Bill C.'s Profile

Screw this place.  They clearly think they're God's gift to diners; well, they're not.  

I showed up at 8:50 on a Thursday.  Not prime dining time and they had, yes, count 'em, five empty tables.  Nevertheless, "It will be AT LEAST a 30-minute wait."  And they tried to shove me over to this crappy little dark bench.  I pressed them and said I really would rather have a table.  At that point, it was "We're all booked up until 9:45 at the very, very earliest."  And the bar's full too.  Both hosts used a simpering, condescending tone.  I was about to stalk out right then and there.

But for some reason I decided to take a seat at the bar.  The bartender didn't give me the time of day.  After I waiting for about eight minutes to try to order a drink, he then announced all the specials.  When I frowned at one of them he got all pissy and cut the list of specials short.  "What was the last special?" I asked.  His words: "Oh, you want to listen to it now?"

Even the food runners were pretentious.  When they'd bring the food they would try to place it directly on top of my book even though there were three empty seats to my right.  (Yeah, but "the bar's full too.")

The entire time I was at the bar there were ALWAYS two tables open behind me in the bar area, and God knows how many more in the restaurant.  It was infuriating.  And the food was incredibly pretentious too.  So fuck this place.  And I left a $5 tip on a $71 tab.  You guys want to treat me like shit, well, have it back.

Great pizza, but bare minimum service.  Would it kill ya to come to my table?  Still, great pizza.

This is a really great no-nonsense noodle shop.  Don't pass it up if that's what you're looking for.  90% of the patrons appeared to be Japanese.

Look for the sign on the awning that says "Larmen New York."  It doesn't say "Menkui Tei"!

Ehhh.  Have to agree with the guy who said you should automatically subtract 0.75 stars from every restaurant in the theatre district because they get reviewed by excited tourists just happy to be in New York.  Our service was OK until 8pm sharp; then our waiter left and we had to get adopted by a new guy.  Then it went downhill fast.  Just wasn't a great experience.

This review is totally about food quality and not the service.  The service was lovely.  I was there on a Thursday at 5pm -- not necessarily the hoppingest of times, and I was the only person sitting in the back room so I could watch the ice slide by on the Hudson.

I ordered a whole lot of sushi and that was the problem.  It was extremely bland and tasteless.  Even the ginger and wasabi were bland.  Also it was kind of a mess and fell apart.  

I went to this place on the strength of the other reviewers who said it was awesome and fabulous sushi.  Well, it really wasn't.  

This place is mostly about the view and the atmosphere... not the sushi.

Oh God.  So many hippies.  And unfortunately the place is in the basement, and has rather echo-y walls, and it was (in October) full of fatter tourists and their screaming kids.  I felt a little claustrophobic.  No free wi-fi and only one outlet, so it's not a great laptop venue either.

I have to give three stars because, well, the coffee was good (although EXTREMELY SLOW -- again -- hippies!) and if you are looking for this kind of grungy vibe, this is where you'd go.

Well, I always have a great time here.  I've visited about five times.  The food is flavorful and fresh, the service is extremely good (and cute!) and it is overall a very romantic, intimate place (which I have never taken my partner to -- hmmmm).  The menu seems to change from season to season but certain things, including the bread and the halibut, are always excellent.  It's on Tenth :/ but that kind of adds to the charm since it's off the beaten path.  The bartender is a nice guy.

Eh.  Not that great.  We went on Sunday at 2pm and were the only people in the entire place.  The restaurant's design was decently modern (but NO booths), and it certainly seemed clean, which for Pensacola Chinese restaurants is a big plus.  The service was fine (if a little overbearing -- but beats the alternative), but the problem was the food.  

The other guy hit the nail on the head with it being at the quality of a 1980's Chinese restaurant.  It just was very saucy and not very flavorful, and the quality of the beef and mushrooms I had was suspect.  Also, they have an item called "Krab Cheese Rangoon."  Really -- Krab?  A little scary.  As much as I'd love to have a good Chinese restaurant in town, I think this place won't make it.  They need to amp up the food and fast.

Service was very bad.  My waiter made the minimum number of trips to the table.  And that was despite the place being pretty empty.  (Also, even though the place WAS pretty empty, I got stuck at a table all the way in the back.)  I actually contemplated getting up to refill my own water since no one else was going to do it.

This place is just amazing.  I understand they have only been open three and a half weeks.  The interior is impeccable -- so many different textures but everything has a 1920's/1930's feel that doesn't at all seem hacky.  (Actually -- I thought it looked so good that it had to be a chain, but apparently it's not.)  Nothing here seems improvised and there are a lot of great touches.  They have the usual set of books to create a "library" feel, but it's obvious that the books weren't just purchased based on their color or size.  There is a variety of seating, including bench-style, armchairs, high tables, and a great looking bar.  The coffee was good and CHEAP for espresso-based drinks.  (That can't last.)  The people are very friendly and, yes, free mini donuts.  AND: free Italian lessons every week!  What the hell!  Go here!