Gowanus Lounge: Serving Brooklyn

Eat It: Court St.’s Lobo…Seriously Bites the Big One

December 19th, 2008 · 5 Comments

Here’s this week’s regular food thing from the good people at Eat It: The Brooklyn Food Blog, who check out Lobo on Court Street and find that it’s barfalicious:

Having just over an hour before our movie at Cobble Hill Cinemas, we decided to try Lobo, (218 Court St., between Baltic St. & Warren St., 718-858-7739) the Tex-Mex place on Court St. that’s been there for a few years now. It used to house my favorite neighborhood brunch place (Harvest) – that and the grey, used-to-be-white pillows in the window have kept me away. I don’t think I’ll be back any time soon.

Now, I’m rarely very critical of a restaurant, it’s not the perspective I normally take. It’s just that there were a number of areas in which Lobo went very wrong and contributed to the whole experience being quite a disappointment. The Margaritas were very good, and I might even go back to sit at the bar for a drink and some chips, because the service was nice & friendly, and the main room downstairs is very cozy and appealing in a Tex-Mex way. But the food…

I ordered the Vegetarian Mix Combination which was described as coming with a Portobello Mushroom Burrito (a small burrito), a Cheese Enchilada topped with Spinach Sauce and a Bean & Cheese Chalupa. The burrito tasted like dishwater, very funky and bad, a terrible thing to do to a Portobello. The Enchilada was mediocre, but had no spinach anywhere near it. Instead it was topped with huge chunks of green pepper and tomato, WTF? The beans also coagulated almost immediately, which didn’t make me want to eat them. ~sigh~ For more, click here!

Tags: Eat It Brooklyn

5 responses so far ↓

  • 1 DK // Dec 19, 2008 at 12:36 pm

    Terrible restaurant. Park Slope one is just as bad. I heard they make a pretty good (and big) frozen margarita, so that, plus the power of reduced expectations, is what keeps their two locations in business.

  • 2 Jr // Dec 19, 2008 at 12:37 pm

    I actually met the owners in Jamaica a couple of years ago. (There’s another one on 5th ave in Park Slope.) Really nice people. The specialty is the drinks, all fresh juice…they have people squeezing fruit in the back. They’d be receptive to hearing what they can do to make it better, you should talk to them.

  • 3 Jack // Dec 20, 2008 at 2:19 pm

    Haven’t been to Lobo, but when Harvest was there… Wow, best looking but WORST tasting meal I have ever had in my life during brunch.

    To Jr, they really shared all that detailed info about how they squeeze their on fruit in the back for drinks? I’d much rather a restaurant owner come straight out and say who they are rather than playing “I’m a friend…” games.

  • 4 br // Dec 23, 2008 at 10:52 am

    shill or not, jr is right about the drinks. they are good and pretty much the only reason i would go there. i’m just not a fan of their food or the odd ingredient choices (esp the pump cheese on everything..and i actually like the stuff on gas station nachos).

  • 5 Matt Katz // Dec 30, 2008 at 5:48 pm

    I think it is actually really good for brunch. I had vowed to never go back there for dinner after a series of really crap experiences. Went for brunch and loved it.

    The place is pretty empty early on, has a spicy good bloody mary, and the jalapeno cheese grits are good. Service is pleasant and quick.

    fuck ’em for dinner though.