No. 12 - Ridgewood

1. I stood there for 10 min before anyone even asked for my name 2. There was a giant 20 party table. All booths taken and 3 tables. Only one table NOT taken. There was ONE server. That’s it. And a bartender who was consistently dealing w the party 4. We ordered apps . Got one wrong item. Didn’t get anything we ordered to start 5 then shrimp cocktail came. It was hot. Literally hot. The server didn’t understand what I was saying Shrimp cocktail is supposed to be chilled on ice and cold. It was not cooked. It was just extremely warm I sent it back 6. The chilled lobster was chewy 7. The octopus was not edible. 8. The Brussels sprouts should be specific it is a slaw drowning in dressing 9. The bang bang shrimp was the only decent thing we had We didn’t send anything back bc we never saw our waiter bc he was the only one working! Ridiculous for him! The bathroom door lock didn’t lock. I was walked in on We have been there many times prior to the change over. I do not know who owns this place or runs the kitchen. But they need to read this. Oyster choices non existent The server was young and kind but completely inexperienced and all on his own We live in ridgewood. We dine in town frequently and with friends For the amount of items and we paid we could have had a delicious meal at Oceanos felina. Park west. Roots. We were so disappointed in the food. Experience. Service (not his fault). One couple left didn’t even finish

Ups and downs but overall a nice meal in Ridgewood. They have the tables so close, it feels like you are dining with strangers we were being seated right next to another couple when there were plenty of empty seats elsewhere and had to insist on a different table which the host begrudgingly did. Funny thing was the next 2 couples that came in did the same thing! But the food was overall good, especially the brussel sprouts and bang bang shrimp (in the picture here . Cute decor. Remember to BYOB (not really a speakeasy!

This speakeasy does not serve alcohol. We were disappointed to find out upon arrival that the location was BYOB. This information should be made available as most will expect drink service at a speakeasy. The Google about page says that alcohol is available. Otherwise, overall the food was good, but not great. A few items that could use some refinement: The shaved brussel spouts had far too much lemon vinaigrette. The fish in the fish and chips was very plain and lacked flavor. The calamari was perfectly cooked and the sauces provided paired well. Get the lobster nachos, but do not expect a usual nacho portion. I would recommend to try this location if you are looking for tapas or raw bar with a unique experience.

Let 's be clear. You are not a speakeasy if you don 't serve alcohol. Sure, it 's BYO, but that 's not what I was expecting from a speakeasy . Anyway, the food was good and the service was attentive. The waiter recommended the rigatoni special which was my favorite. But the music was awful and too loud. Really set the wrong mood for a small intimate speakeasy . Early 2000s rap music does not pair well here. DMX while eating oysters? No thanks. The tables were also a bit small so they could have done a better job spacing out the courses/plates that came out. But I was too distracted by the awful music selection.

Love the speakeasy concept, but unfortunately the concept is very poorly executed. For starters, the service was terrible our waiter had no familiarity with the menu, read the specials right out of his notebook, and had no sense of how to space out service of the dishes from a timing perspective to ensure our meal wasn’t rushed. Although we are fans of tapas style eating, these small plates left much to be desired. The menu consists of many appealing items, though they lack imagination. The taste of the food was okay, though a few items, such as the octopus, were not cooked properly. The presentation was abysmal, with garnishes restricted to parsley and iceberg lettuce. The food was also clearly precooked based on how quickly each dish came to our table the food would arrive less than five minutes after each order (we spaced out our own orders after seeing how quickly the first few dishes flooded our table). From an ambience perspective, the place has a fun vibe, which makes it well suited to larger group gatherings, such as birthdays and bachelorette parties, as long as service/food quality aren’t high on the priority list. When we were there, the restaurant was playing 90s hip hop music, which, while fun, was far too loud for easy conversation. It was not background music it felt more like what you’d experience at a bar. We won’t be back, or at least not until some major service overhauls take place. In our view, this place needs better management, needs to recruit more experienced staff or at least provide training to its staff on basic principles of restaurant service, and needs to get a little more creative/sophisticated in the kitchen. Our experience was no better than what I’d expect at the average chain restaurant.