Aqualis Grill

Aqualis Grill
773 Fulton St.

Brooklyn, NY 718-797-3494
Food 6
Ambiance 6
Service 5
Overall 17
Good for basic Greek inspired seafood in the heart of Fort Green

Now since I live in Queens, not far from the bastion of the best Greek cooking in the city, Astoria, I pondered more than thrice the wiseness of trying Greek anywhere else. But curiosity ,proximity to BAM and a string of good reviews, made me venture forth. Aqualis Grill sits in one of the hippest  strips of Fort Green, in a space that has had poor luck maintaining any restaurant for longer than 2 years. The interior has not changed much from its former incarnation as an Italian restaurant, and is fairly nondescript. Tame yellow walls, wood accents, a large undivided dining room. The decor is standard, uninspiring, but adequate. We arrived at 6 pm on a Tuesday and were lucky to find that there is a $25 prix fixe from 5- 7 :30 pm. The place was fairly empty,although by 7:30 pm it had slowly begun to fill up. My husband opted for the prix fixe option, which includes a glass of wine. I opted for the whole dorado and my sister ordered the appetizer mussels with a side of fries. One problem with this place is it is fairly slow in service. Although the place was empty, our waiter took his time getting our orders and our food took its time getting to the table.
The prix fixe appetizer we chose was an eggplant mash, which was served almost ice cold with tasty toasted pita points. Flavorful, it was marred by the ice cold temperature. My main dorado was a generous portion of fresh flaky fish. Under charred and under seasoned, it was no match for some of the best Astoria seafood places. Served with a side of wild greens , I also ordered a $4 side of the beet salad. The greens were delicately sauteed in garlic and olive oil. The red beet salad was one of my favorites of the meal, a combination of yellow and red beets tossed in a light vinaigrette with red onions. Perfect for summer with grilled meats. My husband's main was a grilled salmon filet, which was perfectly cooked and in contrast to my dorado well spiced. My sister's $10 appetizer mussels portion was fairly small  with an interesting unexpected flavoring of feta, saffron and the anised sweetness of the ouzo. The $4 side of fries was disappointing not only in size but lacking in proper crispness. My husband's prix fixe ended with a small serving of creamy greek yougurt sprinkled with nuts and honey. Although tasty, fairly uninventive as far as a dessert offering.
Overall, this is not by any means on par with most of the excellent greek restaurants in Astoria.
However, the prix fixe is an excellent deal and if you are craving Greek in Brooklyn , Aqualis is a good substitute.

The Quest continues......

Convivium Osteria

Convivium Osteria
68 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11217-2021
(718) 857-1833
Food 7

Ambiance 7

Service 6

Overall 20

Good for well made and priced home cooked italian specialities in romantic Old World decor
So I have been intrigued by this place for some time as it advertises itself as serving Portuguese and Italian food. Aside from the odd combination, it has been a neighborhood favorite for some time, although because of its miniscule size, the wait is generally very long. Luckily, I attempted the outing on a Sunday night and was easily able to sit a party of 4 for 7 pm. We arrived there and from the minute we stepped in I felt we had taken our TAP flight right into Lisbon. Having traveled to Portugal frequently for the last 10 years, the place gets high marks for authenticity in decor. Beautiful blue and white tiles. Rustic wood tables. Cozy simple charm. I can only imagine how lovely it must be when they have their Fado set on Saturdays.This place however is beyond tiny. Maybe 5 tables at most in the entire space. It is amazing they can get enough mileage put of those few settings. Be prepared to get close to your neighbor diners.
Now while the decor is a definate ode to all things Portuguese, the food from my estimation was straight up Italian.  Lots of pasta,polenta and preparations that recall nothing in Portugal that I have seen.The wine list is an extensive mix of primarily Italian ,Spanish and Portuguese wines, with a good range of pricing. We opted for a  $40 bottle of Spanish Cava- a nice refreshing complement to everything we ordered. We started with the  $13 grilled octopus served with a white bean celery and tomatoe salad, a sizeable appetizer portion. The octopus was perfectly grilled, tender and subtly seasoned. The salad, although a fresh  summery combination was marred by the undercooked beans. I opted for the  $24 whole seabass, my mother had a special linguine with half lobster, my sister had rabbit with polenta and my husband had the $22 dollar pork ribs with polenta. The star of all the dishes in my opinion were thoseb featuring seafood. My mother's linguine was perfectly cooked  and delicately spiced with garlic and herbs with a generous portion of half lobster. My whole seabass was perfectly cooked and super fresh. I could have handled more ample seasoning and char but for the price, the fish is beyond ample for one. The sides of asparagus and potatoes were good choices,especially the charred delicious asparagus. Both my sister's and husband's meals were underflavored for my tastes. While both meals were not bad, they did not merit the price, as their portions were at least half of the seafood dishes with half of the taste. Though full, we finished of the meal with a "a panna cotta flan" which was an essentially very delectable,creamy flan and the italian house speciality- a crumbly  moderately sweet chocalate hazelnut fig cake which was decadently good.
Overall , if you stick to seafood dishes , this place is a great ambiance filled trip to Portugual by way of Italian flavors for a reasonable price. Service was appropriately attentive throughout.
The Quest continues.....