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Andreas' Brick Oven Ristorante
- Nearest Transit:
-
23rd St-Park Ave S (6)
23rd St-Broadway (R, W)
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
3 reviews for Andreas' Brick Oven Ristorante
david and i were staying at a hotel in downtown manhattan and needed something to eat before we went out for the evening. we decided to just take something that sounded good and was closeby so we could go back and change.
the menu here sounded very good and the prices were insane. $12.95 for chicken parm? what? and $18.95 for steak? that is cheaper than albany (not that i ever said that albany was cheap. i actually think that a lot of restaurants in albany try to keep up with nyc prices, it makes them seem more 'legit')
there was only one other couple dining and 2 people at the bar (turns out both worked there). our server was a sweet scandanavian boy who seemed to have a bit of an issue with the language. david and i ordered the usual perfect martini's (tangueray, a twist) and started to peruse the menu after commenting on the sparsity of clientle. silly me. why do i assume that people know what perfect means? (do you have any idea how often i have gotten straight gin? the bartender assumed that perfect meant 'perfectly made' like i would order a 'so-so' or a 'crappy' martini. or as if they had not made a perfect manhattan. it shames me as a former bartender that they can be such dolts.)
of course it came clear. so i said that i was sorry, i wanted it Perfect and described the extra vermouth. he came back with some other clear sweet liquor. i once again mentioned the Sweet Vermouth. and added the color as a helpful guide. a few seconds later i heard a raised voice. the woman at the bar was on the house phone loudly complaining about customers that wanted a Perfect Martini and didn't they know what it was??? there was NO sweet vermouth.... i almost went up to her and smacked her. so the bartender came over and i patiently informed him of what we had ordered. he murmured politely that he understood and back came the server with a shot of sweet vermouth. jeez. if this had not happened to me in the past i would have been more than irritated.
so then we decided to be picky and order not off the menu. i asked if i could have the homemade meat ravioli with a carbonara sauce sans mushrooms. yep. david wanted the lobster ravioli with a pink sauce. yep. (tho they charged him $3 extra for his. why not mine? there is extra stuff in mine. hm?)
the food turned out to be quite delicious and we were very pleasantly surprised. the bill came to less than $50. in nyc.
the only remaining problem was that they didn't take credit cards. i won't even go there. i hoofed it to a nearby atm, thinking that the 'amalgamated bank' had some kind of deal with the local restaurants about sharing the fees. and went back and paid.
i would go here again if i was in the area but not otherwise, the poorly behaved manager and the cash only thing was enough of a turnoff.
My boyfriend and I walked by and saw that this place had an amazing brunch special - $8.95 for several different items including a cocktail! We made sure to stop by the next day, thinking it would be super crowded and were surprised that only two other tables were filled. We should have realized there was a reason for this.
Not only did the food (an omelet and French toast) take an hour to come out, this place just didn't have its act together. My boyfriend asked for maple syrup, they bring him balsamic vinegar. I asked for milk for my coffee, they don't have any. I also said I didn't want peppers and tomatoes in my omelet so he just brings me three egg whites scrambled. It was supposed to have broccoli, Parmesan and fresh basil. When I asked where everything was he said they were out of basil. Now I can understand why an Italian restaurant might not have syrup but basil? Are you joking? Then I attempt to eat the eggs and they were so salty I couldn't eat them.
It was terrible. AVOID! I would give it zero stars if I could.
I went to Baruch College and this was one of my favorite lunch spots. Even after graduating (almost 3 years ago now), I still stop in for dinner on occasions. I love the atmosphere, servers are always friendly, and the menu is very simple and basic. My one suggestion for them would be to expand the menu with more family-style platters.
