Arte Cafe
New York, NY 10023
Phone: (646) 525-4073
04/27/2008 Posted by alexandrahl
This restaurant is in one word: embarrassing. Let me tell you why... I went here last night with my boyfriend and my cousin who was visiting from England. To start, we sat down at a table that was nearly toppling over. After a half hearted attempt to fix it, our waitress sighed and begrudgingly asked us if we wanted to move. We did, and then for the next ten minutes watched the tables on either side of us served while we were ignored. Next my Carpaccio was served with an insect the size of my fingernail crawling on top as a garnish. After I received another Carpaccio when everyone else was done eating, we ordered coffee, and asked for the bill. I was shocked to see that we had been charged for the Carpaccio. I questioned our waitress about this who said she had told the chef, and that he said that he would never have served a dish with an insect on it. Oh! So I must have been hallucinating? Understandably at this point we were ready to leave, and my cousin was kind enough to offer to pick up the bill. He asked my boyfriend and I what we thought would be a suitable tip. Knowing that we would normally give around 20%, we thought that for the service (or rather lack there of) that we were provided, 15% would be more than fair. As we exited the restaurant we were accosted by our waitress who berated my cousin for his tip, explaining that "in THIS country, you have to give at least 18%". Interesting! After ignoring our table all evening, she was obviously quick enough to grab the check at the end of the night before we were even out the door, proving that she was certainly capable of fast service, but just not during the course of our meal. Needless to say, this was incredibly embarrassing for me, having chosen the restaurant for a nice meal with my cousin. After we walked my cousin toward his hotel, we went back to talk to the manager about our experience. He too seemed about as concerned that our night was ruined as our harassing waitress was.
Cons: Horrible service, rude staff, insects on food
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