Park Cafe is the classic brunch spot in Park Slope. Nothing we ate blew me away, but it is quality breakfast food across the board in a beautiful setting. The first item I tried was the Short Rib Hash. A mix of short rib, potatoes, and onion, which we got with an over easy egg. The over easy egg was key because the hash was a little dry and needed the yolk to drip into it. Next was the Chef Omelet, filled with roasted garlic, spinach, sausage, cheddar, and potatoes. The roasted garlic was weird, but it was a pretty solid omelet. Finally were the Buttermilk Pancakes. The key is the berry compote, and I think they need to offer a slightly larger portion of it.
Quantity: Everything was standard in size, but I thought the practice of bringing one slice of toast was odd.
Value: $17 for the Short Rib Hash. $16 for the Chef Omelet. $16 for the Buttermilk Pancakes.
Ambiance: Stone Park Cafe is located in Park Slope across the street from Washington Park. On Sundays there is a farmers market in the area, so heavy foot traffic fills the surrounding area, which is already busy because of the playground and fields. They occupy the corner building with a pretty large indoor space. However, it is the outdoor patio they set up, which now extends to the street in front of the building, where folks want to brunch. It is a good sized area, but still no where near large enough to keep up with demand. They have umbrellas over most tables, but it can still be sunny and hot, so pick your day to visit carefully.
Crowd: They don't take reservations for brunch, so it is highly recommended that you arrive before they open. After 10am the line explodes and waits can vary from 45 minutes to 2 hours.
Service: They are always packed during weekend brunch, so I was initially surprised that it seemed like one server was handling the entire outdoor area. He ended up apologizing, unnecessarily, for the delay as it turned out two staff members had called out that morning in addition to them dealing with a break-in. Honestly, if that is what bad service looks like here, it is still better than most places on good days.
Parking: Limited street parking in the residential area parallel to the park.