Fine Dining at Brook’s Valley Cafe
Increasingly, restaurants are recognizing that many residents are looking for high-quality fare, and several, like Brook’s Valley Cafe, are providing the type of food that we crave. I had heard a lot about this restaurant located on Tompkins Avenue near Hancock, but I got my first taste of the place this past weekend.
As soon as I arrived, I spoke with Charmaine, one of the owners, at length about the cafe. She told me that she and her husband, Christopher, opened Brook’s Valley in August 2006. She always wanted to open a restaurant, so it was a dream come true for her.Â
I asked her about her goals for the restaurant, and she said that she just wanted to create a nice place so that residents wouldn’t have to leave their neighborhood for a good meal. Like many other business owners on this stretch of Tompkins, she’s also a Bed-Stuy resident, so it is clear that she has a vested interest in neighborhood improvement.
I also asked Charmaine about the social support network surrounding Bed-Stuy business owners. She said that the Tompkins Avenue Merchant Association was a great resource because it allowed business owners to communicate with one another and it created a support system for them.  As evidence for this, I noticed that two other business owners from the association stopped by that Sunday for brunch.
When I took a look at the brunch menu, I was impressed with the options. Three choices caught my eye: the smoked salmon with scrambled eggs, cherry tomatoes and red bliss potatoes; the whole wheat toast with fried eggs and soy ham and the scrambled egss with waffles and maple syrup. There was even an interesting beverage called the Brook’s Valley Immune Booster made with organic whole leaf aloe vera juice and the following extracts: green tea, pomegranate, blueberry, astragulus root, echinacea, maitake, shitake and reishi mushrooms. I think I’ll try it during my next visit.
I finally decided on a traditional brunch meal, and selected the scrambled eggs with waffles. The waffles came with fresh granny smith apple slices and kiwi, and the meal was excellent. I washed down with a little fresh-squeezed orange juice.
The restaurant was very inviting and quite busy during Sunday brunch, so I didn’t feel lonely even though I was dining alone. The hostess and waitstaff were very friendly and made me feel very welcome.
The owners, husband and wife team Charmaine and Christopher, have been gaining a loyal following in the short time that their cafe has been on the block. Their Brook’s Valley Cafe has raised the bar on dining options in the nabe. If you haven’t gotten a chance to dine in this wonderful restaurant, make plans to do so tonight!
Brook’s Valley Cafe
415 Tompkins Avenue (corner of Hancock)
Brooklyn, NY 11216
Ph. 718.443.1121
Wed-Fri 5 pm-10 pm, Sat noon-10 pm, Sun noon-7 pm; Closed Mon and Tues
27 April 2007, 7:03 am
When Brook’s Valley opened my son and I practically moved in! We love the wonderful food and great service! My food always looks so pretty which is a great bonus.
Your waffles sure look yummy!
27 April 2007, 11:33 am
We LOVE this place! It looks like a new place is being renovated near the Common Grounds Coffee Shop – YAH!
27 April 2007, 3:40 pm
Really? Another new place popping up? I wonder what it’ll be? This area is really seeing some nice changes.
27 April 2007, 10:14 pm
i love this aspect of your blog; it is great to see so many new businesses popping up ; especially since it is all home grown.
Tompkins Avenue is really coming alive. Do you know if it has it’s own BID or is it part of the Bed Stuy Gateway initiative
28 April 2007, 6:44 am
I love seeing so many young business owners with so much energy and creativity! I will continue to cover new (and relatively new) businesses that help to improve our quality of life in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
The Tompkins Avenue Merchants Association (TAMA) partners with the Bridge Street Development Corporation to make improvements in the area, therefore I believe it is separate from the Bed-Stuy Gateway BID. I emailed Bridge Street Development Corp. for clarification, and I’ll post their response.
03 July 2007, 9:35 pm
I live in Clinton Hill but was driving through the neighborhood looking at the recent changes. I came upon Brooks Valley and as it was quite late, I pulled over, drawn by the beauty of the restaurants decor.I went in and was immediately given a warm welcome. I remember giving a compliment as to the beautiful parquet floors and design of the restaurant.Before I could ask for a menu`for future reference, a young lady ask
if i wanted some complimentary food. She stated they were closing for the night and wouldnt be open the next day and didnt want to waste food and they dont serve leftovers. I gladly accepted to which I was given curry goat ,jerk chicken,peas and rice, plantains and veggies and soup. They packed it up and gave me several dinners. I was already impressed (smile). But when I got home and shared the tasting of those dinners with my family, we knew we were in trouble and that our waistlines would be expanding, compliments of Brooks Valley restaurant. Although they were closing, the food was sweet tasting and fresh as though it was just cooked, not soggy like some food that is kept warm all day.The food was deeeelicious. I always recommend this location to my friends and family. It is worth the trek over to Bed Stuy for this food and the warmth and great service they provide.
03 July 2007, 9:44 pm
Yes….I travel to Royal Rib house and imagine my surprise to see the change occuring to Tompkins Ave as well as Bed Stuy and Brooklyn as a whole. It is great to see residents opening up needed businesses in their community. Lets continue to support them. Sad that it took this long for these changes to take place and even more so because Manhattan is unaffordable and a new element is returning to the neighborhood. Whatever the reasons, I am glad that improvements are being made. Those of us who fought long and hard for these changes and improvements finally see the fruits of our labor. All the block meetings, protests, letters to politicians are starting to pay off. We still have a long way to go but at least change is beginning.
30 July 2007, 11:25 am
Brook’s Valley is celebrating there 1st anniversary on Wednesday 8/1/07 8:00pm with free Martinis, desert and live jazz.
30 July 2007, 6:45 pm
Le Toukouleur for live music jamming all night!
17 September 2007, 8:46 pm
Have you heard of Petite Bassam? It is a restaurant with food from Ivory Coast. Great fish, vegetables… etc. It is located on Lewis Avenue (close to Bread Stuy). Check it out!
16 April 2008, 7:13 pm
We were your classic tourists in New York City who were having a rough start of our stay. I won’t even begin to explain how we ended up in Bed-Stuy, but we were starving and it was almost dark outside and the woman whose apartment we were going to be staying in suggested that we eat right away and she directed us to Brook’s Valley Cafe, explaining that is was soul food. All I could think of was collard greens and fried chicken. That isn’t what we found, and I had one of the best salads I have ever had, and if it wasn’t over 3,000 miles to get there I’d have gone back several times. It was a really delightful restaurant.