Pink Pony Literary Cafe & Cine-club

09/08/11

Sub Par Service. Treated horribly, purposely ignored!!

by steven c at Citysearch

HORRIBLE SERVICE!! DO NOT GO HERE!

It has a nice ambiance, but being treated like less than human is not worth the exchange.

A specific waiter purposely ignored seating us tonight at all costs, and wouldn't give us menus when we asked, and then wouldn't make eye contact to give us the bill for 10 minutes in a near empty restaurant. Then after asking for the check, he purposely walked next to us and made himself a coffee, then started cleaning the tables next to us at a slow pace, then went back to the bar and spent 10 more minutes changing the glasses out.

He gave us a dirty eye when we complained to another waiter that it'd been 15 minutes and still had not given us the bill. I've been there before and the asian waiter is quite nice, but this french black kid was extremely judgmental against gays.

The other waiter didn't even reprimand our hate criming waiter. we didn't do anything except want our food and to eat it and be treated like everyone else. They essentially offered us no consolation and took no action.

If you ever get the tall black french waiter with the fro in his early 20's, you know what to expect. He needs to be removed from that restaurant pronto.

01/17/10

Great atmosphere, food and service are sub-par

by veggiemama at Citysearch

I came here for a friends birthday dinner with a group of 15. The way the tables were set up were kind of snake like so we couldn't all talk to each other it was very separate. They don't have ice, FYI. Also, when it came time to order...we were ready to order entrees and the waitress only took beverage orders so 10min later she comes back.... 1/2 the table places the order and she takes the orders 10min later. This waitress was nowhere in site. Ever. Finally food came and i got the veggie burger. The shoestring fries tasted stale and the burger bread was pretty hard and not toasted or anything. We had a nice time b/c we were in good company but I wouldn't go back.

• Pros: feels like you stepped out of manhattan all warm and cozy
• Cons: food and service

01/09/08

My Treat

by firehat at Citysearch

The Pink Pony is cool. Around 10:30 we slipped into one of the semi-circular nauga hide booths and it just felt like the place to be to relax, enjoy conversation, and a late light meal. The service was slow, but what's the rush? Our waiter, Lydia, was covering the entire back room by herself. She arrived at our table with a gorgeous smile and was pleasant and knowledgeable about the dishes. To quote David Byrne, she has a face with a view.

I had the Eggplant Napoleon only because my friend, the musician Ryan Bair (of Rahu-Ketu---check their website) said to me "I don't even like eggplant and it was scrumptious." I give it 5 stars because the sauce was truly surprising, very subtle. We're not talking Le Bec Fin here, but for this type of joint, The Pink Pony is the place.

My friend Nicki Stager (photographer---check her website) insisted on paying for my birthday dinner with her Visa card. She became quite forceful (and even used some bad language) when I tried to go Dutch. She snapped her card down onto the bill when it arrived. Here's another great thing about The Pink Pony: You can make a big show of your generosity and wave around your platinum card and say "It's on me" or "My treat" with great panache, and then pretend to be surprised when Lydia smiles so big and says "Sorry, it's cash only." Very cool. And the prices are very reasonable, so you probably have enough loose change in your pockets to cover the check. Leave Lydia a good tip; she's covering the whole back room by herself.

• Pros: Great atmosphere
• Cons: slow service

10/10/07

Great atmosphere!

by shess06 at Citysearch

Ventured to the Pony w/a group of friends on a Saturday night after a show. Great food (turkey, brie and apple sandwich a favorite) cheap, refreshing glasses of wine and an overall laidback vibe. The food came out quickly and the wait staff very attentive. Only downside is cash-only requirement. Reminded me of Pastis with a hipster and pretentious-free flare!

07/31/07

Like terrible food and forgetful service? Have I got a place for you!

by chrysis_ignita at Citysearch

Went this past Sunday for brunch with two girlfriends. One asked for her omlette with tomatoes inside. She was told "No problem," and her omlette arrived with nary a tomato in sight. My friend and I ordered eggs nova. The eggs were HARD BOILED, not poached. The yolks were so overcooked that they were chalky. Gross. We'd also made sure our meals came with potatoes on the side, and were assured they did. We were served dishes with no potatoes. Instead of potatoes, we were preseneted with slimy black "greens" and a few pieces of brown fruit. Gross and GROSS. We asked our server if we could have fries instead, which she agreed to. The fries were hard and chewy--AWFUL. We were never offered refills on our coffee. Instead, when our server finally came to clear our plates, we asked for coffee and it was served to us--actually, that was the only highlight of the entire experience. I expected the coffee to be burnt--everything else had been bad--but the coffee was actually fresh and tasted fine. There were two servers on and the place was half-full. I think the guy that was also serving was probably picking up the slack for our server and was basically overworked because she was so flustered. I work in service and have for most of my life, so I feel somewhat qualified to make that assumption. My friends and I Ieft brunch hungry. And that's a real bad sign. I'll never go back.

• Pros: passable coffee, great decor.
• Cons: everything else.