Cinema Cafe

I decided to try this place last night because it looked like it had a decent menu and was not busy. We got seated and then sat there for 10 minutes. No server, No water, Nothing! Finally someone came over and was very rude, asked what we wanted and then left. We then had to wait again and finally got some water. We order 2 soups and the margarita pizza. They only brought one soup and the pizza. No one came over to ask if the food was alright or if we needed anything. I finally had to flag down a server and tell them that no one had brought my soup. His response was ""I didn't hear you order it"". No apology or anything! They finally brought it out and it was very bland and boring. We never received water again, nor did they take away our dirty plates. We once again had to flag someone down for our check. When they brought our check the server said ""here"" and put it down. Never asked us if we wanted anything else, or cleared our plates away. There are alot better places on 2nd avenue, dont waste your time at Cinema more

This place looks inviting enough with it's large outdoor cafe-style seating. I've been there about five or six times. I must say thay are very consistant: THEY ALWAYS DISAPPOINT. The service is slow, the attitude is not surly but indeed not friendly, and the food is mediocre at best. With all of the above does the price really matter? My little nephew knows what aldente means. He politly said ""I'll have the penne but I want it al dente OK? The server dutifully nodded. It came so soft we could have spread it. I called the server over and about 20 minutes later the penne was again delivered to our table. It could have been the same dish I sent back for all I know. I guess they don't know what al dente means (or don't care). Pros: Ice Cold Beer Cons: As slow as molasses in January more

For the price of this place, you don't get much and what you do get is very greasey and heavy, even if the menu doesn't read as a heavy as grilled veggies b/c they are caked in oil. Pros: People Watch Cons: 2nd ave traffic....hmmm diesel fumes. more

To my good friends: Go next door, go across the street, or simply stay at home. My girlfriend and I frequently go out on the UES, and we thought Cinema Cafe looked like a decent place, packed with a good vibe. We were sat in good order once we arrived. After we ordered, I got up to inform the manager/host that it was in fact my girlfriend's birthday (no lie) and if they could bring out some dessert for her. Mind you, after we sat down we saw a table across from us receive cake/candle, and yes, singing. Good times, give us that too. Anyway, as we started to eat our respective dinner, the busboy came out with the dessert I picked out before hand. What? So, you're bringing out the birthday dessert while we're still in the middle of eating? Hey, way to course a meal! So, we sat there for the next 15 minutes with a candle burning is an apple dessert that cannot be blown out. The dessert was okay, not amazing. After the fact, the manager, I think, said ""We are going to take 50% off the dessert because of the mess up."" First of all, to my experience, restaurants do not even charge for birthday desserts (trust me, I do not go restaurants for free anything) let alone take 50% off a $9.95 item. Pros: Great food, outside seating is always nice, good selection on the menu Cons: See my review. Can always due without smokers. Serviers seemed very aloof. more

The food was pretty good. It has always been pretty good, and we used to eat here frequently. Pros: outdoor seating (but crowded on weekends), decent food Cons: really poor to downright rude customer service: lots of kids there, but apparently not enough highchairs! more

Pros: There are no pro's Cons: If you want bad food and service this is the place to go more

This place was a huge disappointment. The evening started off well enough...but I knew it was going downhill when our waitress spilled water on my friend and took my drink order twice and never brought it out to me. One bus boy, one hostess, and one stupid waitress later...I finally got my coca-cola. Oh, and they forgot to put bacon on my cheeseburger. Pros: Cool pictures on the wall Cons: Wait staff that doesn't speak english. more

The food or ambiance, both of which are unimpressive, are irrelevant in this case. If you pay with a credit card, they will overcharge you. If you spot it and contact them, they will be incredibly unhelpful and they will delay and lie to you outright concerning their efforts to address their ""mistake."" They do this all intentionally, perhaps as they are in financial trouble and need the money to cover short term costs. Do yourself a favor and go to any other place. They have done this on a number of occasions at the 70th street location and I have spoken with colleagues who had the exact same thing happen at their other locations. Cons: They are dishonest. more

This has to be the worst restaurant in Manhattan. The food is bland...I ordered a steak and spinach salad and what I got was greasy steak on top of even greasier spinach. A friend ordered the flank steak which came with mashed potatoes. I didnt know it was possible to screw up mashed potatoes...Not even edible. The wait staff is horrible. We sat and had a few drinks before we ate and they stood over us and whispered as if we were wasting their time. Very uncoomfotable and unprofessional. Cons: Food, wait staff, FOOD more

This cafe is an illustration of a situation where the food is good but the service turns your stomach. I would not even waste your time. I have gone time and time again with the same result both managers and waitstaff have been arrogant and down right rude! This cafe fails to appreciate the fact that there are thousands of place just as good as Cinema who know the meaning of customer service. For example, if there is something the matter w/ your meal I have heard ""it's not my fault, it's the kitchen's fault."" For dinner, I spent over $200 on a 3 course meal only to be kicked out during dessert from the manager stating ""I have to work in the morning."" Pros: The ambience, the good is tasty Cons: The customer service more

We had a terrible experience both times that we went here for lunch. The host at the door is extremely rude, especially when you have children. I don't know why this place is called ""child friendly"" because it's not. They stick you in a designated back section of the restaurant ,if you have chidren, where it's cramped and right next to the restrooms. The food wasn't that good either so there really is nogood reason to go this place. more

Have gone there a couple of times now. First time we went, we stood at the hostess's table waiting to be seated for about 5 minutes, with waiters AND the hostess looking me right in the eye and just walking by. They weren't even busy, and it wasn't during a busy hour. Walked off and we went somewhere else. Another time, we ordered a pitcher of white sangria, only to be served a pitcher of Country Time Lemonade they tried to make LOOK like sangria. And tried to charge us $40 for LEMONADE, acting as if it was sangria. Not hard to tell the difference between white sangria and lemonade. Pizza is about as thin is 3 pieces of stacked looseleaf paper. The wait staff has always been rude, or had an air of dissent in their attitudes. Have never been back. Nothing special about this place that you can't get anywhere else, and I can also make their $40 ""sangria"" by going to the grocery store and buying lemonade powder for $2 more

I loved Cinema Cafe. I thought the movie theme was cool, and I was most impressed by the giant menu. It had mostly diner-type food, with some more sophisticated choices (I had Cajun chicken with mango salsa and dirty rice, and it was fantastic). My boyfriend had a sausage pizza that was also fabulous. Other options include entrees, omelettes, salads, wraps, sandwiches and more. There are also a lot of fun drinks (like peach daquiris and margaritas), but they are pricey. Our waiter was very attentive, and the food arrived quickly enough. My only complaint would be the not-so-pretty view of 2nd Ave or 34th st, and how cramped the inside of the restaurant is with the big square chairs. I think a big group might have a tough time, but for 4 or fewer people, I would definitely recommend Cinema Cafe. The prices are reasonable, too! Pros: food, menu, prices Cons: cramped restaurant more

My friend and I ordered two salads and a free-ranged chicken for dinner last night, first of all they messed up our order of two diet cokes which took forever to come and the place wasn't even busy! How hard is it to pour two glasses of diet cokes from the soda gun??? secondly we didn't have a designated waiter to come take our orders so after waiting for almost 15 minutes the manager saw us looking around for someone to take our orders so she took them herself without writing anything down. then soon after some server came out from the back kitchen with a plate of chicken fingers and layed it on our table, we told him we didn't order that so he went to talk to the manager about it. Then the same guy( who knows if he's our waiter) that seated us came by to double check our order so we repeated to him again that we ordered two salad and one chicken, he then double checked with the manager who then admitted that she messed up our oder. 10 mins later, we were still waiting with our diet cokes with nothing to eat! I noticed the two girls that came after us already got their salads and were almost done eating! AND I noticed that every table's got a bread basket that we were never offered! so almost 40 minutes after we entered the restaurant the food finally came, the portions were small and nobody offered pepper or refills of sodas! Nobody came to check on us! The fastest thing they did was bringing our check so please if u wanna enjoy a decent meal without the stress don't go to cinema!! i live 2 blocks away from there and it's the worst service I've gotten in a while in my neighborhood! Nobody gives a dam there! Cons: bad service! more

I've eaten here once, and tried to twice. The first time, the food was decent for lunch, but remember mediocre service. The second time, we actually got up and left since the nonchalant waitress was nothing more than annoying and clearly uninterested. The place has a cool setup and its a trendy idea, but the trendy attitude has to go. Cons: Service more

The leather chairs are inviting as is the dark-ish room accented by movie posters and B&W movies playing in the background. The food however, needs help. My husband ordered the Pizza Margerite and it was totally bland and soggy. I ordered the salad Nicoise with salmon and the dressing was tasteless, although the salmon was done perfectly. Perhaps their other dishes offer more culinary adventures than disasters. Pros: ambiance, comfy seating Cons: , expensive more

WHAT A FANTASTIC JOB THEY DID IN TRANSFORMING THIS GREAT DINER TO AN UPSCALE CAFE- LOUNGE. GREAT FOOD, GREAT SERVICE, GREAT AMBIANCE, GREAT PRICES AND RARE SILENT FILMS more

Good ""regular"" food -- Diner-ish but with some refinement and a kitschy movie-inspired theme/decor (hence the title of the restaurant). Nice place for a group of four or a bunch. Service is good, and in the nicer weather the doors/windows open giving the place a nice, comfy flavor. Pros: Good food, Relaxed, Reasonably priced Cons: busy more

Cinema is a convenient neighborhood diner and the food is pretty good too. However, the service and the waitstaff is the worst! You have to ask for a glass of water, wait 25 minutes for your coffee -- it often comes well after your meal has been served, and no one ever offers to refill. Your waiter/waitress never returns to check on you. It's even a struggle to find someone to bring you your check! We return because of the convenience of it all, but they really need to work on their service, especially considering EJ's is only 3 blocks away, and their service is awesome. It's also a little expensive for what it is -- a bowl of granola (that they pour out of a cereal box) is 8.95! Pros: Good food Cons: Poor service more