Freek’s Mill

I came into the city this week after being out at the beach working for the summer.  My daughter moved apartments and I came in to help make the shift.  Of course we had to eat so on Monday night we dined at Speedy Romeo in Clinton Hill where I have been a few times.  Great spot, really good food and of yummy pizzas.  Tuesday night we went to Freek’s Mill.

Freek’s Mill is named after an actual 18th century mill operated in Gowanus when the canal was rich with oysters vs toxic waste.  The architecture of the restaurant is beautiful.  A mixture of materials with dark and light greys creating a “new” more modern look in Brooklyn.  There are two rooms, big windows and a small bar.  Really great vibe.  My picture above doesn’t give the place justice.

freeksThe menu is constantly changing.  There are small places and big places but everything is meant for sharing.  No gratuity and they tell you that is reflected in the prices.  I have said this before I am a bit over the share thing.  You end up having multiple bites of different plates so the chef can show their large breadth of talents.  No doubt the chef at Freek’s has a lot of talent but I’m just over the small plate.  Reality is you could easily get away with ordering a starter and a main here but not sure they’d recommend it.

oystersWe began with the oysters.  Wood roasted oysters with bread crumbs and lemon.  Simple presentation and delicious.

stratecI really liked what they did with this dish.  Essentially pulled burratta wrapped around basil, almonds, serrano ham and basil.  They referred to this as straciatella which is an Italian soup containing eggs and cheese.

lambLamb shwarma tartare mixed with cucumber, cabbage and a red/white sauce and toasty hot pita chips.  We saw lamb tartare on another menu this week so my guess we will see more of this popping up on restaurant menus.

saladSimple baby lettuce salad with pickles vegetables and shaved grana cheese.

blossomsLove seeing squash blossoms hit the menus this time of the year.  Zucchini blossoms stuffed with mozzarella deep fried with a nice crust over a tomato basil sauce.

wineI liked how they served the white wine.  Pouring it out of the bottle into a carafe that sits inside an ice bucket.  Easy for the table and just a nice touch.

porkRoasted pull pork jowl that was super crusty on the outside served over a mustard with pickled radishes and ramps. Here is a perfect example of a “large dish”.  We each had a small piece (there were four of us) and so it was just a taste where we all just nodded our heads and said this is really interesting and good.  It was a try vs a meal.

pastaRabbit ragu over pappardelle with guanciale and ricotta.  Really good and light.

beansMy least favorite was the beans.  Charred pole beans with a tomato vinaigrette, oregano and pecorino.

roastvegThis was really interesting.  BBQ Kohlrabi over grits and greens.  I really liked this.

cevicheStriped bass ceviche with cherries, chilis and a swatch of avocado.  Nice presentation.

peachFor dessert we had a peach cobbler with bourbon ice cream but it was really more of a peach pie.

raspberrybreadRaspberry bread pudding with whipped creme fraiche.

Lots of flavors, beautiful space and really glad we were able to get in before the mad rush come fall.

Comments (Archived):

  1. LE

    I live vicariously through seeing the food that you eat, that I can’t eat! You need a separate blog just for your dining and some of these places should be comping your means. It would be nice to have a directory of all of the places you’ve eaten, by neighborhood or by zip code (for future reference).

  2. Stuart Willson

    really enjoyed when we went two weeks ago. was surprised at drink prices until i saw they included tip. as an aside, sticker shock + asking people to do math around what pre-tip prices are is certainly a hurdle for the concept. anyway, proximity to ample hills also a positive!

    1. Gotham Gal

      proximity to ample hills is absolutely a bonus