Sweetwater Review – Williamsburg Classic

By CS Hsia, on May 20th, 2012

To call Sweetwater restaurant in Williamsburg a classic goes to show how far the Williamsburg dining scene has come along. It really hasn’t been around for all too many years (8 for those who are counting), but that’s probably 5 years longer than most restaurants in the neighborhood.

Sweetwater Williamsburg

Today, with restaurants all around Williamsburg garnering all the buzz, Sweetwater felt almost forgotten. On a Saturday afternoon, we were able to stroll right in for brunch. Most other brunch options were looking at a wait of at least 30 minutes, and to be perfectly honest, none looked as comfortable. Jessie summed the interior design of Williamsburg in last few years as “an assortment of mismatched stools, chairs and benches”, Sweetwater predates this uncomfortable trend, it has booths.

Comfortable seating, what a strange concept.

While I do prefer the seating options of Williamsburg’s past, for food I much prefer the present. Unfortunately the food choices at Sweetwater haven’t really caught up with its neighbors. It’s quite a bit strange nowadays to see food that’s not in-your-face organic, where the ingredients don’t come with a prefix that’s either the farm’s name or the words “Locally Sourced”. If a restaurant was opened with this menu today, I doubt it’d get any love from the locals.

Dated doesn’t mean it isn’t good, the food at Sweetwater is solid and satisfying, but it lacks character in a neighborhood that’s defined by uniqueness.

Sweetwater burger.

From the brunch menu, the Sweetwater burger was a fairly standard hamburger, except served on a muffin rather than a bun. The meat’s juicy, and cooked quite well, but it lacked seasoning or the natural flavors that you’d find in artisan meat blends. We’re all spoiled by the $6 Shack Burger…..

Skirt steak and eggs

The skirt steak was quite good, it’s not always easy to grill a skirt steak without over cooking it. The dish came with the same salad that adorned the burger, which is an arugula spring mix but topped with marinated onions.

Tilapia filet.

We also ordered a plate of tilapia (fun fact, the word Tilapia is the common name for over 100 species of cichlid fish), which was cooked nicely, but lacked the seasoning to really made it stand out. I was hoping for some acidity to contrast the plain salt treatment, but found none.

So in conclusion Sweetwater is like your favorite pair of faded jeans: it won’t impress a date, but it’s damn comfortable and always a quick and convenient option. In other words, a neighborhood restaurant that won’t break the bank, where you can sit out in the garden and enjoy a relaxing brunch.

People love the Sweetwater garden.

From the notebook: The only credit card accepted was American Express, much to my delight. The garden was quite the attraction, most people chose to sit outside and enjoy the sun. Across the street was the ever popular Sea Thai cuisine, another classic of the area.

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