Bar Toto = V. Fucking Good
Erica | Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 6:44PM 
This isn't so much a review, because:
A. Though I *did* bring my camera, the battery was dead and I didn't take any pics.
B. I got high on the walk over drunk at dinner and didn't pay close enough attention to do a full on review.
HOWEVER, I am here to tell you that Bar Toto totally fucking rocks.
Perhaps you know this already. If so, good for you you little know-it-all motherfucker. But if you're like me, you might have forgotten...or maybe you've never really given this place a shot...or never even heard of it. I'm not sure why, but I don't often find people talking about it/blogging about it/singing its praises. And really...its starting to piss me off. Cause its that good.
Truth be told, we walked our asses over to S. Slope in the rain last night to go to Dram Shop. I have been dying to try their burger, and thought it would make make for a fun dinner spot. Unfortch, everyone else in Park Slope had the very same damn idea, and there wasn't an empty seat in the house.
Then we remembered Bar Toto (or, actually, Greg did).
YESSSSSSS!
There are a few things I really, really love about this place:
*They have a great menu. It has an Italian spin fer sure, but there are some other goodies on there too. And nothing is too "precious"...its all super accesible and delish food.
*The BIG bottle of water that immediately arrives at your table when you sit down. Ok, maybe this isn't an issue for anyone else, but I am constantly out of water when I got out to eat. And I get that its nearly impossible for the waiters/waitresses/busboys to stay on top of this shit, but THIS is the perfect solution. You get this huge bottle of water and just help yourself throughout the meal. Genius.
*The BURGERS! I'm pretty officially obsessed with the Panini Burgers now. I ordered the Toto Burger (w/gorgonzola cheese and red onions). It comes on this insane crispy bread and they even cut it in half for you which I fucking LOVE. Also they do these great thin shoestring fries, and I'm a major shoestring devotee.
Anyway, Bar Toto rocks. You should go there...like now-ish.
OH! Also they are opening a new all day cafe in the old Pumpkins Organic Market spot on Eighth Avenue and 13th Street. AND, they have another spot: Bar Tano (which I have never been to).
eats 
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Reader Comments (11)
OMG The Toto Burger is my FAVE burger in the Slope right now. You can't fuck with it. I dare anyone to try.
I was in Dram Shop last night too. Uber crowded, but a good time. It was my first time there and I'd go back...I didn't even know they had good burgers!
fucking HORSESHIT. the burgers suck ass - they are salty and disgusting. yes the bread is great, fries are great - but the meat itself is seasoned wrong and is revolting.
agree that bar toto is great but the burgers are just awful. the flavor is BAD.
I agree. Bar Toto rocks! I've only done brunch there a couple times... but their fries are raved about by every person I know that has something to say about Bar Toto!
@cable guy: Based on your comments, you and I are almost *always* batting for the same team, but here is where we totally and completely part ways. I gotta disagree with you on the Bar Toto burger. I'm a tried and true burger girl. I'd rather eat a burger than a steak, and I happen to think that the panini burger rocks. I think its seasoned well, AND they cook it exactly how you ask. I'm a medium rare (leaning toward rare) girl and an overcooked burger renders itself inedible for me. Bar Toto gets it right for me every time. So, what do you suggest here? Public duel? Boxing match?
sorry guys... been to Toto for brunch and drinner... service always seems really slow (that one kinda smarmy dude usually covering all the tables and forgetting your silverware, condiments, etc.). they do bring the tap water right away. pasta cooked weirdly, eggs kinda blah, things not seeming fresh. no burger could redeem. to me american "panini" = pam cooking spray + george foreman grill = gimmick to hide quality of food. besides, best burger in PS = melt.
I think this calls for a PS BURGER-OFF!
Sidecar has a pretty amazing burger...and Cajun Shrimps w Cheese Grits.
Bar Toto is not bad...
Has anyone tried Five Guys Burgers and Fries? Seems a little Johnny Rocket-esk...no?
FGBF (Five Guys) is terrific. It shares a stark white tiled design with Johnny Rockets but has none of the era-specific pretensions - it's just an upscale fastfood joint. Burgers are reasonably priced, loaded with toppings (your choice) and extremely tasty.
It's not a restaurant/pub burger - it's more like what a Wendy's burger wants to be when it grows up.
Brooklyn Flipsters also has terrific burgers - such a relief after the heinous Brooklyn Burger Bar, which had style in spades and a great looking menu but forgot to teach their cooks how to, you know, cook a burger so that it didn't taste like meat paste. Eeeeesh.
I think any time I am somewhere for the first time and I eat an entire pizza without knowing it, it has to be a great place.
Toto and Tano are two of my favorite awesome restaurants in the Slope. Mainly because you can get a bottle of wine for $22 or something like that. About as cheap as it comes before BYOB. And the water on the tables is definitely a plus. And it's kind of dark. And they tend to play full albums of shit you haven't heard in years. Rock on.