Cleopatra's Needle Restaurant & Live Jazz

01/05/12

Rudest Most Idiotic Management Ever

by Nyasha at Citysearch

Wost experience ever at a restaurant or so-called jazz club. I went in to patronize the place and see my friend at the open mic session on Wed night. I took a seat by the bar and ordered a Riesling wine as there was a cover. The bartender asked for payment, so I pulled out a $10 bill. The $10 bill turned out to be two bills stuck together. One fell in the bar area as I tried to pull the two bills apart. The bartender saw the bill fall in the bar area and proceeded to look for it for about 15 minutes. When he couldn't find it, he demanded that I pay again. I told him that the Riesling was not worth $20 and asked him to keep searching in his area. A bit later, in the middle of a performance, the manager came up to me (obviously called by the idiotic bartender) and said to me very aggressively "You did not pay for your drink." I explained the situation but the rude, obnoxious manager Mahen insisted that I pay again. Which I did, after complaining loudly to the other guests who did not seem to be surprised, and left the restaurant. I hope that when they find my $10 under the bar, they can use it to invest in some customer service training. Thanks but I don't need the money!

Rude, obnoxious, possibly racist, and unaware of Customer Service 101.

08/26/11

This is the best restaurant in America

by Alwahsh at Citysearch

I went to have dinner at this ausome restaurant with my family as one of my friends recommended it . They have great Live jazz with no cover charge and their food is great . The service is ausome and everything was OK . I don't think I'll go to any other restaurant after I knew this one but next time , I'll have to catch the happy hour .

05/29/11

NEVER AGAIN!

by Zazou at Citysearch

Never again! I have never written a food review before, but I have to share what has just happened at Cleopatra's Needle to warn unsuspecting potential patrons.

I moved around the corner about 6 months ago and was curious to try it, so I went in with my visiting mum and a friend of hers this evening.

When the time came to order, I made sure to specify I wanted the moussaka with meat. After the server brought our food and we started digging in, I quickly realized that the horribly over-cooked piece on my plate was the vegetarian version of it (with mushrooms and cabbage, which are not in the meat version, and no meat). I decided to stick with it, but I called our server to let him know of the situation and to ask him to charge me for the vegetarian moussaka only (about $3 cheaper).

Once I had finished my plate, he came back and told me that the chef had stated that today the meat moussaka had mushrooms in it and that the meat was under, which was complete bull. I can tell when I eat meat or not, and there was not a speck of it in the piece I got.

The rest of our meal was mediocre (chicken marsala was completely dry, the vegetables were straight from the freezer as was the cheesecake, which was as compact as a brick. And since when does béchamel sauce have tomato in it?!).

They still charged me for the meat moussaka, at which point I just paid for it and barely left a tip. Looking around, we eventually realized that there were way many more people drinking at the bar than eating at the tables, and now we know why.

The jazz was OK, but that's beside the point. The food was a total disaster, the service non-existent and the attitude when confronted with their mistake despicable. There are enough very good restaurants on the UWS to be able to say to Cleopatra's Needle: Never again.

09/26/10

Food is good, drinks are great.

by johnrod7 at Citysearch

Nice place to spend an evening listening to great jazz

11/16/09

Best atmosphere, music, Martinis, value.

by marstodd at Citysearch

Great BeBop at times. The atmosphere is perfect for a NYC village type establishment you might recall from the 1970's. Very relaxing so don't be uptight. If you are prudish or very fussy it might irritate you with it's homey feel. Place is nicely clean and all staff is very friendly. They might try to brush you off if you're mean but they are not servants just restaurant workers in a cozy location. Good selection of Martinis and Wine. Sit in the window and watch the street in the snow. Wonderful experience and nice decor too. I am a sometimes regular customer only.

• Pros: great live music and NYC atmosphere
• Cons: Musicians sometimes are a bit amateur but no problem