Chinar on the Island is such a fun spot. The food is so flavorful and the patio's perfect for a chill night. The Georgian orange wine is awesome and the owners are the best!!! Can't wait to come back for more food and drinks! read more

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Amazing food and service is incredible, beautiful ambience! The wine options are my new favorites. read more

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Wow...had the lamb shank. It was really tender and well seasoned. The sauce on the mashed potatoes was so well done. It was hard not to lick the plate. Even the bread was good. read more

Few weeks ago I celebrated my milestone birthday. My experience with Chinar on the Island was nothing short of extraordinary . I hand picked my menu with their head manager Mark, who has excellent customer service skills as well as his staff. The food was delicious and my guests loved the whole experience at the restaurant. As an event an event planner it's important to me that my guests have an amazing experience and that's what we got with Chinar! Event Planner, so for me was very important to give my guests an amazing time. read more

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Beyond disappointed. My family has been frequenting Chinar since the original owners first had it, almost 20 years ago. The food was always delicious and many parties were hosted there. I've taken plenty of my American friends here, introducing them to delicious food. Including my husband. My husband and I have been ordering take out from Chinar for the past few years. We decided to make reservations there over a month ago to celebrate my father's birthday, which is for tomorrow. Party of 10. No one calls me to confirm the reservation. I call Chinar multiple times to confirm, no answer. We drive by and the place is bordered up! So the place suddenly shuts down, doesn't inform guests who have made reservations in advance, and now I have to make alternate plans with a day's notice. Very unprofessional and not cool. read more

It's great to see that www.RestaurantChinar.com is back open again. Staple of Staten Island and worth the trip over. read more

Ordered the stew, Devoured it! Drinks were great too. Server was always close by so we never had to wait. Nice peaceful and quiet ambiance. There is a relaxing fountain in the middle. Definitely recommend! read more

We had a great dinner for Mother's day. Food was delicious, flavorful and very nicely plated. Even though, the restaurant was full and there were a few large parties going, service was prompt and staff were very pleasant. We will for sure come back. Prices are very reasonable, especially for portion sizes. read more

In the menu, you will find Chilean sea bass, but they will serve you with basa fish instead (the cheapest and dirty fish on a market), while charging your bill for the Chilean sea bass. Very disappointed. This is lies and theft. Will not go back there. read more

We been looking forward to try this restaurant under new management and actually wanted to do a private party there, however, before booking it we decide to have a dinner there. Thank God we did, food was awful! I don't even know who in their right state of mind would recommend this place. It was totally waste of money and time. read more

Avocado and egg salad to start, amazing with their dressing. Mashed potatoes, shrimp and fish, to die for. Dessert was insane. Best place in Staten Island. Great ambiance. Will return! read more

Chinar On The Island - Dessert - Mediterranean Near Me - Staten Island, New York

I love this place! I went there 17 years ago for my birthday party, then 4 years ago again , last year and recently for a family get-together. Always left satisfied with the food and service. Live music is excellent, meat is halal, home made food is heart melting.. read more

Came with my family, we loved it. Calm live saxophone playing in the background. Food was great. Will definitely come visit again.

Beautiful place service is great food is even better highly recommended to tryout overall amazing experience will definitely be back

Review from Beginning of 2020 Have visited "Chinar on the Island" restaurant multiple times for variety of occasions: from regular lunch or dinner to birthday parties to celebratory dinners. I have to say today's visit was VERY disappointing. We came to celebrate my Grandmother's birthday. Here is the breakdown of how the establishment works: 1. Upon entering through double doors you will see the place where the hostess is supposed to be. We never saw a hostess here. Usually one of the waiters will notice someone entered and will either point to the table or just tell you to sit wherever you like. 2. Upon sitting down you usually will get your menues quick. 3. Ordering: depends on the day of the week. If you come on a "slow" day (a Tuesday lunch for example), someone will take your order in a reasonable amount of time. On a Saturday night (our most resent visit) we had to flag someone down, and staff still attempted to not stop at the table. After 20-25 minutes of waiting and attempting to get someone's attention, finally a nice waiter came up, apologized, however was visibly fluttered and wanted to move on to his next task as soon as he possibly could. He was nice but definitely overwhelmed. We ordered, asked for an adult drink menu. Food (appetizer) came about 15-20 min later, no drink menu and no soft drinks that we already ordered. 4. Bill: usually accurate. May take some time for them to bring, sadly. Parking: parking lot available. She specifically wanted to come here for the one dish from the menu she enjoys--Chilean Sea Bass. It's once again, hit or miss. One day you will receive a good appetizing portion, the next it's a tail end. What specifically got me very frustrated is the fact that I told the waiters that it is my grandma's birthday and asked for a birthday candle in the dessert that we ordered. The dessert come with no candle, a piece of cake was not even gently plated, but rather thrown on the plate. It's 2023. We never went back after this visit. read more

Really just expected more of this place (especially when looking at all the positive reviews). I rarely leave reviews, but it was so disappointing that I couldn't not leave one. We waited about an hour or so to get our food and we were the only table there at the time of ordering. One other table showed up 25 minutes after we ordered. The drinks took 15 minutes to make and I swear there was no alcohol in them. I had to ask if they put any in and the waitress (who was very kind) just apologized and adjusted the drinks. The waitress, as nice as she was, rarely came to the table to check in. So we had to go out of our way to let them know when we needed something. When we finally got our food, we were pretty disappointed. The chicken kebab my girlfriend ordered tasted like it actually had zero seasoning. The rice was also flavorless. My brazed short ribs were actually very good. But for the price you pay here, you'd expect excellent food and great service. Neither of which we received. TL;DR: The people working there seemed very nice, but I just can't go back here. One would expect better service and better food considering the price you pay. read more

I don't know if this restaurant is related to the one in Brooklyn, but if it is it is giving its big brother a bad name. But let's start at the beginning.it was Sunday night and we were pretty hungry so we decided to stop by Chinar for dinner. Expecting service and prices akin to similar places across the Verrazano Bridge we were pretty happy with our choice but boy were we wrong. First off. Normally if you have a place that can seat you for dinner just as a visit but not a scheduled banquet one might expect to have a host(ess) greet you at the entrance and get you to the table. That was missing, the host were actually talking at the bar so when my wife walked in she just pointed at any table and told her to just pick one. So we sat down. The girl that was servicing our table was nice and we decided to pick a sampler platter for four, which normally should be sufficient to feed 2 adults and 2 kids but this one was not to be. The sampler platter for four actually includes 4 kabobs, not 6 or 8 as one might have expected from a place like this but 4. 1 Chicken, 1 Lyulya, 4 lamb chops, and 1 lamb riblets (which basically have some fat but very little meat), So the platter which was basically the size of half of our table had that in meats and a mountain of french fries. I mean I love fries as the next guy but that is a side not the main course! So we had to order 4 more kabobs, each one at a price point of something similar one might have at an upscale Manhattan restaurant but at a neighborhood place on Staten Island! I mean the only saving grace for this place is that food is actually good. It is tasty, not overdone but I think that they should close down the restaurant and just have the banquet hall. read more

This is definitely one of my favorite spots on the island. Our entire family is obsessed with this place! We have gone to eat there but also gotten delivery. Both experiences have always been great. Fantastic food, portions, and service. For the price, you really do get quality food, portions that you can share, and deliciousness. Favorite dishes - if you're someone who doesn't like fish too much like me, this place will challenge you. Someone in my family orders either the Branzino or Chilean Sea Bass every time, even me as someone who doesn't usually like fish, will order them, because it's so delicious!. Their ribs, lamb, and steak, are out of this world. The sizes are wilddd (in the best way) and juicy. I am also not a salad person, yet their Assorted Eastern Salad is something I must order every time. read more

amazing food, service and ambiance! new management has taken the restaurant to another level :)

Excellent management. Phenomenal kitchen. Excellent service. Everyone is so friendly. The food is simply perfection. read more

Chinar On The Island - Mediterranean Near Me - Staten Island, New York

I had the short ribs. Absolutely delicious. There were not many parties there so our service was quick and we were never left wanting. The bartender made delicious drinks! The fountain in the middle made for a relaxing, peaceful experience! read more

Had a family gathering here this past weekend. We got a private room in the back, which was nice. Food was good-a lot of fresh salads, apps, crispy potatoes, and well-cooked meats. Service was very attentive. read more

The best part about this place is that they have hookah. But, it's not much of a place to just lounge around and smoke. It's more of an upscale restaurant. They couldn't even get their WiFi to work. They say they are contacting Verizon. There also were so few laptop hookups that they put us in a private room, and it made us feel like we were boxed in a closet. There is seating outside, but it is more formal than someplace to lounge by the beach. If you just want to go smoke and drink, there is a bar, but only a few uncomfortable stools at it. The wait service was very annoying. At times there were 3 waiters there to see if we want something else. However, remarkably, it took a half hour to get one hookah and a cappucino. The food took even longer. There were 2-3 tables of people there, and 5-6 servers, and they couldn't get the hookah out in a timely manner, or a simple cappucino. The menu selection was good and interesting but very overpriced for what it was. They probably think they can get away with the prices because the place is decorated so well. You can tell you are paying for their decor. (It is really nice, though.) It came to $77 for one hookah, a pitcher of sangria, one cappucino and one order of dolma. The hookahs are around $20. I would only go there again if I was very desperate for hookah on the island. read more

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Came here for a very early dinner on a sunday with a table about 15. We ordered a round of appetizers which were the avacado salad (delicious), fried calamari (delicious), and the potatoes with doll (delicious) For entrees we ordered the steak, trout, salmon, sea bass, pilaf, and seafood salad. We all loved everything! !!The portion sizes here are huge!!!! I didn't eat half of my meal because the portions were so big! Every meal was good and cooked to perfection. Service was great. They are very tentative. And we were able to bring our own bottle or whiskey and liquor. read more

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I Insisted we come here again for a celebratory dinner. We were seated promptly and attended to immediately. In a blink of an eye fresh bread, butter and hot delicious black tea was served. The ambiance was festive and cozy. We ordered: Garden salad, smoked eel over Basmati rice, potatoes with garlic and dill, herring, mushroom julienne and chicken kebab. The garden salad was the absolute freshest and perfectly seasoned. My friend mentioned the dressing was tasted incredible. Eel with avocado was tender and juicy, flavorful and delicious. Potatoes with garlic and dill was bursting with garlic flavor, perfectly seasoned. The herring was out of this world, not salty at all and absolutely fresh. The rest of food items were at peak freshness and incredibly delicious. Once again by the time the main course arrived, we were stuffed and just had room for dessert. I ordered my favorite, "smyetanik" which is a spongy cake with layers of a sweet/sour cream mix. We had the pleasure of meeting one of the owners, Tea. She was gracious and charming. It was a wonderful day made complete. read more

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Excellent as always. We are lucky to have this place on the island. Food is perfect, cannot remember one flop over the years. Atmosphere in this place is beyond perfect, never met such friendly staff, always feel like at home of your best friends.Wish them all the best and would recommend to all!!!! read more

The most unprofessional, a nightmare of a restaurant! I celebrated my birthday in November 2021 . The served us unfresh food, which was made in advance and looked not fresh. I asked in advance for sizes of portion and they said it's going to be enough for my guests, but the dishes were very small for our company. We needed to call several time the waitress to bring us something or to do something. They were playing on the phone or talking with each other. I asked them if the restaurant is going out of business tomorrow, because they didn't care about customers. We continued to complain and yet there was no apology or comp for what was the worst meal and service ever provide by a restaurant! I will never go back and I will tell everyone to stay away from this horrible establishment ! Shame on you! read more

Generally good tasting dishes, but overpriced. On one encounter, they forgot part of my order and were extremely rude after I very politely asked them to rectify it. That kind of elitist attitude is worth nobody's time or money. read more

The most unprofessional, a nightmare of a restaurant! We came to break our fast on one of the holiest days of the year. Ordered a head of time and dragged my elderly parents there. The restaurant was packed to capacity with minimal staff, the waitress who later told us she was the manager, kept complaining that she was overwhelmed and understaffed (did I already say unprofessional). Food arrived in 45 minute intervals for each member of our party, nobody received their entree at the same time. We continued to complain and yet there was no apology or comp for what was the worst meal and service ever provide by a restaurant! I will never go back and I will tell anyone that listens to never patronize this horrible establishment !!! Shame on you!!!! read more

The Greek salad is to die for, it's all I have been getting there for years now, always fresh food. But unfortunately I can not give them 5 stars for this after my last visit here. My total was $35 for pick up. When I got there I only had two twenties , the waiter asked if I wanted the change back. (Of course I did, I didn't eat there and I didn't get it delivered why would I wanna tip you?) so I said yes. He then pulled money out of his own pocket and said I only have $3 do you want it? How do you run a business without having change for customers ? Very awkward service. It wasn't about the $5. What if I had $100 bill? Your gonna keep the change of more than $50? read more

Chinar On The Island - Greek salad!! Mozzarella instead of feta - Mediterranean Near Me - Staten Island, New York

I came in for an early dinner with a friend. The seating area is spacious and well-decorated. The food was fresh and delicious. I would come back again. I took a point off because of service. It just took awhile to grab someone to get us anything. read more

Great, delicious food, warm bread, everything is fresh. Nice and accommodating staff. I didn't have any problem with courses, everything was perfect timing, temperature and right courses. They have parking lot which is great and I don't even mind drive from the city to have dinner to Chinas on the Island. Its always great to get away from the city, have walk by the beach and get some fresh air before dinner. Just want to say Thank you restaurant Chinar on the island and I will be back! read more

We are regulars for years in this beautiful restaurant. The food is absolutely delicious, you will not be appointed with anything you order, my favorite is the ell over rice, fried calamari...muscles and shrimp...and I could go on and on since there is absolutely not one thing that I wouldn't try. You can also bring in your own bottle whether is is liquor or wine and they will charge a bottle fee, but only for one bottle so if you have a party of more then 4 and a couple bottles they will accommodate you and even chill it. As for the service they are not the friendliest, but I think it is the culture. Maybe we got used to it either way this is one of our favorite places to eat. read more

I have no words to describe how amazing this place is. The food is absolutely delicious, the service was stunning but the best of it was entertaining part I couldn't even believe we could have such an awesome party. I was invited for a bday party in private room where we had terrific singers who made our party unbelievable great. All guests were thrilled with all performers especially Arthur who is adorable fella and sang for us any song we wanted. So friendly and generous! This energy! Noone was sitting at the table everyone was dancing! WOW! I am celebrating my birthday there also and making sure I'm booking performers as well, as I know they will not let my party down! Thank you Chinar on the Island for making my trip from Manhattan worth it 150% read more

Had a boy's night out here, and 4 out 10 people got sick. Diahrea isn't my idea of fun. Sorry, but won't be coming back. Responded to owner so she could "make it right" ; still waiting. ( actually doesn't matter......) read more

I went to Chinar this weekend for my friends birthday and loved it! The food was pretty good! The restaurant itself had pretty decor, and great service. But most of all I loved the singers. Such wonderful voices! I felt like I was at the live concert! Amazingly talented! Will come back for more beautiful music! read more

Terrible place! Waiters are standing around, pretending not to notice when you ask for them! We have a banquet and believe it or not I have to pay $11 for a small cup of tonic!!!! And they told me ginger ale is also not included! I wonder what the tonic with vodka would be-$40?!?! Terrible! Most expensive tonic I ever drank in my life! Go somewhere else!!! read more

Love Love Love! Had a great time last night. When my friends told me that we are going to the restaurant in SI, I didn't expect that I will have such a marvelous time. Everything was amazing, starting from outstanding service, delicious food,and of course I was amazed by the performance of Arthur and Katia. No words. Keep up the great work! read more

Today, on a weekday we had lunch at Chinar restaurant. It was not the first time, all Russian community know this cosy place. We had Shepard salad, veal liver and chicken kebab. The best salad, crunchy fresh vegetables, juicy onion, very tasty! Veal liver was the best, covered with spices, white onion rings and fresh herbs. They have the best collection of teas, served with preserves. It all reminded me of the old country. Thank you, Chinar on the island ! read more

Food is ok but cannot be compared to Brooklyn location. Overall best Russian /French cuisine on the island.