Joshua F.
Yelp
Terasa North Ninth is a Mediterranean/Balkan restaurant located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. As a local to the neighborhood, TNN had been on my radar for some time. The location which it occupies is generally considered to be cursed, having hosted several restaurants and cafés over the last six years. TNN seemed to last a little longer than most, so we decided to give it a try and the results were unfortunate.
I made a reservation for a Thursday evening, which turned out to be unnecessary. The man who seated us, presumably the owner based on the way he behaved, seemed flustered by the idea of a reservation and instead insisted we just give him the number of our party and seated us unceremoniously at a small table by the bar. The decor is quite pretty on the inside, though with one corner dedicated to a a unnecessary and out of place DJ set up - The interior left us quite puzzled. The music emanating from the set up was loud, far too loud for the space and far too loud for the hour. So loud in fact, that we had difficulty hearing the waiter as he rattled off a list of items that were not available off the menu, including two soups and the risotto. It is generally a bad sign when a restaurant can not produce soup, dishes which can be prepared early in the day and can be held for an entire night of service - if not for several days. Perhaps the cooked didn't show up that day? The case of the missing risotto is a little bit more confusing; perhaps the black truffle as advertised on the menu was too expensive or perhaps the cook just simply did not feel like cooking risotto today.
My partner and I each ordered a glass of wine, the waiter awkwardly and without explanation insisting that my partner order a different class insisting that he would "like it more." When asked for input on appetizers, the waiter suggested the dip sampler - which turned out to be a mixed bag. The baba ghanoush was under seasoned and needed salt badly. The hummus was yummy and the spicy feta dip was the highlight, not too spicy and lovely and it's creaminess. The dish unfortunately was served with too much dip and not enough bread, prompting another waiter to offer a refill on the pita. This refill came piping hot and with an extra one dollar charge.
No sooner had we began our second round of pita, our entrées arrived, the server awkwardly juggling plates in order to remove the just barely finished appetizer as he slid the pasta dish my partner ordered and the stuffed eggplant which I had ordered onto the small table. The stuffed eggplant left a lot to be desired, the eggplant itself was under season and the vegetable stuffing mirrored the concoction one would find on an "everything" veggie pizza, complete with a cold puddle of red sauce - The consistency and lingering metallic taste of which indicated that it had been canned and not spruced up in the kitchen. My partner's pasta dish, which was advertised as having a cream sauce based in corn and top with truffle oil, tasted more of the farm than of the Italian countryside. Like mine, it was lacking in salt and seasoning, "One note" as my partner remarked.
The service in this restaurant was fast, blistering really fast, too fast for a restaurant that advertises itself as Mediterranean and which has the ambience which would suggest a relaxing, long night of candlelight conversation over wine. Once we had finished eating, however, our waiter seem to disappear. It took just as long to get our check as it took to eat, and even more to pay. The man who I identified as the owner and a number of staff had clustered themselves at the far end of the bar, seemingly ignoring many of the patrons and chatting amongst them selves. They appeared to be waiting for someone, anxiously exchanging glances and then looking at the door, the out of place DJs music pounding away. I finally resorted to rising the check above my head and an attempt to flag someone down.
Just as I did so, a man entered the restaurant and the staff which had clustered around the bar immediately sprang into motion, gesturing to him to come to over - as though the entire restaurant existed for the arrival of this one individual.
We paid and left, never being offered a dessert menu or another glass of wine. All in all this experience left us feeling confused and saddened. What a great concept for a restaurant, as far as I know there is no Balkan cuisine available in Williamsburg. Unfortunately, this restaurant airs more on the broad Mediterranean side than the Balkan and there are plenty of better Italian and Mediterranean places within a stones throw from here.
As I said at the beginning, the location TNN occupies is considered the cursed one by locals and unfortunately it does not appear that they will be open much longer.
