I work in restaurant operations and am giving this review from that vantage point.
This is one of the absolute worst dining experiences that I have ever encountered. Perhaps this is a good establishment under different circumstances, perhaps they had an "off"night, but based on my experience, it was reprehensible to the point that it was offensive.
After we told the taxi driver where we were headed he replied with obvious hesitation. When we probed a little bit he said the night before he had two separate customers who were not happy with their experience. One in particular had ordered an 80$ steak that arrived to the table cold. He said there were other good restaurants close by. We should have listened to him.
I'll lead with points that are commendable. The server approached the table and informed us that:
1.) none of the drinks from the craft cocktails section would be made bc the bar was short staffed.
2.) there were (2) dishes on the menu that were no longer in stock.
Fine.
We ordered.
My sister who doesn't drink alcohol asked for a drink; the response, "that counts as a craft cocktail and we won't be doing that tonight."
Fine.
My father ordered a (not craft) cocktail and the server replied, "that will also count as a craft cocktail."
I initially ordered a glass of wine. My parents continued to look at the menu, since neither of them could have the drinks they wanted.
I asked to cancel my glass and replace it with a bottle instead.
I was told my glass of wine, which had not arrived and wouldn't for another few minutes, was already made and couldn't be cancelled.
I said, "fine. Can we do this bottle as well."
"Unfortunately, we're out of that bottle this evening."
We ordered our food.
The server then returned to inform us they were also out of two of the four items that we ordered. He handed us the menu and said:
"Here's the menu, let me know what you would like instead."
What I wanted was a dining experience commensurate with the outrageous amount of money we spent to dine at this overrated and offensively underwhelming establishment. Unfortunately, they were out of that this evening as well.
At this point, the only thing that was on the table was one glass of wine, one ginger beer and the salad we ordered.
When we were informed they were out of half of the things we ordered, I said, "look, can you just give us a check for this stuff, we'll go next door."
"Im sorry, we cant-- I've already put in the rest of your order so they've begun prepping it."
When describing the menu, the server described it as tapas style to be shared. The salad arrived. It was spring mix with 4 pieces of tangerines. It would be an appropriate amuse bouche for 1, it was not something that should be shared.
I work in Manhattan and am familiar with small portions for expensive fees and price gouging. The "rack of lamb" was 60$. When it arrived, there were two lollipops. (Picture included to verify) That IS NOT what 'rack of lamb' refers to and they should be ashamed of describing it as such.
This isn't really the establishment's fault, but we were a table of 4 adults. We were sat in the front of the restaurant, our table between two larger ones. About 15 mins after we were sat, two parties of young, rambunctious, loud children were sat on either side of us. I asked the host and manager to please move us. They said, "the only thing we can offer you is the bar." The bar was adjacent to the louder of the two families. It would have been exactly the same thing as the table we were already sat at.
What I want to stress with this review more than anything else is the underlying attitude from the entire establishment. I understand- probably better than most- that staff shortages, inventory supply issues, etc happen and sometimes you need to adjust on the fly. But the fact that nothing, NOTHING, was done or offered for the purpose of guest recovery is arrogant and unprofessional, indicative of a poorly run business that leaves the impression that you as a customer are on an island, passing through on vacation and thus a good mark able to be turned for a quick buck. I've been in these positions before. I would bring a round of drinks, a dessert, something to show the guest that I at least acknowledged the presence of a problem, anything to maybe get them back to my side. That didn't happen. But what's worse is that there was never even an apology, which costs nothing.
It's disappointing, because most of the dishes were actually quite good. However the experience was deplorable. There are three restaurants (Pesce, Agave, Raw) nearby. We ate at two of them and had wonderful food + experiences. I would recommend them and avoid this place. read more