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Pub with a Perfect Formula
A conversation with Alchemy owner Kevin Read
Photo: Courtesy of Alchemy
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Stepping into Alchemy out of a rainstorm, I found that this cozy, warmly lit gastropub offers a perfect antidote to miserable weather. Decorated with a collection of curious odds and ends – driftwood, a giant hourglass, an ancient camera – the small space offers a bar, a few booths in the front, and three long communal tables (for adventurous souls who don’t mind meeting new dining companions). On the night I visited, the crowd was a pleasant mix of bohemian twenty-somethings and a few young families with children.
Upon sitting down, you are immediately served a warm bowl of fried, salted chickpeas, perfect for munching as you peruse the menu. Alchemy offers an eclectic menu; standout items include the zucchini carpaccio salad and the gorgonzola and walnut ravioli. Drink options are extensive, with lots of beer and wine choices, plus a full list of unique martinis, cocktails, and warm drinks. I elected to sample the “Clamberskull”: a combination of Tanqueray, rosemary, honey, pear puree, and soda. Very refreshing!
Later, I had a chance to speak with Kevin Read, Alchemy’s owner.
What led you to the restaurant industry?
I was fifteen and got a summer job working at a family-style, Friendly’s type place, and I’ve been doing every job conceivable since then. Every restaurant job conceivable, except cooking, never real cooking, though I have been a prep cook.
Can you describe your professional experience leading up to Alchemy?
I was working as a bartender at Lucky Strike for about seven years before I opened this place.
How did you decide to take the plunge and open your own place?
The north end of park slope here was really just underserved for this type of place, just somewhere to go and grab really good comfort food….so I decided to go ahead and open one myself.
What was your vision for the restaurant?
It was a hardware store when we moved in, so we really had to redo the whole place. I was really just trying to create a really comfortable vibe with a pub-style atmosphere. I’ve been getting a lot of good feedback from customers about that. They say that we have all the pieces of the puzzle. People love the food – you know, a restaurant can’t succeed without excellent food – but a lot of the feedback I get is just about the vibe. People just feel really comfortable; it’s a warm, inviting, comfortable atmosphere. We have a lot of regulars who come here several times a week, it’s like their second living room.
How would you describe the food at Alchemy?
Not quite gourmet, not quite “up-scale” food, but just really good everyday food. Comfort food.
How did you come up with the menu?
When we first opened, I went through several chefs, some who just did not work out for one reason or another. Some of the items on the menu are definitely still from that era, and other items are basically from consulting with my wife and also with cooks here. It’s just sort of a team effort.
What’s your favorite item on the menu?
My favorite item would probably be the steak. We marinade it in our marinade, which is oil, garlic, mustard, and thyme, until it’s tender and delicious. We serve it with a little herbed butter and with mashed potatoes and kale.
What’s the most popular item?
The burgers, by far.
I understand you have brunch, as well?
Our brunch is great. I think our standout items would be the huevos rancheros, I think we’ve got one of the best huevos rancheros in Brooklyn, if not in the entire city. We’ve got a good corned beef hash, eggs with hollandaise sauce. We’ve got what we call chorizo eggs, which is eggs cooked sunny side up with chorizo in the egg and then served over jalapeno grits, with a little side salad, that’s delicious. We’ve got your standards, you know, Benedict, Florentine, Norwegian pancakes, French toast. We put Guinness in the pancakes with a little sugar, and they’re incredibly unique in that way. We get a lot of really nice compliments on our pancakes.
Anything else you want people to know about Alchemy?
Our backyard will be opening very soon. This little warm spell caught us off guard, we weren’t quite ready, but we should be ready to open the backyard by the weekend. That’s really really popular, people love eating in the backyard here.
Hardware store to cozy gastropub – that’s alchemy, indeed. Alchemy is located at 56 5th Avenue in Brooklyn. For more information, call 718-636-4385.